[AT] OT(?) Cub Cadet 1812 Hydro question

Tue Jun 9 04:42:12 PDT 2009

My walk-behind is actually a DR brush mower with an optional 42"
finish mower deck:

http://www.drpower.com/TwoStepModelDetail.aspx?Name=FABCommercial17HP&p1Name=field-brush-mower-w&Page=fabmodels&ln

DR clearly engineered this thing for brush mowing and the finish deck
is an afterthought.  It seemed like a good idea at the time (and I do
get a lot of use out of the brush deck, so the purchase was not a
total mistake).  Running with the longer, wider, heavier finish deck,
it is relatively hard to steer, not too bad in the first hour, but by
hour five your arms are beat up, and I have to wear thick gel-padded
long-distance bicycling gloves or else my hands scream for two days
from the effects of all the downpressure exerted on the bars to
maneuver it.  My wife would not last twenty minutes on this machine,
and she's no wimp (born and raised on a dairy farm).   I have actually
been forced to add a 45-lb counterweight to the bars which has made
quite a difference when using the finish mower; I neglected to make it
quick-change, so now I almost have to lift UP on the bars when running
the brush deck.  Out of impatience, I also tend to drag it backward
while maneuvering, because shifting from one of the forward gears to
reverse is a somewhat clunky process.  That takes a physical toll
after a while too.  I'm sure the Exmark is a fine machine, but that's
not what I am dealing with here.

SO

On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 12:24 AM, Mark Greer<markagreer at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> My wife has run our walk behind for years. It is an Exmark Metro 48" belt
> drive unit.
> http://www.exmark.com/metro.htm
> They really are pretty easy to run.
> Mark
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephen Offiler" <soffiler at gmail.com>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 11:52 AM
> Subject: Re: [AT] OT(?) Cub Cadet 1812 Hydro question
>
>
> Thanks Mark.  In fact I am considering a zero turn.  However, a big
> commercial walk-behind doesn't work because my wife wants to pitch in
> and help with the mowing chores.  Any machine has to be something she
> is comfortable running.  It doesn't have to be *extremely* speedy
> although speed will be a prime consideration if we end up selling the
> Cub Cadet 1812 that has been the subject of this long thread and
> laying out cash for something new.
>
> Best regards,
> Steve O.
>
> On Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 10:40 AM, Mark Greer<markagreer at embarqmail.com>
> wrote:
>> If you can walk a 48" or larger commercial walk behind mower will work
>> great
>> on sloped ground. I've been mowing that way since the early 90's and would
>> never consider another riding mower unless it was a zero turn. Riding
>> tractor mowers are way too slow.
>> Mark
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Stephen Offiler" <soffiler at gmail.com>
>> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 9:21 AM
>> Subject: Re: [AT] OT(?) Cub Cadet 1812 Hydro question
>>
>>
>> These inputs on mowing side-slopes are all very interesting and useful
>> to me. Here's a question for the group: What if I could fashion a
>> mowing pattern that ensured I was always running essentially straight
>> up or straight down my slopes, and never running side-slope? Fact is,
>> I am reasonably sure I can do this and it will be foremost on my mind
>> the next time I mow (with the old, slow, but functional equipment).
>> Wouldn't that bring the ZTR back on the table? (And there's always
>> the advice to replace the tires with something more ag-oriented...)
>>
>> SO
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 9:40 PM, charliehill<charliehill at embarqmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> I'm not that familar with front deck mowers and I agree that ZTR's
>>> sometime
>>> struggle on slopes but the town I live near has/had a mower that I guess
>>> you
>>> would call a front deck. I think it might have been a Deere. It had a
>>> single rear wheel that was more or less a caster wheel. I don't know if
>>> it
>>> had any steering control or not. I just remember laughing at the guy
>>> trying
>>> to use it on a highway shoulder slope. He was trying to mow around a bush
>>> or pole or hydrant or something (I don't remember). The thing had a mind
>>> of
>>> it's own. He'd start up the hill and it would spin around and come back
>>> down. Going sideways on the slope was out of the question.
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Steve Sewell" <sewell at ohio.edu>
>>> To: <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>> Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 10:43 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] OT(?) Cub Cadet 1812 Hydro question
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --On Friday, June 05, 2009 7:24 AM -0400 Stephen Offiler
>>>> <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> John, Larry:
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't think much of Briggs engines these days, and I'm VERY dismayed
>>>>> to hear about Kohler! Plastic camshaft, you say?! I can't imagine
>>>>> how that could work. Are the lobes metal?
>>>>>
>>>>> The Cub Cadet zero-turn I am considering is one of their commercial
>>>>> models with a very heavy fabricated deck (that is, welded together
>>>>> from flat pieces of heavy steel, not stamped) and powered by a 19HP
>>>>> Kawasaki V-twin. I hear generally good things about the Kawasakis.
>>>>> In fact that's what I have on that 17HP 42" walk-behind I mentioned
>>>>> earlier.
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve O.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Steve: Having the pleasure of visiting your home I don't think a Z-turn
>>>> would make you happy. As others have said they don't like much other
>>>> than
>>>> flat ground. If I were you I would be looking at a front mower with a 5'
>>>> deck. I have used both and would much rather have the front mower. We
>>>> have
>>>> a mid 90's JD F1145 at work with a 6' deck that we use around the runway
>>>> /
>>>> taxiway lights and nav-aids that has wheel brakes so it's 'almost' a
>>>> z-turn. With your flower beds, rock fence, driveway and those rocks you
>>>> planted in the yard I think you would be happy with a front mower. With
>>>> either one there is a learning curve on mowing around several things
>>>> that
>>>> are close together. As it pivots on the drive wheels under your seat,the
>>>> rear swings around, you have to get the hang of it. I have a JD 445 lawn
>>>> tractor at home with the V-twin Kawasaki. Good engine, lots of power. No
>>>> problems with 600+ hrs.
>>>>
>>>> - steve
>>>>
>>>> Steve Sewell
>>>> Albany, Ohio USA
>>>> sewell at ohio.edu
>>>> sewell at atis.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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