Lawnmower questions

[k9jeff]

Ok,,,I have this 7hp craftsman walk behind mower and have had it for about 3 years. It is given me nothing but headaches! I am not fixing it again, it is getting replaced with a new one. I am tired of messing with this one!! I do the maint, I have had it serviced, fixed and fixed again. I have a normal size lot and I don't abuse my machines.

What is the best brand to get. I have kind of narrowed it down to Ariens and Toro but am open to other suggestions if anyone has an opionion. It MUST be a rear bagger and have a REAR self propel drive unit. Oh yea,,, if it will suck a dog turd into the bag that would be a plus.

Any suggestions?

Thank in advance
Jeff

[brshooter]

I have had good luck with Snapper mowers. Rear baggers typically are maybe not the best at sucking up the grass vs. a side discharge, but do extremely well in wet grass situations like we get around here.
Have had no issues with the snappers. Just regular service. Change the oil at regular intervals and let the mower shop tune it up every few years.

[rebell]

HONDA! They are a little spendy, but Honda makes one heck of quality product.

[HntnFsh]

I second thr Hondas. We have a couple that are at least 6 years old.Even after sitting all winter they will start after the first or second crank.And they do a great job.

[Small Fry]

Snapper. I've had one for 10 years and still one of the best mowers I've ever had. Any mower will do you good if you take extra good care of it. I learned the hard way more than once. Old gas is your worst enemy. Change the oil every year and keep the blade sharp. Basicly invest $ 50.00 every year instead of several hunder when it quits running.

[lost_sailor]

I have a Honda that starts in one pull, as it has for about 18 years.

Except after it sits all winter, it needs a little coaxing.

[Pete]

I have a mower from a large national retailer. The model is the "One Pull". I wish I'd gotten a different model. Next time I'm going to look for one called the "First Pull". The one I've got now does start on one pull, but it's never the first pull.

[Spotted Owl]

Ariens all the way. We have had ours for years and it still works great. 8 pumps on the primer bulb and one pull on the cord and your off. If it has been sitting for a while it may take 2 or 3 pull on the cord before you are off. It will suck grass to the rear bag in a down pour rain. It will suck a dog terd off the grass from both of our dogs a Saint Bernard and a Newfoundland. They are just about bullet proof if you take reasonable care of them. The self propel works great with those high rear wheels. We hose ours off and scrape clean the bottom about every 2nd to 3rd time. We looked at Snapper, Honda, Toro, and a couple others and thought that we were getting the best bang with Ariens. If you do go the ariens way look around for price. We found at the time we got ours that the prices swung pretty good from place to place. They aren't cheap but the are more than worth what you will pay and it will last you for years. Look at some of the mom and pop shops they seemed to have the better price and were able to anwer questions better.


Owl

[wade]

It depends on what you're planning to spend. A commercial walk behind of any brand runs $700-$1000. If you don't need the fancy bells and whistles you should be able to get one that'll be good for at least 10 years new for $300. I have experience with the Ariens, commercial Snapper, and commercial John Deere. By far the best mower is the Deere but its not trouble-free. I'll never own another Snapper, in fact if you want a good used commercial one I'll give you a good deal and the pick of two. :shocked: My next mower will likely be a commercial Honda, but for a homeowner wanting value I'd recommend the Ariens. They'll bag wet grass new but after a little wear the bagging and power drive under wet conditions are inconsistent, but what homeowner mows in the rain? If you really want troublefree forever steer clear of the fancy extras like power drive and blade clutch. Just get the basic model that you push.

Kevin

[lastbugle]

trust me Honda!!! 12 years yard maintaince experience learning the hard way. Honda the only way to go.

