[AT] New Lawn Tractor

Wed Apr 29 07:30:12 PDT 2015

We had an interesting JD lawn tractor event. When we purchased our current home, the previous owner left us their JD L120 lawn tractor. It was pretty tired when we took ownership but it was something to cut the grass.  One day last summer my oldest son was cutting the grass when he stopped and came inside to tell me the tractor was smoking a bit. When I went outside, the entire tractor was engulfed in flames. They had to be 10-15 feet high at the time. The heat was so intense that it caught my wife's car on fire and slightly damaged the other 2 vehicles. We were lucky that it was not parked close to the house and that my son did not get hurt. No more old junk  mowers for me. I replaced it with a Cub Cadet 1050KW. This model has the Kawasaki engine and a 50" cutting deck. It is a light duty model but we have a very flat ,easy to cut lawn. 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59694758/JD%20tractor.zip 

Jim Thomson 
Rehoboth, MA 

----- Original Message -----

From: rlgoss at twc.com 
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 6:41:26 PM 
Subject: Re: [AT] New Lawn Tractor 

That's a whole 'nother story, Richard. With that company, just choose the components you want, select trim and one of several colors, and you can have your own brand put on the market. They've been doing that for a quarter century or more.  It puts the Johnny Cash song about building a Cadillac to shame. 

Larry 
---- Richard Fink Sr <rfinksr at verizon.net> wrote: 
> ARE them big box store units built by MTD sold under other names??????????? 
> R Fink 
> PA 
> 
> On 4/28/2015 5:22 PM, rlgoss at twc.com wrote: 
> > LOL!  There was so much wrong with those orange JD's you could write a book.  The control circuitry for the engine was completely different, and absolutely defied troubleshooting.  The local dealer didn't want to see them come into the shop with problems because they knew they would loose money trying to make them run. 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Larry 
> > 
> > ---- Len Rugen <rugenl at yahoo.com> wrote: 
> >> I had a "box store" JD rebranded mower, it was orange, from Home Depot.  Supposedly, JD wouldn't let them use the JD hydro pedals, so it had a lever. It also had the backup button, so you had to use your right hand on the hydro lever, steer with the left and you had nothing left for the backup button that was on the right side of the dash. 
> > Jumper wire before first mowing :-) 
> >   Len Rugen 
> > 
> > rugenl at yahoo.com 
> > 
> > 
> >   
> > 
> > 
> >       On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 3:39 PM, Phil M. Vorwerk <pvorwerk at newulmtel.net> wrote: 
> >     
> > 
> >   Thanks, I thought there might be a workaround like that. I couldn't imagine people putting up with that otherwise. 
> > 
> > 
> > Phil 
> > 
> > -----Original Message----- 
> > From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Brian VanDragt 
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 1:45 PM 
> > To: Antique tractor email discussion group 
> > Subject: Re: [AT] New Lawn Tractor 
> > 
> > I have a JD LX277 lawn tractor that has the PTO shut off when backing up feature.  There is a factory work around explained in the owners manual to prevent this.  You hold the PTO engaging button on the dash in the up position while you back up.  I found the switch on the back of the transmission that is depressed when you back up and unplugged it.  It is a normally closed switch so I had to put a jumper wire in the harness.  Now I don't have to do anything to keep the PTO running when I back up. 
> > Brian 
> > 
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > 
> > From: "Phil M. Vorwerk" <pvorwerk at newulmtel.net> 
> > To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com> 
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 2:12:26 PM 
> > Subject: Re: [AT] New Lawn Tractor 
> > 
> > This is a very timely discussion. I've been running a pair of JD 425 AWS garden tractors, but they are starting to show their age, both with reliability and just plain plastic getting brittle. 
> > 
> > I plan to look at both an X534 and an X734, but I haven't even gotten around to finding out what the real differences are. One thing I did hear a number of years ago was some grumbling about the newer safety "features", one of which that the pto kicks out when you back up with the mower. It has me wondering if I would be better off just sticking some money in the 425's that I have. 
> > 
> > Phil M. Vorwerk 
> > 
> > -----Original Message----- 
> > From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com 
> > [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Alan Riley 
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 12:17 PM 
> > To: Antique tractor email discussion group 
> > Subject: Re: [AT] New Lawn Tractor 
> > 
> > Dave, I bought a John Deere X530 a couple of years ago.  I usually mow about 
> > 2.5 acres with it and sometimes up to 4.  It has a 54" mower deck, hydraulic power steering, and a short turning radius that really helps with all of the trees I have to mow around.  It also has a differential lock that has come in handy a couple of times. 
> > 
> > So far I've been pleased with it but it is just a heavy duty lawnmower, you would still need a tractor for moving trailers, etc. 
> > 
> > Alan Riley 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > -----Original Message----- 
> > From: David Rotigel 
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 6:17 AM 
> > To: Antique tractor email discussion group 
> > Subject: Re: [AT] New Lawn Tractor 
> > 
> > I mow about 4.5a. I, currently, use a ~1960 14 HP Economy Power King with a 48" mower deck and a 1955 Massey-Harris Pacer with a 60" woods mower deck. I can get the 4.5a done in about 6 hours. The various attachments/implements that can be added on to these small sub compact tractors intrigues me, but I'm not sure that (at my age) I would use them. I do still need to lift things (so a front bucket might be useful) and I also need something to move trailers around from time to time. It's the upkeep on the two machines that I now use as much as the time involved that is making me thing about a new tractor as much as anything else. 
> > Thus far, I have only looked at the Deere and the TYM. I'll find a Kubota dealer today and look at them. I'm in no real hurry--both the machines I have now are are working well. 
> > Dave 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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