Help choosing Lawn Mower

macarciero · by **macarciero** » August 12th, 2011, 9:11 am

Which of these would you choose

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andy10917 · by **andy10917** » August 12th, 2011, 9:33 am

I had a series of Craftsman mowers over the years, and I was a lawnmower/tractor mechanic back in my college days.

My opinion is that Craftsman mowers don't stand up to time well - no matter whose engine they put on them.

If you can find one in your budget range, I'd strongly suggest looking at Honda mowers. The things are beasts. They last forever. The Honda mowers are probably the most common mowers of the more-serious lawn folks on this Forum.

I made the change to Honda a few years ago, and I wonder why I didn't do it earlier. I love my Honda.

JC Paint Workz · by **JC Paint Workz** » August 12th, 2011, 10:33 am

I'm a new home owner and first time owning my own mower. I bought a Honda and so far I have nothing but good things to say about it. Although my wife thought I was completely stupid for paying little over 500 for a mower, she runs it and loves it. It seems like its going to last forever. It starts on 1-2 pulls every time, runs great, great adjustments, bag is easily put on/taken off. The self propelled feature is really nice and easy to use (takes a little getting used to with the thumb tabs) Plus the 6 year warranty is a plus.

EDITED I love it lol sorry guys

MorpheusPA · by **MorpheusPA** » August 12th, 2011, 10:36 am

JC: You mean nothing BAD to say about it. :-)

For a second there I thought you hated the thing.

I gotta admit, I have a cheap Toro. I like it. It does what it says it will, it does it well, it starts perfectly, I can maintain it myself easily, and it seems like it'll last. I only use it on 1,000 square feet behind the Thuja, though.

For the entire lawn, I'd want something better.

CTShoreGuy · by **CTShoreGuy** » August 12th, 2011, 10:41 am

MorpheusPA wrote:JC: You mean nothing BAD to say about it. For a second there I thought you hated the thing.

I gotta admit, I have a cheap Toro. I like it. It does what it says it will, it does it well, it starts perfectly, I can maintain it myself easily, and it seems like it'll last. I only use it on 1,000 square feet behind the Thuja, though.

For the entire lawn, I'd want something better.

+1 Morph. i have a mid range Toro ($250) upgraded form a Murray (insert laughter- live and learn) Toro starts after 1 pull 90% of the time. A good solid mower, BUT the bagger SUCKS!!! if you don't want to mulch mow, and are afraid that some POA will spread, then skip this mower! I see blades fling out and the bagger only fills up 1/2 way and then gets semi clogged b/c the entrance is too small IMO. I don't think I've ever emptied a full bag :confused:

My next (and last) mower will be a Honda. Just can't swing the $ and get the boss to commit, especially after the $$$ I spent renovating and repairing the past 3 yrs

MorpheusPA · by **MorpheusPA** » August 12th, 2011, 10:52 am

OK yes, the bagger completely rots. Utterly. Agreed. It spits little bits and the bag is rather small to begin with.

The only time I use it is when collecting a bit of grass for the compost bin to heat it up, so it's not a big deal for me. But that's definitely a consideration if you have disease or weed pressure.

JC Paint Workz · by **JC Paint Workz** » August 12th, 2011, 10:54 am

CTShoreGuy wrote:
MorpheusPA wrote:JC: You mean nothing BAD to say about it. For a second there I thought you hated the thing.

I gotta admit, I have a cheap Toro. I like it. It does what it says it will, it does it well, it starts perfectly, I can maintain it myself easily, and it seems like it'll last. I only use it on 1,000 square feet behind the Thuja, though.

For the entire lawn, I'd want something better.

+1 Morph. i have a mid range Toro ($250) upgraded form a Murray (insert laughter- live and learn) Toro starts after 1 pull 90% of the time. A good solid mower, BUT the bagger SUCKS!!! if you don't want to mulch mow, and are afraid that some POA will spread, then skip this mower! I see blades fling out and the bagger only fills up 1/2 way and then gets semi clogged b/c the entrance is too small IMO. I don't think I've ever emptied a full bag

My next (and last) mower will be a Honda. Just can't swing the $ and get the boss to commit, especially after the $$$ I spent renovating and repairing the past 3 yrs

I might add the only way I was even close to get her to let me get the Honda is cause we just got out 8k tax credit for first time home buyers. So I splurged on Echo blower/trimmer, a edger, and the Honda mower. She didnt feel the $$ too much cause she got the fancy appliances in the house.

CTShoreGuy · by **CTShoreGuy** » August 12th, 2011, 10:57 am

Trade-offs are key when dealing with lawn care and marriage :rotfl:

bernstem · by **bernstem** » August 12th, 2011, 2:01 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:OK yes, the bagger completely rots.

I'll third that. Toros are good mowers, but the rear bagger sucks. The intake clogs and the bag never fills more than half full. Other than that, I like my Toro. Starts easily. I have the front drive without personal pace and it works fine. I had one with the personal pace and one of the wheel drives had constant issues and needed to be rebuilt every year.

All that being said. The next mower will be either a professional walk behind or a Honda. Probably the Honda as I can't really justify 3-5k for a non-tractor mower, but the cut of the good pro mowers does leave me drooling.

