Lawn Mowers

[Soccerkid830]

Looking into buying a lawn mower that is capable of plowing snow as well. It's hard to find anywhere that has mowers still around, they've all been slowly replaced by snow blowers at the major stores like Home Depot/Lowes/Sears etc.

Anyway, I haven't been able to look around too much. But the ones I have managed to look at seem very cheap compared to what I'm used to. Growing up, we had an Ingersoll 3012 that I cut the lawn and plowed our driveway with since I was 8 or 9 yrs old. Now looking at these Cub Cadets, Craftsman, John Deere's - they all seem very weak and chintzy. Issue is, I would rather not spend $5k+ on a tractor.

The house my wife and I are buying has just over an acre, the driveway is ~100 ft long. So it's not a whole lot, but it's going to be hard to step down to something else. I'm looking to see if anyone has any opinions on the stuff that's available out there...

So, does anyone have good, or bad, experiences with a lawn mower/tractor they care to discuss?

 

[Rickster71]

You guys get real snow up there in Michigan, so I doubt a lite, little ride on mower is going to be able to push enough snow before it loses traction.

Our driveway is almost 200ft long, and we ended up with both of us getting vehicles with four wheel drive.
The few times a year it really snows, I have a guy with a truck with a plow make one pass up our driveway, and I shovel out directly where our trucks are parked.
I didn't want to invest in a big mower or snow blower, and have it sit in the garage most of the time.

 

[ImcLoud]

Not sure how much snow you get but, a conventional riding mower with the plow kit isnt going to push much, you can only push as much as the rig weighs and snow gets heavy fast {around here anyway}. The other issue is your budget, you aren't going to get much for $5000....

If you have the room, get a snow blower and a mower, and keep in mind In this field I have yet to see someone get more than they pay for.... so if you buy a $1000 riding mower and a $500 snow blower expect to replace them in 5 years or less and to have a few service issues in that time...

I have an exmark lazer s zero turn and it never misses a beat, cuts my 4 acres with out breaking a sweat, and should last me 25 years easily... Exmark Manufacturing - Products for mowers exmark imo is the best {kubota, scag, walker all nice too}... I am also very impressed with dixie choppers their prices and equipment are attractive, although I would opt for a model with a kawi or kohler mill vs the generacs... which ever mower you choose get something with a welded deck and commercial style controls...

as for snow removal, a snow blower is your best bet, and Husqvarna seems to be lasting me....

now if you do want an all in one machine, I would say the mahindra max 22 is about the best bargain, my cousin just bought one, with the drive over mower deck, snow blower, and bucket loader its costing him under $200 a month interest free, but that is obviously much more than $5K, but that is a machine not a lawn mower... 22 hp diesel...

 

[Soccerkid830]

The idea of getting a blade for my truck crossed my mind, but I figured that's a really good way to kill what life is left in it. It's a 2001 Yukon with 215k miles.
Edit - Also, I just looked up blades and they're way more expensive than I thought, for a new one anyway. So I won't be going that route .

I'm also not sure that the winters we get here warrant a blade for my vehicle. Average snowfall here is 25-30 inches, so hardly anything. I would think a small mower could handle that... But maybe it would be better to spend the equivalent amount of money on a zero-turn type rider and push/walk behind snowblower.

 

[avnetguy]

But maybe it would be better to spend the equivalent amount of money on a zero-turn type rider and push/walk behind snowblower.

This is the route I'd go, 100ft of driveway for a 5-8hp two stage showblower isn't a big deal. I've got almost 100' of driveway and my 25 yr old 5hp is still doing the job with the only problem encountered is a repair to the recoil pull start.

 

[ImcLoud]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ariens-Deluxe-28-in-Electric-Start-Gas-Snow-Blower-with-Auto-Turn-Steering-921030/204266986#.Un-woflJPL

I like ariens snow blowers, they aren't the fastest, BUT they have one of the best systems I have ever used, plus cast iron gc instead of aluminum, just a better all around machine, I have compared them to husqvarna, toro, ect and they come out on top.

I bought a Honda track drive Hybrid 36" blower for the shop {got a deal on it but it was still $7000 by the time I was done, But we have a really tough lot to do, for the most part I plow it, but the walkways, ramps to the garage doors, and back side of the building are impossible to plow, simply no where to push the snow unless you go through the building, so I blow it up onto the retaining walls } , and that machine is about the best snow blower I ever seen, and for my house I have an ariens wheel machine, while its slow, it will blow snow just as far as the honda that cost 5 times as much, and the big difference from other machines is, one pass vs two... so who cares how slow it is, I go through once, then just a fast cleanup with the shovel and Im done, I watch my brother do his yard and it is 1 pass then all over again to clean it up....

