New Lawn Mower?????????

[Phil S.]

I haven't mowed my lawn in over 25 years but due to my economy I've decided to save the $1,500 per year that I pay my gardner. There are so many different types of lawn mowers out there I need help. Here's what I know I want, self propelled, Honda motor, Brand name (Troy Bilt, John Deere etc.).
Questions: Front or rear wheel drive??? Taller rear tires or same dia. front & back??? Plus any important options I'm not thinking of.

 

[Kurt4440]

How much lawn are you mowing?
Where are you located?

 

[what have i done]

might not even be worth messing with yourself. Find a new lawnkeeper save a few bucks that way.

decent mower, I assume your talking rider, will set you back + fuel and maintenence expenses every year.

if it is simply financial you might want to take a hard look at it or find a decent used rider.

It is a decent time for peace and solitude riding around the yard.

 

[5lima30]

I bought a new walk behind mower this past summer. After reading all the reviews I bought a Ariens (with large rear wheels). It has the Kohler engine. It is very smooth and starts first pull every time. My lawn tractor is a Craftsman with a Briggs Intek engine. It is made by AYP and the Husqvarna is its twin. I would not wish this piece of **** on anyone. As soon as it dies I will buy an Ariens or Deere.

 

[robsled]

We just bought a new house last month. Sitting on close to 3/4 acre. Nothing but sod right now, at least it's dormant for another month or two.
I HATE mowing grass, besides the fact that I'm allergic to cut grass. But I can see this is going to cost some serious coinage to pay someone to mow every week. I'm planning on doing a lot of planting beds to eliminate as much sod as I can, at least a good balance. Still not sure if I wanna buy a mower and see if I can do it myself or not.

 

[Phil S.]

How much lawn are you mowing?
Where are you located?

I live in No. Calif. (Redding) I live in a subdivision with just a nice sized front and back yard (maybe 4,000 sq. ft. total) Right now I paying $125 a mo. but all they do is mow and blow the walkways, I do all the fertilizing, bush/tree timming, weed control etc. I'm not interested ing riding mowers just a self propelled walk behind.

 

[Arachnotron]

I love my Honda mower.

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/modeldetail.aspx?page=modeldetail&section=P2LM&modelname=HRX217K2VKA&modelid=HRX2172VKA

 

[robsled]

I love my Honda mower.

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/modeldetail.aspx?page=modeldetail&section=P2LM&modelname=HRX217K2VKA&modelid=HRX2172VKA

Looks like a good one....now if I could get my wife to push it around....

 

[Thirsty]

I wouldn't mess around, I would buy a Walker MW and have a mower to last your life time. This thing will mulch leaves in the pooring rain if you chose. Beautiful cut etc.

 

[Thirsty]

Sorry I guess you did mention "your economy", Dismiss my suggestion. Fun to dream though.

 

[airbatica]

Regardless of the brand of mower you get, run a good full synthetic 10w30 oil (Mobil 1) in it.

 

[green.bubbly]

Here is what we do, well, my wife, who actually enjoys cutting the grass. She buys the cheapest mower she can find at Lowes or HD. She likes the big wheels in the back. We pay around $200.00 and they last at least five years with very little maintenance. I typically change the oil and sharpen the blade before each spring.

That is it. When it dies, we go buy a new one.

 

[tatra]

if you are going to bag, get a rear wheel drive as the weight of the bag will cause the fwd to lose traction.......if you are going to mulch, hp,hp,hp is what you want and fwd will be fine...........bought a hinda powered mower from costca and not impressed with the power for muching or the running of it..........plan on converting to a wet cell 12 v mower charged by solar cells if the right deals present themselves......on rechargable electric, buddy bought one and does his yard over 2 days as not enough charge to do it all at once and works for him..............single lever heighth adj. is nice.........

 

[Wes28376]

I've been extremely happy with Toro. I've been running one for the last 8 years with only minor maintenance.

 

[Kurt4440]

I think if you have the money, want a new mower, and forsee years of mowing the lawn yourself, buy the Honda mentioned above or a Toro 22156 or any premium mower that fits you. If you are handy, short on cash, and you think you may only be mowing the lawn this year, I would go with a used mower like this http://redding.craigslist.org/grd/2154957507.html

 

[Aspen RT]

I have two of the old JX75 John Deere (Kawasaki motors) and love them, I hate to say but, I've never even taken the plug out of either one...they just keep going. Unfortunately the new Deeres' have Briggs engines and ALOT of plastic.

I think the Honda sounds pretty interesting, from what I hear it's got a "double" blade (for mulching) thats supposed to work really good.

