Another new lawnmower search!

[blueglide88]

So last year I bought for myself a Toro Personal pace lawnmower. Starts easy, stows away nice, but the drive system I am not crazy about. Same thing as on my old Snapper, at times when I run into a dead end and have to back the mower up, the wheels don't spin. The drive does not fully disengage and it's a PIA. But I deal with it.

This year, my sister wants to start cutting her own lawn instead of hiring a service. So I have to ask......are there any drive systems out there that do fully disengage every time when you have to pull the mower backwards? She is going to need a self propelled lawnmower and if it has the same problems as my Toro she isn't going to handle it very well. How about the Honda hydrostatic transmission?

Thanks!

 

[Rand]

get something with fwd and tilt the mower slightly ie lean on it?

I understand your problem but I've never owned a mower with that kind of drive.
all I've had freewheel when you let go of the handle on a normal mower.

The FWD mowers arent great for going up hills but they are nice you just lift the front abit to turn.

of course if you pay enough you get into caster wheels etc.

 

[BigD1]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honda-21-in-3...K9VKA/203709643

I have this mower going on three years now, and it works great. It's a rear wheel drive. Good idea to take the rear wheels off every year, and clean and lube the gearing, so they don't lock up when pulling backwards. Works very good to mulch leaves, so I don't have to rake any more.

It's Honda days right now, and you get an extra one year warranty if it is registered proper.

 

[old1]

Both the toro and the snapper should completely disengage when going backwards. If not you need to see your friendly mower shop. I am not quite as familiar with the toro, but I sold and serviced snappers for 20+ years, and if they didn't go backwards freely I fixed them.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: old1
Both the toro and the snapper should completely disengage when going backwards. If not you need to see your friendly mower shop. I am not quite as familiar with the toro, but I sold and serviced snappers for 20+ years, and if they didn't go backwards freely I fixed them.


This.

Either of these are some of the best, easy to use self-propelled systems available. They should free-wheel like a non-self propelled mower.

 

[TmanP]

I got this Honda about 2 years ago.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honda-GCV190-...17HYA/100325494

It's an awesome mower, but if I had one complaint it would probably be that the mower (when mulching) tends to clump more than I think a $700 mower should. Not that it's horrible by any means. But I've used a cheap Toro that I think cut better. Otherwise the Honda is an amazing piece of machinery. It backs up smoothly, it doesn't catch when pulling the mower backwards. One pull starting, and it's very quiet. I'd give it a solid 4.5/5.

 

[yvon_la]

Husqvarna 450X Robotic AutoMower

 

[slug_bug]

Are you sure she "needs"a self propelled mower? The drive systems seem to cause the majority of mower problems. My daughters were all helping mow the lawn by the time they were 11 or 12 with a push gas mower. Save money on purchase price/maintenance and get a little more exercise while mowing, get a push mower.

 

[dlundblad]

Check out Craigslist and for either a Lawnboy (Tecumseh 4.5hp) or a 6.5hp Briggs Lowes Yard Machine or equivalent.

Both can be had for around $50, will most likely outlast anything new on the market today, start on the 1st or 2nd pull when taken care of and have very stout "drivetrains."

 

[jhellwig]

If she want to spend the money the rear wheel drive on the snapper Hi vac and ninjas work great.

 

[Duffyjr]

Definitely a trick to the Toro personal pace system. What you need to do is right before you want to pull it back let up on the handle and let it roll forward a bit before you pull it back. Even if its still moving forward from the momentum it will unlock the wheels and should pull back freely. If you have the cable adjusted to tight it will keep them from unlocking. I think the handle should move about a 1/2 inch before it engages.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Duffyjr
Definitely a trick to the Toro personal pace system. What you need to do is right before you want to pull it back let up on the handle and let it roll forward a bit before you pull it back. Even if its still moving forward from the momentum it will unlock the wheels and should pull back freely. If you have the cable adjusted to tight it will keep them from unlocking. I think the handle should move about a 1/2 inch before it engages.


Cable adjustment is key with the personal pace systems. I've seen them go too slow or not be able to disengage due to the cable being out of adjustment. With that said, they are by far my favorite self propel system.

 

[Merkava_4]

+1 to the cable adjustment. Toro has a free technical library where you can download service manuals for each model.

 

[BigD1]

I was going to buy a Toro Personal Pace mower, but instead went with the Honda. I have a lot of hills to mow, and from what I researched was that the Toro drive system is not that good for hills. I have not owned a Toro, so I can't say how it does on hills personally. But I can say that the rear wheel drive Honda works very good on hills.

 

[blueglide88]

So after thinking about it and talking with my sister, we have decided on a cordless electric lawnmower. Light, easy for her to handle, no gas, and she has very little lawn to cut. Anybody have any experience with electric lawnmowers?