How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

I've got a 10 year old JD LT150 with between 500 and 600 hours on it, and its still running strong. I expect something else will break and put it out of commission before the engine does, but I don't expect that to be any time soon. If you take care of your equipment, it'll usually last a lot longer than expected. Every piece of small engine equipment I've had or used has lasted at least 15 years. 500 hours in nearly 20 years is pretty "low mileage" though. That's roughly 25 hours a year. I consider mine "low mileage".

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

:laughing:

reddragon said:

the biggest are engine and tranny....i would say when one of those go....you might want to start looking for a replacement mower....unless you can get a good deal on used parts....hrs are ambiguous ....its how hard those hrs are....if you dont know the history...i would play it safe and upgrade

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Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

kalaukia37 said:

:laughing:[/QUOT

WELL GENTLEMEN; I HAVE A JOHN DEERE, A115, 42 inch deck, 19 hp. IN 2006, bought it new at LOWES. ONLY HAD ONE MINOR PROBLEM, THE IDLER PULLY BROKE. COST ME $12.00 TO FIX. ALSO UPGRADED THE BATTERY MANY YEARS AGO. I HAVE ONLY ABOUT 75 HOURS ON IT, PRAISE THE LORD! I HAVE ONE ACRE TO CUT, BUT IN THE SUMMER TIME, THE GRASS DOES NOT GROW, SO I JUST PUT ON THE TRINCKLE BATTERY CHARGER TO KEEP THE BATTERY ALWAYS FULLY CHARGED. JUST CHANGED. I JUST CHANGED THE OIL AND OIL FILTER LAST WEEK. ONLY USE FULLY SYMTHETIC FOR MAX PERTECTION. I AM A RETIRED MACHINIST. ALWAYS KEP IT INSIDE YOUR GARAGE. NEVER COVER IT UP! THAT CAUSES CONDENSATION.

NOW I ALSO BOUGHT A NEW STX 38 OVER 22 YEARS AGO. NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT UNTIL THE DECK ARM RUSTED OUT, ON ME, SO I GAVE IT TO MY FRIEND. IT IS STILL RUNNGING TODAY. JUST WELDED THE DECK ARM BACK. I DESERVED A NEW MOWER ANYWAY. HERE IN HAWAII, WE HAVE ONLY ONE DEALER. VERY, VERY BAD SERVICE IN THE PAST.THEY MOVED SO I DO NOT KNOW IF THE NEW DEALER WILL BE OK. AS FAR AS HOW LONG IT WILL LAST, WELL HERE IS A LITLE SECRET: ALWAYS GREASE YOUR NIPPLES WHEN REQUIRED.

NEVER WASH YOUR DECK WITH WATER AFTER USING. ALWAYS USE A BLOWER TO CLEAN IT OR PUT IT UP ON A STAND AND SCRAPE THE MUD OR RUBBISH OFF THE DECK. BEFORE I EVEN USED MY J.D. A 15. I PAINTED THE UNDER DECK WITH TWO COATS OF RUST PROOF OIL BASE PAINT, SO THAT IT WILL NEVER RUST. ALWAYS RUN A FUEL STABILAZER IN YOUR GAS TANK, IT KEEPS THE FUEL LINES CLEAN. RUN YOUR MOWER EVERY TWO WEEKS FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. HERE IN HAWAII WE CAN RUN OUR MOWERS EVERY WEEK. IN THE MAINLAND YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR MOWERS INTO STORAGE. WHEN YOU DO THAT ALWAYS DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND BUY A TINKLE BAT:licking::dance1:TERY CHARGER. TAKE CARE OF YOUR MOWER AND IT WILL SERVE YOU WELL.

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Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

I have no idia how many hours i have on my mowers non of them have a counter! but i should expect a commercial mower would last a 1000 hours before it begins to have problems with wear. Even then it will usually only be simple things.

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

In my case I put 75 to 100 hours per year. My 96 Craftsman GT has approx. 1,300 hr. At this point, I have several back up tractors, but I would say that it is time to change when reliability becomes an issue. When I spend more time making repairs I start to think change.

I spend as much time as necessary in the winter going over my equipment. It cost what it cost.. Come summer I don't want to be working on repairs when I should be cutting :thumbdown:

This is my story and I'm sticking to it:smile:

Paul

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

kalaukia37 said:

kalaukia37 said:

:laughing:[/QUOT

WELL GENTLEMEN; I HAVE A JOHN DEERE, A115, 42 inch deck, 19 hp. IN 2006, bought it new at LOWES. ONLY HAD ONE MINOR PROBLEM, THE IDLER PULLY BROKE. COST ME $12.00 TO FIX. ALSO UPGRADED THE BATTERY MANY YEARS AGO. I HAVE ONLY ABOUT 75 HOURS ON IT, PRAISE THE LORD! I HAVE ONE ACRE TO CUT, BUT IN THE SUMMER TIME, THE GRASS DOES NOT GROW, SO I JUST PUT ON THE TRINCKLE BATTERY CHARGER TO KEEP THE BATTERY ALWAYS FULLY CHARGED. JUST CHANGED. I JUST CHANGED THE OIL AND OIL FILTER LAST WEEK. ONLY USE FULLY SYMTHETIC FOR MAX PERTECTION. I AM A RETIRED MACHINIST. ALWAYS KEP IT INSIDE YOUR GARAGE. NEVER COVER IT UP! THAT CAUSES CONDENSATION.

