Time for a New Lawn Mower

FormerHangie

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FormerHangie
My 11 season old Troy Bilt broke the self propulsion cable last week. It smokes a little, the wheels groan like a teenager being asked to clean his room, and the grass catcher has holes in it. Only one of those things can be fixed by duct tape, so it's time for a new one, and posthaste. It's raining a lot, and the grass is going to get long quickly. I did use it one last time on Monday with a pair of vise grips on the self propulsion cable, but that's pretty inconvenient.

Our property is three quarters of an acre, but not much of it is grass. IIRC, the sod guys brought in 10 pallets to do the front and side yards, and we needed less than three to do the back yard, so that's no more than 8000 square feet. We live at the end of a cul de sac and our lot is long and skinny. The front yard is more or less triangular, and the back is fenced in an irregular shape. There's lots of edge relative to the surface. We're on a hillside, there's no flat area anywhere in the grass. The grass is one of those fine bladed Zoysia hybrid, and in the summer it gets thick, like Ashley Graham thicc.

xjom9qtjsho11.jpg


So, I need a new mower. I don't need a large mower, I'm mowing lots of edges and irregular areas. I was looking at the battery electric ones, which appeal to me because they're lighter. Like I said, it's hilly and self propulsion is a must, plus I'm not getting any younger. I'd also want rear wheel drive. The first mower I had to use was an old Craftsman that my wife brought into the marriage, and it was front drive, which was not the greatest on the hills, especially as the bag filled up. I do bag my clippings, so bagging is important. The second mower I had was a rear drive Honda, which worked well for seven years and kind of poorly for the last two. Having rear drive was a boon going up hill, which for me is unavoidable.

I'm really thinking that a slightly smaller deck would be desirable. The last two mowers had 21 inch decks, so maybe a 19 or 20 inch deck would be better. There are no rear drive gas mowers with a deck less than 21 inches, but there are a number of 20 and 19 inch battery electrics to be had. I can get a basic Honda gas mower for $400, where an electric plus enough battery to mow the whole place will be more like $600. I would imagine I'd need new batteries somewhere in the mower's lifespan, so the electric would definitely have a higher TCO.

Opinions/experiences?
 
What was this thread about again? I kissed :blowingkisses:...I mean missed the topic.
 
At the risk of having my man card revoked, this summer I finally gave up the cost and frustrations of mower repair and maintenance and hired a fellow to do my mowing. I still do the trimming, fertilizing, mulching, driveway grading, and tractor flail mowing of the “non-yard” acreage, etc.
A rough cost analysis showed it was about a wash for a couple years. Haven’t looked back.
 
I have an MTD (same as Yardman/Cub Cadet). Self propelled, 21” cut. It must be close to 20 yrs old by now. The 6.5 hp Briggs engine just keeps on running.

My neighbor has an electric self propelled. Our yards are a little smaller than yours, maybe 6-7000 vs your 8. Her rechargeable mower finishes her yard on a single charge. She bags and mulches, depending on conditions. Her mower seems like it does a very good job. And now I have to remember to get more gas for this week.
 
At the risk of having my man card revoked, this summer I finally gave up the cost and frustrations of mower repair and maintenance and hired a fellow to do my mowing. I still do the trimming, fertilizing, mulching, driveway grading, and tractor flail mowing of the “non-yard” acreage, etc.
A rough cost analysis showed it was about a wash for a couple years. Haven’t looked back.

I'm 62. I plan on doing the yard until I'm 70. Equipment is definitely not a problem, I'm averaging 9 years per mower, and have never done anything but oil changes and air filter changes.

If you bring in a pro and ask him to push mow your grass, it gets spendy. When I crashed my motorcycle 20 years ago, I hired a service. They managed to break a limb off of a tree. Hey guys, the grass is down on the ground!
 
I figure I’m good for one more mower, my terminal mower. After that, it’s either hire someone or, more likely, move somewhere I don’t have to worry about it.
 
A goat.... side benefits: milk, and lawn fertilizer, and a decent pet.

A goose... side benefits: can be as good of security device as any dog, especially once it learns your yard is its home, and lawn fertilizer. Possibly eggs as well.
 
A goat.... side benefits: milk, and lawn fertilizer, and a decent pet.

