Customer Reviews for Ariens 46 in. 20 HP Briggs & Stratton Front-Engine Hydrostatic Riding Mower-DISCONTINUED

There's tons of options for the homeowner looking for a reasonable yet well-built lawn tractor, from the $800 small-width cut, low horsepower "cheapos" to the $5000 or more "Hummer-like" mowers. But as is the case with appliances and other products, there are only a handful of actual manufacturers, who produce lawn mowers with a multitude of labels and brand names. This is my second Ariens lawn tractor, the first being their 46" width tractor with the 20hp Kohler Courage engine. I went with the B&S engine this time simply due to the number of negative comments on Internet chat sites concerning the lower-end Kohler engines (overheating, reliability issues, etc). Time will tell as to the B&S vs. Kohler issue but so far, so good--similar power and torque, noise levels, etc. between the two models. As to the Ariens itself, I truly believe--after researching and owning other lawn tractors in this price point--that this is ABSOLUTELY THE BEST LAWN TRACTOR FOR THE MONEY that you can purchase!!! I cut a half-acre of fairly level, low obstacle yard once a week and mulch leaves in the Fall and for the price of this mower I do not believe you can do better. I got rid of a Cub Cadet 1045 with similar attributes, that had around 180 hrs of time on it and this Ariens feels, handles and just LOOKS more reliable and solid than the CC, for about 30% less. Plus Home Depot's after-the-purchase attention, customer service and overall reliability as far as "being there" after the sale was a critical consideration in this purchase. For my money, the Ariens 46 with the B&S engine at this price cannot be beat.

don't go in the ditches unless you want to flip over !

I’ve had this mower for a year now and thought I’d update my comments. This is an incredible mower!! I have 1.6 acres in 5 plots with 5 trees, 6 bushes, a house and driveway to mow around and have put this to many a test. I have 300 feet of 30 degree slope I have to mow on the slope. The low horizontal engine, with low center of gravity, makes this possible. I have to sit on the uphill side of the seat and rest one hand on the center of the seat to keep the seat switch from killing the engine, but this works just fine while still providing the rollover-kill protection. Once the engine is running the key returns to the forward position. You can turn it to the reverse position and leave it there and mow both forward and backward without moving the key again. For a convoluted yard with many backups and no children or pets this is a great feature. The 20 horse engine pulls a 46" thatcher, 46" sweeper, or 42" aerator effortlessly. I mounted a rack on the rear and have an ATV 10 gallon Fimco spray tank with boomless nozzels (or electric seed-fertilizer spreader) on it and this mower handles either so well I leave the tank on and loaded all summer. Turning radius is really 16" – on concrete at a crawl. On grass it’s really more like 30" due to skidding. But with one backup to breakout the center of a land that’s still pretty good. My lawn is fairly rough and the fender mounted hydrostatic drive is perfect for that and the long stretches. A pedal mount would be a good idea for getting a knee replacement if you have much mowing to do. I agree with punster321, getting the mower out of the crate was a chore as I unloaded it on gravel and it did not have enough traction to climb over the slats. My neighbor has a forklift and so we moved it to the concrete drive and it drove right off the crate. Bottom line on this mower – Beware, your neighbors will accuse you of recreational mowing!!

After 1 year of use i've had to replace both blade spindles, both blade pulleys and the transmission is sticking in forward and reverse. Instead of using quality parts it is made of cheap and weak parts. One of the front anti scalp wheels broke off because the weld was weak and bad. I thought I was buying a quality lawn mower but I find out I was wrong it is a very cheap made mower. I can understand why Home Depot discontinued these as they have been nothing but problems from other reviews.

How do I find out what model nikki carburetor is on my 20hp 46in ariens 960460023 need to buy replacement parts

Love it, really good buy. This is the second mower I've purchased new and I like this one better than the first. I had a yard machine 42" 16.5 HP shift on the go for 12 yrs, in which I had been having trouble with for the past few yrs. So when I seen this mower and did my research I decided to buy and I think I made the right choice. The other store couldn't compare with the price or features without spending a lot more money.

After countless hours of research, I decided on this tractor. Although I've only used it one time, I must say that it did not disappoint. The buying process at my local Home Depot store was hassle free. Once I got it home, I spent a little time going through the users manual. I checked the oil level, blade levelness, and installed the grass catcher kit (15 minute job). It fired up on the first try and ran effortlessly. This was my first mowing of the season, and as such, I had to stop often to empty the bags because it sucked up everything in it's path. The transmission is smooth and the turning radius is awesome. I was leary about having the speed controlled by a lever on the rightside fender, but it was easy to adapt to, and works well. If you have to stop in a hurry, the brake alone will do the job. I like the added feature of an on/off switch for the lights. I did not try the reverse mowing feature yet, and am not sure I would ever need it, but to be a feature of the mower without an increase in price, it was worth getting. I would definitely recommend this mower to anyone who has a sizeable yard to mow. Be warned though...it guzzles the gas!!!

