The lawn mower thread (ugh)

[TheGrooveking]

My two pesos....spend the money fixing /tuning up your riding mower. Even powered push mower becomes too labor intensive on an acre of hill land. Save you angles and knees the trouble, you are unemployed, so you have the time to work on the mower. If it served you well you owe it some TLC, besides whoever you sell it to will do it and love it for a long time.

TheGrooveking

 

[shoot summ]

I'm kind of a mower nut, I trade around a bit.....

I've had a couple of big box Toro's, they were OK, nothing great.

I've had a couple of Honda's, bought them cheap at garage sales, both ran great, no issues, parts are a bit pricey.

I had a Kubota push mower given to me, it was a tank, great mower until the clutch assembly died.

The last two mowers I've had are Snappers, both used, I sold the first one because I found a deal on the second one, a Commercial grade. It has the Kawasaki motor, not a single problem out of it in 3 seasons. In fact just this last weekend I was "mulching" a huge pile of yard waste I had accumulated on the garden since last fall. I was remarking to myself as I did it how much it took to bog the motor down. I also like the forced lubrication and filter on the Kawasaki. The one thing I dislike about the Snapper is the bagging system, I rarely use it, but when I do things tend to clog up in the chute if there is alot, or it is wet.

Shop around, I haven't paid over $125 for any mower, and typically sell them for almost what I have in them.

 

[Holt]

I had a 6 hp 4 year old craftsman self propelled mower and it was awful. Self propelled sucked and starting it was just a nightmare on its own. I was searching the local yard sales and came accross a 25 year old honda hr214 self propelled mower. $100 cash and off I went. Starts first pull everytime even on cold starts.. 2 blade set up with a variable speed blade control with a independent 2 speed transmission. My friend has the hydrostatic transmission and the the speed of self propel is fulling adjustable. I dont think I would every buy another brand of mower again. Though I would love to try a snapper mower.s

Edit: The honda has a lower hp mower then my craftsman but hardly evey bogs down. Wet grass killed the craftsman but he honda will plow right through it. The bagging system is great with the 2 blade set up. Without the bag it mulches just fine which is what i prefer instead of bagging.

 

[W_KY]

I'm getting ready to purchase new mower myself and I'm going the Honda route from a Honda dealer. My only decision is self propelled or not. I have never actually used a self propelled mower but my wife did in her early childhood and hated it (I'm sure they have improved quite a bit since then). I'll only have about .4 acres to mow. What are the downsides to having a self propelled besides it being heavier? This will be thick Bermuda grass

 

[e-tek]

I'm getting ready to purchase new mower myself and I'm going the Honda route from a Honda dealer. My only decision is self propelled or not. I have never actually used a self propelled mower but my wife did in her early childhood and hated it (I'm sure they have improved quite a bit since then). I'll only have about .4 acres to mow. What are the downsides to having a self propelled besides it being heavier? This will be thick Bermuda grass

Your wife likely (I'm guessing of course) recalls the Toro Reel-type mowers where the big wheels where ALWAYS turning, so to go backwards you had to drag against them, or tip it up on the rear rollers - that's what we had.

Today, most self-propelled are flat-deck mowers with drive wheels and they drive wheels can be disengaged when you want to move against them.

 

[W_KY]

On today's self propelled mowers, when you disengage the drive wheels, will they spin freely backwards? She said they would disengage so they would stop pulling but they wouldn't roll backwards. You just had to drag it.

 

[buening]

I got tired of my tin-can throwaway MTD so I restored this two years ago:

1968 Cub Cadet 125. 12hp cast iron Kohler. The tractor alone is 630 pounds of steel! Good to go for another forty years. I've also got a full set of winter tires (ags, weights, tri-ribs for the front), two snowthrowers, a front blade and a tiller. Nice to be able to use it for all jobs all year round.

