What type and brand of riding lawn mower?

[charby]

Yep, I'm looking at a riding option for my half-acre because I have no desire to spend 2 hours of my ever-dwindling free time mowing the grass every week. If I can get that down to ~30 minutes with a riding mower I'm absolutely getting a riding mower for a half-acre.

Like I mentioned previously I plan to see just how long it takes me to do it with my walk-behind before I pull the trigger. If it doesn't take as long as I fear, then I may not go through with it. If it takes too close to a couple hours, I'll fire up the classifieds and see if can find a good used one.

Any thoughts on the Snapper-branded lawn tractors vs their riding rear-engine mower?

If you have to mow around a lot "things" it will take you longer than 30 minutes with a riding mower. Zero turns are faster than lawn tractors.

[Neemi]

Guess that means I better have the kids pick up toys before marnoot mows, then.

[brimic]

Guess that means I better have the kids pick up toys before marnoot mows, then.

Or better yet, use your free labor available and have the kids mow (if they are old enough). 

[RocketMan]

I must keep reminding myself that we actually have 2/3rd of an acre, not a half acre.  Our property was advertised as a half acre when we bought it, but the survey and land title showed 2/3 of an acre.  The realtor listed it incorrectly for some reason, and the half acre is what stuck in my head. 
That's more of a reason to buy a riding mower.

[charby]

thread necro...

So what did you get? I just bought a house with a 3/4 acre lot, but about a 1/4 of that it is under a lake.

I picked up a used John Deere (made in Wisconsin) rider off craigslist today for a nice price. More green paint in the shed. :)

[RocketMan]

Sorry, no real news in that department.  We were loaned a rather beat up Snapper by my wife's son as he didn't need it at the time.  We both thought it a good way to economize at that point.
Ended up rebuilding the differential as the main gear was stripped.  He's a big dude, hence the stripped gear.  Plus, it needed a good carb cleaning, something that had never been done in ten years of use.  I found that out when the float stuck and gas filled the crankcase.  Once I finished all that stuff, the mower ran pretty well. 
However, he and his fiance are buying a house so we will be returning the mower.  We're going to start looking for a new one again.

[roo_ster]

Any particular make/model of small riding mower or push mower good for a rebuild project?

My son is getting mechanically frisky and wants to take on challenges greater than my truck's disk brakes and rotors.  I figure buy a common & commonly-rebuilt mower off craigslist and let him rebuild the motor & other bits. 

[zxcvbob]

Mason 1500.

[grampster]

Depends on your budget.  Husqvarna makes a great rider.  I'm on my 2nd.  First one lasted over 10 years of mowing and pulling my Cyclone Rake for my multitude of oak leaves from my property and my neighbors who didn't rake.  If you have the dough, I get the zero turn rider.  Otherwise any one of the regular riders, depending on size.  I've got an acre that I do and the 42 inch with twin 22hp works fine.

[charby]

Any particular make/model of small riding mower or push mower good for a rebuild project?

My son is getting mechanically frisky and wants to take on challenges greater than my truck's disk brakes and rotors.  I figure buy a common & commonly-rebuilt mower off craigslist and let him rebuild the motor & other bits. 

Riders: cub cadet, certain John deere models (non big box store models) or wheel horse. Why? Parts galore on the Internet
.

[charby]

See if you can find a John Deere 110 rider. They started making them in 1963. Other 100 series are good ones too, especially the ones made before early 90s.

[K Frame]

If it's good enough for Mars, it's good enough for Earth.

[Kingcreek]

Any particular make/model of small riding mower or push mower good for a rebuild project?

My son is getting mechanically frisky and wants to take on challenges greater than my truck's disk brakes and rotors.  I figure buy a common & commonly-rebuilt mower off craigslist and let him rebuild the motor & other bits.  

JD 110,210,212,...
they had cast iron kohler engines that last almost forever and are good low tech projects. the bad news is the decks rot away and cost as much as a new unit.
I inherited my father's 1973 212 around 1996 and used it up until 3-4 years ago. back then a "lawn tractor" was just that and certainly not just a "riding mower". I bought an X320 that with careful maintenance and gentle use won't last half that long.

[roo_ster]

Old john deere.  Nifty.

No budget for zero turn.  Would be happy with something like the old snapper rider or just a push mower we ciuld get parts for.