[FireCat]

If your into lawn matinence for a living down time can cost ya money thats why Hondas and upper end mowers are the way to go...but if you want to just mow your lawn and dont have steep hills or tricky corners, where you need front wheeldrive, go to Lowes and get ya a troybilt walk behind rear bagger, $229-$249....take care of it it should last ya till you ge tired of it. As long as the blade is sharp, and you dont abuse it. I know I lived next to a small engine repair friend for 13 yrs. In fact I bought one of his toros with a bad engine for 45.00 kept the lower end but a new comerical 5 hr engine on it for $200 and used it for 15 yrs sold it to a lawn matenince dude 3 yrs ago for $100 because my home now has a smaller yard dont need front wheel drive anymore. bought a walk behind troy built at Gresham Lowes for approx $225, rear bagger 3 yrs ago, it just keeps mown,n no problems. If your blades sharp, grass dont care what name is on the gas tank.

[driftin buy]

HONDA, I have had one for 15+ years and am currently shopping for another.

[k9jeff]

Thanks guys, some real good points here. I dont think my lawn cares what name brand I have. I am headed to today to look around and see whats out there. I will check JD, Ariens/Toro and Honda. I wish Gravely made a small mower.

[Mr. Carp]

Get a John Deere or Honda and you will never go back. It's just like the old saying goes, You do get what you pay for.

[JeepMcMuddy]

I have a Toro Recycler II Commercial. Its walk behind, self propeller, bag or recycle. I love it! Have had it 6 years now, and never had any issues with it. Have only needed yearly maint, and blade sharpenings. I used to exclusivlely bag, now I am a recycler blade convert! Not having to stop and empty the bag every few rows is so much nicer!

[hook_nose]

TORO all the way!!!!!

[Silver Hilton]

Consumer Reports rated the honda and john deere the highest. I have a honda muclher, which is a pretty good mower, though you have to keep the under deck clean, or it bogs down.

[fortywinks]

Wow! Something like 15 posts before John Deere green gets mentioned. :whazzup: City slickers vs Country boys! My JD is 16 and still cuts a bunch. :grin:

[fineline]

I saw a green one with a Honda motor at Costco for $200. If my 10 year old red one would die I would go get one. Maybe John Deere and Honda are merging. :grin: Seems like the carb float/needle jet gets stuck about once a year on the red one. Pull it apart, stick it back together and away it goes. If you push that is.

[Silver Hilton]

Wow! Something like 15 posts before John Deere green gets mentioned.

That's because you can't get them. :depressed: I tried to find a place to buy a Deere in Seattle, and couldn't. It was the top rated mower when I was last shopping, something like four years ago. But I couldn't get one without driving halfway to Nebraska.

[k9jeff]

Fisher Implement in Salem has JD mowers. I looked at them today and they do have my attention, but they dont give them away. I have it narrowed down to one model of Ariens I like. I will look further into JD.
I did find a residential Gravely mower...but it was $900.00. Oh well, I cant have the best of everything.

[2LEYS]

I bought a yard machine a few years ago. Left it out in the rain for a month or two at a time several times and have never done anything with it but put gas in it. I have a decent sized yard and mow up apples and kids toys on a regular basis. Never had a problem starting on the first 1 or 2 pulls. Cost me about $130.

[hunt em up]

I was in the same boat about three years ago, my craftsmans was a piece of junk, right in the middle of mowing the yard I had it, went to a lawn and garden store that carried toro, snapper, honda and jonh deer told the sales man I wanted a good push mower and I didn't want self propelled just more things to go wrong, and most important wanted a mower that would bag wet grass that craftsmans wouldn't bag grass if you peeded on it, this is what he told me, snapper, toro good mowers honda the best starting mower, and john deer the best bagger for wet conditions, So I went with the deer 6.5 briggs and straton, best choice I ever made, I actually like mowing the yard now, I should have bought one years ago, I take it in every spring and have a oil change tune up and the blade sharpened never any problems yet, and starts on the first pull.

[On a mission]

Jeff, get an Ariens. You have seen my yard, my wife knows about this kind of stuff. Get one of these. By the way it may dig into fishing money but you won't regret it.