I went a similar route. I bought a 1977 John Deere 214 with 48" deck for $200 and restored it. I rebuilt the motor and stripped it down to bare frame and refurbished or replaced everything. I have about $800 in it total, and is much better quality than the **** they make now. Mine weighed in at 700lbs without me on it and the deck installed.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I got tired of my tin-can throwaway MTD so I restored this two years ago:

1968 Cub Cadet 125. 12hp cast iron Kohler. The tractor alone is 630 pounds of steel! Good to go for another forty years. I've also got a full set of winter tires (ags, weights, tri-ribs for the front), two snowthrowers, a front blade and a tiller. Nice to be able to use it for all jobs all year round.

Yup....I don't think I will ever buy anything else.....I trashed 3 MTD POS's before I started collecting old IH CC's. The best one I have is the 105 that had only been used to mow a 3/4 acre lot since about 1980. The old retired guy was finally selling it to move into a nursing home. He said he "felt bad" for taking my 250 bucks 'cause the forward /reverse trunion was worn and it would drift and take off on it's own -- few bucks worth of parts and a Saturday in the garage made it the best cutting and best running lawnmower for me for the last 2 or 3 years.

 

[Falcon67]

I just spied a nice used (stored indoor even) 33" Snapper 12.5 HP at a race friends outdoor equipment shop. $400 with a new battery and full checkout. The wife is getting the full court press on this one.

 

[Skin]

Wrong.



You're talking old Breaks and Scatters engines, they were fine. The new ones are absolute garbage.

Weedeater with briggs engine...first one spit out the crankcase gasket in under a year. You know the cups on top of a cough syrup bottle? That's how much oil it holds. According to briggs, it was a "minor leak" The thing holds 1/8 cup of oil. There is no such thing as a minor leak!! they wouldn't fix it. I just ran it until it shelled, then they replaced it. The replacement has a small leak now.

Husqvarna push mower with 6.5 briggs. Smoked like a ******** chimney since new. Took it back to the sears repair center 3 times within 6 month of having it. 3 times, briggs said it was a-ok. The third time, I brought oil and gas with me, filled it up, started it, and it fogged out the entire strip mall to the point you could hardly see the building 30' away. That, according to Briggs, is acceptable for a small engine. I asked the sears repair manager wtf, and all he could say was he couldn't do anything about it. I just ran it until it shelled without adding oil, and had them replace it. Replacement was better, still smoked a wee bit off and on.

Generator...10hp Briggs, ran 3 days, barfed out the crankcase gasket, filled the generator with oil, made it some weird phase/voltage. Lights in the house were about 3x as bright as they should have been. Replacement ran for 5 days with no issue, hasn't been used since.

2" transfer pumps, both of them shelled the Briggs engines in less than a year.

Poulan rototiller, Briggs surged and backfired out of the box. Couldn't figure out how to adjust the f'ing carb, called Briggs and was told it was non-adjustable. They were factory tuned so they never required adjustment. Crock of ****, had it 2 hours, and returned that pile. I swore off Briggs engines at that point.

**** new Breaks & Scatters engines. I started buying Honda, not a lick of a problem.

Cub Cadet tiller with Honda, purrs like a kitten, no matter how hard you work it.

Pressure washer, honda runs great.

Honda grain auger engines that sat outside year round, in North Dakota winters, never a lick of trouble.

Have to completely disagree with your conclusion and whatever numpties you dealt with. B&S does not regard smoking engines as normal. My tip to you would be to stop dealing with big box stores who dont know what in the hell they're talking about.

No mower they manufacture holds less than ~20 ounces of oil. I've also never seen a sump cover gasket failure. Considering B&S now dominates the small engine OPE walk behind market i have to wonder whats wrong not with the equipment but with the places you've been dealing with. Again stop buying from big box stores.


As far as COO. B&S small engines on walk behinds are mostly made up of chinese engines. Honda's are Japanese and American afaik. Still, i think B&S L Heads are quite reliable. The only engines i hate are the ones with Pulsa Jet carbs [tanks mounted on the side]. Incredibly cheap and poorly designed [too much plastic, terrible filter location] but they're only found on **** equipment...like weedeater lawnmowers.