For a zero turn mower, get something with a fabricated deck, check to see what the dealers around you sell, ferris, exmark, toro, dixie chopper, scag, ect.. the most important part is "parts", so you want a dealer near by, so when you need service or parts they are a quick car ride away vs, phone calls and shipping and all that BS....

 

[Soccerkid830]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a swing by Home Depot today and see what they got lying around...

 

[ImcLoud]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a swing by Home Depot today and see what they got lying around...

Look on ebay for 10%-20% off coupons, I bought a lowes coupon on ebay for $2 when I bought the tiles and wood flooring for one of my rental houses, it was 20% off, I saved almost $600 with them coupons!!!! I used the lowes coupon at Homedepot because they price match Lowes, another thing to remember is even with out the coupon, if you show them your lowes card at home depot you get 5% off when you use your HD card....

 

[TLS Guy]

Looking into buying a lawn mower that is capable of plowing snow as well. It's hard to find anywhere that has mowers still around, they've all been slowly replaced by snow blowers at the major stores like Home Depot/Lowes/Sears etc.

Anyway, I haven't been able to look around too much. But the ones I have managed to look at seem very cheap compared to what I'm used to. Growing up, we had an Ingersoll 3012 that I cut the lawn and plowed our driveway with since I was 8 or 9 yrs old. Now looking at these Cub Cadets, Craftsman, John Deere's - they all seem very weak and chintzy. Issue is, I would rather not spend $5k+ on a tractor.

The house my wife and I are buying has just over an acre, the driveway is ~100 ft long. So it's not a whole lot, but it's going to be hard to step down to something else. I'm looking to see if anyone has any opinions on the stuff that's available out there...

So, does anyone have good, or bad, experiences with a lawn mower/tractor they care to discuss?

Forget anything from a big box store for mowing grass. They are all junk. I have people bringing them round here for repair all the time, front wheels tearing off the mower etc. These present very difficult repair jobs as the metal is junk and very hard to weld.

Cubs are the absolute worst. The JD in the big box are about as bad. JD do not make them, but allow the big box stores to have them built by any lousy Chinese junk manufacturer and their name slapped on it. I had a JD L118 brought here last week with only 200 hours on it. (Bought at Home Depot). One of the main Stanchions that attaches to the draw arms had completely pulled out of the deck, because it could not take the power. I had to fabricate a 1/4" steel plate and weld it to the underside of the deck and weld the stanchion to that.

Not only that I found the two blade pulleys that had hexagon centers were almost round and slipping on the shafts, so it need two new pulleys. These pulleys are made of very inferior low grade metal.

I made the mistake of buying a big box riding mower in 1979, it lasted 2 years. So I went to the John Deere dealer in Grand Forks and bought a riding mower and snow blower. I bought a JD 214, with the single cylinder cast iron 14 HP Kohler engine. I bought snow chains an wheel weights. The engine is vertical and the belt pulley is on the side and it is a very short straight belt to the blower. It is way above the snow. You can not use the horizontal engines with the belt pulley underneath to successfully power a snow blower.

Well that 214 is still going strong 32 years later and has been minimal trouble. It has at a conservative estimate 2000 hours on it now, many of them working very hard blowing snow. The snow blower is astonishingly effective.

I still use it regularly, for mowing the small areas my big 1958 JD 420 with 6ft PTO deck is too big for. I blow the lower forecourt and road down to it that the big 1948 JD model A is too big and awkward for.

To get the equivalent now means going to the JD X700 series. The quick snap on bloer attachment is shaft driven and is very satisfactory.

If you want a ZT mower, I only recommend the JD Z series, or equivalent Toro. The Toro mowers are a little higher priced.

If you pick the right equipment you will have it for life and that will be by far and away the cheapest solution. Run as fast as you can from anything for mowing grass in sale in a big box store.

