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My 2011 Reviews. You can find larger and smaller mowers from this list.
Here is the updated 2011 review of this mower. Here is the updated 2011 review of this mower.
I have been waiting to write a review this tractor because this is a new tractor from a manufacture who has not made this type of mower for Sears before. I was finally able to test it and get answers to a few questions I had on April 15.
Read my review below the Specs.
Listed on Sears.com as: Craftsman Professional 24 hp 42 inch Yard Tractor Sears Item 07128980000
- Model 28980
Click On Picture To See a Larger Version”
Specs:
Brand: Craftsman Professional
Series: Professional
Model: 28980
Ca Model: 28672
Engine HP: 24
Engine Brand: Briggs & Stratton Professional
Cylinders: 2
Transmission: Hydrostatic
Transmission Control: Foot Control
Mower Width: 42 inches
Blades: 2
Cutting Positions: 11
Gauge Wheels: 4
Washout port: Yes
Blade Engagement: Electric
Turning Radius: 12 inches
Front Axle: Cast Iron
Rear Tires: 20 x 8
Seat: High Back
Slide Seat Adjust: Yes
Service Minder: Hour meter
My Review:
This mower is considerably different than the 2009 Model 28970 from last year. While it has the same yellow and black paint scheme, the frame, deck, transmission, tires, controls and overall appearance are different. It still has the high-end Briggs & Stratton motor, electric blade engagement and rugged front bumper.
Pros:
This tractor has some of the basic components found in other mowers from this manufacture but Sears has dramatically improved this tractor over it’s cousins the Cub Cadet LTX 1042 , the Troy Bilt Range Rider, and the Toro LX427 . The Craftsman Professional has a commercial grade Briggs & Stratton ELS motor, a free brush guard and offers their legendary Protection Plan.
The deck is very similar to the deck on the Revolution Model 28933. Consumer Reports rated the Revolution’s cut very high last year and again this year so I expect this deck to cut as well.
The frame is an “L” design instead of the channel frame found on the 28970. It is a heavier 9 gauge steel. The 28970 had an 11 gauge frame. It appears to be strong and stiff. I don’t expect you to have any problems with this design.
The hydrostatic transmission is a medium duty transmission and designed for the application. It can pull all of the non-ground engaging attachments Sears sells. It is does not weigh as much as the retired K 46 found in the 28970 but I don’t feel this will be a problem. The tranny manufactures are very careful to size their transmissions to the application.
Last years tires were 20 x 10. The new tires are 20 x 8 and not as flat across the tread. These new tires are a very common size and won’t give you any problems unless you are trying to mow in sandy or muddy conditions.
The drive control is now a foot control. (last years 28970 had a fender control). It uses a simplified button for cruise control and the parking brake.
I had a chance to “mow” with one on April 10. One of my customers purchased one with a three-bin bagger and used it to pick up thatch that he had pulled from a lawn with a power rake. It was a good lawn so there was 3 to 4 inches of loose grass on the surface and the PTY9000 did a very good job of picking up this grass and throwing it into the bagger. It filled the bagger well and evenly.
One of the key points for me on a bagger is how much suction the unit has. A good way to check this is to run the mower down a sidewalk and have one edge of the mower hanging over the lawn about six inches. This is an easy way to see how well it picks up the grass clippings along the edge. Many poorly designed decks will take the grass and blow it to the other side but the 42 inch deck on the PTY 9000 did a very good job of picking up the grass along the edge and throwing it in the bagger. I’m confident it will work well for you on normal grass bagging.
Cons:
I am not a big fan of the 12 inch turning radius. I personally feel this is too tight for this length of machine and if you have a poor lawn or sandy soil the tractor will “scuff” your lawn if you try to turn that tight. If you buy one of these tractors and it does leave marks in your yard when turning sharply the only way to “fix” this problem is to not turn as sharp. The tractor is engineered to turn sharply, but it will not work well in ALL lawn types and it will leave marks in your lawn under certain circumstances. This is not a “don’t buy” situation, I am just telling you that while this is a good, solid, machine, there will be times where you can’t turn as sharp as the machine can without leaving marks in your lawn.
Summary:
In summary, this mower is a step up from the YT 4000 series and is worth the extra money over the YT series. The free brush guard and Extended Life Briggs alone are worth the extra cost. This Professional Series Craftsman will give you many years of good service.
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Hi Paul and thanks for the great review. Not many people seem to have been interested in this Pro model during the fall and holidays but I jumped on it based on end of year price and “friends and family” sale discounts. Plus, 10% cash back using Discover Card and buying on-line. It will be sent to a neighborhood store for pick-up and should arrive in a week or so.
I get the impression you are a fan of the service/protection agreement. I have read several articles and reviews where you talk about the Sears plan as being very good. I go to consumer sites and there is one complaint after another but then again, we all know the vast majority of people who post at those places are peoples with complaints. Based on things you’ve said I believe it is to my advantage to take out the three year protection agreement. My previous Sear’s tractors have never given me trouble but since I got this one at such a good price I have extra cash to spend. This is especially true since I was planing on a Deere X300 before this deal came up.
I have a question or two. How detailed is the Sear’s agreement? I mean, does it say specifically what they will and will not do? Second question involves pick-up. What are the things I should look for? What is Sears suppose to do at the store other than load it on my truck? I’m just wondering what their responsibility is since I bought it on line and only had it delivered to the local store. Thanks for the great tractor reviews!
