Mark, I can't speak to all those issues, but I live on 1 1/4 acres in MI
and get lots of snow on occasion. I started with a 16 hp, hydrostatic used
Bolens with 42" cutter deck, blade and rototiller about 17 years ago. My
theory about grass is: if I can run over it, it's fertilizer. I don't bag or
rake leaves. I think you can get pretty good grass just by keeping it
watered. That, of course, is your personal choice (or your bride's perhaps).
I use chains in the winter. I have a long circular driveway and lots of
parking space. I can plough pretty much any height snow. The deeper it is,
the longer it takes. Getting started in the really deep stuff is a bit of a
challenge. I sit in front of a computer a lot, so snow plowing is fun for
me. I've had pickups do it when I couldn't and they take a lot less time but
they don't do it the way I want. I really liked the hydrostatic because I
have a lot of trees and things to mow around and being able to backup easily
seems awful nice. Same thing for plowing.
I bought the used Bolens because I couldn't afford anything better at the
time. So it became a repair hobby as well. I was forever fixing something.
Often my fault, I'm not gentle.
Two years ago I finally was able to upgrade to an 18 hp John Deere with
hydro type transmission, 48" cutter deck and plow. (No rototiller, I never
used it much, worked great when I did.) Aside from the fact that it works
every time I need it, I really like the manual blade angle adjustment from
the driver's seat. It also goes as fast backwards as forward which is great
for plowing.
As is true of all things, if you can afford it and don't want to do repairs,
quality is the best deal in the long run. Note the recent thread about
tools. Some of my friends who've bought cheap lawnmowers tell me they only
last a couple of years before they give trouble.
On one of my Bolen's repair trips, the old guy at the shop told me it used
to take him 12 hours to cut his grass with a garden tractor just like mine.
He got one of the newer 360 degree rotation mowers and cut his time in half.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
--
Brian
> From: Mark Andy <mark@sccaprepared.com>
> Reply-To: Mark Andy <mark@sccaprepared.com>
> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 14:14:22 -0500 (EST)
> To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
> Subject: lawn tractor advice needed
>
>
> Howdy,
>
> Ok, the land where my shop will be currently has grass on it that needs to
> be mowed... :-)
>
> We're moving into our new house in April. Its a two acre lot, all grass
> that needs to be cut. The push mower I've currently got isn't going to
> cut it... :-)
>
> Lawn tractors seem to be all over the map in terms of features, prices,
> brands, etc.
>
> What do I actually care about?
>
> The area is flat and pretty open (a couple trees to go around, but by and
> large its unobstructed). I'd assume that means I want as wide a cutting
> path as I can afford... Standards seem to be 42" and 48"... Any downsides
> of one over the other?
>
> There are different transmissions available it seems, fully automatic,
> some sorta hydro thing, and manual transmissions. My only criteria for a
> transmission is that I want low maintenance. Are any of these
> significantly better than another in that area or another area?
>
> Horsepower... Presumably more is better, but there are Briggs motors,
> Kohler motors, and Kawasaki motors mentioned a lot. Again, I don't care
> about anything other than having enough power and maintenance costs.
>
> Attachments... Mostly I'm really, really hoping that I can just do a
> mulcher setup and not have to deal with grass clippings. I'm not an anal
> lawn freak. How much do I care about being able to use a bagger system?
> What other attachements are good to have? Would an attached snowblower
> work as well (or nearly as well) as a plow on my truck? (I don't
> currently own either). Will a lawn tractor actually move through the snow
> well enough for real snow removal? The new house is in Ohio and while we
> don't get hammered like some places in the US, significant snow does
> happen.
>
> Anything else? Any brands that are particularly good to use or bad to go
> with? Any reason I should or shouldn't get a Northern Tool chinese lawn
> tractor vs. a John Deere?
>
> I'd appreciate any advice. Obviously I want to spend as little as
> possible, but I also don't want to be wishing I'd spent a bit more at the
> end of the summer either.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mark
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