Best cheap lawn mower

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Go with the cheapest honda powered mower you can find. Probably tons of stuff oncsale this weekend.
 
Giving the underside a coat of paint yearly will help, but like said above, if you give it a quick scrape after every use with something that doesn't gouge the heck out of the paint/steel, you'll accomplish the same thing IMO.

Also like said above, the wheels and some of the hardware can be real flimsy on the cheap mowers, BUT.. it's nothing you can't make better with different wheels, adding washers, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Well, once in a while I make the pitch of "If you can use an electric mower if your yard is small, use one"

I have a narrow but deep yard, the back part is woods. I'm never more than 45' from my house. Bought a B+D corded mower (about $200 at the time, refurb) in 1997 and have spent < 50 cents in maintenance costs and "0" time between seasons. I don't even store it for the winter. Using is a brief learning curve; I mowed 2 yards growing up with electric mowers (larger yards) and the cord really wasn't an issue (yards had only a few trees)

This is probably heresy on an oil site, but practicality got the better of me.



X2, except that the maintenance for me has been a bit higher. I have a lot of concrete (walkways, sidewalk, driveway, alley, and patio) around my yard. The extension cord gets abraded and worn and I end up replacing it every 2-3 years. Cost - about $25.

I sharpen the blade once a year and occasionally put a little light oil on the wheels. $150 from Lowe's.
 
I have the best of both worlds, a cheapo gas mower and an electric string trimmer.

Since I trim about three times a season, I hate to have something sitting around decaying, getting bad gas etc in the interim. Plus I'd probably get a 2 stroke one even though 4 strokes are coming online, so that's another gas can I have to maintain.
 
I'd recommend (if you are handy), looking for a higher quality used mower on your local Craigslist. Anything you buy new in that price range will experience the same types of nickle-and-dime failures in short order. If you can find a quality deck out there with a blown engine, you can likely swap your Honda engine across and have a really nice mower. I did that with a Lawn-Boy with a dead Tecumseh. I swapped a Honda from a Craftsman with a cheap and rattling deck over to this Lawn-Boy and it works better than any big-box mower I've used. The deck is from 1999, but all the controls are higher quality than newer stuff, and it holds up better.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
If you can find a quality deck out there with a blown engine, you can likely swap your Honda engine across and have a really nice mower. I did that with a Lawn-Boy with a dead Tecumseh. I swapped a Honda from a Craftsman with a cheap and rattling deck over to this Lawn-Boy and it works better than any big-box mower I've used.


Agreed, my '83 Snapper with a 2004 Honda brings a smile to my face every time I use it... Just prior to the old B&S expiring, I'd looked at a couple big box mowers just for the engine and controls, had a model almost picked out... Luckily a friend had a curb pickup Craftsman with the Honda he was going to scrap, in the end all worked out just fine...

Main issue is be sure the crank length matches orig engine, even then I had to buy a Snapper drive pulley and blade hub that would fit the 25mm Honda crankshaft, as orig B&S crank was 7/8"... Used a commercial model number to get the parts as most of those used a 1" or 25mm crank...
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I bought a cheap Elecrolux B&S 4.5 HP for $99 at Wally's 5 or 6 years ago when the POS self propelled $500 magnesium deck Deere i have broke down (and is still breaking down).
Much simpler machine, less to go wrong.


I bought the same mower about the same time. Mine does not get a ton of use but has been fine for what I needed a push mower for. I honestly did not expect it to last this long as at the time cheap was my only requirement.
 
Originally Posted By: 2Fast4U
Go with the cheapest honda powered mower you can find. Probably tons of stuff oncsale this weekend.

I had a Murray with a Tecumseh engine. The engine was absolutely awesome but the deck rusted out around the front wheels and they fell off. So I got a self-propelled Honda mower because the deck was heavy gauge steel and the thing is built like a tank; only drawback is it's heavy.
Honda does make push mowers that are relatively inexpensive. You can order from Mowers Direct or a site like that. It's bound to be durable on all fronts.
 
