I have about 2 acres to mow. I live in a small town and the only
mowers I have access to are those at a local Sears outlet and I can
drive 30 miles to a Lowes. I just want the best buy for the money.
If I could keep the cost close to $1000-1200, that would be great. Of
the mowers in that price range, what would you recommend. THanks

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006 22:56:02 GMT, wrote:

I have about 2 acres to mow. I live in a small town and the only
mowers I have access to are those at a local Sears outlet and I can
drive 30 miles to a Lowes. I just want the best buy for the money.
If I could keep the cost close to $1000-1200, that would be great. Of
the mowers in that price range, what would you recommend. THanks

If the Sears can get you parts, go with them. One thing every mower
needs is parts. As far as model, so much depends on the way your yard
is layed out. If it is fairly flat and without many obstacles, a
standard transmission will work fine, if it is full of things to mow
around, add a few hundred to your budget and get hydrostatic drive.

Chris Hill wrote in
:

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006 22:56:02 GMT,
wrote:

I have about 2 acres to mow. I live in a small town and the
only mowers I have access to are those at a local Sears outlet
and I can drive 30 miles to a Lowes. I just want the best buy
for the money. If I could keep the cost close to $1000-1200,
that would be great. Of the mowers in that price range, what
would you recommend. THanks

If the Sears can get you parts, go with them. One thing every
mower needs is parts. As far as model, so much depends on the
way your yard is layed out. If it is fairly flat and without
many obstacles, a standard transmission will work fine, if it is
full of things to mow around, add a few hundred to your budget
and get hydrostatic drive.



Amen to the parts issue. The number one requirement is that
whatever brand with whoever's engine, IT MUST BE PRESSURIZED WITH
AN OIL FILTER! The neighbor and I bought almost identical Sears
tractors within a week of each other for almost exactly the same
price. His had a Kohler engine w/filter. Mine had B&S w/o. His
is still running strong, I am on second engine and it is toast.

If your land is relatively flat and smooth, go for a 42" or larger
deck. You will definitely want the little outrider wheels on the
deck to make sure you don't scalp any areas. Hydrostatic is nice,
but in my opinion, the more important factor for mowing around
things is the turning radius.

Another consideration is mulch vs bag vs blow it out the side. My
wife used to like to use the bagged clippings as weed control
around the base of the dozen or so trees on our acre. I finally
said fine, but only every other cutting, so that there would be
some clippings returned to the soil. A mulching plate for the exit
is no big expense, but a bagger can run several hundred dollars.

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:44:12 GMT, tim wrote:


Amen to the parts issue. The number one requirement is that
whatever brand with whoever's engine, IT MUST BE PRESSURIZED WITH
AN OIL FILTER! The neighbor and I bought almost identical Sears
tractors within a week of each other for almost exactly the same
price. His had a Kohler engine w/filter. Mine had B&S w/o. His
is still running strong, I am on second engine and it is toast.

Hnmmm, you must do a lot of mowing. Last mower ran about nine years
here before I gave it away. It has a bs engine with no filter and was
still running fine. I went with a filter on the new Craftsman.


If your land is relatively flat and smooth, go for a 42" or larger
deck. You will definitely want the little outrider wheels on the
deck to make sure you don't scalp any areas. Hydrostatic is nice,
but in my opinion, the more important factor for mowing around
things is the turning radius.

Probably true. Big downside of the hydrostat is that it isn't as
efficient as mechanical gearing, so one might want a slightly larger
engine to compensate.

Another consideration is mulch vs bag vs blow it out the side. My
wife used to like to use the bagged clippings as weed control
around the base of the dozen or so trees on our acre. I finally
said fine, but only every other cutting, so that there would be
some clippings returned to the soil. A mulching plate for the exit
is no big expense, but a bagger can run several hundred dollars.

And is another thing to store.

Chris Hill wrote:
Probably true. Big downside of the hydrostat is that it isn't as
efficient as mechanical gearing, so one might want a slightly larger
engine to compensate.

Another big problem with hydrostatic drives is that in winter they turn
into sluge-o-static (emphasis on the static) drives. I got my garden
tractor in December along with a big snowthrower and the first time I
tried to use it I got partly down the driveway and it just stopped
moving and the drive was making weird noises. I stopped, pushed the
$&$% thing back into the garage, and called. I found out the oil used
in the drives can't handle low temperatures! Doh! WTF were they
thinking when they sold it to me in December in Minnesota with a
snowthrower? That I would use it the next summer or something?

Even after changing the transmission oil to something better (Mobil 1
15W-50 synthetic) it still does not work well in the winter when it is
cold.