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spencerin
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2021 10:39pm
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I'm going to be buying a used riding (not zero-turn) mower off CL. Any brands you recommend, ones I should steer clear of, or features I should make sure I get given what I'm going to be mowing? I'm going to be cutting about an acre, most of it sloped, but far from steep.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2021 11:31pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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Many of the less expensive, even in good old brand names, are made by MTD. When brand named they tend to be more expensive, some will have better 'specs' on a few things but really not a lot of diff.
What I have been looking at more than the mower/lawn or garden tractor platform is the engine reliability or not, issues, failings, etc.
There is plenty online to digest.
Having had a Husky branded (MTD) lawn tractor for going on 12 years now for our home 1.3 ac with maybe 1/4 of that mowed I can tell you to be wary of the larger HP B&S Intek single cylinder engines. The B&S Intek twins are another story though Im sure someone will have had 'issues' with that engine too.
Some Kohler sgls from 8-10 years ago (?) are well regarded but the good used ones are getting hard to find. Last one I saw last fall had a ton of hours on it (no meter but I could tell from overall condition) and the shop still wanted $1200 for what I considered a $400 rig. For that asking price they hadnt even replaced the almost bald front tires and the deck blades were worn out.
Btw, most mower decks are ill-maintained and the bearings in the blade towers are bad. The bearing sets are not terribly expensive on Amazon, and complete replacement towers are readily available and easily swapped. They will still have the underlubricated bearing sets from the factory. You must pop one seal off each bearing, the seal that faces inside, and properly lube them. Not hard, messy and futzy. If you put a grease zerk on each tower and have the 2 inside bearing seals off you can periodically grease them with a g-gun and they will likely outlive the rest of the rig.
Good luck and may you be blessed with a good tool set and skills.
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paulz
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# Posted: 14 Apr 2021 05:09am
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Good thread on this subject last year
https://www.small-cabin.com/forum/1_9777_0.html#msg134897
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Brettny
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# Posted: 14 Apr 2021 05:55am
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I have had husqvarna and 2 craftsman. One craftsman was the gt5000 24hp 54in cut. Its deck height could never get high enough for my yard and the deck mandrels must have been made from glass. Basically the same for the husqvarna except that one the engine would wobble around on the frame and the bolts where tight.
Bought a bobcat mower a few years ago and once you see how much better these light commercial units are built you wont spend good money on box store junk. All thses dealer only mowers also sell walk behinds
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