Lawn Mower education (of me) thread. Come share your knowledge.

[lokiju]

I've been starting to think about lawn mowers with spring around the corner (even though the weather calls for snow tomorrow) and I want a education on the topic.

The mower I have now is beat and stalls out very easily, it's served me well for the past two years considering it was bound for the landfill when I got it for free from someone my wife works with.

Now I'm looking for something that doesn't send me into a blind rage of frustration anymore like this old clunker does.

My # 1 want in a mower is the ability to increase the RPM's/Speed of the blade. I cannot take it bogging down over some clumped up clippings anymore. I want a mulching mower that can actually mulch!

Then I want it to be self propelled, have a bag option and handle inclines well.

And really prefer 4-stroke.

I'm Looking to keep it under $400 if possible.

Someone on here must have some decent knowledge of mowers...

When a listing for a mower says "variable speed" does that mean the self propelled speed or the RPM/blade speed?

Like this looks like a good mower, but it's not clear to me on the variable speed meaning.

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-L...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[zerocool84]

Any reason why your current one can't be fixed???

 

[lxskllr]

I've never seen a mower where you could change the blade speed. If you're having issues, you need to raise the deck, or mow more frequently. Also, I second fixing the one you've got. It sounds like it works, just needs a bit of tuning up.

 

[Turin39789]

how large of a yard, if you can get by without an engine - is nice

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have a Craftsman mower. It always starts on the 15th pull...or the 30th depending on how chilly it is outside.

 

[JulesMaximus]

how large of a yard, if you can get by without an engine - is nice

So, that would be a...goat?

 

[Eli]

So, that would be a...goat?

I think he was suggesting electric... But a goat would work too. lol

 

[lxskllr]

So, that would be a...goat?

An old school reel mower. I used one for a few years. I started with a small lot, then mowed and acre with it for 3 years. I finally got tired of working all day in the heat, and coming home and pushing a mower around the yard. I have a riding mower now. John Deere. I fuckin' hate the thing. Last Deere I ever get.

 

[Eli]

As far as your #1 requirement.. Mowers have a maximum speed, depending on the size of the blade. You can always notch it down slower, but without mucking with the governor, you won't be making it go faster. The key to not bogging is keeping a sharp blade, and of course getting a mower with decent power.

Honda is #1 in readily available, consumer small engines. Can't really go wrong.

 

[JulesMaximus]

An old school reel mower. I used one for a few years. I started with a small lot, then mowed and acre with it for 3 years. I finally got tired of working all day in the heat, and coming home and pushing a mower around the yard. I have a riding mower now. John Deere. I fuckin' hate the thing. Last Deere I ever get.

My yard isn't that big. I just use a push mower with a gas powered engine.

 

[Turin39789]

My yard isn't that big. I just use a push mower with a gas powered engine.

Yea I meant a reel mower, made the switch a few years ago. Nice and quiet, no fumes. Didn't seem like such a big deal but after mowing with a friends gas powered one I realized how nice it was to just push my old scissor mower.

 

[3chordcharlie]

So, that would be a...goat?

Reel mowers can do an excellent job - the best are much better than any rotary mower. They are also slow, and don't handle long grass well at all.

What do you have now - if it's an old mower and has anything other than a 3.5 hp Briggs and Stratton, don't bother fixing it. If it does, and the deck isn't rotted, and the wheels are alright, it might be worth fixing. New blades are pretty cheap.

For what you want, you want a Honda mower. The self-propelled bagging model may or may not be available for $400 on springtime promotional pricing, it may be closer to $500, but it will do exactly what you want it to do, and honda small engines just plain work.

<-- definitely not a honda fanboy.

 

[lupi]

you're either going to have to mow more often, or pay several times what you want for a commercial model.

 

[Turin39789]

Reel mowers can do an excellent job - the best are much better than any rotary mower. They are also slow, and don't handle long grass well at all.

What do you have now - if it's an old mower and has anything other than a 3.5 hp Briggs and Stratton, don't bother fixing it. If it does, and the deck isn't rotted, and the wheels are alright, it might be worth fixing. New blades are pretty cheap.

For what you want, you want a Honda mower. The self-propelled bagging model may or may not be available for $400 on springtime promotional pricing, it may be closer to $500, but it will do exactly what you want it to do, and honda small engines just plain work.

<-- definitely not a honda fanboy.

Mine feels as fast as the gas did, I certainly walk it faster than the self propel would pull itself. But you do have to keep up with the yard, if you let the grass get long you will be cursing. Probably the biggest disadvantage, I let the lawn get away from me for a few weeks the first year and borowed a gas to get it knocked back down. For a 1/4 acre or less it should be ok, but bigger than that and its probably unrealistic.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Also - make sure the mower at the Home Depot is the real deal; they sell some Toro/Lawnboy stuff that is definitely cheapened to make big box prices. If the model is the same as your nearest small engines dealer, and the price is lower, go for it. Otherwise I'd suggest getting it from a dealer, since if nothing else you'll get better warranty support and service. Plus the people tere will know what they're talking about.

