anybody had any experience with the John Deere x300R

Hi, looking to buy a new ride on mower and have looked at this. I need a new ride on that is capable of collecting clippings. Limited to a machine that will fit in the ifor williams which is 1250mm wide. Also do not have the budget for a commercial Etesia, JD, Iseki etc.

 

Have looked at the x300R over the x155R because it has a Kawasaki engine not a B&S, also the X300 boasts to have the turbo star mower system which assists the grass into the bag, this model does cost about £1150 more

 

John Deere is also local only about 15 miles away

 

Realistically how effecting are they at collecting, wet & dry

 

 

Tags: John, deere, mower, on, ride

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Permalink Reply by AndyCharles-EnborneGardeningCo on March 25, 2011 at 9:11
I have a client who has just bought an x540 - first time she used it, on slightly damp grass, she had to continually stop to clear the blocked grass collector.
Permalink Reply by Nic Johnson on March 25, 2011 at 9:58
look on ebay for a used etesia or even better come to the open day tomorrow and try them out theres a hydro 80 on ebay that will be cheap and hydro 100 are always on for around £2000 alot better picking up than the john deere etesia are tried and tested
Permalink Reply by Gareth Davies on March 25, 2011 at 15:41

Have a customer with the same mower which i use. Have to say i'm not very impressed, it blocks on long grass and no good in the wet, turning circle very poor and won't cut mowing backwards, though i think you can bypass this. If the machine does block you have to turn it on it's side to unblock the chute which can be a nuisance on your own. One thing I do like is that it leaves a good finish for a ride on and the kawasaki engine is great.

 

If I was you I would be looking at a second hand etesia or kubota, both commercial machines which are nicer to use and will last a lot longer. The John Deere is a domestic machine and you can tell with the build quality.


PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Steve Sonic Grounds Maintenance on March 25, 2011 at 16:12

I use the John Deere X320.

I chose the 320 over the X300 because of the extra HP of the engine and the grass collecting boxes are two seperate boxes so it is easy to empty the grass boxes.

In the wet it is not great. The collecting shoot does tend to block but i dont make a habit of cutting wet grass but of course sometimes you cant avoid cutting wet grass.

I know your problem. You want a mower that is good but also good value for money.

Would i buy another John deere? No. Reason? Their customer service is crap! I find it so hard to find decent parts and to get the dealer to send them to me! I rung one dealer to get it serviced and they werent interested. All they were interested in were new sales!  Seriously i think their customer services is terrible.

Got to say though, the engine is excellent (KW)

When mulching the mower is superb. Dry grass. Superb. Wet grass. Not good if its long wet grass!

Hope this helps

 

Permalink Reply by Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices on March 25, 2011 at 17:41

thanks for the input.  some great feedback and food for thought. Think I will hold out for a second hand kubota or etesia. seen this one ebay what to you think of this, and it's only an hour drive away.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Etesia-MVEHH-direct-collect-commercial-ride-m...

 

or is the hydro 80 or 100 a better option

 


PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Andrew @ The Outsidedge on March 25, 2011 at 18:50

I run an X300R , currently has 340ish hours on the clock.

 

It was the best new mower I could afford at the time as my previous ride-on was done and needed a replacement that week.

 

Pros would be it produces a good finish of cut, quick for most domestic gardens, fits in my trailer along with two walk behinds and it can cut in reverse.

 

Cons would be its not so great cutting wet grass, but does handle semi-damp grass. Grass box can be a bugger to lift off when full. Servicing costs can as in most cases with equipment be on the steep side.

 

Would I buy another one? No. As I would like a high lift grass box.

Permalink Reply by Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices on March 25, 2011 at 21:16


Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices said:

thanks for the input.  some great feedback and food for thought. Think I will hold out for a second hand kubota or etesia. seen this one ebay what to you think of this, and it's only an hour drive away.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Etesia-MVEHH-direct-collect-commercial-ride-m...

 

or is the hydro 80 or 100 a better option

 

any views and opinions on the above model for sale or should I hang out for a hydro 100, but need one soon

 

Permalink Reply by Trevor @ Lawnmower World on March 26, 2011 at 11:44

I know that a lot of the smaller JD tractors are not actually JD Tractors and that one in particular looks like a glorified Lawnflite to me!

 

You could save yourself a good 2 grand by going with a lawnflite and sticking with a good Briggs engine although I wouldnt recommend it for contract use its still a very competent tractor and uses a very "similar" fan assist collect!

