It's Official: Hell has Frozen Over

[RJM62]

You bought new?! Couldn't you find a refurbished used one? Elitist!





Looks great though.

I did look for one, but I couldn't find one at a reasonable price anywhere near Sparrow Fart. People around here are really weird about their pricing on used items.

Rich

 

[denverpilot]

I want you guys with the push mowers to come do the four acres when the snow melts and the vegetation goes insane from being watered finally. Haha.

 

[luvflyin]

http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/hell.html

 

[RJM62]

Almost two years to the day, I finally got around to changing the air filter and the spark plug. (I do change the oil regularly.) Two quick priming pulls, and it started right up. Honda engines, I'm finding, are as close to maintenance-free as they get.

I did turn the gas valve off and run it out last fall, but apparently I forgot to drain the tank. I added some Gumout to what was left of last year's (stabilized) gas and let it run for a while.

Rich

 

[Kenny Phillips]

Almost two years to the day, I finally got around to changing the air filter and the spark plug. (I do change the oil regularly.) Two quick priming pulls, and it started right up. Honda engines, I'm finding, are as close to maintenance-free as they get.

I did turn the gas valve off and run it out last fall, but apparently I forgot to drain the tank. I added some Gumout to what was left of last year's (stabilized) gas and let it run for a while.

Rich

I always stabilize my gasoline (and treat my diesel) and everything starts right up in the spring. I only got 18 years out of my White garden tractor, but I twisted the deck, not the fault of the machine. My LawnBoy is still operating; got that in 1989.

 

[Fallsrider]

Almost two years to the day, I finally got around to changing the air filter and the spark plug. (I do change the oil regularly.) Two quick priming pulls, and it started right up. Honda engines, I'm finding, are as close to maintenance-free as they get.

I did turn the gas valve off and run it out last fall, but apparently I forgot to drain the tank. I added some Gumout to what was left of last year's (stabilized) gas and let it run for a while.

Rich

I bought a new Husqvarna very similar to yours maybe 5 years ago, only mine is a side discharge. They make very nice mowers, and the Honda engines are nice, too.

 

[RJM62]

I bought a new Husqvarna very similar to yours maybe 5 years ago, only mine is a side discharge. They make very nice mowers, and the Honda engines are nice, too.

Sad to say from a "buy American" point of view, both the Honda engine on the mower and the Chinese LCT engine on the Husqvarna snowblower are better than any Briggs I've owned in the past 10 years. The locals here also swear by the Predator engines sold at Harbor Freight, which look to me like clones of Honda and LCT engines.

Rich

 

[Fallsrider]

Sad to say from a "buy American" point of view, both the Honda engine on the mower and the Chinese LCT engine on the Husqvarna snowblower are better than any Briggs I've owned in the past 10 years. The locals here also swear by the Predator engines sold at Harbor Freight, which look to me like clones of Honda and LCT engines.

Rich

No doubt. I was not going to buy a mower with a Briggs engine on it. And probably 15 years ago, I bought a cheap Wen 1800w generator with a Honda knock off engine for $219. Still to this day, I can pull it out of the shed, and after sitting for several months, it will start on the first pull.

Edit: My church bought a new Hustler zero-turn mower last month because our previous one was worn out. My pastor and I did the shopping and made the selection. For the same model mower, we had a choice of either a Kawasaki engine or a Kohler commercial engine. The Kawasaki was about $200 more. We chose to go with the Kohler. It is American-made, and I hope in 5 to 10 years we are still happy with that decision.

 

[SoonerAviator]

No doubt. I was not going to buy a mower with a Briggs engine on it. And probably 15 years ago, I bought a cheap Wen 1800w generator with a Honda knock off engine for $219. Still to this day, I can pull it out of the shed, and after sitting for several months, it will start on the first pull.

Edit: My church bought a new Hustler zero-turn mower last month because our previous one was worn out. My pastor and I did the shopping and made the selection. For the same model mower, we had a choice of either a Kawasaki engine or a Kohler commercial engine. The Kawasaki was about $200 more. We chose to go with the Kohler. It is American-made, and I hope in 5 to 10 years we are still happy with that decision.

Kawasaki is generally considered the more “Commercial Duty” option for most platforms, but I’m sure the Kohler will be fine.

As far as the B&S engines, I’ve got a 15HP model powering a ‘93 YardMan rider which has had nothing but gas, oil, and air filters. It fires up every year after being mistreated within two revolutions. I can’t say a bad thing about it.

I also have a Predator 6.5HP $99 Harbor Freight special on a power washer which had the original Honda Powerhead throw a rod. Predator sometimes goes 6-8 months in between uses, but fires up on 2-3 pulls and runs without a hiccup.

I honestly think it’s almost a crapshoot between Kohler/B&S. Honda/Kawasaki I’ve used in commercial settings with yard equipment and they’ve both been pretty flawless, but you pay for that in price up front.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

For the same model mower, we had a choice of either a Kawasaki engine or a Kohler commercial engine. The Kawasaki was about $200 more. We chose to go with the Kohler. It is American-made, and I hope in 5 to 10 years we are still happy with that decision.

I predict you will be. I've got a Kohler on my lawn tractor, still kicking and never a problem with it at 21 years old.

Now, the rest of the tractor, on the other hand, has required a bit too much of my time wrenching.

 

[wsuffa]

I've done fine with Kohler - and for home generators, it's Kohler long before Generac any day of the week.

 

[Bacho]

No doubt. I was not going to buy a mower with a Briggs engine on it. And probably 15 years ago, I bought a cheap Wen 1800w generator with a Honda knock off engine for $219. Still to this day, I can pull it out of the shed, and after sitting for several months, it will start on the first pull.

Edit: My church bought a new Hustler zero-turn mower last month because our previous one was worn out. My pastor and I did the shopping and made the selection. For the same model mower, we had a choice of either a Kawasaki engine or a Kohler commercial engine. The Kawasaki was about $200 more. We chose to go with the Kohler. It is American-made, and I hope in 5 to 10 years we are still happy with that decision.

Kawasaki = Honda in my exprience.

Its just not as common in the consumer grade stuff but popular in commercial equipment. The kohler equipment does pretty good, just doesnt seem to run quite as well. I have a Toro dingo that is a great machine, I REALLY wish it had something other than the kohler though. Its rather loud and requires some tinkering in its age with really poor access.

 

[Fallsrider]

Kawasaki = Honda in my exprience.

Its just not as common in the consumer grade stuff but popular in commercial equipment. The kohler equipment does pretty good, just doesnt seem to run quite as well. I have a Toro dingo that is a great machine, I REALLY wish it had something other than the kohler though. Its rather loud and requires some tinkering in its age with really poor access.

Time will tell. It is probably just a little bit louder than the 17hp Kawasaki we had on the previous mower. I attributed part of that to it being a bigger engine. We test drove both models back-to-back multiple times, and I didn't really notice a sound difference. There could have been a slight one.