I mow about .5 acre and my mower died. I am considering one of the small rear engine Snappers. Thoughts?

Used one here in FL for about 15 years, the same one! FWIW

They are great mowers, I cut with one all my life as a kid growing up and then again in this house until the engine on my used 20 year old one slung a rod. I have over 3 acres to cut, so when I went to look at new snappers, the commercial 0-turn mowers really looked tempting. I ended up buying a commercial mower, but if I were in your shoes, a Snapper would be what I'd choose. Get either a 28 or 33" cut mower. The round, turned under decks are much more durable than the 26 or 30" decks. The 26 and 30" decks can snag on things (like pine tree roots in my front yard) and bend under. The rounded decks will bump over things like roots.

Also, they are great to service, you can see exactly how almost everything works from underneath. You can stand them up on the rear bumpers to remove/sharpen the blade, plus grease most things while you're under there.

-Adrian

I bought one and use it on half an acre and love it. Been around forever with little change, parts are easy to find, and it is easy to work on. Simple and easy. I can recommend without reservation.

I bought an old one with a blown engine and put a new engine on it and ran it for ten years. When it finally died, I was short of cash and decided to get a cheaper Murray. It didn't last nearly as long and was a PITA. I am looking for a used Snapper at this time.

For a period of time the rear engine Snapper riders were the most popular mower around my area of the country. For good reason, too. My wife's parents had an ancient Snapper that other than having had the engine replaced a few time over the years, just kept on trucking. From what I've read, Snapper is now owned by Simplicity, since 2002.

I bought mine new in the mid-80's, it had 11hp Briggs IC engine, 33" single blade Hi-Vac deck, w/grease fittings everywhere. At that time I was mowing 2 +/- acres with it and it did fine but was pretty slow going with just the 33" cut.

Good sturdy built mowers, the only major complaint I had with mine was it wore out at least one, sometimes two drive belts a season.

Snapper made an entry level model rider with a 8hp Tecumseh engine that was priced a bit less than their Briggs engine model. Walmart sold them for two or three years but no longer do - here's why The Man Who Said NO to Wal-Mart.

Come to think of it, I don't see any where near the numbers of Snapper mowers around here as there used to be, no idea why, though.

Anyone mowing with a 33" cut vacum deck Snapper Zero turn equiped with a bagger system. Have a 1993 model and I am thinking about replacement. Have an extreme amount of oak leaves to collect in the fall. Would like to talk with someone who has been using one. GW

The old comet 30 is still running fine here. Not sure the life expectancy of those old white painted B&S engins are , but , when it goes it will be a toss up between a new engine and a newer model.

( the operator is NOT the model I'm interested in upgrading )

I had one passed down from my dad that he owned forever. Best thing about them is they would cut short grass on a lawn pretty well but with the way front end was sloped downward it did a decent job on tall grass weeds up to about a foot tall.

Finally just fell apart. Wish I still had it.

I bought a 28 inch... Love it... Great little mower...