Self propelled lawn mower(s)

[MANTOOL]

Hey guys I'm in need of objective recommendations for FWD self propelled lawn mowers. I bought one (Toro) 2 weeks ago at Lowes. The sales ascot. was informative and helpful but when I used it....that's when my world changed. This more is a RWD type and with the cutting height set at 2 1/4 inches it won't pull itself own level ground. It (initially as advertised) started on the first pull but subsequently I have had to do 6-8 pulls before it will start. It is a 3 n 1 capable but it is boxed without a discharge chute....the associate told me this at the time of purchase and I would need to register the power with Toro and they would send the discharge chute (which they did) but it is an absolute engineering nightmare. The discharge chute (with my cutting height at 2 1/2 inches) has clogged 3 times during my last (yesterday) cutting fiasco. Needless to say I'm returning it tomorrow with no product satisfaction at all. Having said all this I would appreciate everyone's thoughts on a FWD, 160cc engine, side discharge, self propelled mower....TIA.

 

[mervyn]

Can't speak for self propelled but the Cub cadet push mower I got nine years ago has been flawless. They make a self propelled one.

 

[logical]

Rear wheel drive is not what's wrong with your mower.

 

[whateg01]

My battery mower starts first time every time. I will say, though, the discharge chute on the ego has a bit to be desired. Since I don't use it, I don't care.

 

[mike93lx]

I can't think of a circumstance where I'd want fed over rwd, other than maybe a perfectly flat lawn?

How much area are you cutting? The noise and ease of use in battery is pretty great

 

[PoorUB]

RWD Toro will not pull its self? My RWD Toro will drag me across the yard! Perhaps it needs some adjustment?

As for the chute plugging? No idea. I mulch with mine 99% of the time.

As for starting, many of the new mowers out have an automatic choke that opens as the engine spins over. Pull the rope, and if it doesn't start give it a couple seconds for the choke to close again, then pull, if it doesn't start, wait a couple seconds for the choke to close and pull again. I guaranty is will start faster. Most guys grab the rope and pull like mad men. The choke opens on the first pull and stays open so the engine fails to start. I have electric start and if it doesn't start after a couple seconds of cranking, I stop cranking and wait a couple seconds and hit the starter again and it takes right off. If I sit there and rank it steady it will spin until the battery dies and not start.

My mom has a neighbor lady that bought a new mower and found it difficult to start. Same deal, her son would come over and just flail away on the pull rope. I looked the mower over for her and realized it had a similar automatic choke as mine. I gave it a pull and nothing, waited a couple seconds and pulled again and it took off. She looked at me in shock and asked how I did that as nobody could get it started. I explained to her to wait a between pulls and why. A few weeks later I talked to her and she says it starts second pull every time.

 

[four.cycle]

What is the model number of your Toro walk-behind mower? (Model number will be on a white sticker under the discharge flap on the left (drivers) side of the mower deck.)

How tall is the grass you are trying to cut?
How damp is the grass you are trying to cut?
Toro walk-behind mowers have an inherent design flaw: the discharge chute is simply too small and they don't really do a good job of picking up debris unless you are using a TORO blade and are mowing on a regular basis.

The discharge chute and the starting issue are not related in any way.

 

[tinmanwpk]

I have a Honda walk behind self propelled that is a dream to operate. Starts first pull every time.

 

[Danno1]

.

^^^

A-yup. Same here.

Also, never bogs or stalls in high grass either.


.

 

[mike93lx]

.

^^^

A-yup. Same here.

Also, never bogs or stalls in high grass either.


.

Honda has extra special horsepower

 

[67King]

Will never have another FWD self-propelled, again. Driven wheels get unweighted entirely too easily and too frequently. If your discharge chute is getting clogged, you are trying to cut too much height off in one pass. I know that isn't a recommendation, which is what you are after, but I don't think a different mower is going to fix your issues.

 

[mjeff87]

I'll second recommend a Cub Cadet. I inherited my FIL's self propel one when he passed away last year.

I don't know where these have been all my grass cutting life (anywhere but in my garage, apparently) but I'll never buy another push mower that isn't a Cub (if I even need to) after running this one . The one I have is a bit counter intuitive, as the bail/handle to engage the drive works by pushing it, not pulling it like every other mower I've ever owned but it is a very small learning curve to overcome.

 

[tarbellb]

Greenworks 80v RWD from Costco has been flawless, cuts a 1/4 acre on one battery

 

[LJZ]

Brother get a Honda. Peeps are always moving or other. So you can find a good used one fairly easy.
Keep the oil changed , run ethanol shield your set for life.
Got my son one.
Im lucky and have an over 35 year old Kubota pusher that they stopped making years ago,.
Its actually better then the Honda. Its still working just as good as the day I got it.
Only thing I fixed is the recoil line. plus maintenance.
Good luck.