A goose... side benefits: can be as good of security device as any dog, especially once it learns your yard is its home, and lawn fertilizer. Possibly eggs as well.

A goat? Naaaaah.
 
Cheapest Toro 'recycler' from home depot.
 
My Briggs and Stratton mower gave out this year after two decades in service. Replaced it with another mower that sports a Briggs and Stratton engine, paid $250 at Sam's. With luck this will be my last mower, since I can't picture myself mowing my lawn 20 years from now.
 
Toro Personal Pace. Greatest design ever. IIRC I paid $400 for one last summer that had electric start.

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Can't really help you, our lot is small and flat, so I use a Fiskars reel mower.
 
Can't really help you, our lot is small and flat, so I use a Fiskars reel mower.

I have one of those and when all I had was the front-yard on a half-acre lot, that is what I used. Great exercise and if you did it often enough you could get that golf-green look.
 
A goat.... side benefits: milk, and lawn fertilizer, and a decent pet.

A goose... side benefits: can be as good of security device as any dog, especially once it learns your yard is its home, and lawn fertilizer. Possibly eggs as well.
F9CF1A0E-BBE8-4E2D-BBBD-21113760DE37.jpeg Agree! We did the goat option (plus Llama guard animal for the coyote problem) before we moved....one caution, tho, best not be attached to any shrubs or small trees because they’ll decimate them too.
Had geese way back....found they “fertilized” the patio at least as much as the lawn. They one by one disappeared...probably same coyote problem.
 
I knew a vet who achieved the same ends with his tortoise breeding colonies. Made out like a bandit with those things too.
 
I've been using this one:

https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/walk-behind-lawn-mowers/lc221rh/961430130/

for more than three years with no issues. I've done nothing to it other than change the oil, clean under the deck (it has a hose fitting on top of the deck to make that easier), and put some Gum-out in the gas and let it run the gas tank empty in the fall. I may have changed the spark plug, as well. Always starts on the first gentle pull.

Rich
 
Our previous Toro Personal Pace mower lasted us over 15 years, then we gave it to our son for his new place... I think he may still be using it. The new one is a Honda, which so far (3 years in) has been perfect. Either one starts on the first pull, every time. Occasionally it takes a second pull for the Toro if it's been sitting all winter.
 
So, what I hear is you are wanting to hire Ashely to mow the lawn for you and help her with her figure....
 
I'd get an electric with a spare battery if you want zero maintenance and such. With a spare battery you could cut 1/2-3/4 acre pretty easily.

As far as gasoline mowers, the Toro Personal Pace is a solid unit. My father have one as does a friend, and they're the electric start version, both over 8 years old with no issues. We have a Toro self propelled mower (not personal pace) and it starts and runs like a champ every year with no maintenance to speak of.

The best mower I've ever used was in a commercial mowing operation, the Honda with 3 speed self propelled transmission and a blade clutch. You could shut off the blade and empty the bag of grass clippings without stopping the engine. Saved time and effort, but that was a $700 mower. Engine was smooth and quiet.
 
So, I need a new mower. I don't need a large mower, I'm mowing lots of edges and irregular areas. I was looking at the battery electric ones, which appeal to me because they're lighter. Like I said, it's hilly and self propulsion is a must, plus I'm not getting any younger. I'd also want rear wheel drive. The first mower I had to use was an old Craftsman that my wife brought into the marriage, and it was front drive, which was not the greatest on the hills, especially as the bag filled up. I do bag my clippings, so bagging is important. The second mower I had was a rear drive Honda, which worked well for seven years and kind of poorly for the last two. Having rear drive was a boon going up hill, which for me is unavoidable.

I'm really thinking that a slightly smaller deck would be desirable. The last two mowers had 21 inch decks, so maybe a 19 or 20 inch deck would be better. There are no rear drive gas mowers with a deck less than 21 inches, but there are a number of 20 and 19 inch battery electrics to be had. I can get a basic Honda gas mower for $400, where an electric plus enough battery to mow the whole place will be more like $600. I would imagine I'd need new batteries somewhere in the mower's lifespan, so the electric would definitely have a higher TCO.

Opinions/experiences?

