67L48

Just noticed that John Deere is putting its brand on a line of snowblowers again. 522E (single stage), 726E, 928E, 1130SE, 1332PE.  http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/category/HO_SNOW.html?tm=ho&link=prod_equip_page

These must be a rebrand of an existing machine.  Any info?

I have a Deere JA60 walk-behind mower.  First of all, this is an amazing mower.  Bought it new from the JD dealer back in 1997.  I barely take care of it -- change the oil about once ever 3 years, have never looked at the spark plug, and only store it dry if happens to run out of gas on the last mow of the season.  Keep it in the garage, but in CO, temps go below freezing in the garage.  It has never, ever failed to start on the first pull after sitting the winter.  It's a beast, too.  Goes through tall, wet grass like a tractor.  The aluminum deck is fabulous and I cannot imagine why steel deck mowers are even made today.  10+ years and not a spot of rust!  I just noticed that in 2008, deere doesn't even offer an aluminum deck mower.  What a shame.  Maybe I got a flukey good machine, because I otherwise cannot imagine why the JA6x line of mowers didn't become a defacto standard.

Anyway, enough of that.  I want to convert my mower into a mulching machine ... or at least I want to give it a try.  I cannot, however, find any online info via the deere website.  They have info on the JA62 and some on the JX75.  When I bought my JA60, I'm pretty sure that they all shared the same deck and dimensions and only differed by engine and transmission.  However, I think there were a couple of more iterations of the JA62 and JX75 and I have no idea if the deck dimensions changed.  For those two mowers, deere calls out PN M112582 as the mulch plug.  Also calls out M125413 as the mulch blade.  I'm pretty sure that the blade is correct, but not sure of the plug.

Anyone with any confirmation.  Otherwise I'll ask the dealer -- the online parts center at deere.com states that they have a plug in stock.  Suppose I'll just see if it fits.  Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that the dealer won't have a clue about the old JA60 push mower.

Thanks.

Thanks for the update and glad that the machine is working OK now.  Though I went with the Honda, I'm pretty certain that they're both just as good in the performance/quality department.  Your story seems to be one of bad luck, in my opinion, rather than indictive of systemic poor quality.  I did like the Toro chute control.  Very slick.  But over here, I would have had to pay $170 to get it.  I just couldn't pay that kind of money for a cool chute control.  Honda's is a long handle that you can reach from behind the blower -- so turning the chute *and* changing the deflection angle can be done with one hand on the fly.  My neighbor has a new CCR3650.  Great performance, but watching him hand-crank his chute makes me glad that I don't have a crank.

Love those single-stange blowers!

Here is CO, there is no off-season price break.  Home Depot will slash their inventory in the off-season, but that's it.  The small dealers charge MSRP here year-round.  I had looked at snowblowers for the past 2+ years looking for a deal ... after passing on a $500 Ariens 926 and a $350 Honda HS520AS at HD in 2005.  Nothing.  If you live east of Michigan, then there are a zillion deals, auctions, etc.  In CO?  You think it never snowed here by the lack of snowblower auctions, resell, and dealer sales.  When there are listings, it's for unreal amounts -- bought new in 2002 for $1,600, barely used, $1,500 OBO.  Apparently, 5 years of use and rust doesn't depreciate a piece of outdoor equipment here in CO.  Yep, I'm bitter!  ;)  Tired of reading all of the "wait until the off-season to get a good deal" posts!  Where I live, it could be 105 in mid-August or 15 in mid-Jan with 10" of snow and the price of that snowblower is exactly the same ... and the dealers are just as unwilling to deal.

I was in a similar situation as you back in November 2007.  I wanted a snowblower, but a 2-stage just doesn't work for me.  Expensive, big, and probably overkill.  I posted here in mid-November and you can look up that post for more info.  Here's the summary:

Toro:  I wanted a 4-stroke and really liked the new chute control mechanism.  However, the dealer wanted full MSRP at $760 and wouldn't budge.  Didn't seem to know a whole lot about the product -- probably spends more time learning about the 2-stagers and the myriad Stihl products he sells.

