# Riding Mower, Sears



## memphislawyer (Mar 2, 2007)

Wanting to get a riding mower for a 3/4ths acre yard, side yard has a bit of a small hill to it. Went to Home Depot, a Cub Cadet for $1699 or a Sears Craftsmen for $1549.00
1) Is it a big deal that there is a cast iron front end vs. steel
2) Single arm or double arm steering
3) shift on the go vs. automatic vs. hydrostatic automatic
what is the thoughts of quality of Craftsman vs. Troy Bilt and Cub Cadet and Sears.
They have a Troy Built gear shift, no wheels on the deck, 42" for $1000 at Lowes. 46" automatic cub cadet at lowes for $1699, the ariens is $1000 but no wheels, and Sears has a hydrostatic, all cast iron, 6" double arm radius turning and 4 wheels on the deck, 46" cut for $1600 with free delivery and 12 months no interest (they wont discount it at all if I pay cash)
Any thoughts?


----------



## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Can't comment too much, but here's what I do know. 

*Craftsman is Sears house brand (aka more profit for Sears). Home Depot likely has a similar house brand. Both will be the most advertised one in the store, and generally have the best warranties compared to like price points.

*Cast iron is more brittle than forged steel for hard impact (if you run into something). So it really depends on what you're doing. If it's straight up mowing, no issue. If you think you may be bumping it brush/debris/etc, it may come into play....

*If you want a cash discount, go to an independent dealer, but you won't get a house brand like a Craftsman. A lot of Motorcycle/ATV places also have access to lawnmowers (or can point you to the local dealer). They'll be more likely to cut you a break on price, but they're base margin isn't as good, so it kinda evens out, with the no interest deal.

Hope that helps some.


----------



## Youthful Repp-robate (Sep 26, 2011)

I'm no expert on riding mowers, since the only time I've used one is on my aunt's lawn, which has some pretty steep hills. Regarding the transmissions: I'm not sure quite what the differences are, but if any one of those mowers won't let you lock into low gear easily, walk away.


----------



## MacTweed (Oct 30, 2011)

The benefit to purchasing a Craftsman lawnmower is in parts. With the Craftsman mower you will receive a detailed parts breakdown and diagram, and you can order any replacement part you need (right on down to tiny washers/bolts) via phone, in store, or online.

Craftsman is a good brand. I have had a Craftsman walk behind, rear-drive mower for about 6 years. The only thing it has ever needed is a new blade and a tune-up (spark plug, air filter, oil change). It starts on the very first pull every time (even the first start of the season). Sears has always made high quality stuff, and they stand behind their products with their warranties. My vote would be a Craftsman mower (unless you wanted to spend the extra on a John Deere - which is even better).


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

I've been maintaining our couple of acres with the same John Deere tractor for the past 22 years and hopefully will be doing so for the rest of my life. They may cost a bit more, but, as the advertisements claim, "Nothing runs like a Deere!"


----------



## andy b. (Mar 18, 2010)

I have Eagle beat, my John Deere 110 rolled off the assembly line in August of 1966, and I still use it all summer to mow my lawn (I used to mow almost three acres with it, but now only do about 1/2 acre, I use a real farm tractor for the rest). This is a real JD 110, not the stamped junk Home Depot currently sells as a new model 110. I have changed the drive belt on it, and the oil, that is it. The nice thing is, I can go to the local Deere dealer and order almost any part I need, and they will have it.

If you have a lawn that needs to be mowed on a regular basis, plan on mowing it for years, and you genuinely need a lawn tractor to do it (and aren't just lazy with 200 square feet of lawn), I would purchase a quality mower. I bought my 110 used 15 years ago. There are plenty of used Deeres for sale. Yes, a 20-year-old Deere may cost $2000, but there is a reason they do. Most 20-year-old Craftsmans have already been melted down and made into a new Craftsman 2 or 3 times after 20 years.

If you want a Deere, go to the Deere lawn and garden dealer and look at the real lawn tractors, not the small ones sold at home improvement stores. Most of them are just Deeres in name only, and built at similar facilities that stamp out Craftsman and a host of other low-end lawn tractors.