 

[Burl]

I've got a Makita, RWD works great, plenty of power, batteries last a good time. When it comes to high or heavy grass, the speed of the motor increases.

 

[CraigStu]

Admittedly I had a flat lawn but I really liked the FWD mower. Instead of dealing w/ lever or whatever to control the forward movement I just pushed down on the grip and lifted the front wheels. Most of the time I was lifting them anyway to make a turn so it seemed very intuitive to me.

 

[strutaeng]

My first mower was a Craftsman FWD with the B&S motor. I used it like maybe 5 years and then one day it threw a rod, not sure why. I wasn't a big fan of the FWD and the lot was pretty flat, especially if using the bag. The front wheels just seemed to spin. I went and bought another mower at Sears when they were still around. It was a Snapper brand with another B&S. Only use it like twice and then hit this little shrub stump and crank got bent. My fault...

So I then bought a well-worn Exmark/Toro with the Kawasaki FJ180V from a landscaper guy. And it's still going strong after 11 years. It's RWD and what most all landscapers around here I see use mowing lawns. I finally replaced the oil and oil filter last Fall...SMH. I like the differential mechanism and it's pretty fast on the fastest speed.

 

[tinmanwpk]

I only use Ethanol Free gasoline, too. I forgot to mention that in my Honda recommendation post.

 

[BurtEggley]

RWD is the best way. People have a tendency to push down on the handle and with FWD that lifts the front wheels off the ground so they just spin. RWD just digs in more. Many of the Toro models rely on the user pushing the mower to control its forward speed. Pushing controls the clutch. No push no go. Light push and mower pulls just a little. Push hard and it pulls a lot. It is all in the owner's manual.

 

[four.cycle]

Many of the Toro models rely on the user pushing the mower to control its forward speed.

^ The operator pushes the handle, which controls the speed of the drive wheels.
It is marketed as the "Personal Pace" series.
All it really does is adjust the tension on the belt against the drive pulley, allowing the operator to adjust the speed according to how fast they want to walk.

I noticed the O/P has disappeared after his first post.

 

[BurtEggley]

^ The operator pushes the handle, which controls the speed of the drive wheels.
It is marketed as the "Personal Pace" series.
All it really does is adjust the tension on the belt against the drive pulley, allowing the operator to adjust the speed according to how fast they want to walk.

I noticed the O/P has disappeared after his first post.

there seems to be a lot of that lately.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

^ The operator pushes the handle, which controls the speed of the drive wheels.
It is marketed as the "Personal Pace" series.
All it really does is adjust the tension on the belt against the drive pulley, allowing the operator to adjust the speed according to how fast they want to walk.

I noticed the O/P has disappeared after his first post.

He visited the forum yesterday…probably doesn’t have much to say, but likely appreciates the comments here and still trying to decide what to do.

Many years ago, I bought Mrs YankeeFarmer a Toro Personal Pace mower for Mothers’ Day. Don’t criticize me-I got her the model with electric start! I found it to be superior to a more expensive Honda model that my son bought and I fixed several times because it kept throwing the drive belt. I also found that the Honda traveled too fast for me, while the Toro Personal Pace always has the right speed. It was prone to clogging though if the grass was too tall/thick, and especially if it was wet. I have done no repairs to the Toro over the many years we’ve had it except for removing a mouse nest under the shroud and occasional oil changes.

 

[four.cycle]

^ The Toro is a good mower, but the issue with the discharge chute clogging is common, simply because it's so small, and people try to mow grass that it too tall, and too wet.
Owners of Toros who run them every couple weeks love them.
Decks are far better than the **** that was cranked out by AYP (American Yard Products, who made ALL of Craftsman's decks.)
And far better than any of the tinny **** being pushed out by MTD (Yardman, Ryobi, etc.)
Only issues I had with Toros was that every damn thing on them is Toro ONLY, and every damn part has be be special-ordered.
The OP seemed to be having a no-start issue, but I can't even attempt to address any questions without the model number.

 

[4Kings]

One thing I've noticed on the FWD vs RWD is, if you bag, even just occasionally (springtime for me) the weight shift is noticeable. My neighbor was amazed at how much more my Husqvarna RWD picked up before I needed to empty vs his FWD, almost 2 to 1 difference.

 

[BigMike782]

I have a Honda powered Toro that came from a former coworker that didn't know that the blade bolt needed to be more than finger tight. That thing is awesome. It starts on one pull, it's smooth as all get out and mows beautifully.

 

[ararat]

 

[four.cycle]

^ More common than you would believe. I've picked up free mowers off Craigslist - "won't start!" - brought them home and discovered the only problem was a lack of fuel.
Just brought one home two days ago and I think that may well be the problem - I haven't looked at it yet.

