I need to get a riding mower

[Taterman]

Me and my wife were able to push the mower into the garage and somehow it is completely out of gas again. It's totally dry under the hose I fixed so I have no idea where it all went.
There was a sign a couple of miles down the road offering small engine repair so I went down the side street to the address and it turns out it was an Amish family. Seems odd the have someone that can't drive a car, work on an engine. He said he knows someone that can pick the mower up from me for $25 since we don't have a trailer, so I left my name,number and address with him and the guy is supposed to call me and pick it up tomorrow.
I have no way to reach them if I don't get a call tomorrow, so who knows...
Looks like I'll have to pay someone to mow in the next couple of days since it's getting long.

 

[WV460hunter]

Me and my wife were able to push the mower into the garage and somehow it is completely out of gas again. It's totally dry under the hose I fixed so I have no idea where it all went.
There was a sign a couple of miles down the road offering small engine repair so I went down the side street to the address and it turns out it was an Amish family. Seems odd the have someone that can't drive a car, work on an engine. He said he knows someone that can pick the mower up from me for $25 since we don't have a trailer, so I left my name,number and address with him and the guy is supposed to call me and pick it up tomorrow.
I have no way to reach them if I don't get a call tomorrow, so who knows...
Looks like I'll have to pay someone to mow in the next couple of days since it's getting long.

Someone steal your gas ?

 

[Hvymax]

Someone steal your gas ?

Ethanol eats fuel lines and gaskets.

 

[Taterman]

Ethanol eats fuel lines and gaskets.

I've only used pure unleaded. Not sure what previous owners used.

 

[bykerhd]

Your carburetor float may have stuck and allowed all the gas to flow in to the engine ?
Check your oil and see if itis thin and smells of gas.

 

[hittman]

My son just bought a Cub Cadet Z154 with Koehler 27 hp engine. They offered 48 months no interest too.
He just bought a property with almost 2 acres to mow so should come in handy.

 

[WV460hunter]

I've only used pure unleaded. Not sure what previous owners used.

I should use non ethanol especially in this older mower but I can't find any within my local area.

 

[WV460hunter]

Not

Nope, it's in the crankcase, muffler, and peed out on the ground where it was parked. Will be able to see the dead spot in a
few days.

Nothing like an incontinent Mower.

 

[Taterman]

Well the phone rang early this morning and it it was the Amish guy and his friend on the way to pick it up. I thought he forgot about me. He said it would be $25 to clean the carb which is pretty cheap. Hopefully he's able to get it running, we need some other work done and he could be a great local contact.

 

[Actnbill]

That sounds great..... You probably can't find a more honest guy to work on your mower...

 

[Taterman]

That sounds great..... You probably can't find a more honest guy to work on your mower...

Man, you're not kidding. Picked up at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and dropped back off at 7:30a.m. Friday.
Carb is cleaned (needle was clogged), oil changed, sharpened the blade and even added a shut off valve in the gas line.

The total - $59.50

It rained so I didn't get to use it, but it started instantly when he drove it off the trailer and it sounded great with no smoke or gas smell.

 

[powder smoke]

This will be the first mower I've ever bought as we lived in a townhouse for 25+ years. I might pick up a used Cub Cadet from a friend here but they is starting to look like it will fall through so I may have to buy a new one.
The two I've looked at so far are a John Deere 48" zero turn and a similarly priced Cub Cadet 50" zero turn. The guy at Home Depot said they'd had less returns or issues with the Cubs and that their Kawasaki engine is better than the JD.

Can anyone help steer me in the right direction? We have and acre and a half to mow and it's already pretty long .

I have had a Cub Cadet Zero Turn for about seven years now!
It seems to be bullet proof! I have acres of lawn I would recommend you look
into these my experience with them are great

 

[powder smoke]

Does Kubota make small mowers? I had a friend way back when who had a Kubota tractor and he didn't have any major problems with it.

Sorry, just finished reading Kentuckyyeti's post. It appears they do.

Tractors are not mowers you will be better off getting a GOOD MOWER
Cub Cadet served me very well!

 

[larry8]

Whenever I put in new gas I always add some Sta-Bill to it. Never have to worry about it even if I let it sit for a year.

 

[Actnbill]

I go to my local small airplane airport and buy ethanol free gas..... A little bit more expensive, but I never have to winterize or treat the fuel in my mowers, snow blower, 2 stroke stuff etc.....