I am in the market for a mower, I've got about 2½ acres so I figure a rider would be preferable. around 2-3k for budget. I know the primary thing to look for is who makes the engine, Briggs/Honda/Kawasaki being the recommended.
>>29950213 Ecovacs GOAT 1600s or one Luba 2 10000
>>2995026I don't want some Chinese data harvesting device used to determine if my lawn is good as a drop zone for CCP paratroopers.
>>2995021i have a Toro Timecutter Max 54" and mow about 3 acres with it, the 5 gallon tank can mow everything without refilling with fuel to spare, which is nice compared to my old Husqvarna that needed to 2 refills to do the same job. the Ultima ZT1 was my other choice and the more budget friendly option, the better spec'd Cub Cadets have the same Kawasaki 23hp engine as the Toro which is the preferred choice for that mower size. i went with the Toro as it has a beefier 10 gauge steel frame and fabricated deck and there are a lot of plastic parts on the Ultima that are steel on the Toro. my land is still pretty bumpy and mostly rock-free so i went with the heavier duty choice. they are very similar on paper but once you get your hands on them you can tell which is for homeowners with big lawns and which is for handling tougher conditions. I've only had to change the oil once and do basic maintenance on the filters and it runs great, but needs a good battery to turn over properly. i keep mine on a 12v solar battery tender and thats the only way to get it started until i get a new battery for it.
>>2995029alright cool, thanks. I do have "just a big lawn" so maybe the Toro would be overkill. I wasn't really looking at the ZT1 specifically, I just grabbed an image off the internet. it doesn't have to be a zero turn
>>2995027I will sell my soul and butthole to the chinese to not have to mow lawn.
>>2995040normal mowers are fine if you want to keep the cost down and just drive in a straight line to take care of a big lawn, just know that once you splurge on a Zero Turn you will never go back.
>>2995047I have used one before so I know, and I know how much more expensive they are. I'm like 65-35 leaning towards a zero turn. the chief concern is durability/reliability, I don't want to drop several grand on some disposable JD tractor from the Home Depot.
>>2995048even the jd shit from the stealership is trash. fucking joke brand. my shop landlord has an x530 he bought new in 2009 for $5700 (!) and his wife neuroticly mows about 2 ac a week. that piece of shit is constantly breaking down from wear parts. belt sheaves and guage wheels/bushings are eaten like candy and the $15 scamazon ones last exactly the same service time as the $200 jd "genuine" chinkshit. i bet hes spent $15k buying new bagger components for it. it eats up a $2k blower every year like clockwork. just fucking junkhe shoulda bought a 4xxx series with a loader and a finish mower for his wife to play in the garden with instead
>>2995021
>>2995050from what I know, Cub Cadet isn't much better these days. gold standard during the International-Harvester era, now is all third party rebranded junk.>>2995051I was asking for advice from people who already have mowers, but whatever dude
>>2995029Toro and Exmark is shit. Both are the same. Use to work at the Exmark Plant in Beatrice, Nebraska and would also make Toro Units.Use to have a few people that would cover holes in the welds with melted China Marker so they wont have to send them back to get rewelded and painted. Most of the people that build them are retarded or lazy ass Gen Z that can't do anything right there.A good chunk of them had welds that cracked or didn't even stick. I would reject a lot of them but the supervisor in assembly would bitch about not have frames to build with and having to stay late.QAs and QCs will push trash out so they wont get bitched at for lack of parts. Parts bent wrong, missing threads on bolts, holes in wrong areas, welded wrong, missing welds, not fully painted, on and on. On full build nights (30-40 lawn mowers) about 10 to 16 of them are bad in someway or dont get built that night due to parts missing because they are bad.Most of the factory is a shit show. The wannabe "badass welders", robots that shit themselves, to people that they think they are better painters than others but end up getting their asses jumped because they suck at it. The factory is ran by people that are incapable of even doing the basic functions of their job.Right now Toro cant get their head out of their ass because they will buy and sell off different companies. Exmark will hire a lot, fire half of it months later, get rid of third shift, hire more people, get rid of half, now they are trying to hire more people because of them firing or people quitting. But end of June is coming so they are going to lay off soon for three weeks (they do this every year, same time). Two years ago we got laid off for a week or two every other month. Now they want to bring third shift back.Only thing I miss was the pay and having that "summer vacation" at the end of June.
>>2995021I wanted a Bobcat ZT7000 but no dealer was close enough to me. That is out of your stated budget though. I ended up wit a Gravely HD60. Also out of your price range but much closer. I had a cub cadet for years and it was cheap junk.With your lot size, buy something prosumer or commercial. It will last your lifetime. I went through 2 john deere and that one cub cadet cutting not much more property than what you have. just buy more than what you need.