Marty
@Marty,
Sears will load it on your truck. It is your responsibility to tie it down. Your tractor comes to the store in a crate with the steering wheel off and the battery disconnected. The tractor should be out of the crate, steering wheel attached, battery hooked up.
It will have oil in it, but check it anyway. When you get it home you may have to charge the battery (usually not) and fill it with fuel.
I am not a big fan of protection agreements……but it is the way things are done now-days so we might as well make the best of them.
Sears system is easy to use and consistent from one area of the country to the next. It does not rely on local servicing dealers who can be very inconsistent in the way they treat you and how they repair your tractor.
I like the Sears best because it covers not only manufacture defects (like the Deere extended plan) but also covers wear and tear for most items. It does not cover regular tune-ups, oil changes, punctured tires and mower blades. Everything else is covered including fuel-related issues. They do not specifically spell out each item covered.
(Some of the other “extended protection plans” use local service shops under contract to do the work. Most of these shops give 1st priority to their own customers not the retail store you bought your tractor from. So they may come and get your broken tractor right away, but it may be weeks before they “get to it”.)
Another factor that I like about the Sear protection agreement is the fact there is a set way of easily escalating a repair issue if your mower was not fixed right the first time. It is easy to ask for a “seasoned tech” and if they can’t fix the problem ask for a “manager” All this is done over the phone.
You need to be aware that although Sears has over 12,000 techs you may still have to wait 2 to 5 days before they can come out and work on you tractor. The district that I live in is very good at getting a tech to you, but there are some other areas of the country that have had issues.
Sears is good at prioritzing service calls. If you have a protection agreement you get preference over the people who don’t have them and regular maintenance calls.
In addition, the tech probably won’t have the needed part in his truck. He orders it over his computer and when it arrives at your home he comes back out and installs the part.
A lot of the complaints I read about from people on the internet boil down to parts and turn-around time. 1st, people expect the service tech to have immediate access to the part for their mower. i.e., “What to you mean, you don’t have a transmission for my tractor in your truck! What do you mean you have to order it.!?” 2nd, people have unrealistic expectations of when their mower can get fixed. It is practical in my mind to expect a turn-around time of 5 to 7 days from when I called the problem in to having it mowing again. I have a feeling that 90% of the repairs are done in this time-frame. Once in a while it will take longer (busy time of year, out-of-stock parts)
Thanks Paul, that is good stuff and makes it much clearer to me. First thing I’ll do is check out the two year warranty that comes with tractor and see what it contains and go from there. You know, this tractor is different than my older DLT3000 in the respect that it does not need to have the transmission purged. I looked at the service manual and there is no mention of it so it must have a different kind of transmission. Do you know why the purge routine is no longer required? Anyway, it should arrive soon and I am looking forward to it and will write back on my impressions. Thanks again for the info.
@Marty, The transmissions in the Professional series are from a different manufacture than the ones you are used to. They don’t require purging and are not “field serviceable” That said, So far I have not heard of one issue with these trannys. They appear to be well built and will last the life of the mower.
Thanks again Paul, you’re the best!
Paul,
Sorry to bother you yet again, but I'm still not satisfied I have the right mower. I bought a 28922 but it doesn't seem to be cutting very evenly. I've adjusted the deck but it still doesn't cut too well. It's also pretty noisy as I've mentioned before. Now I'm considering the 28980 professional. Would you expect this machine to cut more evenly than the 28922? How about noise…would it be the same, better or worse?
Thanks for your help,
Dennis
@ Dennis, Everyone I have talked to who has purchased the 28980 likes their mower. The district service manager has told me there has been NO problems or complaints on the service side.
I have heard no complaints about cut quality. It does have basically the same deck Consumer's Reports rated as one of the best on the Cub Cadet.
It will have a lot more power than the 28922 and the engine is a lot smoother. (It's a v-twin) It is a commercial motor and is the top-of-the-line Briggs. The only disadvantage is it will use more fuel than the 28922.
It seems to be a very good mower and I recommend it highly.
Just a question? Who makes these new professional mowers for Sears?
@Bob,
MTD makes the Professional (Black/Yellow) and LT series (Gray), AYP (Husqvarna) makes the YT (Red) and Garden (Black) series. Briggs makes the 28 inch rider, Simplicity the 42 and 52 inch zero-turn. Bob-Cat makes the professional zero-turn.
Thanks Paul.
Just bought the 29890 with bagger and protection agreement for May 15th delivery. I hope it runs, cuts and bags, as well as it appears to be built. I always thought MTD was a low end manufacturer? I guess things change. I will find out very soon.
Thanks again.
Bob
@Bob,
You are welcome. MTD makes a wide range of products from the 'Yard Machines" junk to the Cub Cadet "Tank" They get their bad reputation from the "throw away" mowers they sell but in fact they also make some very good quality items like the Cub Cadet compact tractor line. I can tell that Sears and MTD worked closely together to develop mowers for the "Craftsman Professional" name that will live up to the quality and reputation you expect.
In my opinion the 29890 is basically a Cub Cadet with a Commercial Motor. I had a chance to use one and it cut and bagged very well.
The deck got two good ratings from Consumer Reports this year. The Revolution and the Cub Cadet both use the same deck as the Craftsman Pro. They rated it as one of the best cutting decks.
Thank you Paul,
That makes me feel more confident about my choice, cause it was not cheap. By the way, your website is very well done and most informative. Keep up the good work, your experience and insight are very helpful.
Bob