 

[cashishift]

I'm a Toro guy for < 21" mowers. Older Recyclers are some of the best mowers ever made IMO.. The older Honda's with the Shaft drive are also very reliable.

Now when you get up to the big boys.. I've used the Scag WB's and the Dixie Chopper riders.. both were excellent.

Anything hand held.. Stihl, Echo, Redmax, Shindaiwa.. I like the Stihl stuff myself.

When it comes to the yard.. I don't think I'd buy a single thing from Sears.

 

[oldwino]

yard's not huge, maybe 2000-2500 sf and the wife's domain...I got away with buying her a new lawn mower (honda) for mothers' day last year and she was thrilled. when we were dating she would load her mower into her trunk and stop by my place and mow when I was at work. funny thing is I can't get her on the tractor to mow a few acres of vineyard rows.

 

[burleymike]

We've had cclose to the EXACT SAME experiences.... I just don't beleive people tha say they don't decent value out of a cheaper "big box" mower. I think that occurs when people buy UNDER-POWERED mowers for their needs. I bought a Murray with a 6.5HP Briggs Motor 9 years ago. Oil changes - HAHAHAHA! Spark Plug? What's that? I sharpen/balance the blade and beat the hell out of it. I do my yard, the neighbours yard and most of the alley behind us - about 6 hours a week all summer and i never complains. I bet it goes for 20 years.

I used a little crapsman push mower to mow 1/4 acre for 4 years. The engine idles funny but it starts every time on the second pull. I actually liked the exercise but my bad foot got to the point I could not handle the pain anymore. I still have that old mower sitting in the barn to do around the flower beds and other tight spots.

When it dies I will go and buy the cheapest push mower I can find since it only gets used once a week for about 5 minuets.

 

[Fiberglass Fred]

I always bought Deere walk behinds because the self-propel was faster than Toro & Snapper, and WAY faster than Honda. I loved how the Hondas would cut, but of course it'll cut well when it's only going 1mph. As a professional, I didn't have time for that. But that was a while ago. I'm not sure what transmission speeds each do now.

Like others have said, get them from a dealer. Even if the mower has a big name on it, the ones at the big box stores don't seem to be made as well.

John Deere lawn equipment isn't what it was years ago. A few years ago I worked for a company that purchased a new John Deere riding lawn mower. It had Kawasaki engine that was the worst small engine I've ever seen. It was almost impossible to start if the weather was below 80 degrees, and John Deere's maintenance crew could never make it better.
I'd never own any small engine made by Kawasaki or Honda

I've got 2 walk behind Deere's from 1993 & 1994. They had 3-4 years of hard commercial use on them, and then just used as typical home owner use, ever since. I can find faults with each, but the Kawasaki in each mower is indestructible. You must have got a dud, because I can't say enough good things about those engines.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Here in the pacific northwet I find the decks rot out long before the engines and control systems fail.

My next machine will have an aluminum or composite deck.

 

[WVBrady]

..When it dies I will go and buy the cheapest push mower I can find since it only gets used once a week for about 5 minuets.

I know it was just a typo, but I laughed when I thought of you dancing minuets through the grass.

 

[petee_c]

Here in the pacific northwet I find the decks rot out long before the engines and control systems fail.

My next machine will have an aluminum or composite deck.

My rental property has a used19" Aluminum decked Toro push mower that I bought 15yrs ago.... I thought it was old when I bought it then.

No issues with the deck.

Going over there tonight to give it a tune up.... grass is getting long.

P

 

[ludakris04]

I am reading over these as I will soon be upgrading my house and downgrading my yard, so a walker will be in order. Currently I have a Cub Cadet rider (LT1046), like others have stated, I bought it from a CC dealer not a big box. I went as far as getting a bigger deck and bigger engine than was available at any big box. I got the v-twin Kohler 23hp (IIRC) and have loved it for my 1/2 acre. My neighbor has a cheapy MTD and I laugh if they are out in longer grass or wet grass. That thing starts crapping out. The HP really keeps it going if I miss a week or if it rained the day before. I also use it to plow my driveway and it works real well.