Honda:  Have had good experience with Honda engines/products in the past.  Have read lots of good reviews on the internet.  Lists for $650, but widely available at local dealers for $600.

Ariens:  Highest hp rating at 7, but a 2-stroke engine.  Could not find any information about this blower on the internet.  Ariens makes great 2-stage units, but single-stage is a completely different beast.  The ariens dealer was across town from me and I got lazy.  Never checked it out.  Still have never seen any info on it.

For me, it came down to Toro vs. Honda.  I couldn't find a reason to spend $160 more on the Toro, so I went with the Honda.  I've now used it about 6 times and here are some brief thoughts:

1)  Easiest thing to start.  I just give a limp-wristed half-hearted pull and it fires right up

2)  Eats snow.  Have had mostly 3 - 5", and our latest was 8-10".  Some spots I was blowing were over 12" deep.  The snow isn't slushy wet, but wet enough that you could make snowballs and snowmen.  No problems at all.  I tend to keep the chute pointed down, but when wide open, I think it's throwing between 25 - 35' (I can throw snow across the street and from my driveway to my neighbor's driveway).

3)  Love the chute control design.  Before using it, I was a little concerned about the handle design, versus a crank design.  I now love the handle.  I can easily reach out and spin the chute.  Takes about 0.5 seconds.  The chute has never moved on its own.

4)  My neighbor got a new CCR3650, 2-str.  Much louder and has more of a surging sound to it.  Watching him use the hand crank also makes me glad I don't have one.  With that said, his blows the snow just as well as mine does.  Performance-wise, they appear to do the same job with the same quality.

5)  Fully self-propelled.  When those augers hit the pavement, look out.  I'm 5'11" and 175 lbs and this thing will take me for a ride if I'm not careful. I ended up buying some stabilicers (metal cleats -- like Yak Trax on steroids) to keep the snowblower from dragging me around my driveway.

I am so glad now not to have a 2-stage blower.  The Honda 1-stage works so well, is easy to use, and the lawn-mower size fits my garage perfectly.  Good luck.

I finally chose the Honda HS520A.  I like 4-stroke engines (nothing to do with environmental reasons), I like Honda engines, and I hate Toro's prices.

I bought through the Honda eStore (to get the free cover).  Word to the wise -- call your local dealer and make sure that they understand how it works, as it's very dependent on the individual dealership.  I screwed around with one dealer for a week before finally giving up and buying one at dealer #2.  Not going to bore you with the details, just make sure that if you go this route to call the dealer first.

Anyway, got the blower on the night before an expected snow fall.  Got just over 3" that night.  Blew the crap out of snow.  My initial impression was one of anger.  Anger at all the people who try to convince people to go to a 2-stage.  I stated the ~6" snow, normal residential driveway conditions here and still got people trying to sell me the 9 hp Ariens.  Anway, maybe my mind will change eventually, but the first snow was perfect and the little single-stage ate it up.  I know one guy who has a big 2-stage snowblower and was shoveling snow that day.  I didn't ask why, but I assume that it's because he felt a 2-stage is overkill for a 3" snowfall.  I know that I would have used any snowblower.  3" is enough snow that shoveling a triple-wide is still work.  If all I owned was a 13hp 32", I would have been out there with it!

Here's the bad news.  A guy one house over and two houses down from me also got a new single stage blower (looked like a Toro).  Why is this bad news?  Because, he started before me -- did his driveway, nearly all of the sidewalk on his side of the street and then did the sidewalks on my side of the street.  I was actually blowing my driveway when he started blowing my side walk ... and I live on a corner lot, so there's a lot of sidewalk.  That really pissed me off.  When I was done with my driveway, there was nothing left to blow -- the other guy did everything else within reasonable walking distance.  So, I was a little annoyed at the other guy's zeal, but it was nice of him to do so much work, I suppose.  I'm guessing that after the 3rd or 4th snowfall, neither of us will be as charitable, as our toys won't be new anymore.  ;-)