Bronx.
Reel mowers. Most neighbors had steel wheels. We had rubber wheels because the only way into our backyard was through the house.
I mowed the front and back. Not that tiny. I used to do neighbors back lawn for a quarter. As a kid I could never understand what she wanted me to do to the edges of the lawn, she always complained but she paid me anyway.
Those things did not cooperate when the lawn got too tall.
Or if you hit a twig. But I liked the snickering sound they made as they lopped the grass blades, and the whir or the reel when you stopped forward motion.
Looking for informed opinions on Troy Bilt lawn mowers. Have the opportunity to purchase a couple of different models on sale. Both are in models with Honda 160cc motors. One is a push the other is a self propelled.
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Honda makes good motors, and 99.9% of a lawn mower is the motor.
Troy Bilt, as a brand, is pure shit, and I wouldn't buy anything with their name on it. Most of their stuff is made by MTD, and calling them shit is an insult to shit.
You probably won't go wrong with one of their mowers, especially if the price is right. The self propelled is a bit more complex, and eventually it will need parts replaced. You'll have a hard time doing that with this brand.
Still, most likely you'll see a decade or more of good use.
CS
I don't mind pushing the mower but my knee sure doesn't agree.
I'll be 60 this year, and while I've seen push mowers, our family has never owned one.
Sorry to hear it.
If you're lucky, continued pushing or other exercise might cure that knee. My feet and back used to hurt then I started pushing myself harder.
Don't be silly. Arthritis doesn't get better with use.
My "antique" lawn mower is a self propelled high-wheeler. The highwheel is very easy to push, so I very seldom actually use the self propelled feature. I generally mow faster than the self propelled will go. It is a 25 incher with 20 inch bicycle tires on the back - tubular steel frame - and the old deck rusted trough so I installed stainless steel. The late sixties/early seventies Briggs 3.5HP motor (same size as a 5) finally died last year so I installed a "chinese kit engine" honda clone 6.5 HP OHV. Uses less gas than the old 3.5. At 60, this mower has a good chance of outlasting me.
Or a tad wet. Particularly the "steelies" which had no wet traction at all.
That's what the doctor told me. He x-rayed my back, said he saw mild arthritis and there was nothing he could do.
My feet hurt for years and they had no idea why.
Then I rented an electric jack hammer, built a patio, deck, fence, started running.
Not to make light of your issues. Some things called arthritis don't get better.
I wish it was that simple for everyone. For me, I just had to push myself more.
When it came time for a new roof a few years back, I had a choice of
20 year or 30 year shingles. I rolled the dice and figured the 30 year may outlast me and I'd not want to have that expense replacing the 20 year when I'm retired and in my late 70's.
Very true, but if you stop moving, it will get worse and you have even less movement and more pain.
LOL. My Troy Bilt 6.75 hp has been trouble free for 8 seasons now. The
*only* things I've done is sharpen the blade and fill it with petrol. I guess I hit the lottery. :)Jim
A back can be shored up by building muscle. There are no muscles in the knee.
Arthritis doesn't get better. It can be managed but the damage is there. "Management" is not without its risks, either. NSAIDS are hell on the kidneys, heart, and liver.
I can do that but then it pushes back. Not being able to walk puts a crimp in my style (and pocket book).
Agreed. Gotta do something but following a mower around for three hours isn't it. My AL house (soon to be sold, I hope) is on a little more than 1/4 acre. If I do it at one time, I'll be in pain for a few days after. If I do it in two days, I'm fine. OTOH, the new house is on 1-1/2 acres, about half of it "grass". I did it in three days last week, followed by the AL house over the weekend (five days, about an hour a day) and my knee still hurts. I'll be buying a lawn tractor soon.
Ah yes.... Reel mowers. That's it and thank you!!! And you are right about the tall grass ....fortunately we didn't have a thick lawn so it wasn't too bad if it got a little tall but I do remember sometimes having difficulty and having to do it 2 or 3 times or changing directions to cut the grass. Oh the memories .
I've got a bad back but I think it is a nerve or such causing it. Most of the time my back is fine but if I over exercise it or twist it the wrong way, it lets me know I've been a bad boy. I remember once it was so bad I was in bed for 2 or3 days and couldn't walk. I remember just turning on my side in bed was almost unbearable pain. No fun. Thank god that's only happened once or twice.
You might want to look at the Teeter Inversion Table:
The disclaimer says to talk with a doctor first and I highly recommend it. If you have ankle, knee, uncontrolled hypertension or eye disease it can make it worse.
Another thing to look into is Cymbalta. Apparently it works really well on chronic back pain but also has boocoo side effects.
Or the days before that when after the grass was cut ya killed and ate your mower.
m
Appreciate the advice. I don't like to take meds unless I have to and I did have eye surgery for cataracts last year so I would want to check with my eye doctor first. No eye disease tho. I will keep in mind what you said... thank you.
Maybe because you have had the surgery it wouldn't be as much of a problem. I donno.
Also, you might *try* Cymbalta. It won't mess up your stomach and it's non narcotic. My main concern would be liver function and if you don't have a history of liver problems it might be for you.
Keep in mind, you can use the table anywhere from about 10 degrees to full inversion.
You do feel some pressure in your head (just like when we did handstands as kids) but for me, it went away rapidly as soon as I got upright. My main concern is hypertension. If my BP is high I wait until it's down. I've read the risk of giving yourself self a stroke is slight, but who wants to take that chance? Good luck. It's been a wish come true for me and I've been living with pain for decades. I really wish I had done this decades ago.
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