What's a Good Push-Mower (please)

[mtgrs737]

I have a small fleet of Lawn-Boy 2 cycle mowers that I like alot. My daily dirvers are two 6.5 hp Dura-force engined steel decked Lawn-Boys with rear wheel drive model 10323. I like the power that these engines develop and the rear wheel dirve is tops if you are going to be mowing up hills. Also a two-cycle engine is not starved for oil like a 4 cycle engine on steep hills. A properly tuned 2 cycle Lawn-Boy is a joy to use, and they are still available used if you look around for them.

 

[Brian S]

I have some experience with a variety of push mowers, my parents still have their 1984 ish vintage Honda HR214. It still runs but it is pretty tired. A fantastic mower by anyones estimation but always was a little down on power and therefore not fast enough to be productive through thick grass, still it was in regular use for 20 years and has only needed a few parts to keep going. Great self propelled and excellent quality of cut and mulching.

I used an 1970's era Snapper Hi-Vac for about 5 years as my first mower when I bought my first house. It was a 4hp Briggs flathead and it was noisy and thirsty but it was reliable and the self propelled is awesome on the Snapper. Mulching performance was good when the deck was set to a lower setting but bad in the mid summer when the deck was set at the top of its adjustment range. Our yards are St. Augustine and Bermuda here. I think these are great mowers for hilly yards and they bag very very well but mulching is poor. Newer models probably mulch better.

My next mower was a POS Sears Crapsman with the then new GC-160 5.5hp Honda engine. Easy starting was the only good thing I can saw about this mower. Engine was not as bad as some people might say but felt underpowered. Probably would still be using this mower but I bent the crank two seasons ago.

Most recent mower is a Toro 20057 Super Recycler with the Briggs Intek Pro engine. This is the best mower I have ever used. Its strengths are the engine which is super powerful, efficient, it starts easy, and it has a steel cylinder liner and a screw on pressure fed oil filter. Aluminum deck is excellent quality. The personal pace self propelled is not my favorite for long straight mows but it is very good around obstacles which I have many. Some people don't like personal pace because it dosen't pull you along, it took a while to get used to it but I like it now but it is not the best for a hilly yard. Bagging performance is OK. Mulching is spectacular even at the highest deck settings like now where I am mowing 4" long and quality of cut is great too. Build quality is not quite up to the high line pro type hondas but I feel it is better than the low line Home Depot Hondas. It is a sturdy, sharp looking machine. I think Toro quit making it though, because it seemed to me that all of their current line up all had the old Briggs Quantum engines this year, perhaps someone could shed some light on that for us? And forgot to mention, the #1 reason that this is my favorite mower is that it is the fastest machine I have used for turning long grass into short grass. This machine cuts 15 minutes off of my mow time compared to the mower it replaced. That is 15 more minutes of surfing AS per lawn mowing people.

 

[lawnmowertech37]

you all notice what is going on with todays equipment though ?

quality wise ?


its almost better to get the old time mower that dont use the engines it uses the blades on it instead

see i think of quality they were built tough back in there day

but finding them kind is difficult since they do not make them anymore

but a lawn boy would be a good choice but finding parts would be difficult but as soon as i get out of my bankruptcy situation i am having someone in hawaii going to donate me there inventory i am actually going to be buying it consist of old parts dating back to the 95 and older in them are lawn boy parts and gravely


also anyone remember the old cast iron blocks that briggs put out before they built todays engines ? guess how difficult it is finding parts to them ?

but believe me there are parts out there for them just got to know who to ask about them
these are the parts that had made in usa writting on the box

calvin

 

[ropensaddle]

I liked the gravely type.

 

[rb_in_va]

Snapper

/thread

 

[NDtreehugger]

Forget walking have fun and ride (lawnboy all the way)

The lawn-boy is the only way I got the boys to mow the yard

I should say lawn-boy CUSTOM

Be aware you will need wheelie bars

 

[Woodie]

You mean Horsepower Developed at the Brochure?

 

[jeeptj19992001]

what ever i pick out of the garbage

 

[ZeroJunk]

I have four Lawnboy 2 cycles. 10323's and 10415's. I use Stihl oil in them same ratio as my saws. One of them is about 20 years old and still going strong. You can find them used on Craigslist or eBay. If you have a problem they have a strong following on My Tractor Forum that can tell you all you need to know and then some. Parts are available from your Toro dealer.

 

[kevin j]

Noticed how briggs and honda dont state hp on their engines anymore???



for all the Honda worship, they are not immune from the advertising hype/dishonesty. Just as example, as lot of logsplitters use Honda 5.5. Those who have a Honda with 5.5 on the side, assume it means 5.5 hp. On the Honda application site that engine is rated about 4.5 or 4.8 at 3600, max rated rpm. So where does the 5.5 come from? copy writers, who call it a MODEL 5.5, not a hp......

oh well, the auto industry did that for many years too. probably stil does.

 

[7sleeper]

I love using on of my girlfriends fathers lawnmower. He managed to salvage from the junk 2 wonderful Solo engines, approx. 20 years ago, never used, 2 stroke, I guess approx. 5hp, approx. 700-850ccm, salvaged chasie, salvaged tires, for throttlecontrol a bicycle gear shift, all in all a mixed bundle, fantastic compression, a beast to start!

