My 15 year old Honda mower kicked the bucket last weekend. It had been running a little funny, and burning a little oil recently & gave out with a puff of black smoke when it ran out of gas.

Had been looking into the EGO & Kobalt electric mowers based on recommendations here, and was not particularly looking forward to shelling out the $$ for a new mower.

My wife jumped on FB, on our neighborhood page & put out a WTS, got a reply from a couple in the next section over that were clearing out the garage & just wanted their mower gone.

Hopped over & picked it up, a Husqvarna AWD (model: 96145001500) with a Kohler engine.

Ran it a bit when I got it home, mowed the small strip on the side yard between me & my neighbor. Seems to run well, much quieter than the Honda, though a bit different having no throttle control. The AWD pulls much stronger than the RWD on the Honda (not having bald/smooth wheels probably helps too).

Previous owner said it had gotten to where it no longer starts on the first pull, and it took 6-7 pulls to get it started when I got it home. Not sure if there's an issue with the auto-choke or another underlying issue. Will give it a shakedown this weekend if everything dries out, after the heavy dose of rain we got last night.

Anything in particular to know about the Husqvarna or Kohler?

I used to have one of the zero turn 54 inch mowers in NC. It had the Koehler engine and was a champ!

I was very satisfied with mine. I got a walk behind Honda here in TX because we moved into a neighborhood and I have about 5000 square feet to mow now versus 2 acres.

Mine's 1/3 acre, including the footprint of the house & pool. Not enough to justify a rider & having to widen the gates.

How long had it been sitting before the previous owner decided to sell it? The problems may clear up after a few heat cycles.

Mine has worked fine for 12+ years. Throw some blades and oil at it and yours should do fine.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
How long had it been sitting before the previous owner decided to sell it? The problems may clear up after a few heat cycles.

Mine has worked fine for 12+ years. Throw some blades and oil at it and yours should do fine.

This is what I'm hoping. The lady my wife talked to said it would start on 1 pull last year.
Nice & sunny out now, but probably still too wet, plan is to run the current tank of gas dry & then change the oil.

The short run I did yesterday, it seems to cut really well, so I think the blades are good for now.

I bought one last season. It never starts on the first pull. Need 2-3 pulls.
It is a lot lighter than the Honda I had been using, gas seems to last longer, maybe bigger tank?
I like it, it seems to go thru anything.
So, far no problems with mine.
One thing different than the honda is when you drive forward and stop to pull it back, you have to release the drive handle and let it roll forward just a little or it is really hard to pull backward.
If it is a rear discharge and you do not have the bag on it, mine mulches and the grass comes out the back in globs. Do not like that, but otherwise ok.

Mine is the rear discharge, will keep an eye on clipping buildup at the rear.
I tend to try to always flush the underside of the deck when I finish mowing & apparently the prior owner didn't, lots of built up debris under it.

I had one that was around 22HP 46" or 48" deck. Had it a few years and the transmission started slipping.

Man, this thing mows great. Did the back yard in under an hour, the now-dead Honda would have taken at least an hour. And used less than a tank of gas.

My 4” has worked quite well.

Starts on command.

Basic maintenance issues easily resolved over the years.

My only issue is deck height is not adjustable away from factory settings. Lowest I can mow is on 4. Wish I could adjust level 2 same height as current height setting for level 4.

My husqv tractor mower is on year 13, still going good with regular maint. but I did replace the deck myself after a major factory weld broke free, as it came with all new pulleys etc installed. i should be able to drive it until the tranny or motor goes, which I'm not counting on any time soon.

BTW, are the auto trannies sealed, or can you flush and refill them with new lawn mower "tranny" fluid ?

Anwyay to answer your question, I like Husqvarna stuff a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Anything in particular to know about the Husqvarna or Kohler?

Both junk. (from small engine guy)

Sell it for what you bought it for, get something else.

Kohler can and has made a great engine. The problem is, your small push mower Kohler is a Chinese hunk of junk. The Chinese can make fine mower engines, but I have seen serious problems with these Kohler engines. The very cheapest Briggs and Stratton would be a vast improvement.

Yes your auto choke is out of adjustment, and maybe in need of a carb clean. Those carburetors were notorious for flaking and disintegrating causing all kinds of problems. A new carb is pretty cheap though.

Get a Toro super recycler. Best mower you can buy. $650 new. A lot less in the classifieds. I bought one for $5 once that I had running for less than $10, and sold for $125.
https://houston.craigslist.org...ower/7109028588.html

I've had a husky mower with the Kohler motor for at least 10yrs. In that time, I've put gas in it and last year replaced the front drive wheels. The e-start and auto choke both shit the bed 5 yrs in, rigged the choke with a piece of rope. Always starts 2nd pull. Seafoam in the tank every fall. Can't complain with that kind of life

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Anything in particular to know about the Husqvarna or Kohler?

Both junk. (from small engine guy)

Sell it for what you bought it for, get something else.

Kohler can and has made a great engine. The problem is, your small push mower Kohler is a Chinese hunk of junk. The Chinese can make fine mower engines, but I have seen serious problems with these Kohler engines. The very cheapest Briggs and Stratton would be a vast improvement.

Yes your auto choke is out of adjustment, and maybe in need of a carb clean. Those carburetors were notorious for flaking and disintegrating causing all kinds of problems. A new carb is pretty cheap though.

Get a Toro super recycler. Best mower you can buy. $650 new. A lot less in the classifieds. I bought one for $5 once that I had running for less than $10, and sold for $125.
https://houston.craigslist.org...ower/7109028588.html

Thanks for the tips.
Considering this mower was free I'll run it til it dies.

The prior owner did mention that it started on 1-2 pulls originally & had gotten to the point that he was needing starter fluid to get it to start.

Mowed the back yard yesterday, and gave it 20-25 pulls on the rope with no start.
Gave it the tiniest spritz possible of the starter fluid & it fired up on the first pull. Stopped a couple times to move things in the yard & it fired right up once the engine was warmed up.

Wondering if there's something that can be adjusted or replaced to possibly avoid needing the starter fluid every time; according to a trusted source, it's like crack, can't stop once you start & it'll eventually kill the motor...

I have revived a few hard to start mowers with something called “lawn mower tune up spray” or “small engine tune up spray.” Any Home Depot or Lowes has it IIRC.

Change the spark plug and put a new air filter in it.

Looked at a few YT videos & compared to mine.
Appears the auto-choke isn't closing, uses a thermostat-type spring on the exhaust side to close it.

Temp DIY fix, wired in a pull wire to manually close the choke. Starts on 1 pull.