fcarp63
If you go to the "Lawn and Garden" tab, then scroll down a bit and on the left side, where it says "Parts" Clink on that, then enter "88933" and the it shows up. 88933 is the model number of the mower, I don't know if its exaclty the same thing or not. I can't see why the Cub Cadet version could have one if ours couldn't. I still haven't got my bagger yet, and my customers are already tired of me mulching, I sure hope I get it fast, or else...

parkin

from what I see, it looks like they want to sell the individual componenets of the electric start (which by the way looks like a snowblower elec start, not a key start as I would have thought) as opposed to the whole assembly as one part.

Out of curiosity, what is the 3 digit prefix before 88933?

thanks, fcarp

If anyone is interested after alot of research the bagger kit can also be ordered online from MTD and Cub Cadet part # 19a-119-100 or Sears #33731. They are all on factory backorder untill May 25th. No matter who you order from they will all ship directly from MTD around May 25th directly to you. So happy mulching untill the end of the month.

After reading about this mower for a while it sounded more and more like what I wanted/needed, so I wandered down to my local sears where there weren't any on the sales floor, but I did spot one on the sidewalk outside the store.

I quickly realized this was a unit that had been purchased and returned after what appeared to be only one use. It was nearly spotless except for some dirt on the underside of the blade housing.

It was stickered with a price tag of $1039.20, which I realized was 20 percent off the list price of the mower. Sensing an opportunity, I called one of the sales drones over and pointed out the fact that the unit was being sold for more than the current sale price ($999) and asked him what we could do about that.

He said what do you want? I said give me the sale price minus the 20 percent and we have a deal. After a lengthy phone call to the manager, he finally got the approval for the deal. So I walked out of there with a nearly new mower, with the full warranty for $799.

The only thing better would have been if I had discovered the mower during the CC sale. Then I could have gotten it for $720. But I'm not complaining. I got a great deal on a great mower.

So far, I've used it 3 times, and I've cut my usual 2+ hour mowing time to less than 50 minutes. The cut has been really good and even. It mulches quite well, even today when I hadn't cut the grass in a week and it was very tall and thick. There were some clumps, even mowing in 1st gear. But I can't complain too much. It's my own fault. Had I mowed on Thursday like I wanted, it would have been fine.

Now if I can just find as good of a deal on a bagger when they finally come out, I'll be a very happy camper.

I live in New England, North Central Massachusetts. About 2 weeks ago bought the Cub Cadet 33' walk behind mower at my local Home Depot for $1137 (did not include bagging kit in purchase price).

I have used it twice to cut my 1/4 acre lawn in mulching mode only and I must say I am totally impressed with it's performance. I did a lot of deliberating on buying a mower like this in the first place and this forum, especially this thread, was very helpful. I didn't feel as if the 22' and lower decks would be a wise option and I couldn't break the bank for the higher ups. Just right for my needs, I don't have anywhere to throw bagging clippings in the neighborhood and I don't have a lot of time in my busy work schdule to devote hours on end to lawn mowing each week.

PROS: mulching capability is decent; drive power; ease of steering & turning; electric key ignition; deck wash works great.

CONS: heavy to manually move around without drive engaged; gear position switching lever is kind of vague until you get used to it; hand grip control levers are hard to keep pressed down while mowing; best for level yards with long stretches; not the best for small confined areas that need delicate attention.

Overall I am pleased, I know a smaller mower would operate needing a lot less muscle and I have no room for a sit down. This is a good mower for the total usabe 10,000 sf of lawn (total cut time yesterday was 50 minutes) and I don't mind the workout, I need the exercise for legs and upperbody. I anticipate my cut time to improve, of course I analyze my every move and haven't got my course path figured out yet. Will probably get the bag on order for the fall season to bag leaves. No regrets.

THE BAG IS HERE, HERE'S a PIC OF IT... It's nothing fancy, but its a bag. Your supposed to unzip it everytime..I don't think so...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:127313}}

Hey all, I bought this mower today largely because of this thread and the user reviews at the Sears site. Yesterday morning I was at Lowes ready to plunk down $2k on a Deere rider that I relly didn't want...good thing I decided to do more research.

I have about a 1/2+ acre of thick, high grass. I'm currently using a Craftsmen 21" mulcher and it does a pretty good job considering it was a hand-me-down from my in-laws. But the 2.5 hours it takes me every weekend is just too much time. I thought I wanted a rider...after all, all my neighbors have Deere's and I though they were cool!! After my visit to Lowes, I came home and did more research about riders and found out that they can be a tad iffy and dangerous on hills...of which I have a couple. I also didn't want to get too lazy yet...as sometimes mowing the lawn is most of my excercise for the week ;)

So I found this thread yesterday, went to Sears after reading the whole thing but the mower wasn't on display. I went to sears.com and realized that the mower was on sale for $200 less than usual and the sale ends Friday.

