"John" wrote:

After reading some posts regarding these things
having "automatic transmissions" and how they make the job easier, I am
curious..I am sure they don't have transmission like a car which shifts
gears and such, but was wondering how they work?

A lawn tractor must run the engine at a constant speed to keep the mower
running at a constant speed. To change the tractor speed you use a
different gear. My garden tractor has 6 forward speeds (gear
selections). The highest is primarily for going from point a to point b
in a hurry. The next is slower for mowing under normal conditions. The
next is even slower for mowing around objects or in heavy growth. The
next three gears are really creeper gears for snow blowing, very heavy
mowing, etc. If your lawn has few objects, then the automatic
transmission won't be doing anything. The advantage of an automatic
transmission is it is easier to slow down when mowing around objects.
It acts more like the gas peddle on a car but is operated by your hand.
You push a lever one way to go faster and you push it the other to slow
down or go backwards. With the automatic you only have a brake pedal.
With the regular you have a clutch and brake. However, you don't have to
worry about how you let out the clutch like in a car. You just put it
in the gear you want to use and let the clutch out. Tractors are like
that. You stop when you want to change gears. With a little practice
you will get so it starts smoothly, but you don't need to master the
fine skills of using a clutch to use a tractor.

Mechanically, the regular transmission has metal gears that last
forever. The automatic transmissions have belts that can break. For
reliability a regular transmission is best. For convenience an
automatic transmission is best.

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