Lawn Mower Poll
 

well, my search for a quality used lawn mower has come up dry. guess trying to find another gem like my $20 purchase last year is not going to happen again. long story short is i will be mowing lawns for 2 homes for awhile(no truck or van), so i need a 2nd mower. what should i do about a new one? or what would you do?...

some background and thoughts...i've never had a briggs engine fail--just carbs...i would like to buy American made...i appreciate honda's rep...the honda powered mowers in question are assembled domestically in the US.

Personally, whenever I needed a new mower I just camped out in front of the county dump. I'll ask someone for their "broken" late model mower, and they'll give it to me. Take it home, clean & regap the plug, flush the fuel tank out and refill with fresh fuel, and spray out the carb with carb cleaner, and they're ususally running as good as new. Total cost: one afternoon.

From the options on the poll, Honda was the only one I'd choose. Otherwise it is as Jay says, get a discarded one (check the Free Stuff section on craigslist) and do the basic maintenance it needs.

Or...just use a string trimmer. Or...use a push mower (if the lawn ain't too big...). Or...do as J2TR or THC suggests. Or...and this might be a bit more expensive, but might be interesting...get a rechargeable electric mower, and a solar panel to keep it charged.

Or you could just pay someone else to mow both lawns...how much does a 12 year-old charge to mow lawns these days?

i would not and NEVER recommend a honda mower. way way WAY to complicated for what it is.

B&S all the way, thats pretty much all weve ever owned and still have alot of them.

hona mowers are way to over engineered for a freakin lawnmower yet they still try to cheap out on major parts while B&S dont.

i have fixed other peoples lawnmowers on the side for the last 4 years (doen them for our families since i was 13 - 22 now) i absolutelyu hate it when a honda comes through. parts are expensive as balls for crappy parts (yes lets use a plastic lever as the self propelled control lever, on the gearbox itself mind you not the handle)

its a lawnmower, a spinning blade, which would you trust more? a proven design through a proven company that still has mowers running just fine after 40 years of service that specializes in lawnmower engines and other small engine yard equipment or someone that is somewhat new (since late 80's) that costs 4X as much that does the same job (cutting grass) with craptastic designs (all plastic mowing deck, whoopey freakin doo wait till you run over a rock driveway and chip it, seen it done before....)

as a man whos learned and fixed countless mowers from all makes models styles ages id go B&S 100%. if ti don't start its usually 3 things: water in gas, gunked up carb, or fouled plug.

long story short and slightly inebriated response: HONDA MOWERS SUCK

we have 4 push mowers at my house and 2 riders (well 3 if u wanan call the converted rider to racing lawnmower) all B&S powered. all but 2 sit outside all winter and all fire up on 2nd pull in spring, even the 2 that are from 1986 and 1989(finnaly changed the factory oil in them cuz i felt bad haha, looked like tar commin out) other one from prolly 1998 has had a very bac rod knock for ohhh 8 or 9 years now and still fires up and runs beautifully, sounds god awful but it wont die!

since its a rental house and sounds small id go for the freakin $80 wally world special.

I thought we were talking about a push mower.

The electric idea is good. I wonder how the basic corded electric models are? That'd be a simple unit that would need no maintenance and run forever, though I guess it's possible you might mow some extension cords...

Can you elaborate? I haven't seen Honda mowers.

My Honda vote was based on my 9hp Honda-powered generator. It's at least 15 years old, probably 20. I've never had to fix or maintain anything other than a mouse-eaten rubber fuel line. All I do is this:
1. Turn on fuel valve.
2. Turn on choke.
3. One pull...and it's easier than a 5hp Briggs.
4. When I'm done I turn off the fuel valve instead of the ignition, that way gas doesn't turn to varnish in the carb (since I don't run it often).

yes, we're talking push mowers. i've checked craigslist and newspaper ads, but have come up short unless i'd like to drive 50 miles. i've even checked rental and repair shops--they're really only selling decent(expensive) profit models in regard to used ones. about a used one--i'm not going to pay ANYWHERE close to the price of a new one and i'm not gonna drive far, just to come home empty handed.

my neighbor had an electric(cordless). he sold it because it was too slow--and he's 80+ years young! :eek: corded? not for this clutz! i'd guess the larger/more powerful ones get quite expensive.

i'm leaning towards the B&G based on price and American made. besides, i agree w/ VetteOwner, they've done me very well. and if i need a carb in 5-10 years, they're really cheap.