I love it! I call it the little tornado! At 50cm width everything is just gone.

I once pusched it over the street with less than half throttle and the sand&pebbles were like sandblasting flying all over the place. Incredible!

Oh well to bad its not mine, but maybe someday.....

7sleeper

 

[Brian S]

I love using on of my girlfriends fathers lawnmower. He managed to salvage from the junk 2 wonderful Solo engines, approx. 20 years ago, never used, 2 stroke, I guess approx. 5hp, approx. 700-850ccm, salvaged chasie, salvaged tires, for throttlecontrol a bicycle gear shift, all in all a mixed bundle, fantastic compression, a beast to start!

I love it! I call it the little tornado! At 50cm width everything is just gone.

I once pusched it over the street with less than half throttle and the sand&pebbles were like sandblasting flying all over the place. Incredible!

Oh well to bad its not mine, but maybe someday.....

7sleeper

Well, I'll be darned. There ARE rednecks in Europe!

JK 7Sleeper, that thing sounds like a real Frankenstein. But do you mean something like 80-90CC for the engine size? If I read your post right it looks more like you are describing it as almost a liter of displacement. My motorcycle has less engine than that!

 

[rb_in_va]

Evidently you clowns missed my post. Here it is again. Check this link for a great story about Snapper.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html

Snapper

/thread

 

[woodyman]

Got a 1980 MTD with a classic 3 1/2 H.P. I bought new,you have to unbolt the wheels to bring it up or down,Iam the propeller it has a 20 inch deck,change the oil in it every spring(mobil one)clean the air filter all the time grease the wheels change the spark plug and it keeps running.I got a rider that sits that I got from a farmer friend whos son lost it off the back of a pick-up truck,alittle work and it was running like a top,I bought the push for exercise.

 

[Booshcat]

Toro is winning so far (if this were a pole).

Is it safe to say that Toro is of much better quality than the crafstman models at the Sears down the road?

Very good point about the front-wheel drive and being able to lift up the front wheels.

Toro, Toro,...... I wonder if consumer reports agrees?

The Toro Super Recycler was Consumer Reports Top Pick last year when I bought mine.
So yes.....

 

[7sleeper]

Well, I'll be darned. There ARE rednecks in Europe!

JK 7Sleeper, that thing sounds like a real Frankenstein. But do you mean something like 80-90CC for the engine size? If I read your post right it looks more like you are describing it as almost a liter of displacement. My motorcycle has less engine than that!

Thats right I would guess a real Frankenstein. And you can imagine pulling on that string is like trying to pull a bull from his favorite cow!! :hmm3grin2orange:
But when it runs there is no more favorite sound of like a big old WW2 bombing plane flying really low to the ground. Absolutly fantastic!

You might be right on the cc but it is very big, I mean even his Stihl Contra is small compared to it. I have to check on it when I visit him again.

7sleeper

 

[Outlaw5.0]

My Toro's are excellent mulchers, but so so baggers. I have one GTS personal pace, one non personal pace GTS, ended up getting a Snapper. The Snapper is a great bagger, plus goes up to 4" cutting height, vs 3.5" on the Toro. The Toros collect dust now.

 

[NDtreehugger]

http://www.lawnmowerworld.co.uk/lawnmower racing.htm

Why do people insist upon putting down Walmart:

First off, assuming that Walmart didn't pay for them is unfair.
Second, I would rather shop at a store that is frugal and passes on its
efficiency as discount prices. I don't need a latte when I go buy weed killer.
Walmart doesn't waste money, they provide jobs to people who want them,
and they offer name brands at compettitive prices.

Snapper makes good stuff.
Probably worth the extra cost.
Walmart offers an alternative for people who have to count pennies and
don't need or can't afford high quality right now.

I have a 10 year old Murray riding mower that finally gave up the ghost yesterday.
It worked great during those 10 years & lasted longer than expected considering
I bought it on sale at Walmart for 50% of what a similar Craftsman mower would cost.
Cost 25% of what a good mower would cost - lasted 50% as long... do the math.

I would love to buy a good quality mower, but I don't have a need that justifies
the cost right now.

I like walmart

45 MPH here we raced all the time so far snapper JD and the MTD cant keep up with the little rear engine

 

[Booshcat]

Snapper

/thread

Next time you call someone a clown, make sure your link works, you A$$ Hole

 

[Brian S]

Evidently you clowns missed my post. Here it is again. Check this link for a great story about Snapper.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html

Yeah, I read that too but they ended up selling out to B&S anyway, then the hero of the story quit!

Snapper used to be really big around here but they have dried up and have been replaced by Honda and Toro at all the good local small professional lawn equipment houses. There are VERY few places left here that enthusiastically sell Snapper. I'm not knocking their product, their designs are excellent, and like Honda and Toro they have a distinct heirarchy of homeowner/prosumer/pro mowers for every taste. But around here anyway they seem to have faded away. My Stihl Dealer who is also a Toro (commercial), Honda (commercial) and Snapper (commercial) dealer is ceasing sales of Snapper mower after his inventory is gone. I don't know why for sure but I heard them mention that Snapper has become hard to deal with.