Although pricey, those electric roomba mowers look interesting. Because it can be used to mow the lawn every few days, the lawn doesn't get thick or deep. I believe that it can handle irregular lawns shapes.
 
View attachment 86539 Agree! We did the goat option (plus Llama guard animal for the coyote problem) before we moved....one caution, tho, best not be attached to any shrubs or small trees because they’ll decimate them too.
Had geese way back....found they “fertilized” the patio at least as much as the lawn. They one by one disappeared...probably same coyote problem.


We use riding weed-eaters. If you think airplanes are expensive,.....
 
My luck with the battery powered ones is poor. 2 seasons, needed a new battery to the tune of $100. And it barely did the yard.

Better luck with a corded electric mower - until I ran over the cord. I still have it, but haven't used it in 5 years.

Toro 22" gas mower has been good. Spray the carb each season, and good to go. We're about 8-8 years in and it needs a drive belt. I replace the blades every couple of years.
 
Maybe this is because I'm still relatively young and my legs work but for push type mowers I've always preferred it as basic as possible... the less features there are on a push mower the lighter it is. I'd rather push/pull it up and down the rows as quick as possible and be done. Self propelled adds a whole bunch of weight and complication and besides most of them don't go very fast.

I just buy one of the cheapest ones for sale at wal-mart/sams/whatever home improvement store. Better yet would be something old enough not to have the crappy plastic carburetors that you can't take apart and clean but those are getting harder to find.
 
Maybe this is because I'm still relatively young and my legs work but for push type mowers I've always preferred it as basic as possible... the less features there are on a push mower the lighter it is. I'd rather push/pull it up and down the rows as quick as possible and be done. Self propelled adds a whole bunch of weight and complication and besides most of them don't go very fast.

I just buy one of the cheapest ones for sale at wal-mart/sams/whatever home improvement store. Better yet would be something old enough not to have the crappy plastic carburetors that you can't take apart and clean but those are getting harder to find.
You don't mow on an incline do you? I spent over a decade pushing a Lawn Boy across a 2/3 acre plot, complete with clouds of 2- cycle premix smoke. It's not a big deal, but because they are light and you can mow quickly you sometimes outpace the quality of the cut. Self propelled mowers are designed not to outpace the ability of the mower to cut. The Toro Personal pace mower varies the speed according to your own ability to push in the bar. If you've got a 1/4 acre or less on a fairly flat grade, then buy that cheap Wally World mower. For those with imperfect lawns or steeper grades, the self propelled models will make life easier as well as have a better quality cut.
 
You don't mow on an incline do you? I spent over a decade pushing a Lawn Boy across a 2/3 acre plot, complete with clouds of 2- cycle premix smoke. It's not a big deal, but because they are light and you can mow quickly you sometimes outpace the quality of the cut. Self propelled mowers are designed not to outpace the ability of the mower to cut. The Toro Personal pace mower varies the speed according to your own ability to push in the bar. If you've got a 1/4 acre or less on a fairly flat grade, then buy that cheap Wally World mower. For those with imperfect lawns or steeper grades, the self propelled models will make life easier as well as have a better quality cut.
For me it's about the hill, as most of the time I'm just cutting weeds...
 
For me it's about the hill, as most of the time I'm just cutting weeds...
Oh I understand. I've got about 3/4 of an acre but it's on the side of a hill and not exactly a perfect lawn. 70% grass, 20% weeds, 10% tree roots lol. I've had to push mow with it a handful of times when I was waiting on parts for the riding mower. Not much fun in 95-100 degree temps. My rider is a 1993 42" Yard man that has seen some better days, and its cut quality was never amazing when when new. However, that things still fires up every time without issue and does its job.
 
Is there anything out there compared to the personal pace drive system? It’s almost like it’s weightless. I’d rather get a Honda but I didn’t see anything that had an unlimited range drive system similar to the PP.
 
What is a lawnmower? For that matter, what is a lawn? When we relandscaped our yard about 15 years ago what little lawn we had went away, and so did our lawnmower. The lawn we had would fill one catcher bag when I cut the grass. Now I just pull more weeds. :p
 
This is my preferred model of self-propelled lawnmower:

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If you have one of these organic power units cluttering up the house and eating your food anyway, might as well get some use out of your investment.
 
