One of my best friends......

I'd search for another same-model/year; one with less hours.. and keep the one that's served you, as a back-up/or for-parts machine.

Err

Bob,

That’s a loaded question as there is always the brand loyalty factor.

Personally I am fond of Husqvarna, I have a 15yr old push mower and a 10 yr old trimmer by that manufacturer. Both start 1st second pull every season and I have done nothing, sometimes 2-3 seasons on the same oil, shame one me. I also have a 25yr old Husqvarna chain saw that has the original plug, never fails to perform.

My riding zero turn mower is a Toro, but it’s a hand me down and it’s been a huge pain since day one and was also for the original owner. Free is free though.

I don’t have a lot of experience with John Deere, I will say my FIL has a full size tractor that is over 50yrs old and it starts and runs without much intervention.

Either way keep old faithful as a backup. Wasn’t much help was I....

Not a mower but my grandpa’s Allis Chalmers WC. Originally had a 202CI 4 cylinder engine that had a max RPM of 1200 and 29HP.  That motor was completely stuck. Put in an engine out of a Gleaner E combine. 226CI 4 cylinder and turns 1800+ RPM, has a full pressure oil system with 50HP

I got that motor free as it would only make 3/4 turn and stop. Pulled the head and found some rust in one cylinder. Cleaned that up. I bought my great uncles valve and seat grinder. I ground the valves and seats in the head. New head and pan gasket. Put on a distributer from a AC WD45 vs using a Fairbanks Morris FMJ magneto.

Installed a new clutch while I had the engine out anyway as it was starting to touch the rivets. Put a new ring gear on the flywheel. Added an alternator and converted from 6V positive ground to standard 12V negative ground.

Has no hydraulic system and only has hand brakes. Little smokey but the engine was free.

Wow, that brings back some great memories. When I was younger, my dad would take me to work. I met one of his co workers who was a fellow from Denmark. He was retired and still worked though as a machinist. he was in his eighties and when he came to the US in the 40's, he purchased a similar tractor. He purchased a large acreage of property on the backside of Valley Forge National Park which wasn't a state park at the time. On this property was a very large barn with some very important names carved into the mortar on the inside such as George Washington. I found a current picture. This is the front

        https://www.facebook.com/martinophoto/photos/a.288764871208842/288764911208838/?type=3&theater

     It didn't look this nice back then. The state had no monies set aside for renovation and it was so bad it was going to be leveled. A bunch of us offered to assist in shoring the old barn until further repairs could take place. I strongly feel this is what prompted me to be a carpenter.

          I used to drive that tractor out of the barn and go for miles around the perimeter of his property. All now consumed by roads and houses. My dad's friend Heinrich would be devastated knowing this is like this now. He used the barn as wood working shop on the lower level . He built his entire home, furniture, all from trees he cut down on this property. Seeing that video of the front end of the tractor, the engine just chugging along put a huge smile on my face. I remember the throttle lever which worked like a ratchet. Heinrich installed a nut and bolt so I couldn't push her too hard.

I am not a JD fan myself , but to each there own . I own a Scag tiger cub 2004 that i acquired because a customer owed me alot of $$$$ it had to have an engine and some other bugs worked out , it sat for a few years while i received no payment / also came W/tandem trailer Anyway these are hi dollar mowers in the 8K range .... If not another Deere i would at least look at these mowers they are very good alternatives .. https://www.badboymowers.com/ https://www.gravely.com/en-US/Power-Equipment/Zero-Turn-Mowers Also keep parts and ser. availability in ur area in mine

What I run?   I have a couple Craftsman lawn tractors.  The one with the 46" deck I had to put weights on the back to get up the hill and for it to be more stable.  All the neighbors have tipped over and some have even dunked their mowers in the lake. Funny because it is the only hill in 80 miles.  I also defeated the seat switch because I had to sit on the edge of the seat for balance/traction.  I turned it into a dead man's tether.  Just squeezed the switch closed and drilled a hole through the pin and case, then put a pin through both.   As far as getting a Husky or Dear John, I would check very closely to see who makes them.  A lot of the Deers are just AYP (America Yard Products) that are only relabelled.  In that case I would abandon the John Deer brand and just get the cheapest.  The Craftsman brand was AYP and was less money than even the Husky back when Sears was still going. Gravely is a good brand. Not up to date on the zero turn mowers. Watch out for the new Chinese brand.  They are making very poor quality stuff and do not stand behind it.  Forget the name right now but their snowblowers chew up the gear instead of the shear pins.  I am sure the same amount of though went into the rest of the products.

I moved to JD professional years back ....The current John Deere residential Loews/ Home Depot stuff may be affordable but don't last

next affordable step up for Bobs 5 acres would be a Gravely 60" machine IMO

I can't mow any more and my monthly tree person crew uses Gravely all day 6 days a week.... Tony told me a tad pricey but very little down time.....his third brand in 23 years lawn care business

dckrsn wrote:Noble steed, Bob. You love her, and she loves you back.  I used to pilot one of these.

Bob

Love the Huffy Bob, got a major league seat on it. !!

Cribbs74 wrote:Bob,

That’s a loaded question as there is always the brand loyalty factor.

Personally I am fond of Husqvarna, I have a 15yr old push mower and a 10 yr old trimmer by that manufacturer. Both start 1st second pull every season and I have done nothing, sometimes 2-3 seasons on the same oil, shame one me. I also have a 25yr old Husqvarna chain saw that has the original plug, never fails to perform.