So, today I ordered it and I'm picking it up when I get back from a business trip early next week. By that time I should have a nice tall, thick lawn to break it in.

We'll see how it goes....does anyone who has this mower have any updates about it??

Thanks.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread, as I have nearly a 1/2 acre myself with a significant slope. In a year or so I might look to step up from my 21" Snapper to a 33-36" mower. Can anyone provide a comparison of this Craftsman to a Sutech Stealth? That's also 33" compact mower, but with three blades and a different kind of drive system. I think the cheapest version of it sells for $1250, so it's close enough to the Craftsman to be considered competition.

Someone way up the thread already mentioned the Billy Goat 33", and then stepping up to $2k gets you to Quick 36 territory. That is more mower for sure, but it's also a lot more cash. I'm just interested in people's input. Thanks.

Well I'm finally getting around to posting my impressions and I have nothing bad to say. I have +/- 1/3 of an acre to mow, some flat some hills, and the mower does extremely well with both. It's possible to mow across a slope with some manipulating of the mower. The mulch feature works well, provided you don't attempt to trim a lot of length at once (>2"), and you run the mower on the fast setting as recommended. I cannot speak to the "washout" feature as I have not used it yet, but plan to in the near future. The large gas tank (holds a little more than a gallon) is great. I have not found the drive and blade control levers to be as hard to hold as some others have posted. Oil changes are simple and mess free. All in all, I'm very pleased with the mower, and have had many comments on the "landscaper like" quality of the cut. I too was considering the Quick 36, but decided I did not need that level of mower (price and build) with only one yard to maintain.

Thanks for the update outdoorguy, those are all good things to hear. I don't usually buy products 'blind' but this mower just seems to fit my situation perfectly.

Do you find the mower heavy to manage on the hills and slopes? And, when you mention the 'fast' setting for mulching, doesn't that increase the speed of the mower? Or, is it just the blade speed?

Thanks in advance.

I too purchased it "blind" as I could not find a display model anywhere. The mower is not hard to manage on slopes with two exceptions, the one I mentioned about mowing across a slope (this will be true of any mower with free spinning front wheels) and the second involves 180 degree turns when heading down a slope, then reversing direction and heading back up while still on the slope. The nature of the transmission is such that the mower will glide after the drive is disengaged if the blade control remains engaged. A nice feature for 95% of situations. If you disengage the drive and blade control, the mower will immediately stop. As such, it takes a little effort to stop the mower and turn it up hill if you do not wish to disengage the blade control (I prefer not to). The speed setting for the motor does impact speed, but that is easily controlled by the transmission. You simply set the speed control to fast and then chose the gear that suits your pace. Again, I would highly recommend the mower. The only unknown is long tern durability. Only time will tell. Good luck.

MattV21:

There is a Sutech on Craig's list for $425.00.

Looking at the pictures of the Craftsman and the Sutech, the Craftsman seems to be better engineered and more solidly constructed.

Fairyprincess

Here is a link that might be useful: Sutech link

fairyprincess, I think I saw that one. There's also a Craftsman here in St. Louis on craigslist for the same price. The one obvious advantage I would see for the Sutech is that it has three blades whose cutting paths overlap but that don't have to be "timed" to prevent collision with each other. This _should_ be an advantage, but of course is no guarantee. I'm not clear on how the two mowers' drive systems differ. It seems like the Sutech might provide some amount of drive assist during a 180* turn, which would be helpful, whereas the Craftsman requires full human power to be turned. Or maybe the Sutech just allows either inside tire to have its brake set so you can more easily turn around that pivot point, which would still be helpful. I'm not totally clear on that. It also seems like the Sutech may be a little more compact in size - especially front-to-rear. But I'm not really sure about that, either. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has used a Sutech, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: craftsman 33

It's an awesome piece of equipment....usually run it in 3rd gear...if the grass is wet and/or a little high, I put it in 2nd, and it mulches w/ no problem...I usually keep the blade height at "4", which I have measured to be 4" high. It ALWAYS starts the first time I pull the pull start, which is unlike most mowers on the market. I changed the oil, using SAE30 oil, and boy was that easy, no mess whatsoever due to the convenience of the oil tube they provide you with. I liked it so much, that I convinced my dad to get one, which he did. I use it on 1/2 acre. I would recommend it for someone with a yard between 1/3 acre and 1 acre max. More than 1 acre would be pushing it, as this has a 33" deck. Thanks to Sears Craftsman for making a good product and offering it at a reasonable price of $999 via the Craftsman Club.