 

[jvitez]

I love mulching mowers, no clumsy bag, no yard waste disposal, and about 20% faster than emptying the bag repetitively. 4000 sq ft isn't a huge yard, so any quality self propelled walk behind would do you well. If you don't want a throw-away mower, here's the 3 that I would get if I were you:

Snapper:

http://www.snapper.com/products/wal...ing/rp21875bv-self-propelled-mower/RP21875BV/

Ariens:

http://www.ariens.com/products_lawn/l_walkbehind_group/l_lm_21s/Pages/default.aspx

Toro:

http://www.toro.com/intl/ca_en/home/mowers/superrecycler/20092.html

The Ariens is the heaviest, but no issues if it's a self propelled. I love the Snapper's self propelled system. The Toro is an excellent mower too, but I'm still P.O'd at them for killing the 2 stroke Lawn Boy........ I'd probably go with Snapper, then Ariens, then Toro in that order if I had an urban yard to cut.

Me, I hope my 2 stroke Lawn Boy Duraforce lasts the rest of my life as a trim mower, as I cut my small acreage with a tractor.

 

[ErickForest]

I would also vote for the Honda that was listed above. Always starts, cuts great. Good mower. I previously had a John Deere walk behind and wasn't very happy with it.

 

[hllon4whls]

Unless you want disposable, might want to avoid the big box stores.

I bought a JD SP push mower and its OK, not overly impressed with it for the $400 I spent. It has a B&S motor and with some stabil in the fuel every season, it starts on the second or third pull. Unless you have a physical reason to, I'd say stay away from electric start. One more thing to mess with and put a battery in.

The toro's get good reviews consistently on consumer reports.

 

[imperialman]

I would stick with a name brand like Toro ,Snapper, or the like.
I love the two Lawnboys I own ,but you can't get them anymore,at least not of the same two cycle quality these 25 yr old mowers are.

 

[santagary]

Rent a goat or two once a month and use their "droppings" in your flower beds. Just a thought...or two.

 

[hetkind]

4,000 sq feet is about 1/10 of an acre. Any gasoline or electric push mower will do the job quickly and easily. I was mowing two acres in east Texas with a John Deere 48" cut walk behind. Now I have 30 acres and I let the deer do my mowing.

Howard

 

[M10]

I have an average 1/4 acre suburban lot, and bought a new mower this past summer. I am lucky to have an excellent power equipment dealer about 10mi away. He offered two mowers as producing the best cut, a Honda with a plastic deck, and a Toro with a cast aluminum deck. He indicated the Honda offers the best bagging performance, and the Toro the best mulching. I went with the Toro Super Recycler and it does offer an excellent cut, and great mulching. One downside is the engine, it doesn't have a manual choke, so it can be challenging to start in cool weather, say 50 degrees F or so. In warm weather it starts just fine on the first pull. I wish the Toro had the Honda engine.

 

[KEH]

Well, I only went through Redding once and it was in the summer with the temperature at 112 degrees. I didn't notice any lawns that needed mowing very often. Sure wouldn't want to walk behind a mower at those temps. Of course, one brief trip does not make one an expert. The mower advice other have given sounds good to me.

KEH

 

[6768rogues]

Here is what we do, well, my wife, who actually enjoys cutting the grass. She buys the cheapest mower she can find at Lowes or HD. She likes the big wheels in the back. We pay around $200.00 and they last at least five years with very little maintenance. I typically change the oil and sharpen the blade before each spring.

That is it. When it dies, we go buy a new one.

I have a brother in law who does that. He never changes the oil or anything. He puts in gas and mows, and buys a new el-cheapo push mower every 5 years.
I have used a lot of mowers and the best one I ever used is a Ferris zero turn with full suspension. It goes fast enough to make mowing fun and rides like a Cadillac.

 

[electrodude]

I found a nearly new Toro self propelled mulching mower on the local freecycle site. The previous owners dog had chewed the end of the spark plug wire and the starter cord off. He tried to fix it with duct tape, didn't get it done, so he gave it away to get a new one. The new plug wire end cost me $3, I found the handle off an old engine at work, just put it on the shortened cord, and ran the ******. That was about six years ago. Maybe this year I'll change the oil in it and drain out the gas, but I doubt it (I don't do the mowing anymore, my daughter does).

 

[metal1313]

for a small lot like that a regular self propelled mower is fine. i cut alot of grass in summer and have one customer who wanted her large yard done with a 22'' mower becuase she hates the noise and look my large mowers have. it takes me 1-1.5 hours to mow, then 30mins to trim and clean up. her neighbor a nearly identical lot takes less than an hour to complete with a 48'' scag

 

[onewaydave]

Nah. I bought the best mower I've ever had in 1976. Beans and rice poor but was able to buy a house (if 800 sq' is a house). walked 3 blocks to the True Value HW store and bought the cheapest mower in stock. Brand? The yellow one. B/S engine though, 18" cut, no catcher and everything manual.

My, now ex, wife sold it in 1993 in a garage sale without my knowlege.

I used that thing like a brush hog, wood chipper, leaf blower.... I abused the heck outa that thing and it was running great the day it sold. Never forgiven her for that.

Dave. Really, not one to keep grudges or anything.