NOW I ALSO BOUGHT A NEW STX 38 OVER 22 YEARS AGO. NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT UNTIL THE DECK ARM RUSTED OUT, ON ME, SO I GAVE IT TO MY FRIEND. IT IS STILL RUNNGING TODAY. JUST WELDED THE DECK ARM BACK. I DESERVED A NEW MOWER ANYWAY. HERE IN HAWAII, WE HAVE ONLY ONE DEALER. VERY, VERY BAD SERVICE IN THE PAST.THEY MOVED SO I DO NOT KNOW IF THE NEW DEALER WILL BE OK. AS FAR AS HOW LONG IT WILL LAST, WELL HERE IS A LITLE SECRET: ALWAYS GREASE YOUR NIPPLES WHEN REQUIRED.

NEVER WASH YOUR DECK WITH WATER AFTER USING. ALWAYS USE A BLOWER TO CLEAN IT OR PUT IT UP ON A STAND AND SCRAPE THE MUD OR RUBBISH OFF THE DECK. BEFORE I EVEN USED MY J.D. A 15. I PAINTED THE UNDER DECK WITH TWO COATS OF RUST PROOF OIL BASE PAINT, SO THAT IT WILL NEVER RUST. ALWAYS RUN A FUEL STABILAZER IN YOUR GAS TANK, IT KEEPS THE FUEL LINES CLEAN. RUN YOUR MOWER EVERY TWO WEEKS FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. HERE IN HAWAII WE CAN RUN OUR MOWERS EVERY WEEK. IN THE MAINLAND YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR MOWERS INTO STORAGE. WHEN YOU DO THAT ALWAYS DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND BUY A TINKLE BAT:licking::dance1:TERY CHARGER. TAKE CARE OF YOUR MOWER AND IT WILL SERVE YOU WELL.

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And obviously not a retired typist :laughing:

No need for the capitals please!

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I have a 1998 John Deere lx 178, has about 2000 hours on it. Works great still! It all depends if you do routene maintenance on it ( oil change, fluid fill ups ) taking care of equipment will for sure give it a longer life span.

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

Lukeslawn said:

I have a 1998 John Deere lx 178, has about 2000 hours on it. Works great still! It all depends if you do routene maintenance on it ( oil change, fluid fill ups ) taking care of equipment will for sure give it a longer life span.

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Amen to that :thumbsup:

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

1985 Ingersoll 448 repowered in 1996, sold in fall 2009 with 1960 hours. 1989 Ingersoll 4018 repowered in 2005 2,300 hours. 2008 Scag Tiger Cub 340 hours. All machines have collection systems and are/were used commercially. When engines start to get tired or have a major problem they get replaced. I have had more lawn tractors in the past, Simplicity, Gilson, Gravely. Did snow removal for many years also. I'm slowly getting out of the lawn care business, this year may be my last. Too many getting into the lawn care business with big box store machines on tiny trailers!!! I've seen many come and go, most don't last long when they find out that it is work!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:biggrin::laughing:

Re: How many hours do you have on your mowers & how long can I expect mine to last?

Oddball said:

I've got a 10 year old JD LT150 with between 500 and 600 hours on it, and its still running strong. I expect something else will break and put it out of commission before the engine does, but I don't expect that to be any time soon. If you take care of your equipment, it'll usually last a lot longer than expected. Every piece of small engine equipment I've had or used has lasted at least 15 years. 500 hours in nearly 20 years is pretty "low mileage" though. That's roughly 25 hours a year. I consider mine "low mileage".

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Just submitting information here, not bashing.

I have a JD LT160, bought from JD dealer ten years ago for considerably more than what I see being sold at Lowes now. Roughly 450 hours on it now. I have a large shop, and the mower has been in there its entire life when not in use. Like others on here, I am somewhat of a maintenance nut; I enjoy it and find it to be relaxing.

The first year I had it the left front guide wheel just fell off, bracket and all. Returned it to dealer, they welded it back on at a cockeyed angle instead of angled correctly with the other one. I said WTH, they basically rolled their eyes and said that was the best they could do. It of course subsequently immediately broke off again, so I just removed the other wheel.

Last season, two of the pulley bracket welds on the deck literally began tearing loose from the deck. My father in law the architect, car nut, and handyman supreme, took the deck, stripped it, repainted it, and re-welded everything that needed re-welding (including the afore-mentioned front guide wheel bracket, perfectly in line with the other). I replaced the grass deflector shield, which was also in pretty shabby shape, with a new one, a presto...I had what looked like a new mower.

Opened the hood after a cut to blow everything off and ballooonk...the hood breaks off and falls unceremoniously to the ground. I kid you not.

It is now as of this past week in the shop with what I'm fairly confident is a transmission; I'll find out later this week.

When I bought it, the dealer told me it was the last lawn tractor I'd ever buy; he was half right.

In fairness to JD, it was the longest lasting of the three lawn tractors I have owned. Bought a Roper model in 1998 that lasted 7 years (when I called for a part, a steering wheel bushing, the customer service representative rep told me that their research says the average owner keeps the mower for five years so thats how they design them), a Husqvarna that lasted 8 years, and the JD lasted 10.