However, I am done with cutting grass. So I am looking forward to a smaller yard and will look for something with a good cut/finish. Toro/snapper could be it. My father has always had Lawn Boy pushers if that means anything. In my 35 years, he is on his 3rd LB.

 

[58Yeoman]

I bought a used JD L111 a couple years ago...what a POS. Never again. Grease fittings? What are they? This was originally sold at a JD dealer, and I bought it from another JD dealer. I've already gone through one blade spindle, and the second one isn't far behind, plus the idler pulleys, too. Less than 250 hours on the meter.

A few years ago, I bought a used Craftsman push mower for trim work, at an auction. It has a Tecumseh engine that has run smoother than any bs engine I've ever seen. It's getting on in years, and takes a little longer to start, but still runs great; it's a 22". I gave up on bs engines a long time ago...seems they never ran steady, always fluctuating.

 

[PaulR]

My Turn!!!!

First things First: That CUB picture is sooooo damn sexay it belongs in the HOT BABES thread.


My opinion: Anything will run good and treat you right as long as you take good care of it.

My experience: Long long before I found this place, and learned about the evil big boxes, and probably just when things were going to ****, circa 2004, I went to Blowes and bought what I thought was a Troy Bilt. Turns out it was actually and MTD but you all know that. Anyways, I was young, just got a raise, and they gave me some crazy $7,000 credit line. Again, circa 2004. The salesman at Lowes (back then they used to help people I guess) said "yea you can buy this here Pony and it will do the trick, but you can pay a little more for this here Bronco and have years of reliability, cast iron front, Briggs & Stratton INTEK with the pressurized oil system, big spin off filter, premium piston package, cast iron bore, 42" cut....$1400.00"

Turns out he was right. Here we are in 2011 and that Bronco is still purring like a kitten. Original equipment Briggs Filters from the local dealer every spring, along with Shell Rotella 5w-40 synth and that's all I've ever done to her, oh and sharpen the blades.

I looked up my motor with the same features yesterday in the Northern catalog: $900.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200305361_200305361


I also have a Sears Craftsman pushmower that's from the 1990's I pulled out of my barn and got running again after 3 years much thanks to this place, google searches, and a can of Seafoam.

So long story short: You can buy Turd, you just have to make sure you polish your Turd very often to keep it going.

Some day I will get that JD 2320 I dream about all day long.

 

[SMKS]

With Honda, you pay more for the name and get less. I prefer engines build in the US just like I prefer tools made in the US.

If you get a mower with a Honda engine, there's a good chance it was made in the US. Emphasis added by me.

http://engines.honda.com/company/about-us

Investment in America

Although Honda Engines, Power Equipment, and Marine products are produced at 11 Honda manufacturing facilities worldwide, nearly 75 percent of Honda power products sold in America are produced using domestic and globally sourced parts at the Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing, Inc. (HPE) facility in Swepsonville, North Carolina.

Opened in August 1984, has a capacity of 1.5 million engines per year.

In 1999, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. invested more than $6 million in its new Power Equipment Division headquarters in Alpharetta, GA., which oversees sales, distribution, marketing and exportation of Honda Power Equipment, Engines, and Marine products.

Currently, Honda employs nearly 27,000 people in the United States, with a U.S. capital investment of $12.1 billion.

 

[Rickenbackerman]

First things First: That CUB picture is sooooo damn sexay it belongs in the HOT BABES thread.

I assume you're talking about mine? If so, here's another money shot:

Here it is (crappy pic tho) set up for winter duty, I've since got narrow tri-ribs on a spare set of wheels for the front:

The whole resto took about six months, I took everything completely apart...

