Lawnmower

[efil4stnias]

Originally Posted by T.P.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ocStoreNum=385

I have this one. Got it on sale, don't remember the price. I have had it for three seasons going on four without a problem. It doesn't mulch well. I guess that the blade could use a sharpening. And yes the catch bag is too small.

u need one of these...Gator Blade

[Severum]

I've had luck with Honda self propelled mowers which can be had for slightly more.

If you are shopping at big box stores keep in mind that Lowe's is doing 20% off $500. $500 and higher gift cards purchased before the 14th receive an additional 10% value on the 18th. Coupons for 10% off any amount can be found in change of address packets at the post office. That would bump your budget a bit if you can afford leaving $125 or so on a gift card for future purchases. No experience with any of their limited selection of push mower brands, but it's worth investigating. I'm taking advantage of the same deal plus additional sale savings for a Husqvarna riding mower.

[St. Widge]

Originally Posted by antipop

i am far too lazy for anything that i have to push

i am looking for something in the self-propelled genre

I've had Touro's and Yardman (Lawnman?) mowers and they all seem to be about the same. The engines are all pretty much Briggs & Stratton (or Honda for Honda's) and the engine is all that is really important. The rest of the stuff if interchangeable. Those are good engines so really it's just comes down to what features you want. Basically, you can go buy any Touro, Lawnman, etc. from Home Depot and come home with a good mower as long as you change the oil in the engine and made sure you don't use old gas. Just make sure it has the Briggs & Stratton engine.

If you were looking for a line trimmer I would say go with Stihl or possibly Echo, but for a mower, the major consumer brands are fine.

By the way, my favorite option is to pay someone else to do it.

[uproar90]

Originally Posted by efil4stnias

... Gator Blade...

Originally Posted by St. Widge

I've had Touro's and Yardman (Lawnman?) mowers and they all seem to be about the same. The engines are all pretty much Briggs & Stratton (or Honda for Honda's) and the engine is all that is really important. The rest of the stuff if interchangeable. Those are good engines so really it's just comes down to what features you want. Basically, you can go buy any Touro, Lawnman, etc. from Home Depot and come home with a good mower as long as you change the oil in the engine and made sure you don't use old gas. Just make sure it has the Briggs & Stratton engine.

If you were looking for a line trimmer I would say go with Stihl or possibly Echo, but for a mower, the major consumer brands are fine.

By the way, my favorite option is to pay someone else to do it.

The B&S engines used to be the 'standard' for any power equipment, but the Tecumseh 6.5 has been rock solid for me for the last 5-6 years.

Oh, and go w/ a Lawnboy. Yeah, you can't get the 2cycle anymore, but the new style deck is a mulching beast and w/ the gator blade... It's almost magical.

The bag is smallish, but I only bag clippings one out of every 2-3 cuts.

If you cut it every week, you might not have to bag at all for the entire season unless you really want to.

Oh, and Toro owns Lawnboy now... They bought them out some time back. The Toro 'Recycler' deck is time-tested, and a great setup, but I actually read a report that some 'Toro' design engineers were pushing for the new Lawnboy deck to be the new standard b/c it mulched so much better.

Yeah, I did quite a bit of research when I bought mine...

Oh, and unless you plan on spending big bucks on a Honda, then stay away. I know many folks that have them and use them for residential use with no problems at all, but the few light commercial folks I talked to said they were crap (the cheaper models that is...).

High end Honda's are great, but the lower end stuff just doesn't hold up.



Tell ya what... Come over on Sunday and you can cut my lawn to try out the Lawnboy


Edit... N/M - Looks like the LB w/ the Tecumseh motor is discontinued. They only sell them w/ the Kohler now. I have zero experience w/ that engine, so I can't/won't recommend it.

Stick w/ the B&S on the Toro, get a gator blade, and you'll be happy... Looks like you can get a few different options right @ $300 and if you time it right, you can usually get 10% off @ Home Depot.