>>29950482-3 grand barely even buys a decent standard tractor these days, anon, much less a zero turn. Is your lawn flat? Something to consider because regular tractors and kinda shit at turning going uphill, so you'll need chains or non-standard tires.From my experience, as long as the engine is not a Kohler, I've never had too many issues as long as you keep the machine as simple as possible. Electric PTOs and the like are fine while they work, but ultimately the standard mechanical PTO is best, IMO.
>>2995021Have a Toro Timecutter 50in zero turn.Kawasaki motor. Paid about $4500 new.Very happy with it. Easy to work on once you learn the process of unhooking shit to change blades or belt or whatever. Parts are easy to find and not retarded expensive. Swapped out the front wheels for no-flat tires. Just make sure you have a decent socket set and breaker bar if you plan to service it yourself. Broke two cheap 5/8 sockets swapping the blades out.And honestly it's fun to drive and I have have 6 acres with about half of that needing mowing every week or so.
>>2996037Goats don't actually like grass, anon. They prefer leaves, tall weeds, bushes, etc. Stuff at their eye level. Eating grass isn't really good for them, either, because they piss and shit, eat it and get parasites. You want a lawnmower animal, get a cow.
>>2995029>>2995965Can say Toro and Exmark is shit. "New" lawn mower "Big Mac" is shit. It's part of the Lazer Z X-Series line. White niggers call it Biggie. Quality has gone to shit a lot.They hire too many people that don't give a shit about working and just their for the pay. This is the only place that will start you off at $20+ a hour, benefits on day one, with no experience in this town. If you are worth a shit, they will start you off as a temp and roll you over in 3 to 6 months.
>>2996544Forgot to add +$2 extra a a hour when working 2nd/3rd shit (when they bring back 3rd).
>>2996544ESL retard
>>2996001I picked up a Toro Timecutter 50in with a Kohler 7000 series 24hp, used but great condition for $1,200 (needed new tires and batree). No issue last season, but blew deck belt yesterday gotta figure out how to drop deck and gonna put new blades on it while it's down, see if any way to oil or grease spindles.
>>2995021Grasshoppers are very reliable
>>2996544Jesus christ dude, fast food workers make more than that. What shithole do you live in that pays wages like that?>Nebraska, population less than that Shakira concert in RioOh, yeah, that tracks. No decent employers means no competition and therefor shitty pay.>>2995021Get a Honda.
>>2996558>Bitching about spelling, grammar, or someones language on the internet.No one cares that you think you are better than others. Drop your superiority complex faggot.No one has ever cared about spelling, grammar, or language in chat rooms, forums, etc since the 90s.
>>2996581Cost of living is low besides for cities such as Lincoln or Omaha. Fast food is now minimum wage in most towns here. Neapco here pays $16.50 but will work your ass 7 days a week because there is no labor law about it. Landoll in Marysville KS is $17 for low level jobs. Accuma is $18 but you work like 5 12 hour days.Most jobs don't pay shit in the area.
>>2995021I do my 3 acres with an electric self propelled walk behind mower.I enjoy the walk.Doesn't take too long either.A lot cheaper that way too.
I bought a used exmark lazer-z from a landscaping company selling off old equipment, even when well used it's a way better machine than what's available on the homeowner end of the market.
>>2995021Pay some beaner to do it
>>2997097Ah fair enough.I get that here too and humidity but most sane people wouldn't want to walk around in that.Last year my poor lawn was crisp all year after the 1st mowing.I had no more mowing to do at least lolThis year has been non-stop rain and overcast.
>>2995050t- J.D. tech..(FWIW)Deere has outsourced a lot of smaller components (Stuff you find on residential mowers) to Chinaland, and the quality is absolute shit.Shit like belt idler pulleys, that used to outlast the mower blades are dying before the thing can get out of warranty. I've replaced hundreds of the things.This is mainly on the residential stuff, but the china/india shit is starting to turn up in the commercial and AG products. Chinese for things like bearings, electrical components and smaller parts, and India for things like castings and gearboxes. They all suck, and the quality control is basically a work of fiction.Hopefully the metric fuckton of warranty claim parts being fired back at them, would convince them to get parts from a source less likely to produce shit, but I doubt it. From what I've seen, ALL the current makers of homeowner mowers are selling overpriced shit full of fragile, poorly made chineseium parts.I can not recommend any currently made residential mower, as they all are simply not worth the money. There are some I would not take at half the price, and many I would not take for free.
>>2995021Buy a 2023 Simplicity (they are no longer made for the USA market).The caddilacs of mowers, made by Mr Briggs and Mr Stratton themselves.
