Well, I blow snow maybe 3 times each winter with a low end push blower. It's just enough that the blower makes my life a lot easier. I was thinking the blower attachment might be a bit of over kill, but a good bit more efficent. The extra horsepower would be nice but not needed for mowing I do. I'd just get the Craftsman because of the power and blower attachment, but this will probably be the only riding mower I ever get because of the prices of new mowers and I'm getting one of these in trade for an older Bolens deisel 15HP tractor that's way to big for my yard (but an awesome tractor). I want to make sure I can continue to get the tractor I trade for fixed and with less frustration based on quality. I'm worried the Craftsman will start nickle and diming me, but the JD is the low end model so may not be much better like you mention. The other issue is the 23HP Vtwin Kohler in the Craftsman vs. the 13HP single Kohler in the JD, is that a big deal for a small yard? Anyway, thanks for the quick response. I'm off to compare the 2 mowers later today. Herb

This is my first time on here, so I don't exactly know how to post so here goes. My JD-425 has a flooding problem. Sometimes it runs ok, and sometimes not. When I turn on the ignition, the fuel pump starts (as normal) and I can usually start it. Then, after running for a while, it begins flooding. This is between 15 minutes and half an hour most of the time. I can keep it running if I go full throttle and have the tractor under load, like mowing grass, but there is so much gas entering the carb that there is a bit of black smoke as well. If I stop it and remove the air cleaner, and look into the carb, there is gas everywhere. Here is what I did so far... The carb was new 3 years ago. But I removed it, and took it apart (did this 3 times). Each time I took it apart and put it back together, I know I did it right because the machine started and ran as noted above. I thought it just might be plugged or something. The first time I took it apart I also replaced the electric solenoid valve, just to be sure. And I know it works, because I saw it operating with the carb disassembled. Then, I thought it might be that the float valve was leaking or perhaps the floats had a hole and was full of gas. All was good. When the carb was back together, I blew into the fuel hose when the carb was full of gas and proved that the float valve was working. Hmmm. There is a manual in-line fuel shutoff valve, so what I did was throttle it back so that it would take 30 seconds to to let about an ounce of fuel out. Full blast, the pump actually pumps a lot of fuel. This time, I was able to keep the machine from flooding too bad. And was able to mow the 1 acre of grass I have. Today, however was different. It ran for about 5 minutes, then began to act up. I turned it off, removed the air cleaner and looked into the carb. When I turn the ignition switch on, (not engaging the starter) I can see tons of gas coming out of every carb orifice, flooding into the engine gas everywhere. This is without the engine running. The only thing I can come up with is that the fuel pump for some unknown reason has too much pressure behind it. Another wierd thing is that when I turn a sharp corner, under the flooding condition, the flooding gets noticably worse. Any ideas anyone? Is there a pressure regulator somewhere in the fuel pump line? Thanks.

Thanks for the posts, I appreciate your input and suggestions. I looked at the JD 2305, and it will be a couple thousand more with similar attachments I'm looking at on the x720. The x720 is already in the "a couple thousand more" category for me. Plus, the x720 may be one step up from what I really need, the 2305 is definitely much more than I need. Used JD x400 series is a good suggestion. That's how I started this journey. I've since convinced myself that I don't want to spend that much money (although it would be a few thousand less expensive than new) on a used tractor. elfii, the price you mention for the x540 seems high to me. I've got a quote for an x720 with 54" deck, 54" front blade (with kit for angling and down pressure), rear quick-tach weights and tire chains for around $10,500 final price including tax (including a $600 discount on x700 series through my job - no, I don't work for JD). I configured a Kubota BX1850 with similar attachments and came in at $12,286 list price. If I assume a price reduction off list and tax off-set each other I'm still at roughly $1500 more for the BX1850. I agree the BX1850 is more tractor, but it's not for free and as I stated in my original post - I'm not impressed with my local Kubota dealer. Thanks again for the suggestions. I feel like this is a situation where there is no "right" answer, just a matter of choosing what feels like the "best" answer.

My 18 year old JD170 finally 'died'. Or so I told myself and my wife. :-) Actually, one of the spindles broke and everyone knows that a broken spindle can't be fixed. Right? So what's a guy to do (sob). What any guy would do -- I went and bought a brand new X300 which will be delivered in 2 days. I only cut a mostly flat 1/2 acre so the X300 is overkill but who cares! I do want to buy the snow blower attachment and figured the X300 will be excellent for that purpose. I really can't wait. By the way Jaws, the spec sheet says the X300 has the K46 transmission, not the T46. I didn't read this post until last night, so I didn't get down to look at the sticker. All the posts though just confirmed that I bought one great machine. I might bypass the RIO switch though as I didn't buy the 4WS and do back up quite a bit. My 170 still has a perfectly running Kawasaki 14HP engine and tranny. What a workhorse! I gave pause to look at the HuskVys and Cub Cadets, but my 170 made me a JD loyalist. It really gave me outstanding service and I wasn't one to take care of it much. Lacking a shed and garage space, I often left it out all year, including severe upstate NY winters. It always started right up in the spring. But rust (wonder how that happened), deteriorating bags (hmmmm), and faded paint (go figure) convinced me that it was time. Actually, the fact that my 10yo son will want to be cutting the lawn in a couple years had something to do with it. Figured I want a some time where it's just MY machine. Don't worry guys -- I promise to take care of my new machine. I'm 53, and want this machine to last me 20 years or more -- or until I get the itch for a new model, whichever comes first. JD did give me $250 for a trade-in on the 170. I might had got more for it if I wanted to fix the spindle, clean it up and put up for sale -- but that would take time away from my X300. I'll let you guys know how I like it. Who am I kidding... I'm going to Love it!