picked up a 1984 John Deere 318 a couple weeks ago that i am restoring. I had a 2004 Troy Bilt Pony that was ok but this JD is awesome
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what do you mow your lawn with?
- Thread starter ssmedt
- Start date
No pics, but I'm now the proud owner of a 1980 John Deere 108. I also use my Dad's mower that I brought over with me for all the trim work as well as a Husqvarna weed wacker that I also brought with me.
I put Gator blades on the Deere and home made a mulch plate for it. Using the rider cut my mowing time down from 2 hours to about 1-1 1/4 hours. :wootwoot:
I put Gator blades on the Deere and home made a mulch plate for it. Using the rider cut my mowing time down from 2 hours to about 1-1 1/4 hours. :wootwoot:
Troy Bilt push mower. Our yard is only 1/2 acre, the other 1/4 is wooded. Crazy part is we have what is considered a huge lot of land for our area. About 5 miles south you can get bigger lots, but most acreage runs $50k-$150k per acre depending on location, zoning and distance from water (double to triple the price)
Mower does what I need, takes 2 hours to mow and weed eat.
Mower does what I need, takes 2 hours to mow and weed eat.
gmcman said:
It actually has an upgraded onan performer 20 that was put in a few years ago replacing the 18hp onan. It is an awesome mower; it has a 3 point hitch on the back and the hydrollicly lifted deck makes life really easy got the mower lawn cart pull behind spreader, 4 Cans of jd green paint and msc deck parts all for 1400
My solution is named Miguel. He has a brother. I sit back with a beer and watch them. 
(My small lawn's not tough but the 30 degree slopes above and below the house are too much for my knees.)
(My small lawn's not tough but the 30 degree slopes above and below the house are too much for my knees.)
I alternate between a Craftsman push mower and a Craftsman reel mower. Depending what I feel like dragging out. Between cleaning up after the dog and cutting the grass, it takes less than 10 minutes. My yard is SMALL. On the other hand, been cutting my parents yard all summer (dad had surgery on his shoulder and can't hang on to the tractor) and have been using a New Holland 4X4 Boomer tractor. We use a Woods cutting deck from the rear PTO. They have 55 acres and cut 5 1/2 a week (rest is forest). What we do cut has some steep hills though and takes 8 or 10 hours a week just for the main yard. Also have to weedeat around the house. Use a Craftsman push mower for the culverts.
I live in the woods. I'm lucky if I get weeds to grow. The grass that does exist was mowed by a green Scotts seat-over-engine tractor. After some distant relatives died, we inherited 2 more tractors, a 80's Bolens with a hydrostatic trans and a Simplicity also with a hydro. The Simplicity came with a mowing deck and a snow blower with cab. I still have no idea how to get the Bolens into Neutral. The good news is that when I move out, I'm taking them with me.
You would think a John Deer or some nice zero-turn would do the best job, I discover the best-known mower ever! 2 $20 bills, with these I mow my lawn in seconds, never sweat and maintenance is non-exsistant! larger/complex yards may require 1-3 extra bills. 
ssmedt said:
If you can stand the site of it, just make a plate from 16ga steel to bolt in front of the discharge . Exactly what I used...it's ghetto, but it does what I want it to do.
Also, if you have trouble finding parts, ebay is good (especially for the blades) and this joint: GreenPartStore - Parts for John Deere Lawn Tractors, John Deere Lawn & Garden Tractors, John Deere Mowers, John Deere Attachments, John Deere Accessories I got the manual and some other stuff from them pretty cheap.
John Deere 757. We're on just over 6 acres so the old Craftsman riding mower just wasn't cutting it anymore. (pun intended)
I don't have a picture of mine, but it's just like this...
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I don't have a picture of mine, but it's just like this...
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DJones said:
I have a 1969 Bolens with the hydrostatic drive, I love it. The deck is on the small side, but that makes it easier to store in the winter.
On mine, there is a push/pull pin on the inside of the right rear wheel that disengages the drive from the wheels. Possibly yours has something similar?
Juat a basic crafatman push mower for me...
My father just got one of those cub cadet yellow zero radious turning mowers with a 60" deck... that sucker flies!
cut his mowing down from 6 hours to about 2.5-3 hours now... damn good mowers and they better be with a price tag over of $6k on them!
