quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

I finally quit using ethanol fuel, too.

Same here.

Me too.

I'm lucky enough to have a station a few minutes away that sells non-ethanol gas, plus their prices are usually only about 25 cents more per gallon than ethanol gas.

There are about a dozen total stations within the NWA Metroplex that sell non-ethanol gas.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Looking at two very similar ones, really the only difference is that one has a 140cc B&S engine and the other has a 160cc Honda engine.

My yard is really 4 sections; front, side, main rear and upper rear and about 3,000 sq feet total.

Is a 160cc better than a 140cc?

I want to mulch grass, not interested in bagging or side discharging. Would the 160cc be better for that?

Yes, mulching takes more power than just blowing the clippings out of the side or into a bag. The 160 cc motor would be better for that.

I thought the Honda was the go to mower. After this week Im thinking otherwise. I have the $400 Home Depot model. Its a year and a half old. I was cutting the grass and it felt like the mower was dragging. I found the rear wheel adjustment level below the adjustment notches. I figured it just slipped some how but could not adjust it back. Took the wheel off and found a piece of the metal bracket had broken clean off.

Took it to an authorized dealer for repair under warranty. They had it for a week and a half so far with no repair date.

Bit the bullet this morning at Home Depot. Got the Toro 22" with all but the electric start feature included. Was on sale for $379.00.

It has the Briggs & Stratton engine, same brand but much newer (obviously) than my old mower. The Honda engine on my snow blower is LOUD, which matches what I've read about their mower engines, and I'd like to avoid that.

All this seems like a crap shoot, same as buying anything remotely complicated these days, but I'm hoping that finally taking the plunge pays off with stored up good luck.

Here's another observation I've made:

A lot of these mowers all look alike, almost like one factory built them, and then the various mower companies put their own bling and choice of motor on them, and brand them with their name and logo.

Are the basic mower body and handle all made by one or two manufacturers?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Here's another observation I've made:

A lot of these mowers all look alike, almost like one factory built them, and then the various mower companies put their own bling and choice of motor on them, and brand them with their name and logo.

Are the basic mower body and handle all made by one or two manufacturers?

MTD they build their own brand and many many other private labels. They’re huge.

.

From the Briggs and Stratton website:

Our Product Offerings and Brands

Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of power generation, pressure washer, lawn and garden, turf care and job site products through its Briggs & Stratton®, Simplicity®, Snapper®, Ferris®, Vanguard®, Allmand®, Billy Goat®, Murray®, Branco® and Victa® brands.

MTD brands:


Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt, Remington, Robomow, Rover, Wolf-Garten, Columbia, Yard Machines, Bolens, some Sears Craftsman mowers...

quote:

Originally posted by Oldrider:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

They only do a veterans discount like 2 times a year.

Lowe’s gives me one every time I go there.

According to this its all year...

https://themilitarywallet.com/...0-military-discount/

Must vary from location to location. My local HD told me because I wasn't retired or disabled military I wasn't a veteran, and refused to honor the discount. I now ignore them and go to Lowes.

Yup. Read the website that HRK linked to, and see the difference:

• Lowe's: If you have served, even for one hitch, and were honorably discharged, you get the discount. Every day.
  
  
• Home Depot: The above is not sufficient. For example, with my four years USN (plus two more, USNR) with honorable discharge, I meet the Lowe's requirement, but not Home Depot. HD requires full retirement, or discharge (honorable, of course) with disability, etc.

The Lowe's discount also applies to my wife (she was not military); I do not have to be present with her.

One more question here:

Do I really need a self-propelled mower? They are nice to not have to push and current one is a RWD but I realize it also makes them very heavy and hard to push when you are doing in spots or around things where you can't use the self-propel feature.

All the non-self-propelled mowers I'm looking at seem so much more lighter and maneuverable than the tank I have right now.

Yard is about 3,000 sq feet total, but it's not one big unit, it's a front piece, a side piece, a larger main rear piece and then another far rear piece on another level. Yard is flat as a board except for the very slight slope up to the rear.

I'm wondering if I should just get a push model and have one less thing to worry about breaking and having a lighter mower to maneuver with.

I have a Toro RWD and has absolutely no problem maneuvering it in tight spaces and around flower beds.

With a smaller, flat yard, it's not necessary, but it still might be nice to have.

How else are you going to mow while holding a beer? Lol! Seriously though, it is personal preference as to how much exercise you want.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Craigslist search for Toro Super Recycler (not the cheaper, regular Toro recycler). Best mower you can find at any price. I’ve owned/sold at least 50 of them. I bought them used for $5 to $125 and flipped them for profit after washing them and tuning them up.

Way better than any Honda or Husquvarna or big box store mower. These are honest to god 30 year mowers, so an 8 year old used Super Recycler at $100 still has 20 plus years of life on it and STILL will outlast a big box store mower by a factor of 2 to 1.

I can’t stress enough how good these mowers are compared to everything else out there.

Knowing what I know now I would never ever buy a new $300 mower again. Why pay more for an inferior mower?

I actually found a guy near me that specializes in used/refurb lawn & garden equipment and it appears he's got dozens of Toro Recycler and Super Recylers there. I'm going to go check him out soon.

This video was pretty informative between the two models and it's got me wanting a Super Recycler now!

I loved mowing the lawn and usually once a week here in South Florida, especially the rainy season. Honda, hands down. I had to part ways with mowing but so impressed by the many good years with the Honda, I bought their car also.

I've decided to do a tune up on my current Craftsman (found out it's a 2006 model) to get me through this season, then next year I'm going to buy a new RWD Toro Super Recycler.

Coincidentally, this PoS just died on me, mid-job:



Never did like it. Let SWMBO talk me into a $150 HD Special instead of the commercial- or prosumer-grade equipment I usually buy.

Lasted nine years. For what it cost it ain't worth payin' somebody to fix. So that's it, up there, kicked to the curb.

Now I'll re-read this thread, do my homework, and find me a decent trim mower.

ETA: Annnnd it's gone. Disappeared less than three hours after I put it out there.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ensigmatic,

I've owned my 21" Personal Pace® Spin-Stop™ Super Recycler® Mower (20383) for over 8 years.
Annual oil and air filter changes, blade sharpening (a couple replacements), and new wheels is all I've ever done to it.
Pace system is awesome.
No primer bulb or choke, it has always started on at least the third pull, usually the second.

I had a Toro with an electric starter before this.
But found I didn't use it much because I kept forgetting to plug the battery charger in.
I abused it on oil changes and it locked up after 6 years.
I bought the current one and change the oil once a year.

When the first Toro died, I bought a Honda smart drive and returned it to HD after 2 weeks because I hated the thumb drive on the handle.
It wore out my hands and wrists.
I then bought my current Toro 20383.
Toro's personal pace is a much better system IMHO..

I think I'm gonna go for the Honda HRR216PKA: https://powerequipment.honda.c...ers/models/hrr216pka

Nearly half the price of it's commercial equivalent (the HRC216PKA), and likely more that sufficient to my needs.

Since others have resurrected this thread I shall post what I think of my new Toro recycler that I mentioned in a previous post here.

It's fucking awesome.

My back yard is very bumpy and I think it messes with the fuel flow because once in a while the engine threatens to stall, but it hasn't yet. That is my only concern/gripe after several mowings now.

Otherwise, I'd like to buy the engineers at Toro lap dances until they choke on glitter.