Ok, picked mine up today. we had to uncrate it to get into the back of the Explorer. Then, I had to get some boards to act as ramps to get it out.

But, when I did, it was was well worth the effort. I was away for the weekend so the grass was longer and thicker than normal...a bit wet too, we had showers earlier today.

Read the manual quickly, set up the handle and a few other small things, put gas in, set the height at at 4, pulled the rope and off we went.

I have always used a 21" so there were a few things to get adjusted to, like the pure size and weight, the power and the ZTR. Within a few minutes I was pluggin' away in third gear and handling back and forth rows quite comfortably.

I must admit it was a bit touigh on the inclines keeping it straight but I know I'll get used to it. And a few times I forgot to let go of the Drive Control in time and ran into a fence or a tree while trying to turn. Doh!

This was the first mow with this machine and I know that it would've taken me hours with the 21"...it only took about 1 hour total for about a 1/2 acre of thick, tall, wet grass. I took off about 2 inches so it didn't mulch great, but that's because of the length of the grass. BUT, it did plow right through and saved me tons of time.

I'll make another run at it on Saturday and I expect even better results.

Overall, this is a GREAT machine!

OK, I had my first issue with this mower. I've run it for about 8 hours now according to the LED indicator. Usually while I'm mowing, as long as I have the blades engaged it is relatively easy to push around. During the last time mowing Something happened and it requires a huge effort to get push with the blades engaged. This is the short pushes around trees and stuff. Anyone know what has happened or how to fix it?

I still love the mower. It has saved me hours.

I have a large wagon (44" between wheel wells) but don't know if I have the height to load this crate into my car (30" or so) -- does anyone who brought this home in the crate have a sense of its height? Thanks!

Ordered mine on Saturday, I'll post my initial experences as soon as it arrives.

I have a question for you, bcw1969, where is this hour LED located? I looked on my mower and in the manual and it isn't mentioned at all. Is yours an older version, or is that some kind of option for the mower?

Thanks in advance.

Oops, theat last post was actually for jonesb11, not bcw1969. I didn't look far enough up the thread...

cooleratthecoast - there's an hour meter on the Cub version, but not the Craftsman. I bet jonesb11 has the Cub

How are these at striping the lawn? Do you need to buy an aftermarket roller, or do they naturally do it? Was trying to figure out how to afford one of the commercial walk-behnds because I had not seen this Sears version. Thanks to all of you -- you probably just saved me $1,000.

Does anybody know the total width of this mower? I'm considering buying one, but I only have about 36 inches of room on the side of my garage...and even then I'd have to be very careful pulling in not to bang my car mirror against the mower.

mprice78:

Went out to measure and found that the deck by itself is 35.5" accross. If the side discharge chute is down, it extends out to 45"

Hope that helps.

I still love this beast! Time savings make it well worth the price and possible storage challenges!

All of the 33 inch mowers - Craftsman, Cub Cadet and Troy-Bilt are made by Modern Tool & Die (MTD) in Cleveland and are the same basic machine with a few slight variations. I had one of the original Troy-Bilt when they were made by Garden Way in Troy New York and was a mulch only with no electric start. GardenWay went out of business and MTD bought the mower business but not sure who bought the great big chipper-vac (another good tool!) If you are having streaks with your mower, check the blades to make sure they are on RIGHT SIDE UP! Cutting edge wants to be down!

Question - is the bag worth while?

I bought the Cub Cadet 33" mower yesterday from a very reputable dealer. He has sold over 50 of these mowers, and a lot of those were to landscapers needing a mower for gated yards and small commercial properties like gas stations. I bought mine for part-time commercial use. I mowed some of my own yard yesterday and love the quality of cut from the floating deck. Having no spacers or bolts to mess with to change the deck height is awesome. I'm thinking about building a grass/leaf catcher so that I can use this mower for fall leaf clean ups as I am using a Lawn-Boy 21" with bagger now. For just over $1000, this mower can't be beat by anything out there.

Andy2500 -

There is a bagger available. I bought it and it works OK. Cost is right around $130.

I really didn't need it until it was time for leaf cleanup, as the mulching performance is outstanding otherwise.

It attaches off the side of the handles and although initial setup is cumbersome, once it's on, it is easy to attach and unattach.

Good luck.

