Need a lawnmower

[Turin39789]

My lawn mower pwns

 

[0]

I got an MTD from Sams Club, but I made sure to get one with a Honda Motor. I see Walmart has a similar mower with a Honda Engine. They are quiet and run for a long time.

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: psteng19

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What's your budget?

Do you have access to a CostCo or Sam's Club?

$200 to maybe $400?

No membership to either but I can if the savings will negate the membership fees.

For 200 to 400 you can get a dam good mower. I have a Toro. I got it from Lowes I know that it's one model below the self propeled one. I have a hill but it's only in the front and is slight. I returned the self propelled one to say about 60 to 70 dollars to get a weed trimmer. I can tell you opt for the self propelled because it becomes as easy as you simply steer the unit and it goes by itself. Almost all mowers you get wheather it's toro, troy built etc... use an MTD Brigs and Straton engine. The B&S engine is superior and will last you several years. I will tell you that the deck will rust before the engine goes. I've heard from a lot of people that Honda mowers last forever. I don't know if they say this just because of the Honda cars but I've heard they have last a long time.

Bagging is never good because your'e not returning nutrients back to your hard. I always mulch. But my mower has the option to bag. But I never use this feature. Bagging is only good if you don't want weeds and weed seeds returning to your property.

Good advice. Looks like I'll be getting a self propelled mulcher.
Do you have to mow more frequently when mulching than bagging, or no difference?

So does anyone know whether Honda OHV engined lawnmowers have VTEC or not.
And if so, at what RPM's do the cams switchover?
It would be great if I could drop a gear or 2 to get some extra HP out of the engine while mowing on the hilly parts of my lawn.

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: richardycc
just bought the cheapest self propelled Toro from Home Depot for $279 -15% off, I think the model # is 20071. if you are getting a Toro from HD too, you might want to get the more expensive model with higher wheels with true 'personal pace', this 20071 is labelled as 'variable speed', not sure how much different it is from their patented personal pace system.

Just picked up the same exact model, I like it
Didn't get the 15% off though

I saw the personal pace one but didn't feel like shelling out another $90 for basically the same mower with variable speeds. Basically it works like the gas pedal of a car. Push it down more, it goes faster. Nice feature but not worth that much extra.

 

[Eos]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: trOver

Originally posted by: lightpants
A few years ago I bought a toro "personal pace" lawn mower at home depot.
Best mower I have ever owned, I highly recommend it.

Seconded. I have owned my craftsman/sears mowers, and the toro wins hands down. I mow 4-6 yards besides my own, so it gets used 4-6 times more than a normal mower, and has been going strong for two years now. Thats equivilant to 8-12 years if I was just mowing my lawn.

My toro is a personal pace, rear wheel drive, bags, mulchs, 22" blade, paid ~380 at HD

I have the same Toro. It's a good mower. My blade is pretty much gone after two years, though.

I bet your grass is BEGGING for a sharp blade.

Check your grass blade tops right before you mow the next time. If they are jagged, that indicates the blade is dull.

I have two blades so one is in the shop while the other is on the mower. Takes 2 minutes to remove and install.

I have a Toro Personal Pace as well, but I don't like the way it engages. Pushing to go forward just seems ass backwards to me. You push and it goes faster, then you push to keep up and it goes faster. Rinse, repeat. Probably just me though looking at the glowing reviews above.

Some Honda mowers have a infinitely variable speed control. I want this one to die so I can replace it...

 

[440sixpack]

Originally posted by: Skotty
In regards to self propelled --

Push it and get some exercise you lazy buggers.

I was beginning to think I was the only stubborn one. I just bought a Troy-bilt with a Honda engine a few weeks back, and I expressly went out of my way to find a non-self-propelled mower for the exercise. Of course, I've only got about a 1/4 acre flat lawn to deal with.

 

[The Sauce]

I recommend this with a 60" mower deck mounted to the mid PTO.

 

[richardycc]

Originally posted by: psteng19

Originally posted by: richardycc
just bought the cheapest self propelled Toro from Home Depot for $279 -15% off, I think the model # is 20071. if you are getting a Toro from HD too, you might want to get the more expensive model with higher wheels with true 'personal pace', this 20071 is labelled as 'variable speed', not sure how much different it is from their patented personal pace system.

