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I haven't bought a lawnmower in several years. I have a medium-sized yard, a little over an hour to mow. I want a walk-behind, self-propelled model, but I don't know if I want gas or electric. I like the idea of electric, but I am not sure the power is really there- I have Bermuda grass, the grass invented by satan to survive in hell. I am also not sure about the "Hour Plus" run time promised. The Home Depot pages show two batteries with the mower, but their page isn't a great fount of information: is the Hour Plus run time legit? Any comment on gas versus electric? Brands recommended and brands to avoid? Thanks, guys! . | ||
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Honda self-propelled gasoline. It mows evenly and starts with ease. It has a variable speed control at your fingertip. I’ve had this for many years and have had zero problems with it . It’s heavy but since I don’t have to push it, it’s great. My wife actually enjoys mowing with it . (I do the edging.) do the yearly maintenance on it and I’ll last indefinitely. | |||
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Thanks, Bentonville! . | |||
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Member |
I like the idea of battery mowers for smallish yards too. They wouldn't work for my application but a few of my friends went with battery mowers and they like them overall. One went back to gas saying the trick is to cut just a little off the grass at a time which means cutting more frequently. Trying to cut a few inches off really takes a lot of power depleting the battery quickly. And you want to be able to cut everything on one charge (which he usually couldn't) and buying second battery was going to be expensive. No car is as much fun to drive, as any motorcycle is to ride. | |||
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Void Where Prohibited |
Honda was always the best, but didn't they stop production of mowers last fall? "If Gun Control worked, Chicago would look like Mayberry, not Thunderdome" - Cam Edwards | |||
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Optimistic Cynic |
How often do you intend to mow? Bermuda/Zoysia isn't nearly as tough to manage if you mow often enough during its short growing season. Every two to four days should be your target, perhaps 48 or 50 mows/season (as opposed to 25-30 mows for a much longer cool grass season). Letting it go for a week in June/July will test the ability of any mower. After all, golf courses mow fairways every day, and greens twice a day. If you want a lawn that looks like a golf course or tennis court, be prepared to do the same. If you choose to go that route, consider a powered reel mower. Not good for tall grass, but the quality of cut is far superior. Alternatively, I think a battery-powered rotary mower would be preferred over gas if used frequently. Most commercial outfits these days rely on Hustler/Scag-style walk behinds or standing (like these. If you can afford one of these (low five figures), your hour of mowing should be cut in half. You'll probably want a trim mower in addition to the commercial one for tight spaces. WRT to brands, in homeowner gas mowers, Lawn Boy is hard to beat for quality of cut, and Toro or Jacobsen for reliability/longevity. My experience is with commercial mowing operations that put more wear on a mower in a single season than a homeowner will do in a lifetime. As far as electrics go, I have insufficient experience with various brands to make a recommendation, but I hear good things about the e-Go brand. One other consideration that came as a real surprise to me, I can no longer pull the cord hard enough to start a gas mower, if you are getting up in years, think about how that might affect your decision. My solution was to pay someone to cut my grass. | |||
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Drill Here, Drill Now |
If I were buying a new self-propelled lawnmower for a lawn that took an hour to mow I'd be going with gas. From what I've seen of Ryobi 40V: It's the last chance to buy a Honda mower with their gas motor before they switch plant to ATVs/UTVs. $550 to $699 will buy a mower that lasts for years. If you want to cut time and step up to commercial grade, some of the pro crews have been buying a commercial 25-inch mower with a Kawasaki engine. It's the same mower, but branded 2 different ways and sold 2 different ways: EDIT: Both are same price as the residential 30" Toro, but about $700 less than the commercial 30" Toro. According to YouTube, the 25" mowers handle hills better than the 30" Toros if that is a factor. Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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That is the trick with Bermuda too. It has to be cut often and only about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch without scalping it, or bogging down even a gas mower. Thanks! . | |||
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| I know what I like I like what I know  |
I have used a Toro Personal Pace self-propelled mulching/bagging gas powered mower for ~20 years. Works great. However, 2 of my neighbors have the Toro TimeMaster 30" mower. It seems that they get their TimeMaster out, start it up and 'presto' they are done! And I am still mowing! I am jealous. Here is a link to the Toro TimeMaster web site: https://www.toro.com/en/produc...rOaKu4-d1W2whgONF80b Good luck with your decision. Best regards, Mark in Michigan | |||
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I am familiar with Bermuda and Zoysia. I cut it for many years before I turned the job over to my sons. I can only count on cutting it once a week, although I agree it looks better being cut every 4 days or so. I also agree on the reel mower, but not sure I want to spend the money for one. Thanks for the input and the advice on the brands! . | |||
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| Raised Hands Surround Us Three Nails To Protect Us  |
Yes, gas is still what you want along with Honda motor. Even if it is not specifically a Honda mower.