I've read that a hydrostatic transmission will use approximately 20% of the tractor's rated horsepower to drive the hydraulics to drive the transmission above the normal losses in a geared transmission. I have never conducted any measurements of my own, so I can't confirm that. I don't own any hydro-drive equipment (other than an old front end loader), but I have driven a few of them. If I was to buy a new tractor (lawn or farm), I'd probably go with the hydro only because it is like driving a Cadillac. :biggrin: 

As for cast iron being brittle, that is certainly not the case on real farm equipment. 90% of the metal on a farm tractor is cast iron. It is very rare to crack a casting unless you are doing something you shouldn't be doing, like smashing into trees or rolling the tractor down an embankment. 

Andy B.


----------



## adonohoo (Jul 25, 2009)

I believe Deere is getting out of the small lawn tractors or maybe the small snow throwers. If you are thinking of getting a Deere, I insure a lot of small Deere dealers and can get their recommendations as most are honest. Good luck with the purchase and most importantly for this forum are you going to wear a nice seersucker suit while mowing?


----------



## Regillus (Mar 15, 2011)

In my teenage years I mowed my parents 3-acre lawn with a Sears riding mower. We started with a 24-incher; then went to a 30-incher; then a 48-incher which was finally big enough. The Sears mowers always worked well; never had any major problems with them.


----------



## Wildblue (Oct 11, 2009)

FWIW, I've always wanted a house with a yard big enough to justify a riding lawn mower. When I moved to Alaska, I got that, a house on 2.25 acres, including about 1 acre of lawns. I had to tear up and re-seed the entire lawn, and also needed something for clearing a decent driveway of Alaska winter snow, so I got a Craftsman garden tractor from Sears, with a bunch of attachments. They're tow-behind for the lawn and dirt attachments, and in the winter I drop the under mowing deck and put a snowblower attachment on the front. It was the right solution for me, although this winter being record cold and snowfalls, it overwhelmed my snow clearing ability. To be fair, though, it also overwhelmed other guys with snowblowers, and those that put a plow blade on the front of their ATV's & side-by-sides. You really had to have a truck and plow this winter, but it's a rareity.

Anyways, yes, I also got some sort of sale and financing deal when I bought it, which worked out great. I've had issues with the tractor over the last 4 years, but have resolved them. It was a good choice for me.

One big question is, though, HOW BIG IS THE YARD THAT YOU WILL BE MOWING WITH THE UNIT?


----------



## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

While I live in an apartment, my father has had two craftsman mowers over the past 18 years in his home to mow his 6-acre lawn. The first, purchased new in 1994 was sold to the manager of a store I worked at in early high school for $300. It had dropped the drive belt and my father used it as an excuse to buy a mower with a larger deck. I am friends with that boss still and he uses it every weekend on his 5-acre lawn, apparently with nothing but oil changes and a new set of tires.

On another note, in college, I worked a few summers at Home Depot and learned that, if you follow the chain, eventually, MTD makes almost all of the house brand mowers for box stores (and Sears, if you don't consider them a box) out there along with almost all of the garden tractor lines from John Deere, Murray, and Cub Cadet. Some are under various entities such as American Yard Products, Poulan, Toro, etc, but are all ultimately MTD. Basically, if it uses a Briggs and Stratton motor, it was made by MTD. 

That said, Troy Bilt is not MTD at all. However, it is a decent mower.

So... pick which mower has the features you want and fits best into your price range because the difference is quality is nominal. I think the best value is in the Cub Cadet or Craftsman lines. They tend to offer the most features without the added markup of Toro or Deere.

EDIT: I recall a great Cub Cadet that had a gas pedal ( a rare feature) that could also be locked in to work like a normal mower so you didn't have to push it all the time, but was great for ferrying from the shed to the yard or when towing a trailer full of brush out to the curb.


