John Deere Garden Tractor Review

Overall 5.00 of 5 view all 3 reviews

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kid-kansas
Clearwater, KS

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Nothing Cuts grass or lasts longer than a Deere

willing to pay for quality, loving this product, a do-it-yourselfer, a homeowner, impressed with this product, practical, value conscious

Pros

Powerful, Reliable, Easy to handle, Affordable

Cons

See Pros

NOV

2007

I have had my John Deere for 2/12 years now and I love it. I have just over 1 acre and that means lots of grass to mow every week. Mine is a 42" cut with a grass catching system attachment on it. First lets talk about the controls on the L-118 garden tractor. Height adjustment goes from 1 to 4" in 1/2" increments, with a height a memory indicator so you can easily remember where you want it set. The lever is on your left and works very easy with not much effort. Your blade engage lever is to the right of the steering wheel and is easy to reach. Forward and reverse are operated with one pedal and very well placed. Your brake and clutch pedal is on the left and again not a lot of effort is required to operate it. Engine controls are on the left of the steering wheel and include a speed adjustment and your choke. Your gas tank is under the seat and holds 2.1 which will cut my yard twice on one tankful. There is also an hour meter so you know when service is needed.

This is a twin blade mower deck with a mulching, bagging blade already installed. The cradle that houses the deck is on a 5 pin set-up so removing the deck takes a matter of about 5 minutes tops. To mulch you just put the stopper on the grass discharge and you can enrich your lawn easy. The bagger system attaches to the same spot and like the mulch stopper it goes on and off with relative ease. Tight turns around trees, decks, swimming pools or the occasional dog run amuck is simple. The tires are very turf friendly so your beautiful yard will stay that way.

All I have done to mine is to change the oil when I first got it (after a 5 hours) what they call the initial break in period and at 50 hours. Now you don't even have to remember the 50 hour point. Because your hour meter will flash to tell you to change the oil. I have also sharpened my blades twice (end of each season), although they really were not too bad.

I had one problem with my L-118 after about the 2nd. month, I had a tire that kept going down. Not a problem, I took it in and they fixed it in about 30 minutes at no charge. Not into changing your own oil or any other work on you mower. Not a problem at all, John Deere has a program for $135 where they will come pick it up, service it and return it to you. How's that for service. Mine still has the original battery in it, if fact I haven't replaced any parts on it since I bought it.

You can buy many attachments for your John Deere, grass baggers, aerators, a sun canopy even a snow plow. You can also pull garden carts behind you with no effort at all as the 22 H.P. engine has plenty of power to get the job done. I paid $1999 for mine and you won't find another tractor for this price with all the power and reliability that the L-118 offers.

The L118 has a 22 hp. engine and a Hydrostatic drive (automatic) forward and reverse are controlled by one pedal. As a safety feature it is not designed to cut in reverse, unless you want it too. Then you simply press the override switch (located on the left of the steering wheel) and it will also then cut in reverse. Get off the machine while running and the engine will shut down. A very useful safety feature that can save serious injuries.

Last edited on Dec 09, 2007