Lawnmowers

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mtuomi

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dera
Small yard, and my lawn guy is extremely unreliable. I need one. It's small and flat so don't need to spend thousands. Listening to any suggestions...
 
If it's a small area then a push reel is the way to go.
 
More horsepower, a little 21 or so inch mower should be fine, but get at least 5 hp, bigger motor the better.
 
I did the reel mower thing for about 10 years when I had a small yard. If you are willing to keep the grass relatively short and cut it more frequently, the reel mower is a great solution. I loved cutting the entire lawn in 20 minutes (no bagger, no fuel to add, no yankin' on a starter rope). But, I cut the grass about 20% more frequently than the neighbors because reel mowers don't work as well on longer grass.

If I was in your situation, I'd look very hard at the Ryobi rechargeable. If you don't like it, Home Depot will take it back.
 
Bought the base-model hand start Toro 10 years ago. Fires up every time, zero maintenance provided.

Also have a 'Fiskars' reel mower. Gives a really nice even cut. If I have some extra time, I use it for the front lawn, just for the exercise.
 
mtuomi said:
Small yard, and my lawn guy is extremely unreliable. I need one. It's small and flat so don't need to spend thousands. Listening to any suggestions...
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Have push mower I'll sell for $30 if you want to drive up to Denton for it.
 
Or just get a weedeater. It will mow (sort of), trim around bushes and trees, trim against the house, and if you get the one where the business end has different attachments, the regular cutting head can often be turned and make a good edger against driveway and sidewalk.
 
The problem with reel mowers is that they tend not to be very good at cutting weeds. They kind of flatten them out more so than cut them. I have one that I use to cut the grass in my fairly-large yard, but only later in the year. Early in the year when there are more weeds than grass, I have to use the power mower. As others have mentioned, you also have to keep the grass fairly short.

Other than that, they're a pleasure to use and provide a nice cut as long as you keep them sharp.

Rich
 
Bought a Honda electric start when the wife grumbled that she had to let me do the trim mowing since she couldn’t pull start the old mower. I think she’s done the trimming a half dozen times in the 4 years since I bought it.

Not blaming her tho, as she is disabled and our current yard is not even remotely a smooth place to walk.
 
Last year I bought a Honda. I like Honda cars and motorcycles and generators. The lawnmower sucks. The wheels fall off, some of the trim popped off, the rear wheel drive sticks in gear when I release the handle, meaning the wheels lock up when I want to drag it backwards. The design is uncharacteristically crappy for Honda.
 
Is it a a Honda mower or a Honda engine on a 3rd party mower? On those, the Honda sticker on the engine is 3x as large as the real brand marked on the mower.
 
Allot of the mowers out there are MTD mowers with a name brand on them. Good products but you pay for the name.

I grew up on a farm in a large family so we rarely got anything new. That meant learning to fix everything we had or got. Now I fix things for my neighbors and when they buy new I get their old ones. I've received, fixed and given away lawn mowers, chain saws, generators and just about any other 2 and 4 cycle product.

That said, the key to keeping a gas motor running is clean, non-alcohol fuel, clean oil, and clean parts and sharp blades. I never put away a tool without first cleaning and oiling it. I use an air compressor to get all the dirt and grim out. My chainsaw is 36 years old. I don't use it allot now but when we lived in the log cabin, we heated with wood for two years.

One more tip: I have a big galvanized tub filled with sand and used oil. After I clean my shovel, ax, and any other hand tools, I drag them through the sand for a final cleaning and to coat them in oil; then hang them up.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Honda mower.
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Like their 90s cars, their 90s mowers were better built too. Mine is from 1988 and still running although 1st gear stopped working a few years back. It has new rear tires but original fronts and bag. Every time I take it in for service they tell me the only way to really kill them is to run without an air cleaner.
 
My MTD Yardman with the Briggs engine is about 18 years old. I do need to work on the primer next. I have replaced the left rear drive wheel twice and a cracked fuel tank once.
 
