Congratulations on the new mower! Any photos of it?

 

thanks! i'm trying to have pics up before the end of the week, of my 36 and the old 140

 

Hi Zacman,

I'm really interested to hear your views on the JS36.

I'm looking at buying a self propelled walk behind, and there isn't huge choice here. The John Deere range is by far the least expensive in New Zealand, so I'm hoping you Deere owners might have any advice on the current range?

Was there a reason you bought the 36 over the 46?

Does anyone else have a JS36 or JS46? What are your experiences? Any and all feedback appreciated.
Andy

 

first, although i would have liked to have the slightly more powerful engine offered with the 46, i didn't want the electric start option. i think that if they offered the 46 with the engine upgrade only w/o the electric start i would've purchased it for sure.

secondly, i've only mowed with it 4 times so far, a total of about 2 acres or so. i mulch the grass, haven't tried out the bagger or side discharge yet. having said that, my two favorite features (and what sold me on this machine) are the mow-mentum system, and the one lever four corner height adjustment. i had read about the mowmentum online, and didn't have high expectations for it to be honest. i tried it at the local dealership, and it is awesome!! seamless performance, instant response, from a slow crawl if i see something shiny and get distracted, to an (almost) jog if i'm on a straight stretch. the rear wheel drive is nice also, i prefer it now to front wheel propel.

if i wasn't clear or if anyone has more questions, please feel free to ask!

oh, and the 36 was $399 american and the 46 was $499 american. 26 was $349, if anyones interested.

 

I am a commercial cutter and have a 36" Bobcat Ransomes. belt/gear drive. Hydros would be nice but expensive. I love running them as they are easy to use on all terrains and cut anything (small bushes.. oops) you will love that machine. they cut very well ans since I started using one my yard has looked alot better.

 

i wouldnt get one with the momentum drive-its just another version of personal pace-whitch works by slipping the belt to slow down-the result is less pull at low speeds

 

i'm not sure what the personal pace is, but what do you mean by less pull at low speeds?

 

it varies the pace by slipping the belt and you have to coax the mower along by giving it a slight push. this gets very tiring for ederly and thick soft spongy lawns or going up hill. you only get full self propel at full speed. i wonder if deere has found a way to enginere around this? i havnt inspected the deere sys to see how it is supposed to work-but with entry level model -i wouldnt expect much. i have yet to see a belt drive that "varies" the ground by any other means than slipping the belt.this is for the low cost models-there are some upper end models that the pully changes diameter and actually provides a true ground speed change but these are not common

 

ok. i don't think mine has the variable diameter pully system (basically the same clutch setup as found on snowmobiles?). however, other than reminding myself that i can walk as fast as i want now when mowing, there is almost zero effort. then again, i am a young, spry, 29 year old lol.

 

Hi again Zacman, and thanks for the reply.

The electric start is something that appeals to me on the 46, plus the full pressure lube on the engine. Walk behind mowers just dont have that here. With the mowmentum system, I would have thought that if the belt was slipping too much, you just alter the lever position so it isn't? I guess a test at my dealer will tell. Prices here are way over the odds. $750 NZD for a 36, $950 for a 46. At least I think thats right. But a Honda is close to $2000, a Toro $1500, Masport and Lawnmaster (both kiwi made) are about $1700.
I'll definitely be asking my dealer for a test, and most likely will buy in the next few days.

Thanks again,

Andy

 

yeah, i was really on the fence about the 46 because of the engine, for sure. and **** (!!) kiwi prices are wild, although i don't know what the exchange rate is. actually, its 1 USD = 1.2502 NZD currently, so my $399 USD js36 is $599 USD over there. Holy Cow!

 

I liked my JS36 when it actually ran. I bought it new last year and it was in back to the dealer 3 times in less than a year. The coil was bad or something each time. Mine would run great for 30 mins then when it got good and warm it would shut down like it was out of gas and not start again until it was cool. The warranty ran out and I sold it. I will never buy another new John Deere product that is new or made by MTD. I now have a 12sb with a few problems but it runs and a 1971 Gravely 408 lawn tractor. I hope you have better luck with your JS36 than I did. I did like all the features it had though. Make sure you have the right bolt in the front that adjusts the cut of the mower. I had 2 shear off and finally got the correctly hardened bolt.

 

Yeah, the prices are a bit rich compared to what you guys pay. I imagine the small stuff like walk behind mowers are just loaded into containers, packed around the ag and commercial stuff, so freight cant be a real issue

 

I've had my JS36 since last April. It mows much better than the husqvarna and craftsman I used to have.

Vando, if there's any specific info you would like about it, I'd be glad to help.