There was some sort of rumblings about that but there are still plenty of Honda mowers available. There are also other companies that utilize Honda engines. ———————————————— The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. If we got each other, and that's all we have. I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand. You should know I'll be there for you! | |||
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| Get my pies outta the oven!  |
I did extensive research on this 5 years ago and ended up buying a Honda HRX-217 which is a beast of a mower and I love it. I merrily plows through tall grass, wet grass, thick grass, sticks, leaves and the nut debris from my neighbor's hickory tree and laughs. The battery mowers just don't have the power like a good gas engine does.  It's got a polymer deck that will never rust and a special double blade that minces the grass so finely when you mulch and not bag that you hardly even see it. I thought Honda was exiting the residential gas mower biz though? I've also always heard good things about the Toro Personal Pace gas mowers too. | |||
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Good advice! Thanks! . | |||
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Thank you! . | |||
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| 186,000 miles per second. It's the law. |
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money  |
I was wondering when PASig would be along... I was going to try to find that thread.  But, yeah... unfortunately they turned the lawnmower plant into higher profit ATV/UTV production. "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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| Thank you Very little  |
Electric, and stay in the platform for the lawn tools and you'll have plenty of battery to share. Neighbor has the Ego riding and walk behind mowers, they have more than enough power to get through thick St Augustine grass and will both mow our 1/3 acre lots easily on one battery. The Ego walk behind moves faster than I'd prefer to walk, now if I was 18 and wanted to slow jog that would be even faster. For smaller lawns, go with Ego, Ryobi, Greenworks and get the edger, blower, trimmer in that line. No more gas to store in the garage, or mix up for two stroke edgers, instant start up, it just makes sense. Then again, I have a JD riding mower but all electric everything else, the day I got rid of the gas blower and edger/trimmer was fantastic, I'd never go back. | |||
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Thanks! . | |||
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| Victim of Life's Circumstances  |
Another Honda fanboy. I had a Husqvarna self propelled with a Honda engine. Wonderful mower that I used for over 10 years. I replaced it last year with the same mower PASig bought. Sold the Husky for $150 on marketplace and bought the Honda from a power equip dealer rather than a box store. Zero problems year one. ________________________ God spelled backwards is dog | |||
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thin skin can't win |
Honda is out, Snapper either is or will be this year. Have a friend who was dealer for both. They will still support them, but the number of shops will decline once they stop selling them I suspect. For your description, electric is perfect. I was in similar boat to you a year ago at a new home, went electric. Got the Ego self propelled and sprung for the 10Ah battery. A little more expensive but knew this would be MORE than enough life for my ~45 minute job and still be so once it's aged a bit. Uses about 50-65% a full charge. Forgot to put on charger once, used up the rest of charge next time needed, started charge planning to trim before returning and by the time I sat around a few minutes and drank some water it was nearly half charged. Nice. The advice about staying in the same family is N/A for mowers, IMHO. The battery in this thing is WAY bigger than you'd ever want to tote around in any trimmer, blower, etc. I'm not even sure they make one that would accept its size. I did go with the same family for those two (Stihl) for that reason though. I've been very happy with the Echo. It's not a flat lot and this deals fine with the grade across or up/down, cuts cleanly, easy adjustment of height and speed. It also is set up where you can engage the drive system independently from the blade, which is nice moving from one part of yard to others, through bed, etc. To HRK's point about them being too fast, mine and I think most Egos are adjustable from rock-crawler to a pretty good clip, so you can suit your preference. You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02 | |||
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