JoeBob,

if you recall i'm nearly as cheap, uh that is frugal, as you. w/ the current price of gas, i calculate the price of fuel to mow my present home to be ~32 cents. i don't care if i could find a kid to mow for $10, it ain't gonna happen.

maybe i can...

there is no choke on B&Gs(at least not push mowers). just simply prime the pump 3 times, and my 10+ year old 3.5 horse usually starts on the first pull.

i've researched a little finding that the honda choke may have issues at times--either meaning tech problems or at the very least making them more complicating.

almost forgot, i got a 3 horse B&S edger that does have a choke and it is more complicated.

A friend gave me a 5.5 hp Honda push mower last year. He had hit something big with it and had bent the blade and crankshaft. I took off the blade and am using it for another project. It runs great (just a little vibration b/c of the bent crank) and a new Honda OEM crank is just $30 should I ever get tired of the vibration. The choke is a really simple lever- it operates a butterfly valve in the carb. The muffler is also well designed so that the engine is nice and quiet. I never owned a Honda mower before (only B & S)- but i am impressed with this engine.

Edit- I will agree that the Honda small engines are more complex/have more features such as:
Overhead cam/valves- but this probably gives better fuel economy
Mechanical governor
Fuel shut off valve

My dad still has the same B&S push mower he bought in Kmart for I believe $20 in the late 60's. I remember him saying that after he got married Grandpa got tired of dad borrowing his mower every week, so he gave dad $20, and he bought the cheapest push mower Kmart sold. Dad still has it, still runs great, and it still even has the original spark plug in it. (Has white overspray on it from when the block was painted white) Dad just cleans & regaps the plug every year, and puts it back in. At the end of every season he lets it idle till it runs out of gas so he doesn't have problems with old gas gunking up the carb over winter. Dad also still has a 1954 Simplicity Landlord lawn tractor that he bought used in 1976 (B&S), and a used Ford YT18H lawn tractor with a twin cylinder B&S motor that he bought in 1989.

The fuel shut off valve should be on every small engine. Letting the fuel run out of the carb takes a lot less time than letting it run out of the gas tank, unless you want to try to dump it out first.

Are you sure B&S engines don't have a mechanical governor?

bowtieguy, I agree about the prices on used mowers. I also agree on preferring the primer bulb (until it rots away) over the choke. I'm not sure how Honda push mower engines are equipped; that choke I mentioned is on a different kind of Honda small engine.

Where are you getting B&S carburetors cheap? Carburetors are the bane of my existence and if I could get a cheap one whenever one starts treating me wrong instead of trying to fix it...well that'd just be great.

if you recall, from the "suppliers" thread. maybe you did visit the site and decided it wasn't cheap...https://www.psep.biz/index.htm

I guess I must have asked before. https://www.allofftopic.com/images/smilies/crazy.gif

When I was speaking of a "push" mower, I was speaking of a reel-type mower with no engine. Better exercise, but really annoying if you have a very large yard. https://www.treehuggerz.org/010501_07...op_384x600.jpg

Similar to what I grew up with...we didn't even HAVE a power mower until I was nearly 20!

no worries. cheap is after all relative. when i had my edger carb rebuilt(by a shop) it was ~$50. when my mower carb went, i decided to buy a new one for $20 and install it myself!

your carb new would no doubt be more, but certainly cheaper than letting someone else rebuild it.

its a pushmower, doesnt need OHC...

most (if not all, unsure of the early ones) of the B&S have mechanical governor (easy to disable tho haha)

most new mowers have fuel shutoff.

if you wear ear protection like you should muffler noise isnt an issue.

alot of the newer B&S engines have auto choke/throttle that works great

if its got a throttle lever usually there is a start position (aka choke)

one of the bad designs honda used is in the self propelled system, yea it worked great but the control lever on the gearbox itself is cable operated(not a problem) but that lever is plastic and pretty much pushes on a small metal plate that pushes a gear into the gearbox to engage self propelled. that stupid plastic lever wears out causing the gear to not fully engage or it engages, hit a bump disengages. usually adjusting the cable can "fix" this till it wears all out then oh joy! get to replace the whole gearbox...:thumbdown:

also the all plastic mowing decks alot of honda mowers have aren't any lighter than the metal counterparts, hondas just saving money trying to tell us its lighter...(gotta have extra thick/alot more plastic to stand up to the mowing forces)

kinda sounds/acts like when a starter solenoid on a car goes out, will have a second of normal cranking then the gear retracts but starter motor still spins.

like i said go get the $80 walmart special already!