Is there anything out there compared to the personal pace drive system? It’s almost like it’s weightless. I’d rather get a Honda but I didn’t see anything that had an unlimited range drive system similar to the PP.
Some of the more expensive Hondas have a multi-speed self propulsion, but it's not variable like the Toro PersonalPace unit. You select the gear speed (H, M, L) and it uses that speed when you engage the self propulsion. It doesn't vary it once its engaged.
 
Some of the more expensive Hondas have a multi-speed self propulsion, but it's not variable like the Toro PersonalPace unit. You select the gear speed (H, M, L) and it uses that speed when you engage the self propulsion. It doesn't vary it once its engaged.
Mine has a lever 1-6, but it's been stuck on 4 for about 5 years.
 
Just out of curiosity, why do you bag instead of mulch? With a good mulching mower, I have yet to see a yard that you can tell there is cut grass on it. And the compost will allow you to quit or skimp on fertilizer.
 
You don't mow on an incline do you? I spent over a decade pushing a Lawn Boy across a 2/3 acre plot, complete with clouds of 2- cycle premix smoke. It's not a big deal, but because they are light and you can mow quickly you sometimes outpace the quality of the cut. Self propelled mowers are designed not to outpace the ability of the mower to cut. The Toro Personal pace mower varies the speed according to your own ability to push in the bar. If you've got a 1/4 acre or less on a fairly flat grade, then buy that cheap Wally World mower. For those with imperfect lawns or steeper grades, the self propelled models will make life easier as well as have a better quality cut.

Quite the opposite, I have a VERY steep incline in my yard. I just mow perpendicular to the slope back and forth if I'm using the push mower- which I really should do more often as the rider tends to spin tires and make a rut. I developed this philosophy from when I was a kid and used to mow a 2-3 acre cemetery with a push mower. We used various mowers, some self propelled some not. The self propelled was great at first but they were always breaking and all moved slow for my taste. The best one we ever had was a 22" MTD with a big(for the day) 5hp motor and the high-wheel rear wheels, second best was an ancient bare-bones k-mart mower that I pulled out of a shed and fixed. Maybe for an average sized yard I'm overthinking it.

For me quality of cut isn't much of consideration either, I live in the woods and I'm only really mowing to hold the jungle back around the house.
 
I've been using this one:

https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/walk-behind-lawn-mowers/lc221rh/961430130/

for more than three years with no issues. I've done nothing to it other than change the oil, clean under the deck (it has a hose fitting on top of the deck to make that easier), and put some Gum-out in the gas and let it run the gas tank empty in the fall. I may have changed the spark plug, as well. Always starts on the first gentle pull.

Rich
I got a Husqvarna mower last fall, but the all-wheel drive model. I like it so far. It has an attachment for a water hose that makes it easier to clean. The engine (Honda) has been fine so far. The bag has attachment hooks that won't get clogged with grass clippings; this was a major problem with my last mower.
 
If you have one of these organic power units cluttering up the house and eating your food anyway, might as well get some use out of your investment.

Mine grew up and moved away. With a tad over an acre of flat ground to cut I use a Toro Timecutter Zero Turn. It does save a bunch of time and it made grass cutting fun again!
 
Just out of curiosity, why do you bag instead of mulch? With a good mulching mower, I have yet to see a yard that you can tell there is cut grass on it. And the compost will allow you to quit or skimp on fertilizer.

Zoysia is a lot "woodier" than other grasses. It doesn't rot as quickly and tends to create a formidable thatch layer. That's why I bag my lawn.

Break...

Battery mowers. Have any of you had success with those? The few people I know who have tried them were disappointed. They overheated and shut down before completing even small lots. These were folks using self prop 48V units from Lowe's.
 
Zoysia is a lot "woodier" than other grasses. It doesn't rot as quickly and tends to create a formidable thatch layer. That's why I bag my lawn.

Break...

Battery mowers. Have any of you had success with those? The few people I know who have tried them were disappointed. They overheated and shut down before completing even small lots. These were folks using self prop 48V units from Lowe's.
My neighbor has a self prop battery mower, also from Lowes (maybe HD). Don’t know the battery voltage. It seems to work well. It’s very quiet.

She has a bluegrass/fescue blend
 
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