New owner here

[Yardcut]

I purchased this model from a local dealer for $1995 plus tax. Delivery was free. It came delivered setup and ready to go, even with a full tank of gas. I have used it twice and the following review is based on relatively new experience with Husqvarna products.

PROS
*Very nimble considering the heft of the machine
*Cuts evenly (but discharge chute is a pain)
*Plenty of power
*Greasable deck spindles
*B&S USA assembled engine
*Tuff Torq K57 transaxle, a step above the ubiquitous k46 found on lesser units.
*blades have high lift and can toss the grass IF you move the plastic shield from the discharge chute
*10 year warranty on the deck shell only, 3 year on the rest of the unit, 2 years on B&S engine
*Can turn the key back on click from run and the ROS remains engaged so you can mow in reverse.
*K57 Hydrostat is responsive and smooth.

CONS
*Fuel gauge is very hard to see
*Deck does not pivot with front axle
*B&S Engine at 24HP is way overkill for a basic rider like this
*Have to remove to plastic side fences to get at oil filter, fuel filter, and oil drain port

My primary goal is as follows. All I need is a mower to cut grass. Not to mulch. Not to bag. Just cut. Thus far, this unit does fairly well but still falls short of the 1990's era Ariens YT1340 unit my dad had back in Indiana.
Nevertheless, after a lot of research I decided on this unit. It is the last of the units that Husky will offer with a K57 transaxle. Going forward, all the units, yes even the ones sold at Lowes, will have a plastic, yes you read that right, plastic CVT made by General Transmission.

The mower starts and runs well. The B&S engine has an automatic choke that makes starting a breeze. Once you get in position, you lower the deck to desired height, rev up to full throttle, engage the electric PTO and off you go. The mower handles my grass with ease; I cannot comment on high thick stuff as I live in a residential area and keep my grass cut so it looks neat. I would assume with 24 ponies under the hood, it should handle the task.
The deck appears to be robust and with the 10 year warranty on the shell, I think it should last a while. The only drawback I see is it does not pivot with the front axle so evenness of cut is lacking compared to others that offer this design feature. The reverse speed is sufficient so as not to slow things down, it can really get up and go when you mash the pedal but I don't consider that a priority when mowing.

The B&S engine is OHV with full pressure lubrication, cast iron sleeves, and oil filter. Seems ok but at 24 HP I question, seriously, is all that HP necessary when I mowed for years with 12-15 HP machines as a kid. Still it runs well and has not used any oil during break in. Parts are easy to come by also.
The battery is a basic 240 CCA 12V affair that you can buy anywhere. Blades are available at Lowes. I plan on having the dealer perform all the service save for oil changes.
I cannot comment on removing the deck as I see no need to do so. LIke I said, this needs to cut grass. No more, no less. I cannot comment on pulling power as I have no cart or dethatcher but again, with 24 ponies under the hood, I cannot see it being underpowered. If anything, the K57 transaxle will give up the ghost long before the engine will under such usage.

Overall, it is a good unit. Time will tell how reliable it is. JD missed the mark by not having greaseable spindles and requires you to hold in a flimsy yellow plastic button to mow in reverse. Otherwise I would have purchased a JD. In the end, it came down to details.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

Ta for your review. I believe that you'll find that quite a few other colour tractor OEMs utilise a RIO button... and an Operator In Seat safety switch. Pretty much industry standard now and, although I don't recommend it, there are simple alterations you can make to 'cheat' these safety devices. JD did not "miss the mark".

Enjoy the site.

 

[Yardcut]

It did clog on me last week when I mowed slightly wet grass. I do mean slightly wet. Kinda disappointing with 24 horses under the bonnet and it still bogged like that. Blades are sharp so that was not the issue. I did cut off about 4 inches of the dumb deflector that really kills the dispersal of the cut grass.

 

[Yardcut]

 

[Yardcut]

View attachment 478516

 

[MitchellB]

It did clog on me last week when I mowed slightly wet grass. I do mean slightly wet. Kinda disappointing with 24 horses under the bonnet and it still bogged like that. Blades are sharp so that was not the issue. I did cut off about 4 inches of the dumb deflector that really kills the dispersal of the cut grass.

I recently got the sister to yours (a YTA24V48) and it does not like wet grass either. She would power thru the tall areas, but I had to slow her down to a crawl or she would begin to bog down, but the transmission really rather go fast. You could tell the 24 horses would strain a little in the tall wet grass. But heck, I had an old 8N Ford tractor that had about the same number of horses and she had a lot more power that the little mower does I think. There were a couple times I could tell the grass bound up in a clump under the deck and dropped down into the spinning blades to be chopped out the side suddenly like I had hit a stick. One thing I noticed the first time I engaged the blades is that sucker sounds like an airplane when they spin. I never looked for the RPMs, but they sure seem to have some speed to them. It will mow dry grass at a pretty good clip though.

