Lawnmower recommendations please

[Chris_B]

The latest Consumer Reports has a very thorough lawn mower review. They tested *lots* of different models. I will recap the leader-board tonight, but as I recall, Honda and Toro generally took top marks for quality and value with several models each. The 'Best Buy' models were in the ~$400 range, while the top-scoring Honda model was ~$700.

FWIW, we have a 1986 Honda mower that still starts on the first pull, every time...

[sailor55330]

When I bought mine, Honda and Toro were head to head, but hands on feel put the Honda out in front. It always ran great and started flawlessly. My dad uses it now as I have moved to a Hustler ZTC mower.......with a Honda Vtwin engine.

[tommyt654]

For yrs I used a Scag 36 inch walk-behing w/sulky and a Kawasaki 15 h.p. motor that I p/u used for $800 off CL. This thing was built like a tank and turned on a dime. After an ankle injury I resold it for $1k and now wish I hadn't. They are very well made and will cut thru about anything you can throw at it. Used can be good if its been well maintained and I also used it to run a grass cutting servive besides my own 2 acres of grass. Check CL to see if any might be available in your area, you won't regret it

[natausch]

Craftsman walk behind rear wheel drive. Rear wheel since it was cheaper and our yard is flat flat flat.

Now if I can just find a decent cheap detatcher I'd be happy. Small 1/4 acre but even with bagging we have to pay someone to do an annual detatcher.

[LinuxRandal]

In my experience, getting to know some mower basics can make a bigger difference. Then you have some stuff you can observe when shopping (what material the mower deck is made of, how thick are they in comparison to one another). I have found that front wheel drive (seen more often) is good for flat yards or gentle (small) slopes, and rear wheel drive is better for steep hills (push down on the handle when going up). But when using a rear bagger the front wheels will lift off the ground when the bag starts getting full, or mowing after a rain.
A push mower will be a LOT lighter then a self propelled. This can and will make a difference, if the cable rusts through inside the jacket, to engage the drive mechanism (BTDT learned to look for cable stretch, etc). The plastic cog drive wheels mentioned above (another post), clog up when tall or wet grass works its way through the cap, covering the cogs (if ignored, eventually it will cause the teeth to be stripped, replaced that on a few peoples mowers). Gas is a HUGE issue, especially with the additives (ethanol). Make sure your gas gets rotated, (better no more then 30 days worth, or dump it into the cars gas tank for straight, non mixed gas). Make sure there are no floaters in the tank (rust, bubbles aka water, etc), and the tank cap is clean (vent holes plugged cause problems). Look to see if you mower has zergs (grease fittings), if it does, USE them. Change the oil, sharpen the blade, make sure the deck is clean (a lot of people around here, spray pam on them at the begging of the year). Maintenance is the key.
When I started mowing, (14) we just bought a new mower to replace the one bought around when I was born. That mower lasted till I was about 23 as its deck rusted out. I was then given a refurbished (3? year old) Lawnboy, that I kept until 2 years ago (got tired of mixed gas for this, different mix for that, straight gas for the other, etc), and was given a couple year old Cub Cadet. On top of that I have normally had a "backup" mower, that was a project (normally dirty carburetor). Most of the things I have seen have been ignored maintenance, or rust on decks.

[vaking]

I had a C-man side discharge self-propelled for several years but we always collect the clippings and side discharge was a PITA. Last year we decided to upgrade even though C-man was still operational. We bought a rear discharge Snapper, self-propelled with front wheel drive. Several improvements are noticeable even though they were not factors in original decision.
Adjustment of cutting height on a Snapper is very easy. Single handle controls height of all 4 wheels. On older C-man each wheel had its own height adjustment lever and it was hard to use. Clipping collection is very good on a snapper, never gets clogged, bag is easy to empty, bag fits exactly the opening of the paper bag. Emptying bag on a side discharge was much harder.
Speed control of a mower is better on a snapper. It has a wider range, it can move so fast that I would need to run after it but the control is smooth. On a C-man I always mowed at highest speed.
Snapper has 6.75 HP B&S engine. C-man also had B&S but 6HP. New engine is a little more noisier but it is noticeably stronger. Snapper goes thru anything, Craftsman could stall if it hit a twig from the oak.
Overall my lawn is not big but mowing it with a snapper takes much less time than it had been with C-man. It was not an easy decision for me and my wife originally to replace a perfectly working mower but we do not regret it now.

[JimD]

Alex,

My situation may end up like yours. I found out since my original post that the young man I wanted to give my old mower went and bought one. My son then volunteered to fix up my old mower. He put a new air filter and plug in it and replaced one of the front wheels yesterday. My old Craftsman uses a metal gear to drive a plastic gear that is part of each front wheel. So the teeth are now missing. He would have bought two but he could only find one. Hopefully he found another one already today and it is fixed. The blade needs sharpened and the oil changed but those are lower priorities.

My son lives with me at the moment but probably will move out later this year. He got a full time job last October but is working too much at the moment to look for a place. He wants to buy a house and if he does, he is fixing up his own mower at the moment.

So the information is still useful to me, my timetable may be moving out, however. If the "fixed up" mower is workable, and I suspect it will be, I will use it until he needs it.

I looked at the websites for both the Toro and the Honda mowers. Both look nice. I also Googled for the walk behind with a sulky mower and found one in Birmingham. I go there sometimes for business but I don't know if I want to tow it all the way home. I would be done quicker, however.

