I bought the 10685 last season b/c I had to have a Lawnboy and couldn't find a new 2 cycle close to home. I've since found a few, but still use my 10685 quite often. For mulching its great, side discharge is about as good as any I guess (never really heard of anyone proclaiming the discharge quality of their mower), and it bags well too, but... In my opinion the bag is a bit small. If you stay on top of your grass cutting, and don't let it get too high, then you should be OK. I was accustomed to a snapper hi-vac with a much larger bag and could go so much further before needing to empty the bag, however the LB does a nicer job of bagging than the snapper did. The tec6.5 has tremendous power also. There are many here that knock the newer lawnboys, and I can understand that with the cult following the 2 cycle LB's have... They are purists and thats cool. I wouldn't trade my 10323's or 10550 for anything, but I also don't mind having the 10685 around at all. **Personal experience story - following hurricane Katrina, we were cut off from returning to our homes for weeks. I had been way behind on cutting my grass (almost 3 weeks since last cut when the storm hit) and it was at least 3-4 weeks until I got home after the storm. The house had been flooded due to the local govt. deciding to not run the drainage pumps and we had an extreme amount of work to do. After a full day of removing furniture, drywall, etc. I felt the need to actually see an improvement in the house so I went out to the shed (raised 18" off the ground so didn't flood) and pulled out the 10685. The lawn was hideous to say the least, but I needed to get this done. I setup for side-discharge, jacked the wheels all the way up (4") and just walked through the lawn. The mower slowed/bogged down maybe 3 times throughout the whole cut. You can only imagine the windrows that were left behind... I made a 2nd pass with the wheels set a bit lower (3.5") and concentrated on running over all the piles of grass, and then made a 3rd run mulching with the wheels set just at my normal cut height (3") and finished up for the day. While my finished product was not a 'beautiful' manicured lawn, it was 100x's better than it was before. It at least made me feel like something was getting done and I actually got comments on how nice the mower cut over the next few days from neighbors. It's funny how something like a lawnmower can change a situation and attitude so drastically. Good luck with your purchase. -mike s.

I think that's a pretty good deal. I was just at Lowe's this past week and saw a John Deere electric start push mower on sale for about $300, around $150 off the original price. It looked like brand new and I wondered why the big discount. I was told that it was because the person who bought it changed his mind and that Lowe's can't sell it as new and gives a good sale price on it. Even though he said they don't usually do it, the guy held it for me until I could drag my husband down to look at it and see what he thought. He liked it too and so we bought it. Neither of us has gotten around to starting it yet. Heck, I'm not even sure what oil we should buy for it. I suppose it says in the book, but neither of us has had time to read the manual yet. I don't know offhand which model it is, but is electric start. We're both tired of having to practically pull our guts out trying to start push mowers and so decided that this one was the one for us! The salesman said if we would run it and decide we didn't like it, we have 30 days to return it.

I have the John Deere X320, bought in 2006. It has a 48" 3 blade deck, which I put the mulching kit on, including mulching blades. I live on a hillside, and have some steep hills. I've never had any problems at all, including when I pull around my 48" core aerator and trailor full of who knows what. I did put two of the suitcase weights on the back to help with traction on the hills. I also have many blue spruces to mow around, so I slapped a grill gaurd on the front, which actually does help, even though I wanted it for the cool look. The cut is good, but I follow a pattern, so it looks better. I keep the mowing height at 2.75", which is healthier for the lawn, but is also the lowest I can go before I get too close to scalping on the hill crests. The deck is easy enough to take off and put on, but leveling the deck is a pain, although not hard to do. As for leaving grass clumps with the mulch deck, well, it ONLY happens when I have let the lawn grow too long, and it is wet. In that case, I just drive over it a 2nd time and it goes away. All in all, I am VERY happy with my X320, and really enjoy mowing with it. Oh, and about the 4-wheel steer, I was told by the guy at the dealership to avoid it if you have steep hills, as you risk a rollover if you have to turn on a hill, which I do. Joe

The Tecumseh model and type # was originally on the blower housing where the recoil starter mounts. However, if you follow the link- you can use JD parts look-up as well. Here is a link that might be useful: JD parts