I have an MTD with the Briggs.. very basic, maybe $300 from Home Depot. Yard is not big enough for pro crew, but too small for weedeater or electric. I had an electric one and hated it. The MTD is pretty good, I've had no real complaints yet. For three now it starts reliably on the first pull each time and has no issues.. given my climate gets year round use as well, twice a month in winter, and twice a week in summer. When I first got it I think the auto choke gizmo was stuck, but 5 minutes of tinkering fixed that and no problem since then

asicer said:
Worx Landroid M?
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I get OCD about the lines in the yard. Do these auto mowers cut a nice pattern, or do they just do the roomba thing and drive around randomly? I do like the Worx products overall though, for lower cost consumer grade stuff I haven't had any problems with their equipment
 
The Toro Personal Pace lineup are pretty good for the price. They have electric start models if you prefer it. Wife had one before we got married and it now gets used once or twice a year at most. Fires up every time without issue. We had Honda mowers for the lawn crew in college, great mowers and incredibly reliable. The best mower I've ever used is the Honda with 3-speed tranny and a blade clutch (so you can unload grass catcher without shutting engine off). If you're not bagging grass, it's of no use.
 
Go to the dump/transfer station, you won't believe what people throw away. If you are handy at all you can fix it up in a few hours if you chose wisely, sometimes you don't even have to fix them.
 
PaulS said:
Go to the dump/transfer station, you won't believe what people throw away. If you are handy at all you can fix it up in a few hours if you chose wisely, sometimes you don't even have to fix them.
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So true. I grabbed a yard man riding mower from the curb. I knocked on the door to make sure it was trash. Owner told me it had a terrible oil leak. I took it home. The engine had a tool less quick drain. When the guy changed the oil he closed the dust cover but didn’t close the valve. Leak fixed... I went back to the guy that owned it and told him there was nothing wrong with it. He didn’t want it. Had already bought a new one. I gave it to family. They ran that mower for 13 years. So yeah people throw away nice stuff sometimes
 
Bought one from Lowes, forget the brand name but it does have a Honda engine. No problems with it, and here in Alabama sometimes cut the lawn twice in a week. I do change the oil 2-3 times a season, and other maintenance things.

Edit: Troy Built, Honda engine
 
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weilke said:
Youre supposed to change the oil ??
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Well I do! I mean a quart or less not a big deal. OTH my sis-in-law has a Honda probably 10-15 years old and has never changed the oil. Meant to do for her last summer. And her son is supposedly a mechanic, and lives at home. :confused::(
 
mscard88 said:
Well I do! I mean a quart or less not a big deal. OTH my sis-in-law has a Honda probably 10-15 years old and has never changed the oil. Meant to do for her last summer. And her son is supposedly a mechanic, and lives at home. :confused::(
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And yes, once in a while it is 'small engine day' in my house and I change the oil on all the small four-strokes. The reality is, few of them ever wear out from having too much crap in the oil. They die because the mower deck rusts through, the high pressure pump seizes or some lever made from cheap chinese plastic embrittles and cracks.
 
Troy-Bilt 21-in. 190-cc push mower here, with Briggs & Stratton power. I've had it for 7 years and it always starts on the second pull (the first, if I'm feeling really energetic).
I sorta like having a Flathead in the garage. :)

After reading this thread, I'm going out to change the oil this afternoon...the least I can do for this faithful servant. Maybe sharpen the blade too.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
Troy-Bilt 21-in. 190-cc push mower here, with Briggs & Stratton power. I've had it for 7 years and it always starts on the second pull (the first, if I'm feeling really energetic).
I sorta like having a Flathead in the garage. :)

After reading this thread, I'm going out to change the oil this afternoon...the least I can do for this faithful servant. Maybe sharpen the blade too.
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You have grass out there? Not the smokin' kind, on the ground kind. ;):D
 
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