My father just got one of those cub cadet yellow zero radious turning mowers with a 60" deck... that sucker flies!
cut his mowing down from 6 hours to about 2.5-3 hours now... damn good mowers and they better be with a price tag over of $6k on them!
jbacklund said:
Thats pretty sweet. Never seen one of those before. I imagine it is the same technology that they use for the sweeper you can let loose in your house. What keeps it from going out of your yard and start mowing the neighbors, a fence?
I have my Husqvarna 23hp 48" deck riding mower, Briggs&Stratton push mower, and a Craftmans weed eater for trim work. I also have a Craftman pull behind dump trailer that came free with my Husqvarna. Definitely comes in handy for cleanup in the spring, fall, or after a bad storm.
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Matt said:
MTD's brands
Bolens
Columbia
Cub Cadet
Cub Cadet Commercial
Cub Cadet Yanmar (joint with Yanmar)
Farm King
GardenWay
Gold Series
Gutbrod
Gutbrod-Kehrer
Lawnflite
Mastercut
Mow Master
Mow Master Mastercut
MTD
MTD Black Edition
MTD Silver Edition
MTD Gold
MTD Mowmaster
MTD Platinum Pro
MTD Platinum SD
MTD Pro
MTD Super
MTD Taral
MTD Tradesman
MTD Turbomax
MTD 2000 Elite
Novotrac
Ranch King
Rasentrac
Remington
Ryobi (sold at Costco)
Troy-Bilt
Ventzki
Ventzki MTD
White Outdoor]
Yard Machines
Yard-Man
Yard-Man Elite
Yard-Man Select
YardWorks
American Yard Products is now own by Electrolux
and is under the division of Husqvarna
The older brands
Yard pro
The latest brands include:
Global brands:
Husqvarna
Gardena
McCulloch
Diamant Boart
Tactical brands:
Jonsered
PoulanPRO
Weedeater
Dixon
Regional brands:
Klippo
Flymo
Zenoah
Bluebird
Also includes USA brands:
Poulan Pro, Poulan and WeedEater
Several Sears brands including Craftsman/Pro lawn tools are also made by Husqvarna -- Not all Craftsman models are made by Husqvarna you would need to look at the ID label to find out.
But even the L and D series John Deere's are made by John Deere. The are built to the residential specs of the AYP and MTD tractors are made and use JD spec Briggs engines (whatever that means)
now there is a big difference between a lawn tractor and a garden tractor mainly the ground engaging transmission. garden tractors are a lot more heavy duty then lawn tractors
Matt said:
Very true. We mow a little under 5 acres, so it's a John Deere X-540 for our place! At the time we got it, 2010 I believe, it was the biggest you could go before getting into one with 4WD and a 3 point hitch.
Not my pic, but it's identical to this one.
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The weedeating is taken care of by a big ol Stihl FS250. Also the largest regular weedeater Stihl makes (I see a pattern
) One notch up and you get into the fixed blade brushcutters.Again, not my pic, but like this one, only with the loop handle instead of bike bars.
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ssmedt said:
Kevin,
if you look at the outlet of the mowing deck, there should be a few square holes.....I took a piece of 2x8 and trimmed it to fit the opening of the outlet and screwed it into the outlet. I have the bagger for my 318....so I have the high lift blades, if you have the lift blades and just block off the outlet like I did, you now have a mulching deck.
Purchased from a ins.co. after a barn fire. Restored it in 99 and it's been mowing ever since. It's a 79 or 80 ,4cyl. gas, 5' cut. I mow 2.5 acres.
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the roadie said:My solution is named Miguel. He has a brother. I sit back with a beer and watch them.
I new Manual Labor was a mexican farm worker!!
you just proved my point. 
I used to mow my lawn with a Remington 24V Electric Mower.
Then I had a bright idea of putting down some weed and feed. Apparently, I had been mowing weeds...
The mower sits in the garage next to the race car, for about 5 months now.
Then I had a bright idea of putting down some weed and feed. Apparently, I had been mowing weeds...
The mower sits in the garage next to the race car, for about 5 months now.
I was nice and bought my kids a John Deere LA120 to cut our 1.3 acres. I use an MTD push mower for around the house but need to invest in a combo weed whacker/brush cutter. The MTD needs a good shot of carb cleaner but with 12 (I think) internal combustion engines and 3 trailers in the fleet, keeping up with the maintenance is a challenge.