 

[alumiu90]

Where at in Michigan? Lived in St. Joseph for 5 winters with lake effect snow averaging 110+ inches per year and had a 5.5 hp Toro single stage that did just fine even on end of driveway after the plow passed by. Two stage would probably been better for end of driveway but single stage handled snow up to 12" deep with no problem
Driveway was for a three car garage so long and very wide. Single stage handled just fine and offered a lot of flexibility. The blower had a Temusech Snow King 4 cycle engine.

 

[TLS Guy]

Where at in Michigan? Lived in St. Joseph for 5 winters with lake effect snow averaging 110+ inches per year and had a 5.5 hp Toro single stage that did just fine even on end of driveway after the plow passed by. Two stage would probably been better for end of driveway but single stage handled snow up to 12" deep with no problem
Driveway was for a three car garage so long and very wide. Single stage handled just fine and offered a lot of flexibility. The blower had a Temusech Snow King 4 cycle engine.

Sadly the big box stores put Tecumseh out of business and now the snow blowers are powered by lousy Chinese LTC engines.

 

[afterlife2]

Good to see you back man. I have a friend who knows his stuff and he said:
Well you know I am one for the older vintage, but try Craigslist for a used one. Look for a John Deere 316, 318, 322 or if he wants newer there are the John Deere 425 or 455 with a plow. Where? I can surf the CL ads and point you to ones in his area that look decent. Not sure how mechanically inclined he is, but there are good ones out there that don't need wrenching that won't cost $5K.
Also point him to this forum.... Topics - Weekend Freedom Machines He'll have to register to see all of the forums, but if he buys a used Deere or is looking for a used Deere then this is the place to ask!....Or he can email me. PM me if you want his email. By the way how are the EMP's treating you?

 

[TLS Guy]

Good to see you back man. I have a friend who knows his stuff and he said:
Well you know I am one for the older vintage, but try Craigslist for a used one. Look for a John Deere 316, 318, 322 or if he wants newer there are the John Deere 425 or 455 with a plow. Where? I can surf the CL ads and point you to ones in his area that look decent. Not sure how mechanically inclined he is, but there are good ones out there that don't need wrenching that won't cost $5K.
Also point him to this forum.... Topics - Weekend Freedom Machines He'll have to register to see all of the forums, but if he buys a used Deere or is looking for a used Deere then this is the place to ask!....Or he can email me. PM me if you want his email. By the way how are the EMP's treating you?

That is good advice to an extent. All those recommendations are really solid. However, I'm reluctant to advise that for someone I don't know, have no idea of his tool kit and mechanical prowess. I have a well equipped shop with a lot of facility.

Even in the good stuff, people usually sell it for a reason. Say he buys one and a bearing needs replacing. That can be expensive in a shop, but I have all manner of bearing pullers that most people don't. If nothing on the machine intimidates you, or you have a competent friend to go to, well and good.

If we advise it on a forum like this and it soon needs a repair we get the blame. In any event with anything mechanical second hand, you need to check everything carefully before putting it to use. What may be a really good deal for me, may be less so for someone else.

If I recommend a vintage amp or turntable, and its trouble, if the worst comes to worst the member can ship it to me, but not a riding lawn mower!

 

[afterlife2]

TLS, he will give him great advice for free and if he has a question on condition he can always email him detail pictures of the whole rig he is interested in. + he can always take a reliable mechanic that knows his stuff as well. My friend puts this stuff together and takes them apart, so he knows his stuff. Always great to have great resources.

 

[ImcLoud]

The older equipment is definitely built better with better materials, but they are also just that "old" , it is correct to NEVER buy a mower at a big box store, even snow blowers are not a good idea BUT home depot sells ariens {almost the entire line} which are my favorite for the money, so I would not hesitate to recommend them, top notch CS, cast iron front case, and make in america....

As for the riding mower, Once I started using a zereo turn I will never go back to a conventional tractor type, I cut 3 acres with hardly any thought and in record time...., especially if you have trees and obstacles to go around, I have a putting green on my side yard and I can get rite along the side of it with no danger, but with a tractor I would most likely have to hand cut it not to risk damaging it... Speed and accuracy of a zero turn can not be beat, IMO... Get a brand that will last you for ever and then never worry about it again...

 

[Soccerkid830]

I was and I think still am leaning towards a zero turn for the lawn and a snow blower for the driveway. The driveway is only one car wide for a majority of it. There are two garages, each with a skirt around it two cars wide.

I am not THAT mechanically inclined. I can handle basic repairs and maintenance on my Yukon. I've changed the oil when I can't find a $15 coupon to have it done, I just recently did the pads/rotors, alternator, etc. But I do not have a large number of tools to do the work.

