My Toro personal pace with an aluminum deck still looks and runs like new after about 10 years. Usually starts on the first pull, even after sitting all winter. Every once in awhile, I push the primer twice instead of three times, and then it takes two pulls to start.
The personal pace system is very effective. You don't push the mower and it doesn't pull you.
I'm surprised 2 folks in a row had less than stellar results with their Hondas. My neighbor fixes mowers for a living. I asked him to keep an eye out for $100 trade in 5-6 years ago. He brought me a used Honda Harmony. Was probably 5 yrs old when I got it.
I have abused hell out of it. It has spent a couple winters under snowbanks. Runs like a charm. The drive train is tricky- and needs to have 2 cables adjusted perfectly and clean grease in the wheels.
A beast to take apart. Neighbor brought me a 'parts mower' which I tore down for 'fun'.
I'd be tempted to just take off all that dead weight & drag & make a pusher out of it. That is their downside-- as a push only mower the Harmony sucks.
Neighbor has one he put big wheels on & really is a dream to mow with.
Jim
Second that. No matter what's wrong, getting the problem fixed is still almost always cheaper than a new one. Unless the item causing the commotion a member of the opposite sex.
I'll second that!
My 10 year-old Toro Super Recycler with personal pace and aluminum deck is still going strong. The personal pace feature makes mowing a lawn with numerous plantings and such very easy -- not the problem older-style self-propelled mowers have.
I like your thinking. It shows good logical planing.
I will say that TroyBuilt is no more. They sold the name to MTD as I recall, who at once cheapened the line. TroyBuilt was my favorte gasoline powered machine.
I have a Black and Decker Battery powered push mower. I suspect it might not be what you want (it is a little heaver than a like powered gasoline mode.) I have had it clost to ten years if I remember correctly. I had a corded electric some time before that and a true Troybuit inbetween.
All three were good and depending on my lawn needs I would be happy to chose any one of them again. Right now, I think I woudl go back to the lighter weight corded model.
Sheep work well.
Perce
The heck with Consumer Reports recommendations. Get one of these
git-r-done
That thing looks like an A-10 Warthog :-/
Thanks very much for all the responses.
At this point, to get my old 2-cycle Lawn-Boy working I would need a new gas tank and a new carb. Also, the spark plug will no longer tighten. I'm not sure how that happened, but something felt funny when I removed the plug to clean it, and now it won't tighten. I don't know how I could have stripped it while removing it, but I guess I did.
So, I think to fix all that would cost more than a new mower, and you know, it is 30 years old. I think it's time to retire it.
I've got one area that's very close to my pool, and I've learned the hard way that things just work better if I bag in that area. It's actually less trouble doing that than dealing with all the unbagged stuff the wind blows into the pool. So that's why I need a bagger.
Well, based on the comments I think I should look at Toro's, and perhaps look at what Sears and WM have to offer, just in case. I would expect Hondas to be wonderful, but keep hearing the opposite from a number of people here locally.
And I'm gonna stick with a push mower. Self-propelled is just something else that'll break. I don't know if they make 2-cycles anymore (Sears maybe?) but I would certainly look at one of those.
Which would be absolutely no good on my large corner lot. And the B&D cordless I had ate batteries for lunch. First set failed just out of warranty (and I've seen a few fail WITHIN warranty) - and then the expensive replacements were good for less than 3 years - and I needed to mow half the yard at a time, with an overnight recharge in between.
My current lawnmower is a 30+ year old "pro" big-wheel 25 incher built in Schreveport La with a 4 HP Briggs engine on it. Keeps going, and going, and going. 20" BMX bike tires on the back. Friction drive (rollers). It is a tube frame unit, with flat sheet metal deck that rusted through a few years back, and I replaced it with stainless steel.
2 strokes are virtually history since Tecumseh shut down. Lawn Boy stopped making them, I believe, a couple years ago when the California market, as well as a couple others, was closed to 2 stroke power plants. They ARE great for lots with steep grades.
Are they good for steep grades because different angles of the crankcase won't starve it for oil? I suppose also because they are lighter.
Pictures please!
There are many 4-stroke lawnmowers now that have oil pumps with a well designed pickup, and are not oil starved when at a steep angle.
Right the first time. Second is alst generally true, but the first is the important one.
Putting them up on on-the-net.ca.
Just the higher end hondas etc.
That is why I said "many" rather than "all".
I've seen mowers with Kawasaki engines as well.
That's why I said "etc"
Hard to argue with that.
And screw up a nap from 5 doors down.
Try adding some oil to the gas next time. My memory is fuzzy, maybe ~5%, I'd err on the high side.
Changing mower oil interferes with napping and fishing.
I've run 2 mowers until the decks rusted to pieces, never changed the oil once. I suspect I don't know a single soul who has ever changed the oil in their mowers. -----
- gpsman
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