CTShoreGuy · by **CTShoreGuy** » August 12th, 2011, 2:06 pm

bernstem wrote:
MorpheusPA wrote:OK yes, the bagger completely rots.

I'll third that. Toros are good mowers, but the rear bagger sucks. The intake clogs and the bag never fills more than half full. Other than that, I like my Toro. Starts easily. I have the front drive without personal pace and it works fine. I had one with the personal pace and one of the wheel drives had constant issues and needed to be rebuilt every year.

All that being said. The next mower will be either a professional walk behind or a Honda. Probably the Honda as I can't really justify 3-5k for a non-tractor mower, but the cut of the good pro mowers does leave me drooling.

bernstem - Sounds like we have the same mower with the same issues, and the same dreams for a Honda! I can only imagine stopping to bag 1/2 as many times with a Full bag. What were the engineers thinking when they designed such a small intake. :confused:

Now if I can win the war vs Trivialis, I'd love to mulch mow, but I have a feeling this will be a life long war!

bernstem · by **bernstem** » August 12th, 2011, 5:17 pm

CTShoreGuy wrote:bernstem - Sounds like we have the same mower with the same issues, and the same dreams for a Honda! I can only imagine stopping to bag 1/2 as many times with a Full bag. What were the engineers thinking when they designed such a small intake.
Now if I can win the war vs Trivialis, I'd love to mulch mow, but I have a feeling this will be a life long war!

Fortunately, I very seldom bag and the only lawn I mulch is the front. I usually leave the side discharge open in the back to prevent bogging on the thick grass.

When I scalped the back lawn to renovate this fall, though, it took me over 3 hours. I could only go for about 60 feet before the bag was full. That was painful.

macarciero · by **macarciero** » August 12th, 2011, 7:06 pm

So I see that none of those mowers I listed are popular. I will continue looking. Is the cheapest Honda Mower any good? Not sure which model

andy10917 · by **andy10917** » August 12th, 2011, 7:08 pm

I've never heard of a bad Honda. But there's a first for everything.

Smolenski7 · by **Smolenski7** » August 13th, 2011, 9:10 am

Before recommending a mower, we need some more information.
1. How big is your lot?
2. Any hills, what's the terrain?
3. Which do you plan to do most of the time: mulch mow, side discharge, or bag?
4. How often do you mow? Is the 1/3 rule a religion or just observed when you can?

macarciero · by **macarciero** » August 13th, 2011, 11:19 pm

Smolenski7 wrote:Before recommending a mower, we need some more information.
1. How big is your lot? 2200 square feet
2. Any hills, what's the terrain? no
3. Which do you plan to do most of the time: mulch mow, side discharge, or bag? mulch
4. How often do you mow? Is the 1/3 rule a religion or just observed when you can?
Twice a week

Smolenski7 · by **Smolenski7** » August 14th, 2011, 10:49 am

With such a small lot and no hills to speak of, you really can't go wrong with any Toro or Honda mower on the market. Also, since you plan to mulch most of the time, bagging doesn't seem to be too much of a concern.

Looking at your price point, I would suggest either the Toro 20330 or 20332. The 20332 is a better mower; it's rear wheel drive which most people prefer because they are a bit more maneuverable, better on hills (just in case), and tend to bag the grass more efficiently. Plus, this mower has Toro's Personal Pace feature. I've used this feature before. It takes a little getting used to, but is nice once you get used to it.

The 20330 is a good choice too. My friend has one and really likes it. It's a basic FWD mower. It will mulch just as well as the 20332 and should suit your needs easily. It's also about $70.00 less, which brings you well under $300.00.

Good luck.

HanLawn · by **HanLawn** » August 14th, 2011, 11:06 am

At 2200 sq ft, flat,and hopefully nearly weed free, have you considered a manual reel mower? I have the Fiskars Momentum and absolutely love it- no noise,no gas,no oil,no tuneups,zero emissions,and produces a great cut with less stress to the grass than a rotary mower.

texasweed · by **texasweed** » August 14th, 2011, 11:10 am

I would avoid any front wheel drive or push mower so that eliminates the 2 Craftsman mowers you have listed. With that said for the money the Craftsman is a decent product with great support.

For mid range Toro Recyclers models are excellent. But like Honda, and John Deer do not go to a box store to buy one as those models are store exclusives using downgraded parts to get the price down. Go to the dealer if you buy one of those brands.

Now for the confusing bits of information. Who really makes those models including Craftsman:

Toro makes Toro and Lawn Boy.

American Yard Products owns and operates MTD, White, and Murray who makes; Noma, Dynamark, YardPro, Weed Eater, Sears Craftsman, all non-commercial John Deer tractors in the box stores, and all store brands.

John Deere makes all John Deere models except yard tractors and riding lawn mowers in box stores.

Honda makes Honda

HanLawn · by **HanLawn** » August 14th, 2011, 11:43 am

Texasweed, why would you not recommend a push mower for someone with a flat,small{2,200 sq ft} property? I would think a self propelled mower would not be needed and only add to both the cost and complexity {repair costs and chance of failure}

southerncalpal · by **southerncalpal** » August 14th, 2011, 1:06 pm

Does Honda make a residential mower that goes over 3.25" cut height?

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