Just picked up the same exact model, I like it
Didn't get the 15% off though

I saw the personal pace one but didn't feel like shelling out another $90 for basically the same mower with variable speeds. Basically it works like the gas pedal of a car. Push it down more, it goes faster. Nice feature but not worth that much extra.

cool, if you goto toro's website, you can print out the free extra yr of warranty offer for a total of 3yr warranty, not sure if the offer is still good, good luck, I still haven't get around to put it together yet. I will be only using it for those hard to get to area, since I have a tractor already.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: kranky
Remember the bigger the engine, the heavier the mower. If you have a lot of twists and turns to follow, look at the ones with front swivel wheels. Otherwise the fixed wheels will be fine. If you get a 2-cycle engine you have to mix oil/gas when filling the tank. 4-cycle uses straight gas and has a separate oil reservoir like your car.

Sometimes you'll want to bag.

Self-propelled without a doubt. I have a Sears mower with a Honda engine, works great.

It may also depend on the terrain. My price range completely excluded Toro. My parents have a self-propelled thing, but the engine is quite large, so it's really heavy. Problem is, the yard is really hilly, and there are lots of trees and various obstacles.
Maneuvering that self-propelled thing is awful because it's so heavy.
I got a $130 mower at a local hardware store ($100 at Walmart, so it's a cheap one). It's just a basic mower - an engine, deck, handle, and a blade. Nothing fancy, and not self-propelled. The good thing: it's so light that it is easy to maneuver, and feels like it could be outright thrown around without much effort. I tend to prefer it to the self-propelled. In addition, the SP mower has only one speed: really really slow. It's also a mulching mower, which lends it to getting clogged frequently with clippings, necessitating stopping while it "digests" what it's cut. The cheap mower blows the clippings out the side.
Cheap mower wins. But it's all personal preference, and dependent upon the terrain.

 

[DrPizza]

It really depends on the size of the lawn... If it's really big, but not quite big enough for a riding mower, then sure, you might want a self propelled. But seriously, it's not that hard to mow a lawn without a self propelled mower... It might actually be good exercise for you. Brand really doesn't matter that much. What matters 10 times more is how you take care of the mower. The best brand, left out in the rain, blade never sharpened, oil never changed, etc., isn't going to last more than a year or two. One of the really cheap mowers that's well maintained will last for a decade or more. Also, think about what a lawnmower really is: an engine sitting on top of a metal frame that spins a cutting blade below it. 90% of the lawnmower manufacturers DON'T build what is essentially the most important part of the mower: the motor! So, what difference does it really make?

If you really want to go into more detail, there are the differences between horsepower, and differences between how wide of a path the mower cuts on each pass. Personally, I'd just opt for a $89 mower from Home Depot (or was it Wal Mart? I saw one just the other day with a 3hp Briggs and Stratton engine on it.) Nice and light; easy to maneuver. If you can't push it up even a modest sized hill without breaking a sweat, then perhaps you really do need the workout to get in shape.

 

[Googer]

http://www.wolf-garten.org/ind...68&tx_sytproductdb_pi6[showUid]=3&cHash=f25355e36d <----- WINNER!

 

[MovingTarget]

Another vote for the craftsman here. I bought one with a 6.5hp engine a few years back and it still runs like a champ. The larger back wheels make it easier to maneuver, too.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I bought a troy built push mower with a honda engine and have no complaints. My old mower was a self propelled and I thought I might miss that but really I get done about a 1/3 quicker since I can go as fast as I want and it is so much easier to maneuvering the lighter and smaller mower. My old mower had a briggs engine and was still going strong but the deck was rotted all the to hell and I had wood and sheet metal bolted to it holding it together. When I rock shot out the side of the deck I thought it was time to break down a buy a new one.

 

[Mr Pickles]

Mine works very well. I think his name is Pablo.

 

[dawp]

here's one you'll never have to change the oil or buy gas for as long as you own it.