Cub Cadet 11A-18MC

by Samantha
(Casa Grande, AZ)


Not a lot of bells and whistles go along with this lawnmower, but it does it's job. In a nutshell, it's a basic gas powered walk behind mower.


Some upsides to this particular model would be first, the price. For around $200 it's not a bad buy by any means. And while I don't know of one person who enjoys spending extra money on gas these days, it's surprisingly fuel efficient (for a mower).

The blades are adjustable (a plus for my husband, who likes the grass cut a certain way) and are easy to replace. And the grass clippings are captured in the bag nicely (I HATE clippings strewn about the lawn!) Plus, though I can't really tell the difference, my husband swears that it is quieter than our last lawn mower.

Personally I think that observation is debatable, but that could just be me. The biggest complaint that we (or rather, he) has about the mower is the ease of use.

The handling can be a bit tricky and the act of mowing can be a very tiring task with this model. It's a classic case of "you get what you pay for" - it's not a bad mower. It does it's job and does it well. But you pay for it with handling and usability. Still, we would probably buy one again given the opportunity, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend.

Overall, this is well worth the investment if you have a small to medium sized lawn that doesn't require weekly trimmings.

Comments for Cub Cadet 11A-18MC

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Apr 08, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Where can I buy one?
by: Robert G

Someone please tell me where I can purchase one of these!!! rob AT rgehl DOT com.
Thank you!
Mar 30, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Mows four inch grass without stalling or clogging
by: Anonymous

I love this mower. I have very specific mowing needs, and have tried many mowers which didn't satisfy me as well as this one. My lawn can get very unruly, and can become very tall when we get rainy weather which prevents me from doing a once-weekly mowing.

This cub cadet has the horsepower to go through grass which has been allowed to get four inches tall, without stalling or clogging. I also like that this mower can be configured to work as rear bagger, which is easier to manipulate around my shrubs, or a side discharge, or as a mulcher.

This mower came with all of the attachments needed, but the instruction booklet was not very clear on how and when to put the plates in to use as a mulcher. This mower has been sturdy, and seems to be built better than some mowers I've used. My last mower was a more expensive self-propelled mower, the wheels of which broke off during the first year.

One thing I would change about this mower; the starter cord could be a little easier. I sometimes go to yank it and really hurt my arm, which is bad because I have tendinitis, so I can't manhandle machines the same way I could when younger.

The controls of this mower are nice enough, but doesn't really seem to change appreciably when trying to change the blade speed from "slow" to "fast", or from turtle to rabbit as so many mower icons seem to show.

This mower is good in its usage of gas. I can do my entire yard, 4/10's of acres minus house area, on one tank. I always had to refill the tank with my previous mower about 4/5's of the way through doing the yard. I've been very happy with this cub cadet and I will be sure to always look at this brand first when buying any lawn equipment in the future
Mar 30, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Pretty lightweight and really quiet
by: Sarah D

My husband recently bought this mower new from a local store (which will remain nameless). It replaced a previous heavy and old push mower that we just couldn't bring ourselves to use another year. This new model was a good price, just over two-hundred dollars, and the store had it assembled and ready to go. We've used the new mower twice so far.

Overall it is a good gas-powered push mower. It has a four-cylinder motor that is easy to turn over, even for me and I'm fairly girly. Other advantages of this mower include that it is pretty lightweight, so even though it is not self-propelled it is easy to move around. We don't have any hills, but I bet it would be easy to push up a hill because it is so light.

Additionally, it is really quiet compared to our previous gas mower. So quite that I can even talk to my husband while mowing! That's odd for a gas mower. It has an adjustable height lever so you can adjust the grass level. We've found you can do this while mowing which is handy. A draw back for this mower is that it is narrow so it seems to take longer to mow the yard because you have to make more passes to cover the whole thing - it's only 20 inches wide. Additionally, it's gotten clogged and we've had to turn it off twice during the first mow to unclog it. But that was the first mow of the spring and the grass was pretty high, so hopefully that was an anomaly.

I think the handle of the mower is a little too tall for me (I'm 5'2") but my husband says it's a good height for him (he's 6'0"). Finally, it comes with an attached bag to collect the clippings. We've removed that and let the clippings fall. This is an awkward set-up with this mower because it blows the clippings directly out the back - right at you. So we'll probably put the bag back-on next time. Overall, we're pleased with the new mower for the money!
Mar 03, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Comes with a good warranty
by: John G.

I bought a Lawn Boy Cub Cadet 11A - 18MC after doing some research on budget mowers for a smallish yard and noticing that this model was consistently ranked at the top. It was rated a 'best buy' in Consumer Reports, so I figured I couldn't go wrong.

This was my first lawn mower, so I have to admit I really didn't know what I should be looking for. I know I wanted a gasoline-powered mower (not electric) and I didn't want to spend a bundle, since I didn't have a very large yard. This mower fit my price range, was lightweight (72 pounds) and came with a good warranty. I think I paid around $225 for it.

I am pleased with its performance. I have not had any problems with the Cub Cadet, but I have to admit that I keep my yard pretty well maintained, so I don't know how it would work if the grass got too high or if I had a lot of hilly places. It has a 19" cutting path and it's easy to push, even though it is not self-propelled. Since my yard is flat, I don?t really need something that is self-propelled.

There's a single lever height adjustment, which is convenient, although I don't need to make adjustments very often. The mower has standard features, including a rear bag, which detaches and empties quite easily.

It starts easily, although occasionally it seems to 'burp' before it actually catches hold. However, once it starts, it stays running and is extremely quiet. Another plus is that it is a gas miser. I can fill up the tank and it just seems to run and run and run before I need to fill it again.

I have nothing bad to say about this mower. It is a plain, gasoline-powered push mower that does the job I bought it to do. I recommend it to anyone who has a small, flat lawn and doesn't mind it not being self-propelled.

On a side note: I had the occasion to call the Lawn Boy customer service line and was impressed that it was answered on the third ring by a real human being. That was definitely a plus for me.
Feb 06, 2009
Rating
starstarstar 		Gets the job done
by: Anonymous

The Cub Cadet 11A-18MC is and has been my first mower. Its light on gas has a four cycle OHV engine nothing huge for fancy. So when am cutting the lawn it doesn't make as much noise as it could.

I know when i bought it the sales guy told me it won't be loud but i guess i have sensitive ears cause its not as loud as some but it still makes some noise. but i really won't count that against it.

But what i could count as a con is the fact that i have to pull the chain a good 4 to 8 times to get the motor running. The first time i had to do that i though it was already broke turns out that's normal in this model.

I keep wondering if i had bought a higher end mower , would i have the same problems. other downside to the mower is the way the handle bars are sit up they make for the first few minutes of mowing easy but after a while you hand grab beings to hurt and you find yourself trying not to push with to much force, making the job even harder than it should be.

In the end mowing the lawn as always been something i don't look forward to so anything to make the time go by faster is a help and the Cub Cadet 11A-18MC does that, with some sore hands afterward but the job gets done.

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