riding lawn mowers

[Punatang]

We use sheep.  The downside is that they don't limit themselves to the grass.

Now that is Ag use.  We need a sheep and a wagon.

   

[garymatt]

Mower belts and replacing them seems to belong here.
We have a John Deere x300 Riding mower bought about eight years ago. It is a 42" mower.
That mower belt that came on it to begin with lasted a long time. I can't say now whether that was 10 months or a couple of years.
I can say that every belt that came after lasted hours or days and sometimes weeks.
At this point we have bought well over a dozen replacement belts ranging from several genuine John Deere belts from the JD store to the most economical ones out there.
I wish I could say brand ABC OR that belts from Whoever Co. are the best and last the longest.
That ain't so unfortunately. Higher price has NOT proven to mean higher quality. There are notes in my mail to NOT buy from certain sites.
Seriously some of the breakage was probably from my ignorance and stupidity about putting the replacement belt on, at least at the beginning.
If they come off immediately when starting the mower, but don't break, I know I was probably holding my tongue wrong during the work. It is a pain getting them on right but I really know how. I've got pictures.
Nowadays I can ALMOST guarantee that I do it totally correctly, every time. Whether there was a supervisory presence (I am married) looking over my shoulder or not; I AM THE ONE WHO HAS REPLACED EVERY SINGLE BELT.
One thing you should always do is buy 2 belts, never just one.
Bunches of different places and many different GENUINE JD or Kevlar or whatever substitute that promises it absolutely fits a JD x300 mower belt has been used.
THIS time in my frustration I bought 4 belts from three different suppliers.
PUNAWEB is a perfect place to look for guidance and posts from others who have had to replace belts on their riding mowers.
Alas, I found mower talk but not experiences on replacing belts.
SO, I thought I would dip my toe in the waters to maybe help someone else because I learned something from having done it right (mostly) so many times, AND I want to hear from others who have gone through with the replacement belt parts game.

[Wao nahele wahine]

We have had similar experiences with replacement belt issues, garymatt.

We have also had several different riding lawn mowers (cub cadet, john deere, and toro). Our biggest issue has been with the mower decks failing.

[dobanion]

If your riding mower is eating belts, take a peek at the routing of the belt, make sure it isn't really close or gently touching something. I had that issue on mine. Went through 3 belts in short order before I found the spot where something was out of alignment, causing the belt to just barely touch the chassis when I hit a bump. Didn't take long for the edge of the belt to fray, then it came totally apart shortly after.

[Punatang]

Ebay always seemed to have the best deals on belts.  Always keep a backup.

[leilanidude]

The John Deere 42 inch decks EAT belts. They do it for fun. Search that on google...
I switched to buying a Kevlar one a few years ago (always 2 at a time) and they do last much longer than than the cheap belts.

[dobanion]

Ah! Also try something from the auto parts store called "belt conditioner." I find it helps. Makes the belt stickier, so it's less apt to slip (and heat up), and keeps it from drying out.

[My 2 cents]

Make sure that the pulleys are all in line with each other and spinning freely and not wobbling (bearings good and tight). After 8 years there is a good chance that there is some excessive wear there.

[MyManao]

Make sure that the pulleys are all in line with each other and spinning freely..

My riding lawn mower saga started about the same time HD opened in Hilo, and I was seduced into thinking there was something to be gained by buying one of their Cub Cadet riders at a much reduced rate compared to what was otherwise available in town back then.

That mower was broke, back to HD, and swapped out for another new one, within weeks. But hey I bought the ticket so I was in for the ride.. and the second one broke.. and the third. Seems the welders, robotic things, were set too high and they were spot welding the brackets that the pulleys mount to (under side of the deck) and you could see the weld popping through the top of the deck. So the mounts would bend, just a little, but enough for the pulleys to fall out of alignment with the plane the belts were suppose to be running on.

I talked with Cub (it was MTD back then), and they said their big box models were built in factories set up specifically to serve those outlets and not subject to the same quality control as the rest of their equipment. I talked with Jay (J&J Lucas) who had the repair contract with HD at the time, and he basically said they're expensive paperweights. 

Eventually I gave up and bought a commercial grade zero-turn Husqvarna and stopped having those kinds of problems.

[Wao nahele wahine]

One added attraction of a rider, any kind, is that you can get a trailer/wagon for it.  They generally hold at least 3 times what you can get into a wheelbarrow and will get from place to place while you rest in the seat.  I probably use mine that way more than for actually mowing.

We have a cart for our mower also. It has been a life saver for hauling yard debris. I always keep several bungee cords on the mower so I can secure the cart loads of palm fronds, branches, weeds, etc.