 

[larry_g]

I have had 2 of these http://www.snapper.com/products/wal...vac/cp2160kwv-self-propelled-mower/CP2160KWV/ in the past 20+ years. The first one was stolen so I replaced it. They are heavy duty and expensive but have the stamina to keep going.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[R-132 Fan]

I had a Honda for a few years that I cut my fathers grass with. A great mower, I wish I hadn't let the estate sale people talk me into letting it go.
For my own place out in the country I buy the cheap high wheel mower from WalMart. Run them eight to ten years and replace them when they won't start with another cheapie.
Try Criagslist for a good deal on a used mower. People are always getting rid of good mowers when they move out of a house into an apartment.

 

[66dave]

I am a very motivated engineer and a couple years ago I was laid off due to my job being given to the Taiwanese, since then I have been mowing lawns for a living during the summer. I cannot talk highly enough about the Honda mowers, I have a HRC217, you can jog behind (goes ~9mph) it as it mows 8" grass down to 2.5". The thing is a MONSTER! If I were you I would go with the HRX217, another GJ member recommended this same mower. It has the same drive, just a plastic deck (I have seen ads where they drive a Honda minivan on the deck and it does not crack) and the motor does not have a hardened steel sleeve in it. I got a neighbor to buy one and he LOVES it. I gave him a tip to buy it at Home Depot, but first go down to the local post office and get a movers pack. In the movers pack there are 10% off Lowes cupons that Home Depot will honor, saves you ~$60.

If you plan on getting a large (36") walk go with either Walker (made in USA, Colorado to be exact) or snapper/exmark are good. I live near one of the Walker boys here in Idaho, they’re good people. His dad started the business ~20 years ago, it si family owned and proudly operated in Fort Collins. I believe another GJ member also recommended this.

If you wand other equipment that will last you a lifetime go with Stihl weed eaters, edger’s, and blowers. Buy the commercial line, the home line is OK (my in-laws have them), but it is hard to compare that to a commercial unit. The commercial units are 100% stronger. Also use gatorline sting, it has a small wire enclosed in the plastic line.

I could go on here for a while, but there is a start.

 

[justin85]

I'm sure all of you will harass me, but I've actually been considering going all cordless electric in the lawn care department. They appear to make pretty decent cordless trimmers, blowers, and mowers nowadays. Helps to only have a 1/4 acre of grass.

 

[sids04]

I bought a Honda powered Husqvarna 21 " bag/mulch mower rear wheel drive. I cut a half acre(No way do I bag it). I am very Happy so far(three years in)

 

[jimini]

Since you have some time, I recomend you check out the returned repaired mowers at places like Lowes, Home Depot and Sears. Few people are shopping for mowers now and the longer they sit there, the cheaper they get. You have to be careful and check them out good. Some look they're used 10 hrs a day for months and some look new, funny thing is they price them all about the same. The wheels and the bagger will tell its story.
I would also recomend having someone start it up for you. Be smart, walk away if unsure. I too like the Honda engines, and would consider one on other brand mower decks as well. This may allow you to BAG a quality mower and CUT its price way down.

 

[Orangestang]

I've had my Toro self propelled for about 18yrs now and its never let me down. In the fall I run it till the gas runs out and in the spring I change the oil sharpen the blade, gas it and go. Always starts in 2 pulls.

 

[blazsawgras]

i have a craftsman mower 42 inch deck 22 hp motor bought it new in 2003 and have got good service out of it. mowing 4 acres per week still doing fine. my opinion for the price the craftsman mower is a good value.

 

[W_KY]

Just curious, does anybody make a riding mower with a Honda engine. Something in the 42" or so width.

 

[PaulR]

Why not mow with what your landscaper uses?

!

 

[ket-tek]

I have a rider but still use a push for lots of the areas in the yard. It's a Honda, I paid like $4xx for it like 6 years ago. I think this is the equivalent current model:

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/...P2LM&modelname=HRR216K5VKA&modelid=HRR2165VKA

I usually take great care of all my cars and various equipment, but for some reason I never cared to much about messing with it. I just throw it in the shed when I'm done. (I wash and clean the deck on my rider every cut or two though )

Never winterized it, only changed the oil like twice, but it still runs like day one, it starts everytime, runs smooth as silk and doesn't vibrate at all. It's also lightweight and easy to maneuver.

My previous Craftsman I thought was real nice and paid about the same, it was rough running and vibrated like crazy! I was still shaking for 20 minutes after I was done mowing.

The craftsman was front wheel drive I didn't really like that, I prefer the rear wheel drive on the honda. As when you are cutting grass that is too tall or wet or going across a dusty dirt patch you can just tilt it back some to ride a wheelie over the area and it still pulls itself.

Just as cars though F/R drive both have their pros and cons, it's really personal preference, and terrain/landscaping can make one better than the other too.

 

[Grumpy365]

I have a Dixie Chopper & I love it. I don't like to spend all day mowing grass and it is fast.