This is gonna HURT the old wallet.......maybe

[Stanley Steamer]

the mower shop called and told me that the right wheel motor is bad on my Husky Z4217 and that it isn't just because it's low on oil.....hmmmmm.......they said a wheel motor would cost ~$815 from them....$72 labor to change it....and $60ish tax....... ........I found a new wheel motor at Sears parts direct....for around $390 delivered....plus maybe $75 for the shop to replace it for me.....might as well say $500ish......

What's to say that the left wheel motor doesn't give up the ghost next?.....another $500 for that side on a 5 yr old mower??......I have mowed my grass and my In-laws grass with this mower for 5 years....I've taken good care of it and they paid for the mower in exchange for me mowing their grass......they would probably buy another mower for me to use, but I'm not sure I want to go back with another Husky Zero turn mower....Hydro Gear makes the wheel motors for most brands....so, it's not like each manufacturer makes their own hydraulic wheel motors....I just don't want to have to buy a commercial model in any brand since it'll cost twice as much......we only have maybe 1 1/2 acres to mow every two weeks.....

I guess I need to research the ZTR brands in 42-50" size(so it'll fit on my 5' wide trailer)....I need to check the Dixon mowers out.....they have been around about as long as Dixie Chopper....

And then there's the question about what to do with the old mower....other than eating blades pretty fast and the current problem, it was a good mower.....not as nice as my Dixie Choppers at work, but I don't need that much mower for here at home....I guess I could take the damaged wheel motor off and see if I can fix it(I wonder if those guys even tried to see if it was only low on oil?).....If that fixed it, I'd have a back-up mower or could sell it maybe?......

[Walküre]

Wow, tough choice! I have had a Dixon for the last 12  years. Mow about 1/2 acre, never needed anything but occasional adjustment, and one of the eye-bolts that hold a shaft, broke once, and that was a real booger to replace. And I bought it used! Can't complain about it, but I do wonder if they are still made with the same quality, since I think they are now owned by Husqavarna. And the local shop will quit working on them, once they are out of parts in stock, because he said Husqavarna was VERY poor at getting parts out, and then they were often wrong parts. Just his opinions...

Here's a review that Popular Mechanics did:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/outdoor-tools/1273471

I just know I'm not looking forward to buying a new one.

R

[Stanley Steamer]

Thanks......I'm going to read that comparison.....

I have 3 -60" commercial model Dixie Choppers at work...the oldest one is about 15 yrs old and it still mows and runs better than some of our newer choppers.....but then, I made sure the drew cleaned it weekly during the mowing season and the mechanics kept the oil and hydraulic fluid changed out when needed......it'd be nice to have it at home, but it wouldn't fit on my landscape trailer.....and I'm not a thief.....

[JimC]

Stanley,
take a look here and see if one of these will work for you.

https://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?catname=hydraulic&keyword=HMWM

I have had good luck with them, I found a part for my bobcat skid steer that the stealer wanted over $600 and they had it for $99.

They have a lot of other equipment / parts, if you do your own maintenance it can save you a bundle, check out the whole site when you get a chance.

Jim

[Stanley Steamer]

I have to get my mower back and get the actual model # off of the right wheel motor....I'll ck that site and see if they sell it.....Thanks....

[mikeb]

here is what the wife uses to mow our yard .i thought she was going to kill me when i got it ..when i bought this house she made be promise she could do the yard work and when i got this she thought i was replacing her !   i explained that she could mow the whole yard in 1 hour not the three that it was taking her and that we would have more riding time all is well now 
http://www.badboymowers.com/view/pup-commercial-mowers
 mike b and kari b aka gabby

[Kaiser]

Here is what I use:



It's a Wright Sentar.  52" deck, 25HP Kawi.  I can't say enough good things about this mower.  Cut my mowing time from 5+ hours (pushing) to under 1.5 hours.  I got it from my buddy that sold his mowing/landscaping business.  I highly recommend checking these out if/when you buy a new one.

If you are going to get a new mower, trust me - you are better off putting down the extra $$$ for a commercial-grade than for a residential-grade mower.  In the end, it'll cost you the same (two residential-grades for every one commercial-grade) but with less stress and hassle from broken parts, etc.

The downside is that you will never be happy using anything else (residential-grade) again.

Just my .02

[hubcapsc]

We got one of these whacky things... Carolyn uses it to mow what passes for "the yard" at our house... the
horses and the (still in the shop) 8-n get the rest. It has a smallish deck, but it is actually made by
Husqvarna in Sweden instead of being a rebranded consumer grade mower stamped out at the
same factory in China as all the other mowers at the big box store... it is not zero-turn, but it can
turn around in its own footprint...



I can't find a good picture of it with the deck flipped up for cleaning-maintenance, but this is a truly
bizarre machine...



-Mike

[RainMaker]

While I like seeing the lawnmowers, the real story to me is that most of you seem to have your wifes mowing the grass.  

[ChromeDome]

Thank you Stanley for this thread, you have reminded me of why I live in a townhouse .... no grass to mow. 

[hubcapsc]

Thank you Stanley for this thread, you have reminded me of why I live in a townhouse .... no grass to mow. 

What's a "townhouse"?



-Mike 

[Robert]

Stanley if your interested in selling as is pm me.