[V Chip]

Based on your price range, self-propelled:

[antipop]

Originally Posted by St. Widge

By the way, my favorite option is to pay someone else to do it.

next year, you might be big enough to reach the handle

thanks everyone....i had a bad experience with Lowe's so i will stay away from them....

i like the Husqavarna that jrdbrn posted.....and i always disagree with widge....even when i agree with him

[St. Widge]

Originally Posted by antipop

next year, you might be big enough to reach the handle

thanks everyone....i had a bad experience with Lowe's so i will stay away from them....

i like the Husqavarna that jrdbrn posted.....and i always disagree with widge....even when i agree with him

Husqavarna is a really good machine. But, you'd probably be paying more than you need to to get one. I don't see how you could go wrong with it, but you could go cheaper and buy more reebs with the extra money.

And, while reaching the bar of the lawnmower was a bit of a problem for me, what ended my grass cutting career was the realization that I had been cutting the grass with a blockage in my main artery for several year and could have died doing the thing in the world that I most hate to do. I decided it wasn't worth it anymore at that point.

[all2neat]

I spent 300 last year on a self propelled John deer, very easy to push, starts on first pull 99% of the time. I'd highly suggest them. Very high quality product. You can get them at lowes or a local dealer.

[St. Widge]

Originally Posted by uproar90

Tell ya what... Come over on Sunday and you can cut my lawn to try out the Lawnboy

twss

or

I guess your wife is away for the weekend?

[Ken-Bob]

I went through this exact thing a year ago. First I bought a Sears with a Honda engine. It had no power so I brought it back but, unbeknownst to me, Sears doesn't give a full refund.

Moral: Do NOT buy from Sears.

I finally ended up with the old reliable standard: Lawn Boy. My last one lasted about 8 years (and I really didn't take good care of it either). Their really solid and not overpriced. In your price range, I think it would be hard to beat them.

FWIW, though, I'll let you know what else I found out.

All of the chassis are the same these days. They're all made by one company.

Engines - Honda, Briggs and Stratton or Kohler was all that was available to me (you might have more choices). I've always hated Briggs and Stratton (love Kawasaki but that wasn't available). But this Lawn Boy with B&S is really good so I have to say I like them better now. Honda was really a dissapointment (could have been a lemon but "fool me once", you know).

Extras...

Beware of plastic parts (another reason I like Lawn Boy, more metal).

The thing where you can attach a hose for cleaning - pretty much useless as far as I can tell. Tried it with the Sears I had and it was really bad.

Front wheel or rear wheel drive. Again, the Sears had Front wheel. when going up a hill, I found it to be very difficult to get traction. With a rear wheel drive I can push down and get all the traction I need.

Some of the other options (like double blades for a cleaner cut) are interesting but I think that really depends on whether you want a really manicured look or not. For me - nah - just cut the grass.

Bang for the Buck - Lawn Boy.

[Deltabull]

Several years ago I bought a Murray push mower from the city that had maybe 30 minutes run time on it. It had a Briggs Stratton engine on it, and had hit a culvert, thus bending the crankshaft. It was a WalMart mower, I tore the engine down and was amazed at the quality of the Walmart version of the Briggs engine. This motor had a plastic camshaft in it ! All Briggs Stratton engines are not the same.

[St. Widge]

Originally Posted by Deltabull

Several years ago I bought a Murray push mower from the city that had maybe 30 minutes run time on it. It had a Briggs Stratton engine on it, and had hit a culvert, thus bending the crankshaft. It was a WalMart mower, I tore the engine down and was amazed at the quality of the Walmart version of the Briggs engine. This motor had a plastic camshaft in it ! All Briggs Stratton engines are not the same.

How is a plastic crankshaft even possible? Wouldn't it melt?

At any rate, that had to be a Wal-Mart add on or alteration. B&S engines are sold as complete engines and each model is the same as the others.

[Deltabull]

Crankshaft was steel, the CAMSHAFT was plastic or maybe nylon, as were the valve lifters also

[St. Widge]

Originally Posted by Deltabull

Crankshaft was steel, the CAMSHAFT was plastic or maybe nylon, as were the valve lifters also

I don't know how you can make an engine with a plastic or vinyl cramshaft or valve lifter either. I've never heard of such a thing.

[Deltabull]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_all_Int...within_2_years