Maybe check your local ads for a high end used mower, like something high end honda, toro, snapper. Often people dump what was once $1000 for a few hundred. Even with years of use it may still outlast a Wal-Mart special.

If you want to stay brand new, and have a sams card, that black max with a honda engine for 299 doesn't look terrible. Plus you can take it back to Sams if your not happy. (some people break it years later and still return for a refund)
 
If you're tired of spending "$200 every other year" for a new mower then why not spend more initially for a commercial grade mower from $500-750. I have two in mind for you: Craftsman Honda.

Sometimes we the consumers have no choice but to stay away from entry-level products and go for commercial grade if we want our money & product to last.
 
Originally Posted By: GenSan
If you're tired of spending "$200 every other year" for a new mower then why not spend more initially for a commercial grade mower from $500-750. I have two in mind for you: Craftsman Honda.


I do agree with spending more on a mower, but that Craftsman is not a commercial-grade mower. The deck is made by either American Yard Products or MTD, and is the same type of quality that you'd get with a Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, or lower-end big-box Honda. It's a nice engine, but the deck and controls are not commercial-grade. The price premium comes from the perceived high level of features like the key start option and front caster wheels. The rest of the mower will be like any other Craftsman/MTD/Poulan Pro/etc. Which is to say, it'll work fine, but won't be as ruggedly-engineered or -built as a true commerical-grade mower.

I bought a 2001 model commercial-grade mower used in 2005 for $300. It was the best money I've spent on a mower (aside from the free Lawn-Boy I found on trash day).
 
I just bought a toro last summer for $289 starts every time first pull as it should we'll see for how long. I was mowing an acre and a third with it weekly and did the first oil change already it mows far less now just a little yard since I moved. I've owned two of these now (sold the last one when in need of cash) but have owned craftsman that have gone a decade easy (started needing some carb stuff then) neighbor has an old rider from craftsman he's had 20 years with regular maintenance.

My father had a studebaker (yep!) that he had from the 50s-60s until 2001 that he used when he had to start ordering stuff from israel he gave up and bought a MTD which lasted 3 years and the tranny fell out
frown.gif
bought a second one which lasted about as long with another failure. Won't buy one of those ever maybe an ariens though
 
Any of the front wheel drive mowers (including Toro) have throw away transmissions. If you get 4 or 5 years out of them, you're very lucky and must take good care of your mower. A cheapo with a Briggs and Stratton is fine. Just don't mow wet grass and expect the deck not to rust. Also, if it's a tank-mounted carb, you'll have to replace the diaphragm in a couple years. Easy maintenance. An old self-propelled snapper with a Briggs and Stratton or even a Honda would work too. Those front wheel drive mowers are frustrating. I joke that Troybuilt FWDs are my go to mower for harvesting good Briggs engines. It's like the hydrostatic trannys these days. My neighbor has a 20-year-old rider that he adds fluid to once in awhile. If you don't spend $3000 + on a rider, expect to have trouble with its Hydro Trans as well.
 
As was suggested before, a two-stroke Lawnboy F engined mower in good shape and maintained even half way well will outdo anything today in terms of power, longevity and ease of maintenance. My daily driver S21ZSR from 1991 is 21 inch aluminum (no rust) deck, self propelled (rwd), no oil to be changed (mixed oil with gas). It mulches or side discharges and is a true two pull cold start machine.

You can find them on CL for way less than $100 if you are patient. I have over 12 LB's (yeah, I know - obsessive). Also, a modern LB can be run very nicely at 40:1 gas/oil ratio and doesn't smoke at all.
 
glad I didn't buy a troy bilt back in 2012 I've had my toro the last 2 years or so with no work just oil and air filters each season. The first year it mowed an acre twice a week and now takes care of a normal sized lawn no problems kohler engine. Up until this mower we always used craftsman briggs and stratton motored also great mowers.
 
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