For those of you concerned about gripping the handles and blade/drive engage levers, I found an easy way to do this without hurting your hands. Just rest your palms on the handles and use the weight of your arms, not your grip, to hold the levers down. This worked great for me. Does anybody know if the Cub Cadet bagger is any different from the Craftman? I don't really think the nylon bag with a zipper looks sturdy enough for how I will use my mower during the fall.

Howdy, couple of things to consider about what I am seeing in this thread.

First, i am glad to hear you all like it so much. My peception is that as a group you re far above the average user I would see here in Sd county (in terms of planning to maintain the mower and using it on a LAWN, not a field of weeds and brush :-).

You all might want to consider that techs may not carry any parts fo it at all, unless it get to be a common item. if that matters to you , stick a more common LT.

The other thing is about washing , nothing will convert die ahrd washers, but remember, just because a certain regime of washing and greasing seems to work ok for another guy dont mean it will work for your water supply.

In general washing is a bad idea, i would know, i have been fixing CMan Land G for 25 years. Kudos to you if you can do it with no problems-but it has caused problems for many people. FWIW repair of rust is excluded from the Repair agreement.

The differences that I can see are the electric start and the hour meter. Right now there is a $200 price difference with the Craftsman at $999. Are there any other differences that make the CC worth 200 more? Does the CC also come with a pull cord in case of a battery failure? Since these mowers have been out for a while now, do we have any recent reliability reports?
Thanks

After reading this thread, it seemed this mower would be perfect for my needs (1/2 acre lot, mostly grass). Timing, as they say, is everything, because all Sears stores in my area were sold out. I did, however, find one at the local Sears Outlet Store, which was marked as "new." My visual inspection at the store didn't reveal any problems, so I bought it. It came with full warranty, so I figured I didn't have much to lose if there turned out to be something wrong with it.

It didn't take me long to find that something. Upon using it the first time, it quickly became apparent that the deck is uneven, cutting about 1/2 inch lower on the right side. I took a close look at the underside and it's obvious that the deck is bent -- as if it got dropped or somebody stood on one side of the mower.

Moreover, because the deck is not level, the mulching capability is virtually nil, since it can't keep the clippings in place long enough to mulch them -- basically they just shoot out the left side. And -- presumably because it won't mulch -- every time I hit a patch of relatively high grass, the blades just make a grinding noise and don't cut ANY grass!

So I called Sears and they're sending a technician out to look at it next week. (My appointment is anywhere from 8am-5pm Wednesday, so I have to be home the entire day waiting on the guy. Thanks, Sears, for having so much concern for your customers' schedules.)

I'll see what the Sears tech says, but in the meantim, my questions for the experts here are:

Is there any real way to adjust the "levelness" of the mower deck? If it's bent to that degree, can it be unbent? Or is it toast? Any recommendations?

I sure hope that technician doesnt try to say that you hit something and caused this damage.
From your description, are you saying that you can stand on the deck and bend it?

I don't think just standing on the deck would bend it -- it would either take a really big guy or some serious jumping up and down. But who knows what happens in the back stock rooms at Sears... all that and more, I'm sure!

I'll post the results of the service call, once it finally happens in 2 more days.

Quick follow-up: The Sears tech came today. Once he took the cover off the mower, it was obvious what the problem was. The deck hangs from 4 perimeter points. The front and rear points are attached to a horizontal bar, and the bar fits into a hole in bracket that runs from front to back. Somehow the bar had been knocked out of the hole.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a small dent in the left side of the deck. My guess is someone dropped the mower on that side and the deck assembly got knocked out of place. At some point (either before or after a sale) someone noticed that the deck was not level and that's how it ended up in the Sears Outlet Center. The bad news is that it was still sold as "new" even though someone apparently had noticed the problem. Since there was damage, it should never have been marked or sold as new. At the end of the day, though, it's still my problem because, as they say, "buyer beware."

It's wet here today so I can't try it out after the repair but, once I do, I'll let everyone know if there's any problem.

I have the craftsman 33" mower and the only problem I have with it is the bagger. The way it is made you have to take the cute off each time you want to empty the bag and that is a real problem. I have found a very simple cure for that problem and if anyone needs help with that you can email me and I will furnish you complete details on how to cure the problem. It is simple and cheap...You can find all of the materials need to make the change at a local fabric store and it will only cost you about $3.00 for the materials.