 

[Yardcut]

I wonder just how close the HP rating is to 24HP{? Mowed with a 13 HP Ariens back in the day and I know it had a lot more power than this one does. Youj're right the grass clumps sound like you are hitting rocks or something.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Excellent write-up Yardcut! Very through.

I too, wonder about the horsepower ratings on mowers these days. I have a 26hp GTH Husqvarna... Even with the "26hp" I don't think it has any more actual power than my old Snapper 8hp. Of course, the Husqvarna is cutting a 52" swath whereas the Snapper was cutting a 30"; big difference. (I think the manufacturers are playing games with the horsepower propaganda.)
Even so, with 26hp, wet grass is a pretty much a no-no. It not only clogs up, but it doesn't cut evenly either. ...just a waste of time.

I did make another (non-related) discovery last week though. I needed to swap out my blades but only had 1 mulching blade and 2 high-lift blades. Those two styles do not go well together. My lawn looked like a baseball field with the different cut heights and pattern Obviously, I switched the high-lift blades out yesterday and recut the lawn. Lesson learned: Keep the blades properly matched.

Oh - as another non-related item, I think the mulching kit Husqvarna has available for their big mower/tractors suck.

Again - thanks for the great write-up!

 

[Yardcut]

Might be CPSC or EPA regs haunting us here. At any rate, I did expect more oooomph from such a large engine.

 

[Yardcut]

Good news is once I cut back the darn plastic deflector, it throws grass much better now. Doesn't bog down as much.

 

[MitchellB]

Good news is once I cut back the darn plastic deflector, it throws grass much better now. Doesn't bog down as much.

I wanted to do something about the deflector too, but I did not want to cut it off or shorten it, although it does seem too long. I looked online for ideas and every pic I could find someone used a bungee cord or rope tied across the right knee holding up the deflector. I was going to do that, but the thought of that tied across my leg, I figured I would get tangled up in it or it would come loose and get wound up in the blades. The hole in the metal deck that the grass goes though shows several inches of the right blade exposed, which I thought was pretty dangerous design in itself, with only the plastic deflector to cover over it.

Then I noticed a bracket on the deck (I think it is welded) that sticks up just outboard of the deflector spring that the deflector rides on top of when down. I cut a piece of 5/8" scrap wood I had about 3" x 1" (guess-toe-mate) and took a knife and cut a curve in one side to kinda match the metal deck hump there. I used it as a wedge between the bracket & deflector spring for the plastic deflector to sit on. I did not take any measurements, but it holds the plastic deflector shield up about level and flat now, sticking straight out. I mowed with it like this today, and it made a big difference. The grass (even damp grass) is thrown way out to the side now about the width of my previously mowed pass or further. I can also mow faster with much less bogging down in high grass. I like it. I was careful not to bump anything with the deflector for fear the little block of wood might get knocked out, but a couple little wood screws threw the deflector to hold the wooden block in place permanently would solve that, now that I know it works for me. I don't have a bagger yet, so I'm not sure if the block of wood screwed to the deflector would be in the way, of the chute but probably not.

 

[Yardcut]

Here's the chute after a visit with a Rural King made in Taiwan hacksaw

 

[PJSprog]

Good news is once I cut back the darn plastic deflector, it throws grass much better now. Doesn't bog down as much.

We have the 24HP Kawasaki motor on ours. It bogs down, too, in heavy or wet grass. I'm thinking it's more of the deck design than the motor.

As for the deflector, we drilled a hole near the outside edge and bungied it to the right side seat spring. I almost always cut with it up.

 

[Yardcut]

Cutting back the chute made a difference. This thing does not cut anywhere as good as dad's 1994 Ariens but it does ok I suppose

 

[K man]

I had problems too of grass clogging up so what I did I just drilled a small hole in the deflector and put a small length of rope through it and mounted the other end to the mower on the up down lever. This way when I lower or raise the deck my deflector moves with it and stays up about two inches higher and shoots the grass and spread it more evenly and no clogging up. I have done this on just about any mower that I have own over the years and had a lot of comments from others who tried it.

 

[CaptFerd]

My only problem is that its a gas hog and you cant see how much is in it.

 

[K man]

For your info the deflector is only a few inches up just enough to stop it from clogging up and I have been doing this for years and have never hit anyone or thing. Try it yourself before you throw in your negative input.

 

[PJSprog]

You people that mow with the deflector up apparently have no respect for anyone . Like waving a loaded gun around .

If I can hit someone with the deflector up, then it truly would be like a loaded gun. Doubtful, though, that it's going to throw anything 1/4 mile to my nearest neighbor. Thanks for your uninformed comment nonetheless.