My problem with the thinking of "anything will run good well if you maintain it" is.... thin metal and non-serviceable parts. For example, the POS MTD that the 125 replaced was lightweight in every aspect and the frame was starting to rust away. The steering system was worn out and not serviceable. The hydro trans was light duty and would likely be cost-prohibitive to fix if it blew. Almost everything on the 125 can be fixed with a grinder and a welder, and if it can't, parts are still readily available. And the trans is almost bomb-proof, they used the same one on the lowboy which was a tractor twice as big. Plus, attachments are around cheaply and it can do lots of different tasks year-round. Just my opinion...

Sorry for going on and on, but can you tell I love my Cub?

 

[Porcupine]

My grandfather had a Mastercraft lawnmower that was around 24 years old. Had an old Briggs & Stratton "Easy Start" 3.5 HP engine on it. That thing ran like a charm. He took good care of it, but unfortunately it started to really rust through, and we had to stop using it. The pull cord was easy to pull (as I remember as it was when I was a kid), and it ran perfect. Had plenty of power too. We would still be using it today if it had not rusted through. I supposed we could have looked for another deck. I even remember scraping off the grass underneath it every so often as to try and prevent it from rusting.

My father had a toro mower - pain in the **** when it came to trying to start it, and use it. That was going back probably 20 years. They now have a Honda that runs great.

From the responses, everyone has had their fair share of troubles with the different makes.

 

[c_mccann]

As far as push mowers go- I had a Honda HRA214 SX for about 20 years, bought it new. Never a hiccup. I washed it and waxed it twice a year, washed the bag every 6 months as well, chainged the oil every 6 months. When I sold it, it looked new, ran new, got top dollar- wished i had kept onto it, the new ones are a bit pricy. I agree Honda is pricy, but whenever I buy something and Honda makes it, it is a no-brainer for me. Their stuff just works well, and that motivates me to spend whatever they charge. I know there are other brands that have the same following, Honda just has my loyalty. I could never get a Briggs engine to work well for me.

 

[posaune]

The Briggs engines must be luck of the draw. I just went through my '07 Craftsman mower with a B&S 650 on it today. Aside from the mouse house that was built in it over the winter, it is perfectly fine. It always starts easily, doesn't smoke and doesn't use oil (it holds 20oz). And I use the thing to cut more than an acre of tough yard (uneven/rocks/sticks/etc).

I just replaced the flywheel key on my dad's mower - almost exactly the same as mine, but about a year newer. The thing is rough (with a new blade), hard to start and smoky.

What undoubtedly IS **** about both of our mowers is the deck. Not only is mine rusting, despite being waxed and oiled yearly, but the thing is so thin that I can bend it by hand. Just today I noticed that when you push down on the handle (to turn, for example), the whole deck twists. I doubt it will last too long. Dad's tore one of the engine mounting bolts right out of the deck last year.

I've been eyeing old Wheel Horses on CL, but I just don't know if I can justify (to my wife) the expense for my relatively small yard.

 

[green.bubbly]

I assume you're talking about mine? If so, here's another money shot:
[

The whole resto took about six months, I took everything completely apart...

My problem with the thinking of "anything will run good well if you maintain it" is.... thin metal and non-serviceable parts. For example, the POS MTD that the 125 replaced was lightweight in every aspect and the frame was starting to rust away. The steering system was worn out and not serviceable. The hydro trans was light duty and would likely be cost-prohibitive to fix if it blew. Almost everything on the 125 can be fixed with a grinder and a welder, and if it can't, parts are still readily available. And the trans is almost bomb-proof, they used the same one on the lowboy which was a tractor twice as big. Plus, attachments are around cheaply and it can do lots of different tasks year-round. Just my opinion...

Sorry for going on and on, but can you tell I love my Cub?

Man, take some pride in your work and repaint that snow blower. Shame on you for mounting that thing to that beautifully restored Cub.



I would love to get my hands on a tractor like that and restore it. I have an old 1983 Gravely outfront mower. I could restore it but it would not be as **** as the Cub. Plus the transaxle bearing housing has a deep gouge in it and it leaks like hell.


I would be interested in seeing more restoration pics.