I really like the Husqvarna zero turn mower Ron, the mower deck is much more substantial than the JD.   But I have a Husqvarna chain saw that gives me fits.  Won't start unless it gets a spray of starting fluid.  But the Stihl starts every time and is much more simple to use and operate.  But the Hus is new with less than 6 hours on it, maybe it will improve.

Loved your video Jason, butterfly flapping on the exhaust, gas stains around the tanks filler.  Road could be in New Hampshire. When I was a kid working on a poultry farm I used to take a Ford N type with a trailered 250 gallon water tank down to the local garage to fill it up.  Top gear and flat out.  Coming back, not so.  

John Deere not going anyplace if I get another.  Stays with the JD LX-172 that I had in Florida.  Beat that one too but never could kill it.  It gets the rough jobs cutting in the woods and down by the pond. Never dumped it in though.  





I know there is a difference in quality of the Current crop of JD's compared to my two.  My Z225 is much better built, the rear cage is made of heaver steel and is reinforced while the new ones are rather flimsy.

My son keeps encouraging me to forget about Lowes/Home Depot mowers and look for something more industrial grade.

Thanks to all for your comments.

Husqvarna earned it's stripes this morning.

Started out using the 16" Stihl, didn't want to bother with the 18" Hus. Cut down a diseased eight inch 25 footer, no problem. The 10 inch 30 footer more of a problem. Twisted in the middle the bottom tilted one way, the top the other.

Stubborn me, I wanted to lay it in a direction that it would fall split between two trees. Made the wedge cut, then the back cut. Heavy top took it in the opposite direction capturing the Stihls blade. First time I have ever had that happen. Removed the saw leaving the blade in the tree and got the Hus.. Still had to use starting fluid to get it running, but it did fine after that. Must be broken in now.

Made a second cut above the first only in the opposite direction, tree slipped off the stump about a foot from my foot. I hate it when that happens. Used the ATV to pull it the rest of the way down.

Cut the two trees up and hauled them to the burn pile.






Done till the next one.

Wow. I really like seeing pictures of teh lawn equipment and impliments here. Personally myself I have 2 push mowers here, dad has one and a Poulan lawn tractor that has been good for the 5 years he has owned it since new. But at the time, he was looking at the JD mowers at Lowes, Home Depot and such as well. Then went to the John Deere dealer and now whether or not the guy was lying to him, he said to shy away of any of the John Deere stuff from the afforementioned for the reasons stated above. He explained to him why their stuff was a bit more pricewise, and that they were not as cheaply built. Also to note I believe it was Lowes in Grand Forks, when we visited even told him to go the the John Deere dealership and buy one there instead.....

Here's an old favorite of mine Chancey, an early seventies Sears Craftsman. Both mower and tractor were built like a tank, but it had an Achilles heel. The mower was shaft drive, not belt. The splines on the shafts unless kept greased would wear and spin. Bought a lot of shafts for that one. Mark and Christy liked it.

Wow, does that look nice. I do believe it was built like a tank as they were made with real steel back then. Interesting, never saw a shaft drive mower liek that before. I have a funny little guy I want to get running this year, but is currently tucked away and will hopefully get to it this week and post a couple pictures.

NEW222 wrote:Wow, does that look nice. I do believe it was built like a tank as they were made with real steel back then. Interesting, never saw a shaft drive mower liek that before. I have a funny little guy I want to get running this year, but is currently tucked away and will hopefully get to it this week and post a couple pictures.

Yes, you can see the transmission towers on top of the mower. Splined shafts connected by a bronze coupler. More tractor than mower, I built an angled grader for it controlled by the up/down handle for the mower and positioned directly under the center of the tractor.

Get that "funny little guy" going and post some pictures.

Bob

Will do. Plan on pulling it out tonight if it doesn't start raining. Can't wait actually.

As promised, here it is.... All I can say is it is small, single cylinder 5 hp engine, pull start only. Has running issues, so the carb is currently off and I am going to see if I can figure out what model it is so I can properly take it apart and clean it. Sure is a cute thing. Only problems besides the rough running is my dad had just spray painted the hood and fenders red quickly and did not do a good job as well as the front fiberglass piece has been crudly repaired. As far as we know we were told it is a craftsman mower.

Looks like a craftsman, but to be honestit doesn’t matter because the engine looks to be a briggs and are super common and parts are easy to find.

Ron nailed it.  B&S, the shroud and muffler are giveaways.  Easy and cheap to repair.

It is a cute little thing, love the vertical steering wheel.  

I think my Craftsman is a Cub Cadet knock-off but I could very easily be wrong. Just has that look.

Bob

Its probably a 190000 seires engine https://www.manualslib.com/products/Briggs-And-Stratton-190000-Series-177655.html If you need help with the carb. PM me and i can asset you .

I had one similar to that for a short time. Took off the mower deck and it would do wheelies. It was fun for a minute or so, but there was no way to let the clutch out slower so that got old fast.

Thanks guys. Eric, I may hit you up for some info later with it if you do not mind.

And yep, it will do wheelies even with the deck. Lol. Worst was when I first tried it, I let the clutch out and was in reverse, so I panicked and dropped it into drive without the clutch.... yep, stood straight up and threw me off. Good memories. Lol.