Choosing A Riding Mower
#1
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Choosing A Riding Mower
Presently looking at riding mowers at the home centers. The John Deere D100 at $1499.00 appers to be a good machine as is the Craftsman model 13AJ78SS099 at $1199.00. Both are 42 inch cutting machines. I have close to 6,000 square feet of grass.
What are the must have's when purchasing a riding mower?
Of the two machines, I inspected the John Deere and have not inspected the other.
What are the must have's when purchasing a riding mower?
Of the two machines, I inspected the John Deere and have not inspected the other.
#2
Either machine should do that job just fine. My money would probably get spent on the craftsman in most cases. I prefer a kohler or kawasaki engine, hydrostatic transaxle, and electric PTO clutch for reliability and ease of use. The electric PTO I could do without if I had to settle, but the engine and tranny are important and expensive if they go bad, so I would want the better ones from the get-go. If I was looking, I would stay away from troy-bilt and other MTDs for whatever that's worth. After working on these things for so many years, I still think craftsman is a good value. Deere makes some decent ones too for the money but the hoods are plastic and probably 90% of them I get in to work on have broken or missing hoods.
#4
They are easier to use, have variable speed adjustment, and for general purposes, seem to last longer and be more reliable. Most automatics do, but you have to watch because some MTDs say automatic, but they are really a gear transmission with a variadrive assembly controlled by a foot pedal. These I would stay far away from. A hydrostatic tranny is a true fluid drive transmission.