Changeover from chrome to black handles happened sometime between April and June of 1993. Deere is using Y/MM production date codes. New additions to the list are always welcome.
The machines on the list are ones that I have seen (online or in person) or ones where the owner was willing to email me a close up image of the serial number tag. Here is an updated version of the list as it presently stands. Since the last update, I have managed to decipher John Deere's production codes on the serial number tags so I can tell exactly what month a given mower was produced.
JOHN DEERE SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP LV0855D127141 SERIAL NUMBERS
UPDATE: It's been awhile since I posted an update to my 14SB observed serial numbers list. Even better would be to have a pic posted of the serial number tag along with an indication of what horsepower the engine is. I'd appreciate hearing from other 14SB owners here to see if the serial numbers of their machines fit this theory of the engine/prefix letter combination. I've highlighted the prefix letters in red. Deere produced the 14SB with three different horsepower engines (all Kawasaki FC150Vs): 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5 HP.īased on acutal mowers that I've seen as well as photographs of mower serial number tags, my speculation is that the "X" letter prefix indicates a 4.5 HP engine, the "C" prefix was for the 5.0 HP machines, and the "F" prefix was used for the 5.5 HP machines.īelow is the list of observed serial numbers so far as well as the horsepower rating of their engines. I think that the letter may be an indicator of the horsepower of the motor. I'm also trying to figure out the meaning of the various alphabetic prefix letters that appear before the six digit mower serial number on the 14SBs. Below is the production information that I have been able to obtain so far from John Deere:ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (410001 - 450000) BASE UNIT, North American, Kawasaki Engine, Blade Brake Clutch, 1987 (Green Deck)ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (450001 - 750000) BASE UNIT, North American, Kawasaki Engine, Blade Brake Clutch, 1988 (Green Deck)ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (4 CYCLE) (010001 - 175000) BASE UNIT, North American, Silver Jubilee, Kawasaki, 1989-1990, (Silver Deck)ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (4 CYCLE) (175001 - ) BASE UNIT, North American, Silver Jubilee, Kawasaki, 1991, (Silver Deck)ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (255001 - 400000) BASE UNIT, North American, Silver Jubilee, Kawasaki, 1993-1994, (Silver Deck)ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (400001 - 470000) BASE UNIT, North American, Silver Jubilee, Kawasaki Engine, Residential, 1996, (Silver Deck)ġ4SB WALK-BEHIND ROTARY MOWER (470001 - ) BASE UNIT, North American, Silver Jubilee, Kawasaki Engine, Residential, 1997, (Silver Deck) Recently I've gotten interested in trying to find out more about John Deere's production of the Model 14SB mower, and specifically about breaking down the production serial numbers by their year of manufacture.