31-07-2003, 04:02 AM
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Cub Cadet push mower reliability?
wrote:
Gary...
I can relate to the problem of the roots because not two weeks ago, I
decided that if I was going to start mowing (myself) again, I wanted a
clean and clear path for me and the mower. I have one section of my
lawn that runs thru two shrub beds and ay the narrowest point it's
about 6 feet. Roots from trees and shrubs had been bulging out in
this area for some time, and for whatever reason, the grass didn't
seem to grow well there either.
I have put some fill over the roots, but they eventually come back (some
trees like my maples like to grow roots on the surface. Also, another
concern of mine besides the roots is pine cones, which I pick up but
sometimes I miss some. With my old Snapper, these have wedged between
the blade tip and the deck, going round and round until usually the
engine stalled from the drag. The Cub Cadet has a similar 360 degree
close clearance from the blade tip to the deck, but the rear part of
this on the Cub Cadet is the plastic baffle which is only a fraction of
an inch from the blade. I'm afraid if a pine cone gets jammed between
the blade and that baffle the baffle isn't going to fare so well.
So I practiced what I preached... went in and dug around the roots
from edge to edge, and cut them back maybe 6" from either side, then
added a few wheelbarrows of topsoil mixed with seed, and yup... I
already have grass thick enough to mow!
We generally prune everything back above the ground so we can see the
edge of the shrub beds, and dress them every other year with chips and
mulch. So the casters wouldn't snag in my case.
I trim my shrubs every year but still they've overgrown my edging,
trimming too much at this point would leave no foliage on the sides. I
suppose I could move the edging. Without the overhanging shrubs and
sidehills I might have chosen the casters.
Right now it's a toss up between a Honda at HD or the Cadet at Lowes.
The cadet is a bit cheaper, and I might be able to get a discount at
Lowes on a floor model. Have to see about that today or tomorrow.
BTW, are you mulching or catching clippings? Just wondered if you
liked the mulching as much as the people in ePinions.
I'm mulching, and it does a very good job at that, even in taller grass
the clippings just disappear. The 6.5 HP engine has plenty of power for
mulching (which I think requires additional power to chop the clippings
more finely). I haven't tried side discharge or bagging yet (I usually
bag only in the fall to vacuum up what leaves I miss while raking).
If you don't mind taking the mower in for oil changes or getting a pump
to change from above (probably easier that way anyway, actually) then
it's otherwise a pretty good mower. Not too loud, the only other minor
wish is that it held its speed a bit better on hills. Time will tell
whether the plastic parts (and even my 19 old Snapper had plastic parts
- rear guard and side dischare chute - that had cracked) hold up well.
The one I'm most concerned about is plastic under the mower deck, this
seems like it could be easily damaged if I ever run over any hard objects.
One of my main reasons for choosing it is that it I wanted rear wheel
drive and there aren't that many models with this. I also wanted plenty
of power after my underpowered previous mower.
If you get a floor model be sure it's not damaged, for example drive
speed is supposed to be adjusted only with the engine running but most
likely people have yanked on the levers on the display model anyway.
Gary
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