Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

A friend of mine was telling me he bought his wife a John Deere L-100 mower---says it has a 20 HP Brigg,s engine.  Just curious about the price and quality of such mower.  He did not tell me how much he paid for it.  He has always used Snapper  RER for 30 years.  ---Will

Deere's website lists the L100 as a 17 HP single cylinder Briggs with a 5 speed gear tranny and a 42" mower deck for a list price of $1499. They also list a L111 with a 20 HP twin Briggs with a hydro and 42" deck for a list of $1799. These are machines you will see at Home Depot, and are Deere's answer to other big box store lawn tractors. Probably as good a choice as most other machines in that price range for a 1 acre or less level suburban lawn.

Will, most people that have bought them seem to like them. It won't be another 30 year Snapper though.

One of our members that you may remember, Jimbob, has a JD L-100 which is the manual tranny model. He always had good reports of it. You might PM him, I haven't seen him around in a while though. maybe he still checks the forum but hasn't posted in a while?

My nieghbor has an L110 which is the hydro version of the L100.  He's happy as a pig in shi...He likes it a lot.  Cuts nice, no problems to date (about 2 years or so).  He traded in a well worn STX38 at a Deere dealer.

LL

That's a good report lland.  I'll keep them in my list. 

For mowing on primarily flat ground, I'm sure it will hold for many, many years for him.  I would not do ANY hauling w/ it, no matter how lite the cart, or snow blading.  It is a mower only!!  JD's site has a cool comparrison chart of their tractors that I posted a while back.  Compares frame thickness, and all that fun stuff we crave.

Thank all of you for your information.  Sounces like a good buy for the money---Will

I have a L-120 with a 48" deck and it is the a 2 year old with a little over 200 hours.  I have used it only for mowing a light hauling.  This is a really good tractor for the mowing end and it has taken a lot of abuse from me and keeps coming back with a incredible job of making my old reclaimed pasture (incredibly rough yard with rutts and bumps all over it) smooth and good looking.  The engine has never bogged down in all the time I have had it (I have even mowed 12 inch high grass and one pass and its mowed nice and neat) and the only problem was I hit a rock once or something and had to replace the spindle (I don't do just one but replaced all three, and also replaced the orginal blades which I had sharpened but they needed to be replaced this was at 185 hours, that way I am in once and out and the new spindles have a grease zerk which the old ones do not)  The comparsion I have is to a el cheapo old Murray garden tractor and this one is much easier to manage and much easier to control with the foot hydro and the Murray with the gear lever.  I also had a Craftsman which absolutely was underbought for my 2 acre lot and just plain could not stand the yard as it literally was falling apart from day one on my yard.  This is no bash on the Craftsman but it just could not take the bumps and rutts as I had 4 stamped steel axles in a little over 2 years.  The Craftsman ended up at my nephews place where he had a smooth 1/2 acrce lot and it works great for him.

It's nice to know they have grease fittings.  It don't think many except Husqvarna do in that price range/ model. 

The Cub Cadet 1000 series has grease fittings and 4 deck wheels.

AJace wrote:
I am guessing it is a running change and that the newer mowers will get the new spindles after JD has used up the old ones first.  I noticed that some of the tractors at Home Depot have the new spindles with the grease zerks and a few did not have them. 

Yeah, I have an L100 that I bought from HD last year.

I have a 1/3 acre, flat lawn and this machine cuts beautifully in my situation. Yard looks like a carpet when I finish mowing.

I kind of don't like the gear shifter, it is a little crude and rough. But otherwise I am happy with the machine. If this is what you are interested in, get it you will like it.