IF the B&S ever gives u hard starting usually juts a shot of carb cleaner down/in the intake (just remove the air filter, either one flathead screw or a tab) and then pull it it will fire over.

the only thing ive ever seen really "wear out" is the lever you have to hold down to start the mower, well thats essentially releasing a parking brake on the flywheel. sometimes that shoe can be worn out, but that depends on how often you stop the mower (just like brakes on a car)

i gotta admit Ive never replaced one, way easier to disable it:p just take that black wire off, remove the bracket/cable/lever/shoe and it wil start. to stop just short the wire to the block or deck (not your fingers its shorting out the spark is what your doing - be smart lol)

so to counteract all the negativity up there i will give a list of things to look for in a good mower:

1 high back wheels, makes turing easier

2 IF you can find one for a reasonable price ball bearing wheels, makes pushing REALLY easy and the plastic wheels wont wear out

3 comfortable handle position, kinda personal preference as some like the straight bar others like the u shaped thing.

4 brand doesn't really matter (non honda that is) as thier all made by pretty much the same companies with other stickers/colors (just like chevy and GMC is pretty much the same damn thing)

5 fuel shutoff is nice but not completely necessary, if the gastank is lower than the carb it aint needed at all but if its above then id look for one.

6 what HP to get - depends on how thick the grass is, if its alot of weeds or typical grass then 3 hp is plenty, if you have really thick grass then 4-6 (prolly use another mower to figure out how thick is too thick) also depends on how often u mow

I thought the reason for the plastic deck on Hondas was so the deck didn't rust out.

Well, worst case scenario, when that happens you just ignore it and now you have a human-propelled mower. You enjoyed self-propulsion for however many years it lasted and now it's over.

I think I've mentioned this before, but front wheel drive on a push mower is great. You never have to fiddle with the drive while you mow; just engage it and lever down slightly on the handle when you disagree with what it wants to do.

Sounds like a major improvement to the rusted out metal decks seen on craigslist. You're supposed to hose off the underside after you mow, else stuck-on grass will cause corrosion. I never do...so far I haven't had one rust through.

That, sir, I agree with...if you see one for $80 new and it looks like it'll do the job, jump on it.

What brand of carburetor cleaner do you use? The ones I buy always slow/stall engines if you spray it while running and definitely don't help start. I have to keep a can of starting fluid to help start (though I'd prefer a spray can or even a squirt can that could safely hold gasoline).

I've never had them, can you elaborate on that?

I have been used to working on the old B&S engines with air vane type governor located inside the tin housing above the cylinder.
Perhaps the newer B&S ones do have the mechanical type.

One thing I dislike about all newer mowers is these new flat paper air filters. With the old oiled foam type air filters (older B&S and Tecumseh), you could clean/reoil them easily when they got dirty. Although they did begin to disintegrate after about 20 years...

The newer paper filters can't be cleaned (to my knowledge) and on older mowers with worn piston rings when the crankcase breather tube begins blowing a little oil vapor onto the back of the paper filter, it gets saturated which restricts airflow and the engine starts running rich/becomes hard to start when hot- so then you have to buy another $7 paper filter.

I wonder if the oil soaked paper filters can be cleaned with gasoline or some other suitable solvent.

I would try perchlorethylene (brake cleaner), just make sure you collect the runoff, and don't let it hit the ground. Its bad stuff to get in the water table. Either dump the runoff in with your used motor oil, or let it sit in a plastic container and evaporate off.

You don't want the brake cleaner to get sucked in to the intake end up getting burned, that exhaust could be extremely toxic.

Read this article:
https://artbikerworld.com/wp-content/...2/87c8ee40.jpg
Guy was welding, inhaled some brake cleaner smoke, ended up in serious condition.

I read that and then a week later I inhaled smoke from a collection of chemicals I was using to un-stick a corroded fastener...I freaked out.

yea true BUT usually all the gearing and stuff make them not as easy to push if thier not engaged (certian designs, some freewheel) i usually just rip them apart and remove the drive gears from the wheels and prolblem solved haha.

i will agree slightly, the part about it being variably self propeled (meaning you slow down it slows down) is great, kinda hard to get used to but nice once u do. Now i LOVE rwd self propel, i mean think about it: going up a hill more weights on the rear of the mower vs the front wheels spinning away as your trying to mow up.

nor have we, i only clean them when it makes a huge clump and affects cutting performance. havent had one rust out yet. as long as you keep it dry from rain they last forever. (ie dont leave it in the yard)



yea you give it a few squirts of carb cleaner then pull the handle, if it doesnt wanna start fully or does that chuggin along spray a tad more. it will bog it some just like seafoam to a car (same idea)

i use all sorts of brands.


yea thier the 10" back wheels, since thier larger with the axle pivot point up higher it takes less effort/motion to push down on the handle and turn the mower.

i've considered buying a mower w/ high(10") rear wheels, but never could bring myself to pay the premium. the mower i'm considering has 7" fronts and 8" rears--not sure how much that will help tho.