I just looked at the Cub Cadet version and walked away very impressed, it looks like it is very well made, the fact that there are grease fittings on the blade shafts I like. It just seems to be built to last. I have a 1/4 acre lot with a number of trees, gardens, and a swingset. It takes me about 1 hour and 15 min. to normally mow it with my 21" Craftsman. I'm almost afraid of this being overkill, but there are a number of wide open spaces as well. How does this machine work as a trim mower? Thanks, Dave

Final follow up to my previous posts... The deck being out of whack was the least of the problems. Once I was finally able to use the mower, it started leaking oil from the rear transaxle. Apparently it was cracked underneath. So after ANOTHER visit from a Sears technician, I learned that (for unknown reasons) that part is unavailable and can't be replaced. At least Sears was willing to take it back and give me a full refund.

Overall, it's a good but not great mower. Doesn't take long to get the hang of it. Power is good, cut is better than average, mulching is average. Watch your fingers around trees and obstacles... even though you can feather the clutch it's still wants to jerk forward and carry your hands with it. I'd recommend gloves.

I will not be buying another one. I'm going to look at the Quickie 32 from Better Outdoor Products. The reviews have been good, it has a hydro drive, and appears to be better made in every way. The only thing the Craftsman has over the Quickie is that it's half the price.

Is there a difference between the cub cadet bagger and the craftsman? where can i find a cub cadet bagger

I have a lot of trees (maple and oaks) on my property. I presently use my 21 inch to mulch and then bag them. It takes a long time. I know I could buy a rider but space is an issue. How well would the craftsan or CC handle a first pass at mulching leaves then use the bagger to pick them up?

I've had the Sears 33inch for ten mowing seasons and have enjoyed; but decided to give to friend and purchase the Cub Cadet 760 ES version. I had read on some site a few days back about someone had modified the drive lever from pushing it downward with palm to being able to pull it with fingers and fist grip like it is on the other earlier models. It looks like it could be done by arranging the cables differently. any insight on this??

Is it possible to hook a sulky up to this mower?

Does anyone have detailed info (step by step)on how to adjust the blade timing belt? I don't need to yet since I just bought(pro model 889980) it, but just incase. According to the manual you need to call sears tech.

I haven't seen these at my local store. Can someone please give the actual dimensions (LxWxH) for these mowers?

My doors on my shed only open to about 44" across, and it's only about 64" deep. Will this mower fit (even if I have to lift the discharge chute to get it in and out)?

It is about 67 inches from the front of the wheels to the back of the handles. I don't think it would fit in your shed without dropping the handle down. It 35.5 wide.

I just got this mower in April. I have used it about 8 times. It works great. Starts on one pull, no problems with mulching or anything else.

Thank you all for this thread, helped me decide what to upgrade from my 21" Honda mower. Picked up the Craftsman 2 days ago, but have not used it yet. I have however started it, Oh Joy! Has there been any updates on bagging? I normally bag, but I will try mulching. If mulching, I will cut twice/week.
Thanks again

I wanted to bring this back from the dead to see what all of the owners think about this model including the last couple of posters who had just bought this mower last year. Are you still happy with it? Any maintenance issues or problems? Thanks!

like the last poster i am also interested in the results of the 33". mainly the yellow/black pro model,as i already have used last years red homeowner model with a broken cable(fixed)broken trans(fixed)broken deck(fixed)we were pretty rough on it but it still cut good. i would like to know if pro model is tougher besides the 2 hp engine difference

MTD makes these mowers, and they have been branded under the names of Craftsman, Troy-Bilt, White, Cub Cadet and MTD. I am on my second Troy-Bilt version. My first one came with an 8 hp Briggs, my current one came with a 9 hp Briggs. Both of the engines on my mowers had carb related problems from day one. I ended up replacing the 9 hp Briggs with a 13 hp Honda engine three years ago. The Honda engine is quieter, smoother and uses less fuel even though it puts out more power!
I've gone through two sets of mower spindles and one needs replaced again, mine do not have grease zerks. A deck wash is the last thing you want to have on these mowers, as the spindles do not hold up.
The transmission gave up all but one gear last year. Luckily it still has third gear, which is what I normally use anyway.
The bolts that attach the handles together near the top broke off on both of my mowers. I replaced the four bolts on both mowers with 1/4 x ? grade eight bolts. They never broke again.
The Troy-Bilt I currently have mulches great, I have heard the blades have been redesigned.
All in all these are good mowers, they need a better engine than a Briggs, and they certainly are not commercial duty mowers. For the average homeowner they should last quite a while as long as the engine holds up. Bob

Mine finally died after 10 faithful years. Tempted to buy a honda engine but wondering if the transmission would last another engine.. After reading the last post I think its headed for the trash.

Does anyone know if the Cub Cadet Wide Area 33 will climb up a 30 to 35 degree hill? And how will it go down.....like a rock I suppose? I'm talking dry ground.