I just bought a cc30e (in August) because my 15 yr old MTD 38" decided to throw tantrums involving the rear drive belt. Fought it for a season (2017), then just parked it and paid to have mowing done. This year I decided I wasn't going to find a mowing person to suit me and ended up getting a mower with no belt problems possible. Figured I could deal with anything else. Bought it thru Home Depot, freight line delivered it in 7 days. Fully assembled. Ready to get charged and used (once I got it out of the box and off the pallet).
Been using it about a month now. Still getting used to the differences, but it seems to do what it's supposed to do. Although Timbmayb says it's lightweight, the manual says it weighs 360 lbs and with my 165 lbs I now have over 500 lbs pressing those little wheels down into the grass. Might just be me but it seems like the wheelbase is shorter and narrower than the MTD. In any case, it rides HARD and feels like it could tip over while mowing lengthwise down the ditchs along the road.
If the yard is smooth, it rides okay. But watch out for mole hills and tunnels! I've been bucked off more horses when I was younger than I care to admit to and even a brahma or two, but while doing my first mowing of the back yard I dang near got bucked off a riding mower! I bounced so high the seat safety switch kicked in and killed the motor. I let the excess air pressure out of the tires (down to 9 lbs front and 10 lbs rear) called for in the manual, but it didn't seem to help much, if any. Just have to slow down on the rough places and also get out the mole traps. It sure needs some kind of a suspension system. As it is and as hard as the ground is right now, if one wheel goes into a hole (stump settling or other) the wheel on the opposite corner can come off the ground.
I have a medium size yard (85' x 217') with a small house and garage, so it doesn't take long to mow. When done I still have about 25% battery showing on the meter.
Overall it's okay, but as a fail-safe, I've sent my old MTD to the repair shop with instuctions to fix it, no matter what the problem is. I sure don't want to go back to paying someone again to do a half*** job of mowing and as noted by others, the good repair shops are booked solid.
As a followup on this long narrative, in case anyone is wondering. I offer the following. it's now December 2023. The first winter (2021-22) I called CC service and asked the guy about wintering the battery. He said to "just plug it in and leave it". I questioned him about several things and his response to all was "plug it in and leave it". So I did. It appears that he was right. I always make sure not to run the charge down below 25% and always put the mower in the small extension I built on to my patio shed. I was concerned about the stories we've all seen on TV about the house burning down, so for the first year I went out and felt the battery before going to bed. Also checked it randomly during the day. Never any rise in temp, just barely warm.
I still keep it on it's charger 24/7 and I do check it at bedtime when I've been using it that day, but so far, so good.
I don't use it every time I mow, I still favor my old MTD (turned out it had a broken frame). It mows much faster and rides a lot easier than the CC. But sometimes I have to mow and just don't want to walk all the way out to the mower shed, get the MTD out, check and refill the oil (if necessary), put gas in it, kick the tires and all the other stuff.
Instead I simply open the shed door here on the patio, unplug and hang the charger handle on it's peg, get on the CC and back out. Easy, Peasy!
When I'm finished, it's use the little Briggs blower to blow the cuttings off the deck, drive it in, get off, plug it back in and close the door.
Another thing I have discovered that I like is that replacing the exhaust chute of the mowing deck with the "mulching attachment" (which is just a cover for the exhaust port) makes the Autumn leaf mulching much quicker than with the MTD. One, maybe two passes over a pile and the leaves are fertilizer.
It still rides hard and has to be slowed down if I've let part of the lawn get a little too long. And I'm concerned about what will need to be done if the fancy electronics go bad or the battery does. I guess I should have bought the "Extended Warranty" during the first 30 days because that's the only time it's available. Only time will tell.
Maybe someone else with one of these "new devices" will jump in here and share opinions and info
