Down to the grasses roots. Lawn mower recomendations

OK, our typical Toro 22" 4.5hp FWD mower is dead. I've rebuilt the the drive mechanism a couple of times, re-built the carb in the past, rebuilt the pull start etc etc, but it's just getting old. Somethings out of Balance so it vibrates as much as a HArley Davidson, well, nothing vibrates that much. IT's getting cranky, the latest blade has been sharpend so many times it needs replacing again. There are some cracks in the deck and part of the under deck shielding has come adrift. The drive is starting to slip again and the final straw last night when my 14 year old daughter was mowing the yard was the engagement cable for the drive snapped. In other words it's curb side fodder for someone with more time and patience than me to resurect and I'm going to buy a new mower.

So what to get? Typical 1/3 acre suburban lot with a fair amount of beds and corners to go around. Must be a good mulcher as we tend to let the grass get a little longer and there have been no nasty planet, human or pet killing chemicals on our lawn for over 20 years so it has to be good with weeds. Same kind of thing, self driving 4-5hp 22"ish deck. What to get. Not a lawn machine, they are crap. Another Toro or bite the bullet and spend the extra for a Honda? Easy starting and self propelled are an absolute must as my 14 year old daughter is now the main mower as she like to earn money.

How much does she make to cut?

The Honda whatever is the 22" self propelled model. I have the push it yourself model. Its great, light, always works, uses extremely little fuel (I fill my 2 gallon fuel can once a year). I had some problems with the original blade, but when I replaced it, I went with the twin blade setup and it seems to work very well.

Sine_Qua_Non wrote: How much does she make to cut?

Too much. I was going to offer $10-15, but my wife offered $20 before I got home. Too late to renege on the deal. She did it last summer and she's doing it this summer too. It normally takes two shots though for her, front one day back the next. It does motivate. We have friends who offered their kid $5 and the kid doesn't figure it's worth it so he still does it himself.

This is our lot.

ProDarwin wrote: The Honda whatever is the 22" self propelled model. I have the push it yourself model. Its great, light, always works, uses extremely little fuel (I fill my 2 gallon fuel can once a year). I had some problems with the original blade, but when I replaced it, I went with the twin blade setup and it seems to work very well.

Just discovered you can get a Honda powered Toro. IS it just the engine that makes the quality of the Honda worth it, or the whole thing?

Whatever you can find at the metal recyclers that the masses threw out because it needs fresh gas put in it.

Actually you may be a month or so late for those.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: The Honda whatever is the 22" self propelled model. I have the push it yourself model. Its great, light, always works, uses extremely little fuel (I fill my 2 gallon fuel can once a year). I had some problems with the original blade, but when I replaced it, I went with the twin blade setup and it seems to work very well.

Just discovered you can get a Honda powered Toro. IS it just the engine that makes the quality of the Honda worth it, or the whole thing?

Not sure. The twin-blade setup is nice. But the rest of the mower is pretty much... a mower. It's not a piece of crap, but I don't think its anything spectacular either.

I suppose there might be more difference on higher end models - self-propelled, bagging, etc. Mine is the base base base model, so there isn't much more than an engine anyway.

A Honda built mower is expensive, but it's a Honda through and through. Expect decades of use with minimal service. Not to be confused with a Honda powered mower.

Some years ago I went out and bought a brand new mower (gasps of horror). I was tired of rotted out beat up free/used junk. I got the auto choke B&S or Tecumseh Craftsman wonder. No throttle, no primer, no nothing. Warrantied for several years to start by the second pull of the string. It does. 25-26 deck, big rear wheel. It's been in reliable consistent service for about 5+ years now.

So, I owned a Honda Mower for about an hour yesterday. Went and bought one from HD, by the time I got home the wife had got the mail in and we had another of those 10% of with your HD Credit card starting this Thursday, but specifying new purchases only. So I turned around and returned it and will buy another new one on Thursday with 10% off :)

I swear by Honda-powered mowers. Mine has been happily humming along for, well, I lost count of how many years. I just do the basics of keeping it clean, changing the oil, using sta-bil over the winter, and it keeps chugging along without complaint. It is the push-it-yourself variety, so I can't comment on anything other than the mower, and it is a Craftsman deck, which has held up nicely.

Recently bought a used 30" craftsman rider mower (10 HP) for the neighbors of my rental house to use, to cut there's and our lawn. $100, and it had a brand new battery. Starts, runs, and cuts great. The deals are out there.

If you can find an old side-valve Tecumseh or even B&S, they run for freaking ever.

I've got one each of those engines. Old but run like new.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: So, I owned a Honda Mower for about an hour yesterday. Went and bought one from HD, by the time I got home the wife had got the mail in and we had another of those 10% of with your HD Credit card starting this Thursday, but specifying new purchases only. So I turned around and returned it and will buy another new one on Thursday with 10% off :)

You did whaaat?

Consumers return $642.6 million if goods each year

I'd do the same. Really I would!

For $20 to cut that lawn, your daughter should provide the mower.

spitfirebill wrote: For $20 to cut that lawn, your daughter should provide the mower.

I'm guessing economics are a bit different here to there then. It would cost way more than that to get a 'service' to do it, but I agree the spousal unit agreed to too high a rate.

I have this one. I like the bigger rear wheels. It mulches, bags, or side discharges and is self propelled. I have 14 years of service on mine.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: For $20 to cut that lawn, your daughter should provide the mower.

I'm guessing economics are a bit different here to there then. It would cost way more than that to get a 'service' to do it, but I agree the spousal unit agreed to too high a rate.

In what part of Beverly Hills do you reside Adrian?

