I'm in the market for a Garden/Lawn Tractor for 2.5 acres of moderately hilly grass around my house. I love the idea of a diesel engine but can't find many available. What brands should I be looking at. Ideally, there would be some available models in the price range below that of a Kubota 1850 sub compact tractor >$10,000. Would like to know if there are brands out there I should be looking at.
?Diesel Garden or Lawn Tractors
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Gittyup
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John Deere and Kubota are the only modern garden tractors I know of that can be had in Diesel. Diesels last forever and are very powerful. But, you really don't need it for cutting grass. Besides, they are so very very loud. I prefer a good liquid cooled gaser for mowing and yard work. So much quieter to be around.
I would suggest going used. Don't know the bota models. But in deere look for a 420 or 455 for diesel, or a 317, 318, 425, 445, 345 for gas. The 445 is nice because it is fuel injected, which should mean less problems with this crappy ethanol gasoline. Newer JD models are the X500 and X700 series.
I have a 425 all-wheel-steer and I just love it. I bought it new in '94. I've spent only $75 on repairs. Extremely reliable. It's a pleasure to mow with and great at plowing snow when equipped with chains and weights.
Any way you go about it, a top quality garden tractor will cost you a few bucks.....and worth every penny.
I would suggest going used. Don't know the bota models. But in deere look for a 420 or 455 for diesel, or a 317, 318, 425, 445, 345 for gas. The 445 is nice because it is fuel injected, which should mean less problems with this crappy ethanol gasoline. Newer JD models are the X500 and X700 series.
I have a 425 all-wheel-steer and I just love it. I bought it new in '94. I've spent only $75 on repairs. Extremely reliable. It's a pleasure to mow with and great at plowing snow when equipped with chains and weights.
Any way you go about it, a top quality garden tractor will cost you a few bucks.....and worth every penny.
VABlue
Platinum Member
Agree... You don't really need diesel to just mow grass. You'll get much better fuel economy and (probably) longer life out of it, but not much more. (Unless you let the grass get a few feet high between cuttings.) The diesel advantage comes with ground engagement tasks - repairing driveways, grading, digging, etc.
For just mowing 2.5 acres I'd find a good heavy duty tractor with a good mowing deck on it. You can probably get one >$5000, actually, new or used...
For just mowing 2.5 acres I'd find a good heavy duty tractor with a good mowing deck on it. You can probably get one >$5000, actually, new or used...
Gittyup
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Also, I prefer a shaft driven mower deck. Virtually eliminates belt maintenance. My 425 is shaft drive with the only belt powering the outboard blades. I'm still using the original belt, now on its 15th cutting season. drive shaft slips on and off in seconds.
If you don't want to spend a lot and still get something that will work on your hills, you might want to look for an old Gravely garden tractor (not the convertibles). They are shaft driven mowers with direct drive engine to tranny. Truely an unstoppable beast.... if you can find one in good shape. However, they are a little slow and don't have the biggest mower decks. I saw a real nice one the other day on Craigslist for $400.
If you don't want to spend a lot and still get something that will work on your hills, you might want to look for an old Gravely garden tractor (not the convertibles). They are shaft driven mowers with direct drive engine to tranny. Truely an unstoppable beast.... if you can find one in good shape. However, they are a little slow and don't have the biggest mower decks. I saw a real nice one the other day on Craigslist for $400.
bontai_Joe
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If you might consider a used machine to keep the budget under control, Deere made diesel 300 series tractors in the late 1980s and early 1990s (think of the 318 with a diesel engine). Look for models 330 and 332 which can be had used in good condition for between $2000 to $3500. Kubota makes many model diesel machines and they are usually reasonably priced used. New, I'm only aware of Deere and Kubota making diesel GTs, Everyone else pretty much jumps to SCUTs to get a diesel engine.
Mickey_Fx
Veteran Member
Cub 3xx series have shaft drive for trans and mmm.bx24d said:
My son is looking to replace an old tired JD316 with a JD455. He has his eye on a nice one in BJ's neck of the woods. 170 hrs and from pics it looks brand new but is a 2000 model. Something like this would be noisier than a gas model and with todays fuel cost, certainly no cheaper to keep the tank full. The Yanmar engine will last at least 2x that of a gas model.
How ya doing BJ? Is there a little BJ in the near future?
Mickey_Fx said:
Gotta disagree with you there - my diesel (JD455) does at least twice as much mowing on a gallon than did my previous gas tractor (JD317) although it is a bigger and heavier machine. Even with diesel costing more these days it's a lot cheaper to keep the tank full.
The 455 is a lot noisier, for sure - don't even think about running it without hearing protectors.
Tim
jeffinsgf
Veteran Member
You all need to get your 455 mufflers checked. Mine is quieter than any air-cooled gasser I've ever been around. Not much experience with liquid cooled gassers, but I'm sure a 455 is quieter than any air-cooled model.