SCDolphin
Gold Member
After a lot of looking I bought a Craftsman GT6500 with the smaller 48" deck and a 26 hp kohler engine. I only have about 5 hours on it but so far it has been great with a couple of exceptions. At 2 hours one of the idler pulley's came loose.........probably never properly tightened. The serpentine belt was slightly frayed. The manual had 2 different pictures of how the belt was routed......both wrong! Once I figured out how it went back together I just bolted back the pulley and good to go.
I also purchased a mulching kit but have not used it. So far the stout 3 bladed deck really chops up the leaves and grass. My other obsevation is the stuff blows out of the discharge chute like it was propelled by a leaf blower. I did not think three blade systems discharged with so much force.
My last mower was a single blade 38" Murray and was about 10 + years old. The single large blade was easy to damage compared to these 3 small thick blades. I have to be more careful because the new deck sticks out about 6" beyond the tires.
I like the greaseable spindles....try to find those on a 2.5k tractor. It also has a hst type transmisson rated to pull ground engaging impliments........try to find that on a jd 100 series......again for under 2.5k.
Lastly I am really impressed with how little gas it burns. Overall I think it is a lot of mower/lawn tractor for the money. In fact I could not find anything else in its class for the money (realize that the husky movers are same-similar)
Anyway........loving a chance to cut the grass again! Now I have to get an early start to beat my kids to get some seat time.
I also purchased a mulching kit but have not used it. So far the stout 3 bladed deck really chops up the leaves and grass. My other obsevation is the stuff blows out of the discharge chute like it was propelled by a leaf blower. I did not think three blade systems discharged with so much force.
My last mower was a single blade 38" Murray and was about 10 + years old. The single large blade was easy to damage compared to these 3 small thick blades. I have to be more careful because the new deck sticks out about 6" beyond the tires.
I like the greaseable spindles....try to find those on a 2.5k tractor. It also has a hst type transmisson rated to pull ground engaging impliments........try to find that on a jd 100 series......again for under 2.5k.
Lastly I am really impressed with how little gas it burns. Overall I think it is a lot of mower/lawn tractor for the money. In fact I could not find anything else in its class for the money (realize that the husky movers are same-similar)
Anyway........loving a chance to cut the grass again! Now I have to get an early start to beat my kids to get some seat time.