 

[Wrench97]

Last Toro personal pace I had stated on the first pull after I gave it a shot either(the older one it replaced always starter on the first pull)....if the grass was high it didn't mow worth a lick.
It's all about blade speed and consumer push mowers don't have the blade speed pro mowers do.
I fell into electric trap with a EGO original battery didn't last long enough to mow the front back and side on one charge my yard is just under what they claim it will do second year if the grass thick it didn't make half the yard on a single charge, the first year I bought a blower on sale to get the smaller 5 amp hr battery and that was enough to finish the yard with, the second year the 5 amp hr lasted longer then the 8 that came with the mower I called and complained they had me run some tests like fully the battery and report back how long it minutes it ran then told me it was normal degradation...start of season 3 battery lasted 10 minutes called back had to go through the same charge and test routine told them 9.2 minutes they sent me a new battery last July, with the replacement I can mow the whole yard with battery to spare even in high grass. Personally while the new battery solved the run time issue I'm just not satisfied with the cut it does not mulch all that well nor does the outflow cute work well in tall or heave grass there just is not enough blade speed in my opinion. I've tried several different blade combinations to no avail.
Currently I'm on the look out for a decent used ZTR buddy just picked a used Ferris from a local fire house for 900 that needs new electric mower drive clutch and a new set of blade but it runs great and appears to have newer hydro pumps, clean fluid and no metal in the fydro filter when I cut it open.

 

[brothernov]

I'm only three mows in, but I love my Milwaukee electric. It's a beast.

 

[Desertskyy]

Honda HRX217 is my go to choice. Great mower

 

[rharman]

Honda HRX217 is my go to choice. Great mower

It is a great mower.

I've had one, with electric start, for 15 years. Change oil, air filter, and plug about every 2 years and it's good to go. Battery for the starter seems to go about 5 years so I'm getting close to a replacement. We'll see how this summer goes. Just a few months ago, I replaced the rear wheels as they had worn down to, basically, slicks.

 

[Wrench97]

shame there are none left to buy new.....

 

[rharman]

shame there are none left to buy new.....

So true. But, I would have no problem going with the battery version when the time comes.

 

[BurtEggley]

So true. But, I would have no problem going with the battery version when the time comes.

for someone in socal, why not go all the way and put in a xeriscape. It would be the better than a new mower. If the lawn is small enough to mow with a battery, why not add plants that love the environment there? Or do a garden that can produce? We are in norcal, just miles from two major California rivers. We tore out a good portion of the back lawn, and put in a xeriscape. Best decision yet. Lizards, hummingbirds, finch, jays, butterflies - all sorts of things out there now. The front lawn will come out to be replaced with a xeriscape the next time we restore that lawn area.

 

[pima67]

Probably there will be people west of the Rockies that will be doing that given the poor snow pack.

 

[rharman]

for someone in socal, why not go all the way and put in a xeriscape. It would be the better than a new mower. If the lawn is small enough to mow with a battery, why not add plants that love the environment there? Or do a garden that can produce? We are in norcal, just miles from two major California rivers. We tore out a good portion of the back lawn, and put in a xeriscape. Best decision yet. Lizards, hummingbirds, finch, jays, butterflies - all sorts of things out there now. The front lawn will come out to be replaced with a xeriscape the next time we restore that lawn area.

It could be a possibility in the front if we ever renovate that. No pressing need right now and, honestly, not an expense I'd look forward to.

We get plenty of birds, butterflies, etc. all around. Can do without adding lizards though. We do see them occasionally but they're not my favorite.

 

[mike93lx]

. If the lawn is small enough to mow with a battery,

I mowed well over a half acre of grass on a battery. This stuff is very different than the old corded mowers.

You can do a couple acres on the battery capacity of some zero turns

 

[Aileron]

There are several differant TORO personal paces. There are recyclers and superb recyclers. Most of the home improvemnt store Toros are recyclers and are 22" steel decks and they can flex. The super recyclers are 21" cut aluminion decks that are stronger with less flex. I'd put a 21" super recyclers with the honda or toro's honda's clone engine up against anything else. I may take that statemnt back , i would put the red deck mowers up against anything else.

 

[cody1325]

I mowed well over a half acre of grass on a battery. This stuff is very different than the old corded mowers.

You can do a couple acres on the battery capacity of some zero turns

I have a Hart, which is probably just a Ryobi with a different sticker and white plastic. (and the fact Walmart simply didn't just elect for rebranded Ryobi 40V batteries). I'd honestly say one 5 Ah battery outlasts a tank of gas for what I mow.

As it has a plastic deck, it's MUCH lighter than the gas Craftsman M220 it replaced.

 

[four.cycle]

RE: "xeriscaping"

^ Pretty much standard procedure up in Sequim now. Entire yards are covered with 6 inches of one-inch washed river rock, and a few azaleas are planted around the house for color.