That is the main reason I've been looking more at new than used. Although there is a shop about a mile or so down the street from where the house is that I could drive the tractor to, assuming it's still in a driveable state.

I have started to look on Craigslist a little, but not too in detail. And I've only looked at Ingersoll's on CL solely because that's what my dad had for me to use growing up. If he hadn't sold it last year, I would have bought it from him now.



Also, I know not to base what I buy on only what you all say. I certainly won't get mad if I end up taking anyone's advice and running with it because I'm the one who made the choice. I just figured if anyone has some input, this might be a good spot to gather some likely biased opinions due to past experiences, which is exactly what I'm looking for. I asked my dad a bit and he pointed me to Ariens as a good brand to buy if I don't go a more expensive route.

 

[Soccerkid830]

By the way how are the EMP's treating you?

They're not too shabby. Haven't had any issues with them that I know of. They are no longer in my living room set up. I put them in my wife's office since she works from home. Now she doesn't have to listen to music through the crappy computer speakers. I would assume if there was an issue, she'd let me know

 

[ImcLoud]

I was and I think still am leaning towards a zero turn for the lawn and a snow blower for the driveway. The driveway is only one car wide for a majority of it. There are two garages, each with a skirt around it two cars wide.

I am not THAT mechanically inclined. I can handle basic repairs and maintenance on my Yukon. I've changed the oil when I can't find a $15 coupon to have it done, I just recently did the pads/rotors, alternator, etc. But I do not have a large number of tools to do the work.

That is the main reason I've been looking more at new than used. Although there is a shop about a mile or so down the street from where the house is that I could drive the tractor to, assuming it's still in a driveable state.

I have started to look on Craigslist a little, but not too in detail. And I've only looked at Ingersoll's on CL solely because that's what my dad had for me to use growing up. If he hadn't sold it last year, I would have bought it from him now.



Also, I know not to base what I buy on only what you all say. I certainly won't get mad if I end up taking anyone's advice and running with it because I'm the one who made the choice. I just figured if anyone has some input, this might be a good spot to gather some likely biased opinions due to past experiences, which is exactly what I'm looking for. I asked my dad a bit and he pointed me to Ariens as a good brand to buy if I don't go a more expensive route.

Your father is rite about the ariens, I think its the best deal out there.. Honda is nice too, BUT expensive, Yamaha makes an awesome snow blower too, but hard to find, so that most likely means parts and service are not easy either... I would stick to new if I were you, when you go as old as what your dad used to have you will most likely run into carb problems, I have a great old tractor {actually a bub cadet from when they were made really good, cast iron front end, cast iron frame, it weighs around 1200 lbs} and the problem is getting that old carb that was setup to run on leaded duel to run on this new ethenol mix that we get at the pumps. I sent out the car to a guy in Michigan that specialized in rebuilding them, and it runs better {on super} but still not perfect, especially if you let it sit and let the gas approach 6 months old...

The snow blower isnt as big a deal as the zero turn, you can get a 30" ariens for around $1600 {the platinum comes with the 414cc engine}, the zero turn is where I would focus your funds, get a real lawn mower, what ever they sell around you will be the best bet, go to some tractor sales shops and see what they offer... buy once cry once...

 

[Midwesthonky]

I love this topic. Course, anything that turns dead dino's into noise and other kinetic actions is all right by me. I am also looking out the window at the 1/2 inch of snow in the yard from yesterday. still there and should last through the day due to the cold temps.

My favorite snow removal device was a JD utility tractor with hydrostat transmission, loader, and a 6 foot blade for the 3-pt on back. That easily cleaned up my 300+ft snaking uphill driveway in Iowa. But I don't live there anymore. But it was my favorite. It is also total overkill for your application. But that 72" mower deck and 32 hp diesel engine made short work of the lawn and could handle just about any size snow drift I threw it at...even the shoulder high ones I had to wade through to get to the barn.