We've had ours cut by a service since we moved in to the 'hood in 2008 for mid-$20's. I believe our lot is bigger than yours. 15 minutes and they're done and GONE. The landscaping company owner lives in Beverly Hills as well.

wawazat wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: For $20 to cut that lawn, your daughter should provide the mower.

I'm guessing economics are a bit different here to there then. It would cost way more than that to get a 'service' to do it, but I agree the spousal unit agreed to too high a rate.

In what part of Beverly Hills do you reside Adrian? We've had ours cut by a service since we moved in to the 'hood in 2008 for mid-$20's. I believe our lot is bigger than yours. 15 minutes and they're done and GONE. The landscaping company owner lives in Beverly Hills as well.

I have maybe 1500 sq feet of lawn and the local kids wont mow it for $20. Takes 45 minutes to do. Would need to take out a loan if I wanted it cut and trimmed around the trees and edges.

Self propelled push mowers are silly, unless you are mowing down heavy brush. They are expensive, heavy, complex, inefficient, hard to turn, and tear up damp/fragile spots with wheelspin. I got the cheapest, lightest push mower I could find. $170 at Lowes with a coupon. I also have 1/3 acre. It could use bigger wheels, but otherwise it is perfect.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: The Honda whatever is the 22" self propelled model. I have the push it yourself model. Its great, light, always works, uses extremely little fuel (I fill my 2 gallon fuel can once a year). I had some problems with the original blade, but when I replaced it, I went with the twin blade setup and it seems to work very well.

Just discovered you can get a Honda powered Toro. IS it just the engine that makes the quality of the Honda worth it, or the whole thing?

As a former lawnmower repair person at a Home Depot warranty repair facility, I can safely say that the sticker on the Honda makes it more expensive. It is not a better mower. Add to that the fact that they are usually more complicated and parts cost more and it is a no-brainer for me.

All of them since about 2008 conform to the new EPA regs and they will all have carb issues with ethanol fuels. The higher end hondas use a hydraulic drive. The belt drives a small pump which hydrostats the axle. Its failure prone and $230 to replace. All of them will have the same cable/drive things go wrong.

Toro and Lawn Boy are the same thing. Get one with a Tecumseh, a Briggs, a Honda... doesn't matter. I personally prefer the Briggs from an ease-of-maintenance standpoint, although after 125 years of mowing you might drop an exhaust valve seat. Hondas are fine as well but parts tend to be way more expensive. Expect $10 for an air filter instead of $1.50 for a Briggs. The first thing to go on the Honda will be either the recoil or the rings, so you'll just have to mow in an oil cloud. Tecumseh is also wonderful.

The Briggs' starting feature is fantastic. There is no priming, no choking, just pull. If it doesn't start on the first or second pull, something is wrong. It uses a choke valve that is connected to a paddle and a thermostatic coil. When the engine is not running, the paddle springs one way and closes the choke. Once it starts, the breeze from the cooling blades on the flywheel push the choke open. The thermo coil adjusts how far it opens or closes depending on temp.

For dead nuts reliability, just get any Toro, Lawn boy, Poulan you like and run it. Honda is too complicated and expensive for what amounts to a functionally equivalent operation and cut. The only benefit I have seen to the Hondas is that they are available with the plastic deck. True, it won't rust, but it is highly susceptible to a stick or stone putting a window in it. Or if you drop it while unloading it, you'll snap the wheel off the deck and it can't be fixed.

For my money, a good old fashioned steel deck, Briggs powered rear-drive mower is what you need. In fact, I have never purchased a mower. I have always picked up one from a curb on trash day, cleaned out the carb, and ran it for another 10 years. Not kidding.

In fact... where do you live? I'll come get your old one on trash day and sell the motor off of it.

I got lucky and got a used Honda HRX for $300.00 last month. The HRX is the nicest residential mower Honda makes-it's about $800.00 new. It's awesome. Self propelled with a hydrostatic drive, composite deck, bag/mulch/rear discharge, and it's great. The only downsides are that it is HEAVY-it's about 85 pounds and it is a bit of a beast to push around my yard, and I need to adjust /replace the carb (a new OEM carb is $18.00).

curtis73 wrote: All of them since about 2008 conform to the new EPA regs and they will all have carb issues with ethanol fuels. The higher end hondas use a hydraulic drive. The belt drives a small pump which hydrostats the axle. Its failure prone and $230 to replace. All of them will have the same cable/drive things go wrong.

Curtis- any preventative maintenance that can be done to keep the transmission alive on these?

After I killed our old Craftsman with a B&S motor I wanted to get something with a Honda. We ended up with a FWD Cub Cadet with a Honda motor on it and it has been great.

I run a Lowes edition Toro with the Honda motor. FWD and either mulch or bag. The lawn is happier with mulching actually so I'm returning the nutrients back to the soil.

It's 4-5 years old now and looks nearly new, starts 1st or 2nd pull every time and didn't cost much to buy into.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: For $20 to cut that lawn, your daughter should provide the mower.

I'm guessing economics are a bit different here to there then. It would cost way more than that to get a 'service' to do it, but I agree the spousal unit agreed to too high a rate.

When I was young I cut lawns for mponey. I usually provided the mower. I got $2 to cut our own lawn and maybe $5 to cut other peoples lawns. Any "service" is going to cost more than the local teenager that should be able to do it. I guess with liability now, no way a kid could cut your grass.

I had a friend that would go out to businesses and market his grass cutting. Mostly to banks and a few stores. This guy would make enough each summer to pay for a Snapper riding mower each year and sock away enough money to last from fall until spring (we were in school). He did this all the way through high school and college and then sold the business to some other kid who carried in on. The times they have changed.