JD

 

honda tried that worked well except the shaft drive wasnt durable

 

just bought a JS36. gonna pick it up in the morning and try it out this weekend. My old 21" Bolens/MTD is 8 years old this season. It put in a good life never had any issues with it. Its just getting tired/beat up. Plus, who doesn't like spending money on a new piece of outdoor lawn equipment? haha

 

when i was at the jd dealership picking mine up, i was shooting the breeze while the guy was filling out my registry/warranty paperwork. he mentioned that usually they sell 20-30 pushmowers per season, this year they were on their third truckload already!

 

Hi JD, Zacman, et al,

About the only thing that really concerns me is the cut height. Kiwi's are notorious for cutting their lawns very short, so the 33mm minimum on the JS is a lot higher than I'm used to. New Zealand made walk behinds will go right down to about 10mm. The only other thing is the bag size. It doesn't look all that big, but it will just mean more emptying, or I start mulching. Not a biggy, just an observation.

I need to stop dithering and just buy one

Andy

 

lol, stop at the dealer and try one out. as far as the cut height, i keep my yard at 70mm-80mm+. i mow mine every 4-5 days depending on weather, try not to take more than 25mm off at a time. and i mulch, so i can't tell you about the bag. it looks decent, and well constructed lol.

 

Tom,

Did you get to use your new mower yet? How did you find it?

 

Sorry I just got on and saw this. Yes I did use it on 3 lawns over the weekend. I love it! After reading the reviews on Lowes' website, I started to have my doubts. But now that I have used it personally, I think it is awesome. I found that for trim work, locking the mowmentum system works best so you can push down on the handle to pivot the deck around trees and what not. Plenty of power, starts very well, height adjustment is smooth and easy. Mowmentum works great. Have only mulched with it so far so I have no comment on the bagging and discharge abilities.

 

Pics!!! lol



Mower at highest setting:

Mower at lowest setting:

Mower from the other side, at the height i mow at:

 

Woot! John Deere for the win! lol

 

i am sad to see everyone going to the personal pace type of self propel. i hope its only a passing fad.

 

its the best, you should stop by a dealer and try one. no effort, slow/fast/whatever speed......awesome!

 

I just bought JS46 a few days ago.Its my first self propelled and will be used as a trim mower.I have riders but wanted a bagger for up by the house to keep the tracking clipping into the house to a minimum.

Always used a push mower and never had a bagger.So its a lot heavier then what im use to.What sold me was the lock out feature so it can be used as a push mower to trim around trees and things.

From what I have used it the mowmentum drive seems to work really well.Got it after finishing up mowing.So waiting for the grass to grow to really try it out.

The reason I went with the 46 was because of the engine upgrade.I like the idea of the oil filter and it also had better reviews.I did not care about the electric start.But it seems to work ok and I did not have to charge the battery.It had a build date of January.So it must hold a charge OK.

My only complaint after reading the manual.Is no oil drain plug?Whats up with that.For $500.00 it should have a plug and not be a tipper.

 

....My only complaint after reading the manual.Is no oil drain plug?Whats up with that.For $500.00 it should have a plug and not be a tipper.

Sure about that JD? The exploded engine view on JD Parts shows it still has a drain plug.

Now that you mention it, seems like the manual on my MTD pressure washer with a Briggs engine talked about tipping it to drain it. But I found the drain plug in the usual spot and used it instead.

 

i want a self propel to actually pull me along-not you coax it along.

 

:

you know, you can lock the mowmentum at any speed lol it will definitely drag you around if thats your thing :fing32:. and, you can lock it at whatever speed you choose, unlike old mowers.

 

if you let go of the handle, it stops just like every other mower on the planet.

 

Yea thats right I forgot about that.:thThumbsU.This is my first self propelled push mower.Still trying to get use to it.

 

i haven't locked mine yet, nor changed the oil of course. is the oil change a once a season kind of deal?

 

Zac, I changed mine out after about 5 hours. The oil was gray color, probably from the shavings. There's a u-shaped bar over the drain plug, so I wound up tipping it over.

 

I looked underneth and did not see a drain plug.The manual saids to tip it.First oil change is at 5 hours.Will be awhile before I get 5 hours on it however.Wonder if those suction pumps work.

 

Well, can I just thank the JS36/46 owners who have posted feedback on this thread.
Feedback from actual users is way better than any brochure, or comments from people who think they know, but have never actually used a machine.
Regards,

Andy

 

your welcome, lol.

 

My concern is how the plastic mowmentum bar will hold up over time.I have had a habit in the past to raise the back of a push mower to turn it.Not something I will be doing with this one.However I almost have to do that to get it out of the shed.

 

it took me a sec also to get used to mowing around trees etc. with the rear wheel drive