Give Me A Break!!!
 

in my continued search for a cheap mower, i checked out a "value" pawn shop--more like a rip off pawn artist! they had a push mower, rear discharge(only), w/out a bag(not interested in one of those, but stay w/ me), 6.5 horse B&G, 21" cut, 7" wheels for...$170...ARE YOU KIDDING?!!!

i can get a NEW 22" 5.5hp side discharge, w/ no bag purchase necessary for $135 w/ my coupon. for the added price of the bag, i could get a self propelled one!

this reminds me of sears trying to rip off old folks when they offered to "tune up" your mower for the season. they would sharpen the blade and replace the spark plug for $49.99+tax--they wouldn't even change the oil or clean the filter!

I've noticed that most pawn shops in this area are the same way- most stuff (especially tools) is priced at or over what you could buy it new for.

Maybe ppl are supposed to haggle for a lower price when at pawn shops- I don't see how anyone on a budget would pay the displayed price for used stuff.

dang @ the pawn shop...

if u were closer id sell you one of mine (3 of 4 are ones ive found in garbage piles and fixed up with $5 or less) we have no need for 4 pushmowers and 2 riding mowers!!!

anyone have any experience and opinion of kohler small engines? https://www.kohlerengines.com/home.htm#

i think ive dealt with one, wasn't bad, never has had any issues. same with Tecumseh pretty good too. I just dont like tecumseh's pull start mechanism that connects it to the crankshaft. the one i had to deal with im pretty sure was very hard used so that could have something to do with it (sometimes wouldn't catch or half catch and sound like you ran a hedge trimmer into a chain link fence)

My experience with Kohler has been excellent so far. I have a small 15 year old John Deere rider with a 13hp Kohler engine. I've had it for 3 years and I am the 3rd owner- who knows how it was maintained before me. The oil stays golden yellow even after one year of use and I mow for at least 1 hour each week May-September.

[QUOTE=VetteOwner;152723]$80 walmart special already!
QUOTE]

do you have a link? i've searched walmart and all over the internet, and the cheapest i can find new is a 20" for $139.99. i'd prefer to pay the extra $10 to get larger rear wheels, slight more HP, and an extra year warranty for a 22" briggs. besides, i got a coupon for 10% off.

https://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...G5#reviewsWrap

if u got a kmart its $129

well i haven't had to look at mowers in a long time and last i did maybe my walmart had them on clearance at the time or something but i remember it being like 80-90 bucks.

ill keep my eyes open at national stores up here.

farm and fleet if u got one
https://www.farmandfleet.com/products...rs%2fmowers%2f

thanks! i think we're gonna go w/ the $149.99 model w/ the little extras and double warranty.

i'm considering going w/ a kohler powered husqvarna. besides a great deal at sears right now, i'm intrigued by the prospects of more efficiency(OHV), quieter motor, and paper air filter(no more oiling!).

husqvarna is a great brand

ur complaining about oiling a filter? hell i dont think weve ever messed with any of ours...(same foam oil thing too)

ohv doesnt mean better efficiency, means more oil and more crap to break haha sometimes cant get around the feature but its a freakin lawnmower. the OHV on my riding mower tick like mad and of course to see whats going on i gotta rip off the whole front half of the tractor.

do u have a very secure place to store said mower?

most people wouldnt steal the cheapo (well in the big scheme) $150 regular ol brand mower vs the husquvarna thats worth alot. (kinda like comparing a caviler to a mercedes)

In a place I used to live, we didn't have a shed, so we usually just pushed the mower under the deck. We had to start locking it to a tree with a bicycle lock because we noticed the neighbor was "borrowing" it every week without asking, and returning it with no gas in it.

Quieter motor would be a big selling point for me. :thumbup:

it will def be locked up!

there isn't much dif in the price 'cause of the sale, but i guess perception can be a great motivator.