Help me decide...
- Thread starter ChipSmith
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frank_f15
Super Member, Rest in Peace
Check out ALL the units at sears i have had a craftsman 18 hp with twinn B/S engine for 14 years now and i really use it hard, has been a wonderful machine.
bontai_Joe
Platinum Member
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- Deere 316 (Kohler) Deere 316 (Onan) Deere 210
Electrolux spun off Husqvarna to concentrate on their indoor appliance line about a year or 2 ago.slowrev said:
slowrev
Elite Member
So all of the AYP stuff or Just the Husqvarna line got spun off ?bontai_Joe said:
AYP is no more, and Electrolux is gone from Husqvarna Group. Husqvarna Group consists of the following brand names:
BlueBird, Craftsman tractors, Diamant Boart, Dimas, Dixon, Felker, Flymo, Husqvarna, Jonserd, McCulloch, Partner Industrial, Poulan/Poulan Pro, TragetBlue, Weed Eater, and Yazoo/Kees.
-Fordlords-
BlueBird, Craftsman tractors, Diamant Boart, Dimas, Dixon, Felker, Flymo, Husqvarna, Jonserd, McCulloch, Partner Industrial, Poulan/Poulan Pro, TragetBlue, Weed Eater, and Yazoo/Kees.
-Fordlords-
coasterez
Banned
For my money, if I had hilly, rough ground, I'd look for a used JD 3xx/4xx machine. Used, they can be found for about $3K - $4K. Much heavier and more stable for steep terrain. Way more tractor than those mentioned (except for maybe the B7100). All shaft drive and have many optional attachments too. The liquid cooled ones are also very quiet, even at full throttle. Take care of it and it could be the last one you'll ever need. Mine is going on its 14th year. Never changed a belt or anything. Just change the fluids and grease the fittings.
I got a lowes special,yard pro or something like that,,its going on its 14th year too,,have changed the belts and a few small parts,,,but it still cuts!
Also got a sears mower,,going on about its 12th year,,,,had to have head gasket replaced when it had about 100 hours on it,,,and belts a couple times,,of course batteries for both at least once,,,both have kohler motors,,ones a hydro the other is manual,,one is 25 hp the other is 20,,,,have spent less than probably 500 dollars repair on both in the 14 years,,,so,,,,cut over an acre of yard,some rough,some hilly parts,,and generally don't cut grass but once every two weeks!
You can get about three of these types for what you'd pay for a new top of the line one,,,so if each one just lasted you 12 years,,,thats 36 years of mowing fun!!?? and you don't have to save for three years or make payments to get one,,well,,generally speaking of course....
1/2 acre or less grass to mow,,it just makes no sense to me spending over 5,000 on a lawn mower,,,now maybe if you had an acre or so like me,,yeah,,it might make sense,,if you could afford it that is,,,but the cheap ones cut the grass just fine. thingy
Also got a sears mower,,going on about its 12th year,,,,had to have head gasket replaced when it had about 100 hours on it,,,and belts a couple times,,of course batteries for both at least once,,,both have kohler motors,,ones a hydro the other is manual,,one is 25 hp the other is 20,,,,have spent less than probably 500 dollars repair on both in the 14 years,,,so,,,,cut over an acre of yard,some rough,some hilly parts,,and generally don't cut grass but once every two weeks!
You can get about three of these types for what you'd pay for a new top of the line one,,,so if each one just lasted you 12 years,,,thats 36 years of mowing fun!!?? and you don't have to save for three years or make payments to get one,,well,,generally speaking of course....
1/2 acre or less grass to mow,,it just makes no sense to me spending over 5,000 on a lawn mower,,,now maybe if you had an acre or so like me,,yeah,,it might make sense,,if you could afford it that is,,,but the cheap ones cut the grass just fine. thingy
coasterez
Banned
There are always two camps here: buy cheap and replace/repair more often or buy top quality and keep forever. Both are reasonable ways of going about it. For me personally, the point I was making is that if I were going to lay down $3K or more for a lawnmower, I'd rather have a used top-shelf garden tractor as opposed to a new "disposable" one. The top-shelves can do so much more, and are a pleasure to use. But, it is a personal choice. And if all you want to do is cut 1/2 acre of grass, then the run-of-the-mill lawn tractor is more than sufficient, even a small one at or around $1000 would do.