 

One of the best collecting tractors on the market for wet or dry grass are the Viking's

Viking Lawn Tractors

Permalink Reply by Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices on March 26, 2011 at 16:23
invested in a ex demo etesia hydro 80 today, 25 hours on the display, looks like new. being delivered Tuesday. I would have loved to have come to the etesia open day today( would have been a good drive up from west wales) but had a school contract to do first thing and having just had the contract renewed for the ninth year I was unable to come. Anyway the day has ended well, cannot wait until Tuesday. Thanks again for all your input

nic johnson said:
look on ebay for a used etesia or even better come to the open day tomorrow and try them out theres a hydro 80 on ebay that will be cheap and hydro 100 are always on for around £2000 alot better picking up than the john deere etesia are tried and tested
Permalink Reply by Gordon Easson on April 6, 2011 at 8:49

Hi Ryan

Any chance of an update on your new Etesia purchase. Kinda keen on a change from my John Deere which gives me no end of grief in the wet !..........thanks.   Gordon

Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices said:

invested in a ex demo etesia hydro 80 today, 25 hours on the display, looks like new. being delivered Tuesday. I would have loved to have come to the etesia open day today( would have been a good drive up from west wales) but had a school contract to do first thing and having just had the contract renewed for the ninth year I was unable to come. Anyway the day has ended well, cannot wait until Tuesday. Thanks again for all your input

nic johnson said:
look on ebay for a used etesia or even better come to the open day tomorrow and try them out theres a hydro 80 on ebay that will be cheap and hydro 100 are always on for around £2000 alot better picking up than the john deere etesia are tried and tested
Permalink Reply by Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices on April 13, 2011 at 17:56
Sorry for late reply, had not seen this post. will be using for the 1st time this saturday. Have pulled in a commercial contract with a international company, and it's taken this long for them to approve my insurances, put me onto their system, and all the health and safety stuff, had their health and safety induction today. So roll on Saturday and hopefully I will be impressed. I will keep you posted

Gordon Easson said:

Hi Ryan

Any chance of an update on your new Etesia purchase. Kinda keen on a change from my John Deere which gives me no end of grief in the wet !..........thanks.   Gordon

Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices said:

invested in a ex demo etesia hydro 80 today, 25 hours on the display, looks like new. being delivered Tuesday. I would have loved to have come to the etesia open day today( would have been a good drive up from west wales) but had a school contract to do first thing and having just had the contract renewed for the ninth year I was unable to come. Anyway the day has ended well, cannot wait until Tuesday. Thanks again for all your input

nic johnson said:
look on ebay for a used etesia or even better come to the open day tomorrow and try them out theres a hydro 80 on ebay that will be cheap and hydro 100 are always on for around £2000 alot better picking up than the john deere etesia are tried and tested
Permalink Reply by briggsandscrapem on April 13, 2011 at 18:43

take a spare blade with you, they bend easily on these mowers. And be carefull with the cutter deck as they dont stand up to too much abuse. You'll experience problems with the steering in the future but dont worry about it as its very easy to work on and the parts are cheap enough.

The biggest problem ive faced with our bahia is people pointing and laughing as they look so funny. At least the hydro 80 has some cowling around the steering column to beef the looks up a bit.

 

happy mowing, mike.

Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices said:

Sorry for late reply, had not seen this post. will be using for the 1st time this saturday. Have pulled in a commercial contract with a international company, and it's taken this long for them to approve my insurances, put me onto their system, and all the health and safety stuff, had their health and safety induction today. So roll on Saturday and hopefully I will be impressed. I will keep you posted

Gordon Easson said:

Hi Ryan

Any chance of an update on your new Etesia purchase. Kinda keen on a change from my John Deere which gives me no end of grief in the wet !..........thanks.   Gordon

Ryan @RNWilliamsGardenServices said:

invested in a ex demo etesia hydro 80 today, 25 hours on the display, looks like new. being delivered Tuesday. I would have loved to have come to the etesia open day today( would have been a good drive up from west wales) but had a school contract to do first thing and having just had the contract renewed for the ninth year I was unable to come. Anyway the day has ended well, cannot wait until Tuesday. Thanks again for all your input

nic johnson said:
look on ebay for a used etesia or even better come to the open day tomorrow and try them out theres a hydro 80 on ebay that will be cheap and hydro 100 are always on for around £2000 alot better picking up than the john deere etesia are tried and tested

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