This is the first, and may very well be the last, video of my 1986 John Deere 330 diesel mowing my lawn, wrapping up the 2023 season. I purchased this tractor in November 2022 to replace the 316 Onan I had been using, strictly because I needed a machine with better fuel economy - the 316 was using way too much gas to mow my 1/4 acre lot (the unfortunate downside of an Onan opposed-twin engine). The 330 was found in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, and after working out a few of the bugs in it, undoing some of the hillbilly cosmetic repairs on it, and swapping a like-new 48" replacement mower deck under it, the tractor shaped up into a very nice mowing rig that is very easy on fuel. Having been owned by Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, NJ originally, this tractor mowed Grover Cleveland and Aaron Burr's gravesites in its previous life, which is pretty cool when you think about it.
This is another one of my longer GoPro "ASMR" videos showing most of the lawn being mowed - for only 1/4 acre, it is very time consuming especially this time of the year when all the leaves need to be mulched. I considered buying a bagger or a mulch kit for this tractor, but never got around to it. You'll see how easily it just purrs along, sipping fuel and spinning the 48" deck which is quiet as a mouse. The cut quality of the 48" deck (even with dull blades) is far better than the 46" or 50" decks originally offered for these tractors. The added dual brake pedals are a nice feature for the slope in my yard, and for weaving in and out of some of the trees. The lack of power steering is a little strange, but doesn't take much to get used to - the steering box on these is very heavy and well-built. 330's are a very neat one-year-only model that don't get much attention, and although I've always been hesitant to own a Yanmar 300 series, I'm glad I had the opportunity to run this one for a while - but it's time to send it down the road.
I have decided to consolidate some of my tractor fleet, and sell both the 330 and the Ford 340A loader tractor to replace them with a JD 755 compact tractor that will handle both of their jobs. The 340A has served me very well but is just too big for my shop, and I think a 755-size tractor would be just right for my yard. Plus they have a pretty good lift capacity and the model 52/70 loaders are built very well. Should be more than capable of mowing my lawn with a 60" deck and also doing some of the heavy lifting in my shop and around the yard. I may have the 330 sold already, and if I can find a new home for the 340A and find the right deal on a 755, it will be coming home with me. We'll see what the winter brings.
6 дек 2023
