Bush-Era Zero-Turn Actually Made Under Obama

I am stuck waiting for very leisurely breastfeeding to be over so my wife and I can run errands. May as well kill time here.

I got new information on the Kubota mower I bought. Kubota says it was made in 2015. This is about 7 years later than I thought, so it’s good news. It has an analog hour meter, not a digital with an LED screen, so I figured it had to come from the early years, which started in 2007. Because it was made in 2015, the old guy who owned it could not have had it for more than 10 years.

Assuming even pretty heavy residential use, the manufacture year puts this mower somewhere under 1,000 hours. The mower doesn’t show a lot of wear, so I don’t think it was ever used commercially. There are appearance issues, but nothing suggesting high hours. I think the owner kept it under a roof where the sun got to vulnerable parts. There is no rain damage, but the plastic armrests are eaten up, and the lever grips are bleached. That’s the most significant damage, apart from a place on the deck skirt where some metal got torn.

Figuring he had it for 9 to 10 years, and that he was able to use it the whole time, and given our growing season, he would have been doing about 30 sessions per yard per year. I believe I can mow my large yard in 90 minutes. Probably 60 once I get used to the mower. The granddaughter’s husband, who sold me the mower, told me the owner’s parcel was not all that big. If that is true, he would not have mown more than I do, so assuming 1.5 hours times 30, I get 45 hours per year. That comes out to 450 hours. I have no reason to think he mowed more than one yard.

A figure of 1,000 is only conceivable if he mowed other people’s yards or something.

I don’t know if he used it the whole 10 years, because he died not long ago, and his granddaughter’s husband looks to be 50. He must have been very old, and he may not have been well during his last year.

I know the meter’s figure of 229 hours is wrong because the meter doesn’t move. It could be that it locked up after the first owner quit using the mower, but that’s very optimistic. So 229 is not plausible, and nothing over 1,000 is likely.

A 1,000-hour 60-inch diesel mower for what I paid would be a dream come true, because it should hit 3,000 with no real problems, and 4,000 would not be much less likely. I figure that even if I clear a lot of scrub so my mowing area grows, I will never break 75 hours per year, and over 20 years, that would keep me in the nice area below 3,000. That would probably get me deep into old age with no more mower buys or major repairs. Then, assuming parts were available, I could rebuild the mower and get myself well into the too-old-to-care years.

My big problem now is that I am itching to kill the bargain by adding appearance upgrades. The sun-ravaged arm rests are costing me a hundred bucks. The bleached lever grips will run me a few dollars. Seat covers are available, and that would mean $300-plus. The seat covers are intact, but new ones would look pretty spiffy. I don’t need any of these things, but they tempt me.

My mulching blades arrived, so I’ll be testing out the built-in deck jack to install them. Based on the way the stock blades chewed everything up, I don’t think I need new ones, but the new ones weren’t expensive, and better is better than good.

It’s always nice to have extra blades in case you hit a rock.

I hope I don’t get any bad surprises, but if I do, I can always bite the bullet and have the mower fixed. Saturday is my next mowing day, so that’s the next opportunity to put it to the test.