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I am new to this forum, so this is my first post. Please forgive me as I am sure that some of what I am going to ask has already been gone over before, but I did go back through a few pages of posts in search of my questions. So here goes:

1. I have a small yard, 75x100. Most of the time I have no problem following my Toro self propelled mower around the yard. It does an excellent job and I especially like the way it mulches. Problem is sometimes I have hip problems making it a little painful to perform this task. So I am thinking I would like to ride sometimes. Think I would like to spend about $2500. Now I know there are much better mowers out there, but really, for a yard this size how much mower do I need? The machine would mainly be for mowing, but would also pull a trailer, aerator, and de-thatcher from time to time.

2. I see there are tractor type mowers with the cvt type transmissions. Your thoughts and advise on these please.

3. I know this may be a stupid question, but does a two blade 46" deck have a faster blade tip speed than a two blade 42" deck? This would be for a same brand mower.

Now I will sit back and see what you guys have to say. Thank you for your patience.

Blade tip speed is dependant upon the ratio of the engine pulley to the spindle pulley and the spindle pulley to the circumference of the blade tip
So ( from memory ) the 38" AYP decks use a 4.5" dia pulley the 42"uses a 4.75 and the 46" uses a 5.25".

For your yard a single spindle deck from 24" to 32" will be ideal as they will go almost anywhere a push mower will.
In this size most will be rear engine
Avoid like the plague the Stiga compact also sold as Castle Garden & Parkland.

deriter said:

I am new to this forum, so this is my first post. Please forgive me as I am sure that some of what I am going to ask has already been gone over before, but I did go back through a few pages of posts in search of my questions. So here goes:

1. I have a small yard, 75x100. Most of the time I have no problem following my Toro self propelled mower around the yard. It does an excellent job and I especially like the way it mulches. Problem is sometimes I have hip problems making it a little painful to perform this task. So I am thinking I would like to ride sometimes. Think I would like to spend about $2500. Now I know there are much better mowers out there, but really, for a yard this size how much mower do I need? The machine would mainly be for mowing, but would also pull a trailer, aerator, and de-thatcher from time to time.

2. I see there are tractor type mowers with the cvt type transmissions. Your thoughts and advise on these please.

3. I know this may be a stupid question, but does a two blade 46" deck have a faster blade tip speed than a two blade 42" deck? This would be for a same brand mower.

Now I will sit back and see what you guys have to say. Thank you for your patience.

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Well for a 75x100 yard if I was going to be buying a riding mower I wouldn't be spending $2500. I'd Go to Home Depot and look at the XT1-Enduro Series LT-42" Cub Cadet riding lawnmower/tractor. It has the 18hp Kohler and it will mow your lawn and pull anything you've mentioned without a problem and it's only $1499. As far as BTS goes you wont find enough difference between the two sizes that it would make a difference so I really wouldn't worry about BTS.

Yes I understand that changing the size of the pulley makes a difference in the blade tip speed, but I though I read somewhere they said that there was a difference between the 42 and 46. Hmmmm, got that off the internet somewhere. I would think that the manufacture would keep the blade tip speed a certain speed but thought I would toss this out here to get some good information.

The lawn mower I am looking for, I would like to think that it would easily go 300 hours without major repairs.

It all about making them cheaper.
There are product regulations that limit the maximum blade tip speeds.
Using 1 size pulley on all the decks makes the mowers cheaper but means that every deck size bar 1 will have a less but optimum blade speed.
Fastest is not necessarily optimum, it has a lot to do with deck depth and blade offsets.
Again however if you have a 7000 sq ft yard, with all the usual stuff in it, a small deck on a fast mower that mows very close on one edge which will limit the amount of trimming and push mowing will be the way to go.
A bigger deck will not necessarily mow any quicker or easier than a small deck.
There are a lot of small mowers which are substantially faster than bigger ones it is all about ground speeds and Hp : blade sizes.
Toro sell a line called "recyclers" down here with 28" to 36" single blade mulching decks that would be excellent for your application.
The short wheelbase Rear Engine Rides ( RER ) are very nimble have really tight turning circles are quite light, easy to drive and most are fairly well built.
Just check they have a diff in the rear tranny,
for blocks of 1 acre or less the old 8/30's are the ideal size, 10/30's will make life easier for the engine .
Narrow decks make the mowers easier to mount & dismount which is important if you have a dodgy hip or bad back.
And the rer's with a steering tiller rather than a wheel are easier still.
Around here quite a few "aged" persons use this type of mower as a personnel mobility device to do stuff like tow the garbage bins, drive out to open the gates, drag trailers around the garden etc purely becuse they are easier to mount than their regular mower.

Thoughts about the cvt transmissions?

Trying to figure this out. Either no one has an opinion, no one knows of this cvt type of transmission, or it is just too late in the season to talk about stuff like this. I will try stirring this up in the spring.

Any thoughts about the cvt transmissions and how they are holding up?

What mower are you looking at?
Only cvt transmission I know of is for a front wheel drive car.

I understand what you are asking and let me put it this way. They have been on mowers for decades with very few problems. Scooters, cars, and even Formula 1 race cars. They work well if maintained.

Carscw said:

What mower are you looking at?
Only cvt transmission I know of is for a front wheel drive car.

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CVT is a fancy name for a vari drive or sliding sheave if you like.
Everything that was old is new again.

bertsmobile1 said:

CVT is a fancy name for a vari drive or sliding sheave if you like. Everything that was old is new again.

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Ok now I can give my opinion on it. Thank you.
Mtd been using them for years. I love them Once you understand how the variable speed pulley works it's easy to work on.
What I like the most is you can put it in high speed and when you need to slow down you can just push the clutch pedal down a little. As the Pedal is attached to the pulley.
Have never had a transaxle break.

They have been fitting them to cars for a while but had to find a swanky name lest you think it was the same as what was in your lawnmower only 10 times as expensive :laughing:

I did a reply, but must have done something wrong as I do not see it. Here's the deal. I was looking at the Husqvarna with the cvt. This type of transmission sounded pretty simple but have not heard much about them as for durability. I did read somewhere that the cvt does not like to pull. That does not overly concern me, but I would like to push some snow. So not sure whether the cvt is up for it or should I just stick with the hydrastat transmission?

deriter said:

I did a reply, but must have done something wrong as I do not see it. Here's the deal. I was looking at the Husqvarna with the cvt. This type of transmission sounded pretty simple but have not heard much about them as for durability. I did read somewhere that the cvt does not like to pull. That does not overly concern me, but I would like to push some snow. So not sure whether the cvt is up for it or should I just stick with the hydrastat transmission?

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If you want to push snow the you need a GT mower. Gears are the best. Hydrostats are designed to only carry their own weight and then half as much. So if the mower is 500 lbs the most it will handle with out breaking is 750 lbs including you.

Thanks BlazNT for you information. It seems as though the hydro-stat transmission may not be all that wonderful of a deal. Using the example of a 500 lb mower, a 200 lb operator, that would leave like 50 lbs to push or pull. Not very impressive. How would the cvt compare in the same example? Or is it even worse?

I was interested in the Husqvarna mowers, but I don't think they even have a gear type mower. I am thinking they only have the hydro-stat and cvt.

Any of the GT line will work they have a ground engaging rear end. Yes it is hydro but built to handle much more towing.