Craftsman 10.5 hp 33" Briggs & Stratton Wide Cut Rear Wheel Drive Lawn Mower

Craftsman 33" walk behind mower September 09, 2011

Bought this mower three years ago and it does a good job. Starts easy and has a nice cut. It is a little heavy to maneuver around but my yard is mostly open space so not a problem for me. My trouble with the mower started the other day while I was cutting the grass I started to hear a loud squealing sound that sounded like metal to metal. After checking it out descoverd both spindles are shot. To my suprise found grease fittings on the spindles so that they could be greased. Did not remember any mention of these in the owners manual so went and checked and nothing for spindles just front wheels. Now I have to pay over two hundred dollars for two new spindles and waste my time to replace them. For a mower that I paid over a thousand dallors for and I am already spending hundreds to repair with not a lot of use on it does not cut it for me. This will be the last Craftsman product for me. Almost forgot, right after warranty expired the cheaply made deck height lever broke for no reason at all. I don't even use it, set it once and left it there. Must of broke just from the weight of the deck. More time and money wasted.

The Mower is good but not perfect. I would purchase again. August 30, 2011

Around 9 months ago, I purchased this mower to replace my 22" push mower for a .6 acre yard.  It used to take me 1 hour and 15 minutes to cut my grass with a bagger.  With the Craftsman 33" I am done in only 35 minutes!  The speed of the mower in 4th gear is great, not to fast that you have to run but about the pace of a brisk walk.  It is such a great timer saver.  Following other posters here I got out the grease gun and lubed all the grease fittings before use.  The mower is large and heavy but easy to use and maneuver.  I practiced cutting the grass in the backyard and I had the hang of it after a few minutes.   The throttle control, gears and blade control seemed properly placed and intuitive.  The mower has always started with 1 or 2 pulls, I believe the electric start would have been overkill.

I would have given this mower 5 stars, but I am not thrilled with the cut quality when mulching.  When I used to bag with my 22" and the yard looked great, now that I mulch with the 33" my yard doesn't look quite as good.  I do realize if I go to 3rd or even 2nd gear the mower will mulch better.  But I bought the 33" to save time and 4th gear is fun, it just doesn't  mulch as well I as I would have liked. I am going to look into the bagging kit as an accessory. Lastly the stripes when mowing my yard are not as pronouced with 33" compared to the 22".  Overall I really like the mower and would recommend it to anyone who wants to save time.

Craftsman 33" wide cut August 12, 2011

I absolutely love this mower. It was taking me about 1:15 mins to mow my yard and just got so boring that I dreaded having to cut the grass. So I figured I would check this mower out. Some of the early reviews complained about things breaking but the sears guy told me that the early ones ( a few years ago) did have some problems but he hasn't seen one come back in almost 2 years.

It cut my mowing time down by 30-40%, it loves wide open and strait parts of the yard. It gets a little tricky in and around mail boxes, under decks, around trees just because you have to man handle this beast plus its heavy and takes some strength to pull it back without using the reverse.

Besides it taking more effort to mow around congested areas the other thing I don't like is the self propel handle, it sticks up way to high and is hard to grab sometimes especially when you just want to ease forward slightly. Also, the chute gets in the way alot, so you have to plan on mowing around edges on the non chute side or put the plug in.

All in all, depsite the fact that it costs 4 times what a standard 21" cut I am very happy with it and it has made mowing much more enjoyable for me.

Do not buy this mower!!!!!!!!!! July 17, 2011

I purchased this mower in March 2010.  I have 3/4 acre and wanted something with a wider deck.  A tractor was not sufficient because my land is on a slope.

I could have spent $300 and purchased a good 22? self propelled mower, but opted for this mower because of the wider deck.

I have had nothing but trouble since I started using it. First, the mulching is horrible. Because this is not a commercial unit the blades RPM are simply to slow to do a proper job of mulching.

The transmission cables are too thin and have snapped several times.  As others have mentioned in their reviews if you hit any obstructions the spindle assembly becomes misaligned and since the 2 blades overlap, the mower's blades and propulsion system shut down.  Also, the spindle assembly is easily bent which will snap your belts.

It is clearly a poorly designed mower and has absolutely no durability whatsoever 

I purchased this mower in March 2010.  I have 3/4 acre and wanted something with a wider deck.  A tractor was not sufficient because my land is on a slope.

I could have spent $300 and purchased a good 22? self propelled mower, but opted for this mower because of the wider deck.

I have had nothing but trouble since I started using it. First, the mulching is horrible. Because this is not a commercial unit the blades RPM are simply to slow to do a proper job of mulching.

The transmission cables are too thin and have snapped several times.  As others have mentioned in their reviews if you hit any obstructions the spindle assembly becomes misaligned and since the 2 blades overlap, the mower's blades and propulsion system shut down.  Also, the spindle assembly is easily bent which will snap your belts.

It is clearly a poorly designed mower and has absolutely no durability whatsoever.  Save yourslef the extra $800 and buy a $300 22", I wish I would have done that!