 

[lxskllr]

Yea I meant a reel mower, made the switch a few years ago. Nice and quiet, no fumes. Didn't seem like such a big deal but after mowing with a friends gas powered one I realized how nice it was to just push my old scissor mower.

Reel mowers are just as easy to use as powered mowers if you keep up with the mowing. They brutally punish laziness though, and you won't skip mowing, and let the grass get long more than once :^D

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yea I meant a reel mower, made the switch a few years ago. Nice and quiet, no fumes. Didn't seem like such a big deal but after mowing with a friends gas powered one I realized how nice it was to just push my old scissor mower.

Mine doesn't spew any nasty fumes. Once it is running it runs pretty well and evenly...it's getting it started that's a pain in the ass.

It is this mower:

http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Lawn_a...ftsman_6_hp__21_in__Deck_Rear_Bag_Mower_38873

 

[3chordcharlie]

you're either going to have to mow more often, or pay several times what you want for a commercial model.

Commercial 21" mowers have generally gone to shit in the last few years. Most of the guys around here have switched to Hondas, and just accept that we have to replace them every two years.

 

[BoomerD]

My 15+ year old Craftsman has been giving me more and more problems...so I decided to replace it.
I bought a mid-level Honda mower a couple of weeks ago. $499 - 15&#37; coupon.

Fired that bad boy up on Friday. Sweet mower. I know it'll only take a couple of uses before it's back to "ah fuck...I gotta mow the lawn," but with the new mower, it was almost fun...

Variable speed drive, (dammed thing can out-run me) blade-brake/clutch, (no more dead-man handle to hold to keep it running) nicest mower I've ever owned.

I saw several of the Honda commercial mowers on Craigslist, and almost went that route instead, but opted for new.

 

[fatpat268]

Yea I meant a reel mower, made the switch a few years ago. Nice and quiet, no fumes. Didn't seem like such a big deal but after mowing with a friends gas powered one I realized how nice it was to just push my old scissor mower.

I had one a few years ago, and it was nice and all, but it was a long day if the blades weren't sharp.

In the end, I went back to a gasoline push mower. I'm able to mow the yard in half the time it takes for a reel mower.

 

[Meghan54]

If you're going the self-propelled mower route, I might suggest looking at rear wheel drive only and forget the front wheel drive models. While front wheel drive mowers are usually cheaper than rear wheel drive, as you mow, you tend to put downward pressure on the handle which removes some of the traction from the front wheels.

Got rid of a nice Craftsman front wheel drive mower for a Husqvarna rear wheel driven mower just because the front driver would lose traction sometimes, and it became a drag to have to lift up on the handle to give it more traction. The rear driver never has that problem.

Just sayin'.........

 

[Sluggo]

I bought a Toro personal pace for the push mower parts of my yard, I have Kubota diesel riding mower for the rest of it. Between my yard and the common area next door that I take care of I mow about 2.5 acres a week during mowing season.

The Toro starts with 2 pulls maximum, and handles tall and wet grass pretty well. This will be my 3rd season with it. My biggest complaints are it does not mulch well at all, and the bag seems really small.

All the 2 stroke equipment I have, weedeater, blower and edger are Stihl and have all worked flawlessly.

 

[TwiceOver]

Shouldn't be too hard to find a mower that can change the blade speed, I don't have one, but my parents keep buying ones that do.

I don't know what the attraction of self propelled mowers are. The few that I have used are generally slower than me pushing. I'm not looking to increase the time it takes to mow my lawn.

Not sure about the rest of your list. I ended up buying a cheap ass craftsman mower from sears when we bought our house. This will be mowing season #4 and so far all in it has cost me ~$50 per season to mow. Not bad IMO.

 

[Bignate603]

Any reason why your current one can't be fixed???

That's my thoughts, if you can find a place that does work on small engines they'll tune it for you. We had one mower that was horrendous to start, took it to a shop and for a pretty reasonable price he got it working like new.

 

[lokiju]

Shouldn't be too hard to find a mower that can change the blade speed, I don't have one, but my parents keep buying ones that do.

I don't know what the attraction of self propelled mowers are. The few that I have used are generally slower than me pushing. I'm not looking to increase the time it takes to mow my lawn.

Not sure about the rest of your list. I ended up buying a cheap ass craftsman mower from sears when we bought our house. This will be mowing season #4 and so far all in it has cost me ~$50 per season to mow. Not bad IMO.

If I had a flat yard I'd be fine without a self propelled but my front yard is pretty inclined at parts and it really helps out.