I could use a push mower, I used to, I just don't want to. I've used the mower 3 times this year already with the self-propelled not working. That is kind of the worst of all worlds. Heavier mower without it helping. When the grass really gets going and the bag is full of wet grass, I prefer to get a little mechanical assist. The Honda two blade is intriguing, however. If it would really not leave a mess all over the lawn, taking the bag off would solve my problem and I wouldn't want a self propelled. I agree they are undesirable from a complexity standpoint. But Bermuda is quite thick and I won't cut it more than once a week (twice is recommended) so my prior experience is that it looks like heck unless I use the catcher. This year I would be spreading a bunch of weed seeds too if I didn't catch - I neglected to get the pre-emergent out.

Jim

[worknhard]

Over the years I've owned Toro and Honda, however the mower that has served me best has been a Snapper. Take a look at the hi vac rear bag models... They are a bit pricy but very solid mowers and do a great job. I've had mine for over 10 years... it has a B&S OHV engine and runs well. If you have trees in your yard that shed a lot of small twigs, (like cottonwood), Snapper makes a special high-lift blade that will suck most of them up. Saves a lot of raking.

[nickg]

Lawn Mowers

Well, you know what they say about opinions But here's mine anyway.

I inherited my dad's self-propelled Honda that must have been ten years old when I got it. I used it for another 6-7 years before it finally 'gave up the ghost' so it was 16 years old by this time. I was duly impressed, so I decided to buy one for myself. Well by this time the prices must have gone up a lot because my dad would never have paid what I did for a lawnmower!! But I guess that old adage about getting what you pay for is especially true when it comes to lawn mowers. The Honda mower starts every time on the first pull, even after a three month winter layover. I change the oil every year, and have replaced the spark plug and air cleaner a few times. It's been a great mower for me!!

[JSUPreston]

Sorry about bringing back up an old thread, but I've got something to add.

Last Thursday, I took advantage of the 2 year, no interest financing on my HD card and picked up a Toro 4235 zero turn (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051). I went ahead and ordered the bagger and a few other things (cover, hitch, etc.). Funny thing is, all the stuff with the exception of the mower had to be mail ordered.

HD wanted $80 for delivery. No telling how long they would take to deliver, but with SWMBO getting comments from the neighbors about the jungle in my yard, I opted to rent a U-Haul trailer for the afternoon at $35 and pick it up myself. It was fully assembled and ready to run when it got loaded at the store. Looking at the manual, seems like other than checking/adjusting the valve lash, maintenance should be a breeze. Even adjusting the deck seems like it shouldn't be an issue.

Of course when I got home, everyone (including the 10 year old) had to try it out. I let them steer it a little, and then I made a few test passes in the front yard. Cuts beautifully...looks just like when I push mow with my Ariens with the Honda engine.

Other than a couple of little tweaks to the handlebars, I am very pleased so far. There are places I will still need the push mower for, but for fast, bulk cutting, this thing'll "git r dun!" Right now, it cuts a lot faster than I can steer, and I did get into a couple of tight spots, but nothing too bad. Once I get a little more use to the controls, I can see it taking no time to cut my upper yard.

One of the reasons why we went ahead and got this one is the fact that the landlords/in-laws/next door neighbors () pay someone to bush hog/flail mow the "lower 40." Our lot is about 1.5 acres, but we've only maintained the upper 1/2. With this thing, I should be able to take over cutting the lower half of the lot and save them a little money. The other reason is that SWMBO knew that I REALLY wanted the ZTR, but was going to settle for another basic riding mower, until the financing deal came around. Also, she has several bad discs in her back, so if she ever wants/needs to cut the grass, she shouldn't have too much trouble.

[jseklund]

Late to the game here, but I have experience with 2 mowers that I'm happy with.

I bought my dad a Toro Personal Pace mower as a gift about 5-6 years ago and he loves it. I've used it about 3 times and it is awesome. I saw that a bunch of others on here also loved their Toro mowers. The speed adjusting system is so simple and effective, it can't be beat.

About 3 years ago, I needed a new mower and was going to get the Toro, but it was a little out of my budget at the time. I had just done some business with a Husqvarna dealer and he got me a top of the line Husqvarna at cost. The Husqvarna retails around $400, which is more than the Toro, but I got it for almost $100 less than the Toro. This mower is also great, and you can adjust the speed by pulling a trigger-type handle on the top.

While I really like the Husqvarna, I find that the speed mechanism isn't as effective as the Toro. If you start to fall behind and you're pulling the trigger, the mower pulls away, which causes you to pull the trigger more and speeds the mower up - causing it to pull away faster. It's normally not an issue, but going down a hill, or if something happens, it can be annoying running after your mower. Also, squeezing the trigger for an hour can get a little tiring...but not bad.

I think the Toro is probably tough to beat overall - even though there are a few good mowers out there.

Edit: Sorry - just read the first couple pages, never looked at the dates and realized that I was REALLY late to the game. Oh well, it all still applies.

[JimD]

As long as we are already doing this, my son did buy a house and I gave him my old mower last fall. I bought a Toro - not the one that stops the blade but leaves the motor running, the next one down from that. I've used it several times now and like it a lot. I am actually on my second, however. I used the first one once on my lawn and once on my son's and the belt jumped off that powers the self propelled. I worked on it for a few minutes and then took it back. Since it was the next day after purchase, they took pity on me at Home Depot and didn't just send it in for repairs making me wait 2 weeks to have a mower. The second one has had no issues. I've had to tighten the cable for the self propelled once but that is not really a problem.

In addition to a nice speed change mechanism the Toro mulches very well. Noticably better than my old Craftsman. It saves me about 20 minutes to not collect the clippings.

Jim