I bought this mower 3/13/13 and so far I love it. Smooth riding mower the mow in reverse feature is great! I know the grass hasn't grown much but my yard about 1 1/2- 2 acres had some high spots and the cut was even I'm impressed. My old mower had some problems but after 12yrs of abuse what can you expect. So I purchased this one doubting the hydrostatic drive systems lack of power but I was so wrong, plenty of power smooth ride. It does have a little vibration at low speeds when blade is engaged but not as bad as my old mower, but if you increase speed it seems to smooth on out. I read a lot of reviews and most were good and the price is unmatched by other stores. So I'm really please with that also. Now I can enjoy mowing the grass this spring and summer.

This is my first riding lawnmower. Was a bit scared at first. It was like buying a new car...but I have been very satisfied after my first season with it. I have nothing to compare it to. Its been a new experience but fun. Ran like a champ!

I NEEDED A BASIC LAWN TRACTOR THAT WAS HEAVY DUTY AND WOULD BE RELIABLE FOR YEARS TO COME .I HAVE ONLY USED IT ONCE, BUT I THINK IT WILL PROBABLY LAST A LONG TIME. IT WILL BE MORE TROUBLE FREE THAN A VARIABLE BELT DRIVE. TRACTOR WAS SHIPPED TO ME IN 6 DAYS. UNFORTUNATELY A RAT HAD ENTERED THE PARTS BOX AND PART OF THE STEERING WHEEL PARTS WERE GONE. CALLED SUPPORT AND THE PARTS WERE DELIVERED 7 DAYS. ALL IN ALL, A VERY GOOD DEAL.,

Originally bought a 54" husqvarna that constantly would get stuck even with my 280 pounds on it. Sold it and bought this mower which i had looked at over a year ago. This is the best operating rider I have used out of John Deere and MTD. I love the short turning radius, the 2 blade deck and the 1 cyl. engine has plenty of power ( I had to try it in foot tall weeds) Engine is Quiet and so is the cutting deck. I only have 1 complaint the gas tank it tough to fill due to location. I go on steep angles and ditches and do not find it as tipsy as other models. It was ready to go in the store HD and myself picked it up, put it on the truck and was ready to run after a trip to the gas station no set up what so ever! I highly recommend this and for the price it seems more heavy duty/well built compared to the plastic cubs and deeres.

Simply put, this mower is a beast! I had a ariens zero turn, but was "forced" into a tractor, and got this. This mower absolutely plows through everything and anything. It doesnt matter what I am mowing or towing this machine does NOT fail! I've had this machine 2 years now and have yet to give it a task it can't handle. I've mowed 3 foot plus high grass and towed in excess off 1500lb's uphill! if you dont believe me on the towing, i'm sorry but home depot wont let me upload a video. best small machine i've ever purchased!

Great tractor for the money bagger works well mulches well easy to use

This is a smooth tight turning mower that does a good job in cutting grass and or picking up leaves in the fall (with the bagger system). The mower was delivered directly to my door and was ready for use with minimal installation required. The mower fired right up on the first attempt at starting and has done so since. Leveling the deck and blade appear to be a little more difficult than the mowers that I have had in the past. Also, the manufacturer failed to include the hose connection for the deck cleaning system when it was deliviered. Other than that I am pretty well satisfied so far with my purchase.

Shopped and compared 20hp to 22hp mowers for week and decided to purchase this model. WOW ! Cranked right up with no problems as some reviews stated and has a lot of power for most mowing needs.

I looked and looked at mowers to replace my John Deere and found this mower. Absolutely love it. So easy to start, turns on a dime, and the automatic transmission is a dream. Just bearly move it up or down and the speed adjusts without stopping the mower to slow down or speed up. I have 5 acres to mow and it has done a GREAT job. The price was very competitive with others, and it turns out the performance is much better. Worth every penny!

I bought this mower in July and have used it a few times now. It runs great, is easy to use and I can mow the lawn in no time. The only issue I had is when my mower arrived, it was missing the hose adapter for the deck clean out. I called Home Depot customer service and it was shipped to me a week later.

I just bought this mower. Trailered it home, unloaded it, read the instruction manual, gave it a quick once-over, added gas and started mowing. Usually if someone is going to have a problem, it will rear it's ugly head within the first twenty minutes or so. I used this mower to hack down a jungle! I was in the Bastrop, TX., wildfires so my property is VERY "torn up" with ruts everywhere, branches galore, and loads of pine-cones and stumps everywhere, not to mention the fact that I was mowing down 5+foot tall "grass". This mower NEVER SKIPPED A BEAT, did not even complain! I have read several reviews on all kinds of riding mowers and any manufacturer who wants a "Torture Test" should send their mower to my yard. This mower passed with FLYING COLORS! Yes I would recommend it!

I READ A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE HANGING MOWER DECK BUT I'M NOT ONE OF THEM. WORKS PERFECT IN MY ROUGH UNEVEN LAWN. LOTS OF POWER NO STALLING IN HEAVY GRASS.

The Hydrostatic transmission is great, I am so really glad I got a mower with it. In this price range no other tractor had it. Our family has had a Ariens snow blower for 30 years so I hope this mower last just as long.

I like the feature that lets you clean the carriage.