I used my fathers Craftsman to cut his grass from time to time. I hated using that thing: noisy, hard to steer, seat killed your back, vibration numbed the hands, poor traction, tipped easily, new belts every other year and were a pain to change out. But, then I was spoiled by my JD. When I'd get home after cutting my dad's, I'd kiss my deere and give thanks to the lawn tractor gods for giving me such a fine machine. There is absolutely no comparison. But, then again, that little craftman is on its 14th year too. I'm just glad my butt wasn't on that thing for 13 straight years. I will say that the newer "disposables" have much improved human factors engineered into them. I just wanted to offer up an alternative to the new "disposable" that it didn't appear had been given serious consideration.
I used my fathers Craftsman to cut his grass from time to time. I hated using that thing: noisy, hard to steer, seat killed your back, vibration numbed the hands, poor traction, tipped easily, new belts every other year and were a pain to change out. But, then I was spoiled by my JD. When I'd get home after cutting my dad's, I'd kiss my deere and give thanks to the lawn tractor gods for giving me such a fine machine. There is absolutely no comparison. But, then again, that little craftman is on its 14th year too. I'm just glad my butt wasn't on that thing for 13 straight years. I will say that the newer "disposables" have much improved human factors engineered into them. I just wanted to offer up an alternative to the new "disposable" that it didn't appear had been given serious consideration.
Your right,to a certain degree,,but,,,,nothing but rocks last forever you know.
Those newer top of the line brand riding lawn tractors use many of the same parts those cheapos do,,motors on some I think,,like I said,,my 25hp kohler blew a head gasket on that sears at probably around 100 hours,,so,,
They just build them to fast nowadays,,zipp zip here,,snip snip there,,sometimes the robots have a bad day,,,people did to back in the old days but,,seems like their quality control can't keep up now adays some times.
Just all depends on money like every thing else,,,if you want a mower and you got plenty of it,,,get the best one [or if you don't know which is the best one],just get the most expensive one they sell,,,it should be pretty good??
Used,,never did like buying stuff with a motor used,[unless you knew the owner],most people just don't sell stuff that still runs and works like new,,or in case it never did run worth a @#$!,,run like they wanted,,,spend 3,000 on a 20 year old lawnmower to me just ain't worth it,,but to each his own of course,,,thingy
Those newer top of the line brand riding lawn tractors use many of the same parts those cheapos do,,motors on some I think,,like I said,,my 25hp kohler blew a head gasket on that sears at probably around 100 hours,,so,,
They just build them to fast nowadays,,zipp zip here,,snip snip there,,sometimes the robots have a bad day,,,people did to back in the old days but,,seems like their quality control can't keep up now adays some times.
Just all depends on money like every thing else,,,if you want a mower and you got plenty of it,,,get the best one [or if you don't know which is the best one],just get the most expensive one they sell,,,it should be pretty good??
Used,,never did like buying stuff with a motor used,[unless you knew the owner],most people just don't sell stuff that still runs and works like new,,or in case it never did run worth a @#$!,,run like they wanted,,,spend 3,000 on a 20 year old lawnmower to me just ain't worth it,,but to each his own of course,,,thingy
Diesel-ME
Gold Member
coasterez said:
I completely agree.
I'll add that if you are only mowing a small area, say under an acre, AND it's relatively smooth, than it would be hard to justify buying a lifetime quality machine. ($3,000 +)
But if your "lawn" is really rough and/or multi-acre, than the disposable machines may not be worth buying.
Also, don't be fooled by the fact that some of the disposables have Kohler or other higher-end engines. Sears/HD/Lowes/etc have forced the manufacturers to make cheap-o versions of their engines. Same goes for horsepower. So what if Crapman has a 26 horse "famous brand" engine in a lawn tractor.... doesn't mean it will last 500 hours and/or it's as good as the same-brand engine in a high-end machine.
Having said that, I think that most folks are more than happy with a regular old lawn tractor purchased from a big box retailer. Just go easy on it if you have bumps and rocks sticking up in your lawn. Besides many guys enjoy the hunt for new mowers every so many years anyhow. I feel trapped by my lifetime Cub Cadet garden tractor that I've had for 13 years. The darn thing refuses to break so I'm stuck with it for another decade or so.
~paul