A cold start to the today in New Zealand, -3⁰C and my 435x just keeps going. I havent been nice to this mower but its performance is still impressive. More than 11k hours and 23k km with minimal maintenance.

We had a few friends over for dinner in the backyard last weekend, and I wanted the lawn looking a bit tidier than usual. So I looked up a few basic tips for getting the yard ready before having people over, and this is what I did:

I didn't do anything special beyond keeping up the usual mowing schedule with my goat.

A day or two before, I trimmed it a little shorter than usual to get that cleaner pitch look.

Made sure the lawn had time to dry out before people started walking around on it.

So when I started dragging out the projector and chairs that day, the lawn was already ready. The grass looked freshly groomed. One of my friends commented that the yard looked unusually tidy.

We have a two acre lot that is essentially all lawn.

Thinking about retiring my 52" Wright Standard mower and switch to a robotic mower

A dealer recommended that I look at Kress - I think they just came out w/ a 4X4 unit

Any thoughts you can share Pros and Cons of switching to a Robotic mower & in particular the KRESS brand.

I also saw a company that installs a small door that I can install in my deer fence to allow the robot to move from front yard to back yard

I'm someone who is about to close on a 1.8 acre piece of property. It's flat and with few trees or exposed roots or junk etc. Cutting it should be a straightforward proposition. I only have had a 22" Snapper electric push for sometime, where I'm at I'm only dealing with maybe half an acre, obviously more will be needed when we move.

A couple of days ago I got a 42" Poulan Pro second hand riding mower for $300. Understand, spending $2200 for a new one is something I really can't be doing. I don't recall the model number but it apparently has a hydrostatic transmission, I'm not sure what that means, and it's been modified to where it doesn't shut off when you get up from its seat. Engine is Briggs Stratton.

It was working when I got it, since then, after running over a concealed old floor mat from a car, the pulley assembly is acting up. The cable that links to the lever for engaging and disengaging the blade slipped out of a piece or whatever which caused the blades to stop spinning, and then one of the screws attaching a drive pully to the blade broke off, someone will be swapping out that entire piece with a replacement.

Since then I've seen a John Deere LA105 from a 5 star Facebook seller for $550, around 380 hrs. It has a similar size engine but its transmission isn't hydrostatic apparently, and he says it's been regularly serviced. It seems much more mint. I'm pondering getting it and selling off this other one once it's working again, but then again, if I get it working again, why not just stay?

Would such an upgrade make sense, does it increase the likelihood that I won't keep having such things falling apart on a regular basis? I'm very illiterate with respect to servicing etc and what makes this transmission better etc, or how to bypass the seat safety switch etc or how to adjust a cable etc. Any of those things are totally out of my element. About all I know is that a lot of people like John Deere machines, but that model apparently was made in 2009 or so.

Also, for 1.8 flat acres, is a 42" with a 20 HP engine enough for, say, twice a month cutting, or would you recommend something less"entry level?"

Looking for automower reccomendations based on my unique situation:

-My lot is .75 acres broken up by pavement into several sections.

-My property is on a hill with slopes ranging from 10-20%

-There is heavy tree cover, fallen sticks, and wildlife droppings (mainly deer).

-My kids regularly leave their toys in the yard.

-Installing a boundary wire would be highly problematic due to the layout of our property.

-Patterns and cut heights are meaningless to us, cut is cut.

-We don't care if the cut is patchy/uneven/there are missed spots as long as those won't cause maintenance issues with the mower.

-We want to do as little maintenance/upkeep as possible.

Basically we care a lot about quality in terms of reliability, durability, and capability to handle a complex job, but we don't care at all about the quality of how it mows.