When I moved to Wisconsin, I ended up with a used 24" 2-stage Jacobson snowblower from my fil. It worked good right up to the point it chucked the piston rod through the case. I replaced it with a 24" Ariens two-stage 8 hp model 824E snowblower. OH MY GOD does that thing throw snow!! That thing chucks the snow a good 40-50 feet away and churns through it all. I've run it through drifts taller than the front chute and it didn't miss a beat. My only issue is my driveway is about 150 feet long and is a gentle curve of about 70 degrees whose width starts at 3 cars wide, necks down to about 1.5 wide and then widens to about 2 cars wide. So I end up pretty much fighting the snowblower through a constant gentle turn the entire time plus a bunch of extra cuts at the front and back of the drive. Really want to use a shovel to smack the guy that designed this driveway. It is a royal pain in the arse! The snowblower is powered so that isn't the issue, just the fact I have to keep it constantly turning since there isn't a straight section anywhere on my drive. Seriously, you won't go wrong with an Ariens. They have a great reputation for a good reason. It's why I bought one as I didn't want to mess around with the cheap off-brand crap at the big boxes.

If you go with a two-stage snowblower, buy and keep extra shear bolts on hand. These are the bolts that connect the front augers of the first stage (slower rotating at the very front that dig into the snow and feed the snow into the machine) to the driven shaft so they rotate. They are designed to break to protect your gear case and other expensive items. I usually fail one or two every winter. So I always keep extras on hand. They are easy to replace. Just haul the unit into some light, knock off the snow, use a screwdriver or a hold punch to line up the bolt hole with the hole in the shaft and clear out any ice/snow in the hole, and then put a new bolt in there and tighten it up. Don't over tighten so it clamps onto the drive shaft. Easy, simple repair. For the sake of the lawyers, shut the engine off first before making the repair or you may lose a finger or two.

My current lawn/snow combo is a Kubota GR2010 lawn tractor with a 48" mower deck and a 42" snowblower. I went with this combination for a couple of reasons. First, the lawn tractor is 4-wheel drive so it is less likely to get stuck on ice than your rear-wheel drive big-box tractors. Second, it is shaft drive for the mower deck and snowblower. No messing with belts or pushing it back to the garage when the belt breaks. Third, it made it easy for the wife to clear snow when I was traveling for work. Nothing sucks worse than trying to clear the driveway after the snow has had time to harden into blocks of ice...especially where the plow goes. Spending two hours outside trying to clear up the mess and break up the ice blocks at the end of the drive totally sucks. So no excuses now, the tractor does all the work and even has power steering (hydraulic).

Am I lazy? Hell yes! My crappy shaped driveway took a good 45 minutes with the walk behind snowblower just cause of the really odd shape. I'm 15 minutes tops with the tractor including warm up time for the engine. If my driveway was straight so it was easy to make simple up and down passes, I would still just use the Ariens two-stage. My wife hated fighting it around the constant curve so she wouldn't clear the snow. She would just pack it down into ice with her Subaru. And I got to try to clean that up or wrestle the snowblower around those ice humps. Sucks!

It's worth it to get a high quality brand for a snowblower.

Now for the lawn, you have a lot of options. I'd love a zero-turn unit for my yard with all the curves, trees, and flowerbeds. But I compromised to get the winter capability. So it was all about choices. Check with your neighbors to get an idea of the snow in your area. Even in Wisconsin, I've had some winters where I used the snowblower all of 4 times. Then some winters I've been out clearing the drive every 2-3 days for 3 months. After the one blizzard several years ago where we had 6 foot drifts, I used the Kubota with the blower raised all the way up to clear a chute up the hill so the kids could go sledding. The snow was too deep for sledding. So instead of shoveling out a path, I just used the tractor. It worked awesome! It created a curved luge style sledding channel for the kids and I didn't break a sweat!

 

[Soccerkid830]

For now, I'll just worry about a snowblower I suppose; it's starting to get to that time of year. I'm definitely glad to get out of the Houghton winters solely due to the amount of snow, however it was really nice having a solid five months of skiing every year while I went to school there.

With an average of sub-50" of snow, I don't think I'll need anything too large or heavy duty. But then again, I don't want to buy something junky that will need fixing every other week. I went to HD and seen that 28" Ariens snowblower a few nights ago. Probably will end up going that route, it looked good. They have a lot more controls now than I'm used to. The snowblower my mom had, had ZERO controls. It had a pull start and that's it. These new ones have a drive for each tire, so it turns when you don't pull one of the levers. They also have lights and a few knobs/switches. I've never seen a snowblower with so many controls. I feel like I'm too young to be saying this, but back when I was a "kid" we had to actually push the snowblower.

Thanks for all the input guys. If you have any other tips or suggestions, post away.