Customer Reviews

Snapper 7800545 LT130 AWS Series 46-Inch 23 HP Briggs & Stratton ELS Twin Riding Lawn Mower

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I went to Sears to find a replacement for my 19 year old, 12.5hp, 42" Craftsman lawn tractor and came home with the Snapper LT130. What a difference! I have no complaints about my old tractor - it has performed exceptionally well, but the Snapper seemed to be reading my mind as I went around the yard. Very smooth, responsive, and no lack of power. I was apprehensive at first about the 4 wheel steering, but would not go back to 2 wheel. The tractor seems to be well made with heavy duty parts where it counts. I look forward to many years mowing with the LT130.
3-21-2010: After putting a few hours on the machine I realize that the steering is a bit heavy. I have no problem with it, but someone with limited strength might find it difficult. Still an excellent mower!
4-27-10: I just ordered "high lift" blades for the tractor. (Murray P/N 92117) My "country lawn" is a bit thick for the mulching blades that came with the tractor. The deck gets clogged and really slows down production. I'll post an update when I get the new blades installed. I still say the mower is great, though...
6-19-10 New blades work much better. Mulching blades would probably work well if you mowed on a more regular basis than I do.

I purchased this mower one season ago to replace my old Craftsman 18HP mower that had served me well. The new mower has great power and the turning radius is impressive...it will cut in a circle leaving only a dinner plate sized patch unmowed in the center. I agree with the other reviewer that commented on the heavy steering, especially at low speeds or at a stop. Also, Snapper does not appear to offer a rear bagger or collector for this mower which is something I used often in the fall to collect leaves with my old mower. Overall the Snapper seems to be built of quality components and has a fairly comfortable seat and sitting position. The controls are convenient and clearly understandable. Based on one season of use, I would recommend this mower.

Quick report.
It did not work out of the box. But I did get it going in the end.
Now a slightly longer story.
It was brought here to the Hemlocks by a company called ABF, and dropped in the side yard for driver reasons. That had later implications.
It came in a crate which was a pain in the tail to open up (like I had to use a crow bar). And then it could not get it out of the crate without me using the new Polaris Ranger to snatch it out, which I did do. And the battery to start it was empty, so I have to charge it, and hope it holds a charge. In the meantime I just jump started it. The location was too far for me to charge it by extension cord, so I just used the Polaris to jump start it. Later I hope to drive it over to the barn area and use the charger there during the night. The catch is the safey switch which cuts off the engine when I get up to unhook the jump start Polaris Ranger. More to come.
The rest of it seems to work OK, but I have yet to mow with it. I did test the PTO, and the throttle and choke, and all seemed to work OK. It also has a safety switch so when I get off of the seat it shuts down like my old lawn mower. I will work on that, later.
Last, it came with a 46" mowing deck with mulching blades, which is what I want anyway (though I would prefer a wider mowing deck). And I can set the mowing height from high to low rather easily, so that is good to me, too. Since right now this place is a small jungle, mowing high makes sense.
And one more last. This machine is just different enough from my old John Deere riding lawn mower to where it did help to read the directions, which I did. A new John Deere riding lawn mower was going to cost me like $6K, and this one cost me $2K, and I think I can get parts OK, so only time will tell.

I'm charging it now...I hope. I'll know tomorrow. Plus I have circumvented the safey switch by trial and error. The second try worked just fine. I had to do this to keep the engine running while I unhooked my jump charging vehicle. All this was just to get the lawn mower to the barn to charge the battery. Of course there was a Plan B, which was to leave the lawn mower out in the overnight thunderstorms while I removed the battery to the barn to charge seperately.
The big trade off is cost vs. maintenance, and only time will tell.
I'm already planning my "capital" budget, like another riding lawn mower circa 2016.
And I do enjoy the AWD (all wheel drive), but I agree with others the driving is a bit "heavy", like it takes two hands when going slow. But in the same vein, it turns on a dime, which I think I will enjoy learning how to do well in this rural place on the Cumberland Plateau in east Tennessee.
August 2, 2011 update.
I have mowed with it, again mowing high, and all worked fine. I really appreciate the 23 HP compared to my earlier John Deere with 19 HP in this 3 to 4 acre "lawn". Now chances are the extra HP will use more gas, but this engine does run on regular gas, and has an oil filter, to boot. The directions say to change the oil and filter after the first 5 hours of use, which I will do.

The same tractor is available as an Allis Chalmers manufactured by Simplicity for about $600.00 less. Both Simplicity and Snapper are owned by Briggs and Stratton.

It is an excellent mower tractor although the towing capacity(if that is important) is only 250 lbs. avalable attachments are extremely limited as well.