[Wingman]

If you are going to get a new mower, trust me - you are better off putting down the extra $$$ for a commercial-grade than for a residential-grade mower.  In the end, it'll cost you the same (two residential-grades for every one commercial-grade) but with less stress and hassle from broken parts, etc.

The downside is that you will never be happy using anything else (residential-grade) again.

Just my .02

I absolutely agree with this. Mowers, as with many other things, you generally get what you pay for. If you want to get a quality mower that you can put through its paces, get a commercial. The "Homeowners" line is another way of saying "cheap".; 5 years is typical.



Sorry about the picture quality, but this is my Gravely (Subsidiary of Ariens). It was not easy putting down the cash for this one, it cut my mowing time in half and made the task fun again. Everything about this mower is heavy; it has a welded deck, Kawasaki 19hp twin and I'm hoping that it will last until I retire - I still have my old Snapper rider that I bought new in 94, so I know what I expect from a mower. Buy something from a box store and you will likely get something made by American Yard products - heavy on features and short on strength.

By the way, if you run across a mower with the Briggs Vanguard, that motor is also built by Kawasaki.
If you are cutting often and it seems that you are, you will be happier with a quality machine. Riding the Dixies, I'm sure you already know the difference!

[Kaiser]

What's a "townhouse"?
-Mike 

Mike - I think you have to live in town to have a townhouse.  From what I've seen of your other posts, that isn't something you have to worry about.

[Stanley Steamer]

I talked to my Maw-in-law and she seems to think that she'd rather get another mower than spending between $500-1000 to fix this one wheel motor only to possibly have the other one go out....I'm just not sure she'd want to spend the extra $$ for a commercial grade mower even though it might last twice as long......it was the Inlaws idea to buy the mower and that I'd be their "lawn boy" service....and I have been.....it's kinda of a PIA to have to load the mower up and take it 5 miles down the road to mow their grass.....they have twice as much turf area as I do.....but it was worth it to have something to mow my lawn with without riding that old Snapper that I rebuilt from a worn out shell.....back when I first got this place, I used a push mower....I know I could use the exercise by doing that again, but after spending 8 hrs everyday at work doing this stuff in the blazing heat and freezing cold, I'm not gung ho to do that anymore......it's been 95 and above here in Athens for several weeks now.....99 on the ride home.....the scattered showers seem to hit everywhere BUT here......we need rain....

[R J]

In California on the 10 acre place, I had a GrassHopper, Commercial unit.

I bought it at a Police auction, stolen property recovered and unable to locate the original owner.

We figured the unit was 5 or 6 years old when recovered.

Gave $250 for it, took it home, and we tore it apart, clear down to the frame, motor out and etc.

It had been abused BADLY.

We welded cracks in the frame from what looked like Off Roading.   Was going to go into the motor but decided against it.

Buddy painted the pieces as we finished our repair on them.
 
Put it all back together, had about $550 to $650 in it by then.

Bought new tires, buddy touched up the paint if we had put a blem in it during reinstallation.

It went to mowing grass on the acreage, at least 5 to 7 acres every week.    Usually, I'd start on Monday, and finish on Sunday, ready to start over on Monday.

Ran that mower like that for 15 years.  Retired and moved back to Iowa, when we moved we had a (auction) moving sale, left a lot of mdse back in California.   Like probably 3 semi loads worth.

Sold the Grasshopper for $750 and the guy was happy as a lark to get it.

So low and behold, if I was to ever need a Zero turn again, it would definitely be a Grasshopper.    BUT, they are not or were not cheap back then.  Don't know about now.

[fudgie]

Yea, go with a Grasshopper. We have a 60" that mows 2 farms and my dads place. Takes me 2 hrs to mow mine, little over a hour for my uncles, and hour for dads. Been a great mower with minimal trouble for the year, early 90's i'm guessing. Dixon, eh, depends how you are on it. Neighbor has replaced his gas tank twice this year, leaking at the seams. Farm Impliment dear sells them and he keeps the shop busy fixing them. Its hard to find a good mower these days. Look for a older symplicity or Cub Cadet/IH.

[keythumper]

...  I think my solution works best!

[JerryB]

Did you check on a gang mower for the Valk Stan?

[Stanley Steamer]

I looked around at several different mower brands this weekend......it looks like Hydro-Gear makes most of the hydraulic wheel motors no matter the mower brand.....my Maw-in-Law told me that she wanted to go ahead and have them fix this mower, but if that other side goes out, we'll most likely end up with a new mower.....it's their mower and I left it up to them....her business volume has been down some and she's trying to hold off on another big outlay for a new mower.....Looks like I'll be push mowing both lawns until they Husky is fixed.....just hope it's not 95-100 degrees after work this week....

[Jabba]

I have a Ferris commercial walk behind with a 48" deck.  It'll flat mow grass.  Not like a commercial 0-turn rider... but It'll mow my 1/2 acre in 45 minutes or less, and I have a TON of stuff to cut AROUND.

I gave $1500 for it about 2 years ago.

down side is... it doesn't cut DEEP grass or weeds well.  it bends them over, and the blades never touch them.  When I need to bush hog, I have to get the old 42" deck craftsman 19.5 HP rider out.  I have cut 10,000 acres of grass taller than the hood on that one.  WHAT a surprise it's been.  I bought it as a throw away, and it's been a real workhorse for 12-13 years.  We use it at camp where we mow 10 acres that gets away from us more often than not.

Jabba