Shipping the 400 + pound crate was delayed due to the transporter initially loading it on a trailer without a lift. There should be explicit instructions on how to uncrate the mower on the exterior of the packing crate, possibly instructing which panel to remove to find the remaining uncrating instructions.

First, I bought this tractor as a refurb at a great price to replace my Scotts 1642 that I bought as a refurb 12 years ago. Nothing wrong with old mower, had to buy this one b/c of such great price reduction! I added a much kits for $50. Pros: Lots of power, mulches very good without any clumps and not to having to slow down in dense/thick grass. Much more quite with mulch kit. I like the 4 anti-scalp wheels, once adjusted, they worked great! Seat comfortable with high back. Easy to adjust mower height. Love the cutting in reverse feature. Cons: Gas tank difficult to fill as it is in odd location under hood. PTO has long handle as I hit my leg to disengage and left bruise on knee. Transmission kind of jumpy when transition into reverse. Be careful to have in neutral when engaging the transmission (back of mower) as it will jump if in gear. Overall a great tractor, looking forward to another 12 years+ on this one.

Before I purchased this mower, I did hours and hours of research looking for the best value for money that would do the job I needed done. I did product comparisons with all the major brands of mowers only to find out that many of them are made by the same manufacturer. Anyway, I also took into consideration customer reviews and only mowers that had more than 50 reviews at that. One five star review from one purchaser isn't enough for me to go on. So research I did only to rule out all others within my budget with this Ariens mower on top of the list. Due to illness and rainy weather, the grass on my property was over four feet tall, so tall that it had laid down. I thought that ok, this was going to be a real test for this new mower and we'll see what it can do. Well, anything under 12" tall, it went through like a hot knife through butter (and the grass wasn't all that dry). I did raise the mowing deck up as high as it would go to mow through the taller stuff and granted, I didn't try to mow the entire width of the deck, but it handled that high grass as well! Once everything was chopped down to size, I remowed to even things out and my yard looks beautiful. Keep in mind that my yard is about 3 acres, more than what this mower is recommended for but it did the job just fine. Now on to the features of this mower. The seat is very comfortable and easy to adjust. Steering is a breeze and turns are nice and sharp. No gouges on tight turns, either. I like the option to be able to mow in reverse because I have quite a few obstacles to get around and this makes it so easy. There's plenty of power, so much so that when I mow along the road front, it blows the grass cuttings clear across the center line! I have to say that I don't mind mowing the yard anymore...it's a real pleasure. There are a couple of things that I should mention. One, probably due to the shipper used is that the engine idle or choke handle was snapped off. I called Home Depot and was assured that I would receive a replacement. Hasn't arrived yet. That is the biggest negative about this purchase. Also, the blade engagement lever is situated so that you push it up and behind the steering wheel. No problem there. Just don't let go of it when you disengage the blades because it will snap back very quickly and with a lot of force which resulted in a nice bruise right in the middle of my knee! My fault, live and learn but thought you should be aware of this. The only other thing is that access to fill the gas tank is a bit awkward but with a longer gas can spout, that solved the problem. So as you can see from my review, I give this mower high marks. If anything changes, I'll be sure to let you know! Happy mowing!

Great riding mower! We compared to others before purchasing and got exactly what we wanted.

I love my Aries riding mower. It is my new best friend. It is easy to use, cuts well, powerful motor. Love the headlights. It is big. My yard is more or less a standard home lot. I can cut the front yard in 15 minutes (took me an hour with my push mower). I have asthma and can cut my own yard again! There was very minimal assembly; came by freight with free shipping whe ordered on line. Great value!

I bought this Riding Mower from Home Depot yesterday on August 18, 2012, and I have to say I am so proud that my wife and I bought this riding mower, it cuts the grass even, the wheels on the blades housing is great, easy to turn, and makes sharp turns. Filled with gas and added ethanol killer, and it crank right up the first time, easy maintenance and cleaning, I highly reccommend this riding lawn mower from Ariens or Husqavarna. Great mower.

I can't imagine that you will find a better value than this Ariens riding mower. The only issue that I had, which was covered in the manual that I DID read, was that it needed alot of adjustment before it would actually cut the grass evenly and at the correct height. However, this doesn't lower my score because as I said it was something that they suggest doing. Otherwise I found it extremely easy to get "setup" and I also added a dual bagger which was also a snap to get on the mower and going. I realize this isn't John Deere, but for my purposes (and I would guess for many other's) this will do the job just fine, and at just over $1000, the price is affordable as it gets.

Mine came in perfect condition, the assembly was childs play, like the fact that it's made in the US, it was missing the hose connector for the deck wash but I contacted Ariens and they sent one right out. Excellent mower, great price and the free shipping right to my yard was about as good as it gets.

I bought this mower to replace my 12 years old Craftsman riding mower. What a mistake, I had a hard time starting it, the ride was bumpy and the tractor made a lot of noises, rattling and squeaking noises. Although the motor is 20 HP, but it has no power, it almost came to a stop at any small inclined surface. After using it for half an hour I decided to return it to the store, and fix my old riding mower instead.