Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Riding Mowers for 3/4 acre

Best-worst.

42 inch deck-48 inch deck.

John Deere

Cub Cadet

?

Thanks for the input.

Thanks for the input

Simplicity Broadmoor 20p B&S V Twin with a 46" 3 blade deck

The rollers on the back of the deck make a beautiful stripe. Checker board patters are awesome.
https://www.simplicitymfg.com/us/en/tractors/broadmoor

JD338

I'm biased, I'd put Husqvarna w/Kohler engine and 46" deck ahead of Cub Cadet, right behind John Deere.

Never used either of these but I have a zero turn SCAG freedom 48in and I can do my half acre house site in about 45 minutes after I learned to drive that beast.

For probably 10 years I had a bottom-rung John Deere L-series with a Kohler engine for my 2 acre yard. I think it was a 42" cut. Once I figured out how to keep the deck adjusted, it never saw the shop. It wasn't garaged either. Ethanol, non-ethanol, it didn't care. Been sitting for 4 months? No worries, just make sure the battery has juice. The deck finally rusted through, mainly because I didn't clean the debris off it and it was in the weather. I sold it for parts, but it was running like a champ. Couldn't kill the thing and I certainly tried. If I went back to cutting my own grass, I'd probably look at John Deere again. Same goes for my Shindaiwa T230X line-trimmer. It's now 11 years old and has never seen the shop. These days, I only run it in the fall with a beaver blade to clear shooting lanes, but it keeps on chugging along.

I more than got my money's worth from those two items.

About five years ago I needed a mower so I go to Home Depot and buy the cheapest 42 inch cut they had with a Briggs and Stratton engine. It was a Poulan, probably an MTD. I mow about two acres and it has never needed anything but new blades and one battery. Grass grows fast here, so all spring I mow twice a week. I would like to have one of those fancy zero turn mowers but $5000 vs $800 keeps me from having one. miles

My yard is 1 1/4 acres and I mow with a John Deere 130. It's not the fastest machine in the world but it turns tight and I haven't had a problem in 3 years. Takes me a little less than an hour to do the yard with it.

I have a 42" deck on a cub cadet with the Kawasaki motor and I have no complaints over the past 2 years since I got it.

I have a Simpicity Regent 38" mower. I mow a 1 acre lot and it's a bit rough in spots and not level. It's been used 7 hard years and is still going strong. I've replaced the battery once. They cost about $500 more than a Cub or Deere but there is a quality difference. The mower deck adjusts to your yard by means of a roller across the back of the deck. The others have "no scalp" wheels that only keep the deck from getting too close. They all have a plus and minus.

I have a deere GX255 with kawasaki engine that is 7 years old. Never a single problem .......except when my son drove it over a 2' wall

A 42" deck will generally have 2 blades that will give you a better cut than the 3 on most 48" decks, along with one less pulley/beariing assembly to wear out

Good to know. I wasn't aware that most 48" decks had 3 blades.

Most I've looked at are that way
There may be a few that use two blades, but not that I've seen

The all have a common problem the Tuff Torque K46 transaxle, but with proper maintenance and allowing the trans to cool it is not a big deal, most people run them and grass fills in the cooling sinks and the trans over heats. I bought a Husquvarna 22V46, with the Briggs, I talked to a couple of shops and about the Briggs vs the Kohler, and the both said they see the same amount of problems with both, just be sure to get a v twin. So far I have about 6 hrs on my mower, and love it. The 46 is a only two blades as well.

This! I just bought the same, it's a 22hp with 44" deck and the Broadmoor has the k57 tranny which is superior to what you get in a similarly priced Deere. And if you want a nice cut Simplicity has all others beat in spades. Great machine.

I am partial to MTD.

i'd stay away from cub cadet products sold in big box home improvement stores. they are not warrantied the same as a model sold buy a cub dealer. that is my first hand experience.

personally, i'd spend the money and go get a zero turn, but my time is valuable. if your time is not, or you like sitting on a mower, i wouldn't spend the extra.

MTD actually builds many of the mowers in the US
The last MTD "Yardman" I owned was a POS with the absolute worst deck attachemnt design I've ever seen.

I ended up GIVING it away

[bleep] a bunch of zero turns. Spending 45 mins vice 35 mins is a real bitch.

The humanity... It would take me an extra beer to finish the lawn.