----------



## Wildblue (Oct 11, 2009)

Huh... mine also has "gas pedal" of sorts, and just like a gas pedal, I can vary the speed by only pushing it with my foot part-ways. I can also lock it at full throttle if desired, like cruise control. I can't use that in the winter with the snowblower, as I'm constantly stopping, starting, and backing up. But it's useful when doing a lot of lawn mowing over a big area, so the foot doesn't get tired.


----------



## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Wildblue said:


> Huh... mine also has "gas pedal" of sorts, and just like a gas pedal, I can vary the speed by only pushing it with my foot part-ways. I can also lock it at full throttle if desired, like cruise control. I can't use that in the winter with the snowblower, as I'm constantly stopping, starting, and backing up. But it's useful when doing a lot of lawn mowing over a big area, so the foot doesn't get tired.


Well, it is very likely that there is a technology and features trickle down, where something starts in the high end lines and ends up in all of the lines after a season or two. I worked at HD in the summers of 08 and 09 and haven't looked at tractors in Sears since probably 2006 so I'm sort of out of the loop on anything past 2009 in HD or 2006 in Sears.


----------



## andy b. (Mar 18, 2010)

I'm guessing wildblue has a modern hydrostatic transmission. They have a "gas pedal", only it is varying the flow of hydraulic fluid through the transmission to vary the tractor's ground speed, not actually changing the throttle position like on an automobile. I could be wrong, but that is what it sounds as though he is describing.

Andy B.


----------



## Wildblue (Oct 11, 2009)

I think you're right, andy!


----------



## memphislawyer (Mar 2, 2007)

on its way: 46" deck, hydrostatic transmission, 24 hp, dual cylinder Craftsman

bought a mulching kit

issue: any advice on how to raise the mower up to access the deck so I can swap out the blades, as I dont have any ramps?


----------



## stmoore1 (Jun 23, 2011)

Anyone have experience with Husqvarna? I don't own one of their mowers, but their chain saws are amazing. Luckily my yard is small enough that I can tackle it with my Craftsman 18" reel mower in about 20 minutes.


----------



## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

memphislawyer said:


> on its way: 46" deck, hydrostatic transmission, 24 hp, dual cylinder Craftsman
> 
> bought a mulching kit
> 
> issue: any advice on how to raise the mower up to access the deck so I can swap out the blades, as I dont have any ramps?


Just a set of ramps and a shirt you won't mind getting grass stains on. We have some old steel ramps like the ones below, but also attached is an image of the "new style" ramps which are much lighter and easier to store.


----------



## Wildblue (Oct 11, 2009)

Hmmmmm... so far, I haven't had a need to jack up my tractor. I can do most of the work I need while sitting on a Craftsman rolling stool, only occasionally going to the ground to swap out the mowing deck. If I were to need access to the actual blades, I'd rather just drop the deck and then flip it up on its side. Not sure if you can do that.

I'll be changing my oil and filter in the spring, once the snow melts. I don't anticipate having to get under the tractor.


----------



## Regillus (Mar 15, 2011)

memphislawyer said:


> on its way: 46" deck, hydrostatic transmission, 24 hp, dual cylinder Craftsman
> 
> bought a mulching kit
> 
> issue: any advice on how to raise the mower up to access the deck so I can swap out the blades, as I dont have any ramps?


It may be possible to raise the mower deck high enough to reach the blades with you laying on the ground. That's how I did it years ago. I raised the deck to its max height; laid a canvas tarp down next to the mower, and laid down on the tarp and reached under to the blades. Might work for you too.

Sounds like you got this one:
*Craftsman Hydrostatic Yard Tractor 24hp V-Twin Briggs & Stratton Turn Tight 46 In. - Non CA*

Sears Item# 07128857000 | Model# 28857

It's a nice mower with plenty of power, and that fancy automatic transmission (all mine were manual-shift) should make the work easier. I like that pressurized engine oil delivery system. That's better than the old oil-splash system. Your engine should run smoother and last longer. The wheels on the deck will help keep the deck from digging into the dirt and possibly bending the deck. And its got headlights! You can mow in the dark! Cool!


----------

