bought a new honda push mower

[ram_man]

So I bought a push mower its a honda. Ive never had anything but briggs. And ive always hated them. Noisy, unreliable. In my experience. This honda has self propell has a bag , has the speed control thing and 2blades. How are honda small engines. Ive heard they are great but never owned any. What kinda common problems do they have? So far it starts on the first pull with out even pulling hard. And no primer.....ive always had a primer.
For anyone wondering my old mower that was free had a crack where the carb and engine meet. The alluminum of the engine was what was cracked. That on top of everything else it needed it wasnt worth the trouble.

 

[Brons2]

Mine has been great for the most part. It doesn't like old gas though. As a result I don't buy as much anymore so I use it up in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Warstud]

The most common problem is with the auto-choke sticking. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it fully disengages.

 

[SigQAEngineer]

Honda mowers are great, it will provide you years of reliable service for as long as you half way take care of it. Much like its automobile engines.

You made a good choice.


Originally Posted By: ram_man
So I bought a push mower its a honda. Ive never had anything but briggs. And ive always hated them. Noisy, unreliable. In my experience. This honda has self propell has a bag , has the speed control thing and 2blades. How are honda small engines. Ive heard they are great but never owned any. What kinda common problems do they have? So far it starts on the first pull with out even pulling hard. And no primer.....ive always had a primer.
For anyone wondering my old mower that was free had a crack where the carb and engine meet. The alluminum of the engine was what was cracked. That on top of everything else it needed it wasnt worth the trouble.

 

[FZ1]

The best! I run Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10w30 in mine.

 

[Barkleymut]

So in your experience B&S engines are unreliable, but the last one you got for free? smh

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
So in your experience B&S engines are unreliable, but the last one you got for free? smh


We had plenty growing up that we bought new. Lasted a couple years and then it was hit and miss reliability.

I don't blame the free one on being a briggs it was neglected. But there were plenty of new mowers we bought that I learned to hate.

 

[SigQAEngineer]

This is strictly personal preference, but I run my air cooled engines w/ Non-Detergent motor oil until they're broken in.

Reason being detergents suspend dirt particles in oil so filter elements can trap them therefore removing the contaminants from engine.

Non-Detergent counter parts are the opposite, the metal particles from a new engine are not suspended in ND motor oil, instead particles will settle to bottom of oil pan until you drain it out.

IMO any engine without an oil filter would benefit from ND oil until they are properly broken in.

When I bought my bike (BMW), Owners Manual clearly specified not to drain factory oil ahead of schedule ( it had ND oil from Germany). Just food for thought.

 

[dave123]

Originally Posted By: SigQAEngineer
This is strictly personal preference, but I run my air cooled engines w/ Non-Detergent motor oil until they're broken in.

Reason being detergents suspend dirt particles in oil so filter elements can trap them therefore removing the contaminants from engine.

Non-Detergent counter parts are the opposite, the metal particles from a new engine are not suspended in ND motor oil, instead particles will settle to bottom of oil pan until you drain it out.

IMO any engine without an oil filter would benefit from ND oil until they are properly broken in.

When I bought my bike (BMW), Owners Manual clearly specified not to drain factory oil ahead of schedule ( it had ND oil from Germany). Just food for thought.


People should never listen to this ever.

 

[SigQAEngineer]

Why ? I'd like to hear your logic behind this ?

Originally Posted By: dave123
Originally Posted By: SigQAEngineer
This is strictly personal preference, but I run my air cooled engines w/ Non-Detergent motor oil until they're broken in.

Reason being detergents suspend dirt particles in oil so filter elements can trap them therefore removing the contaminants from engine.

Non-Detergent counter parts are the opposite, the metal particles from a new engine are not suspended in ND motor oil, instead particles will settle to bottom of oil pan until you drain it out.

IMO any engine without an oil filter would benefit from ND oil until they are properly broken in.

When I bought my bike (BMW), Owners Manual clearly specified not to drain factory oil ahead of schedule ( it had ND oil from Germany). Just food for thought.


People should never listen to this ever.

 

[147_Grain]

My Honda HRX217 is the best mower I've ever owned.

 

[JHZR2]

I can't say I've ever had issues with our Briggs engines. We did change out the 8hp flathead after 20 years of use, but it had run a LOT of hours.

I love that I can dump whatever questionable fuel in mine and it run and run. I'm also not a fan of self propelled gimmicks.

I like the blade clutch and plastic deck that Honda offers, and the GX engines if thats what you got are fine engines (not as big a fan of the GC)

Biggest issue is that I could buy four Briggs flathead cheapos for the price of one Honda mower, but the Honda won't last 4x as long, IMO.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

The common problem is Honda mowers have been out of my price range.

The only problem motor I had was Tecumseh. Back in the 70's I spent half my summer trying to start the one we had.

As others have said keep gas fresh. I tend to add 1 ounce Seafoam per gallon of gas to my power equipment. Most issues I have ever had tend to be gas related.

Being new I would just follow what your manual says.

What kind of warranty do you have?

 

[steve20]

ditto on the Tecumsehs---not worth the scrap value of the metal they were made from

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
The common problem is Honda mowers have been out of my price range.

The only problem motor I had was Tecumseh. Back in the 70's I spent half my summer trying to start the one we had.

As others have said keep gas fresh. I tend to add 1 ounce Seafoam per gallon of gas to my power equipment. Most issues I have ever had tend to be gas related.

Being new I would just follow what your manual says.

What kind of warranty do you have?

3yrs.

I personally dont care for self propelled either. But it was honda had available where I went. It was between the kohler toro or the honda and the honda for 40 bucks more was worth the extra to me.

Also to jhzr2 in my experience a briggs was trouble free for about 2 yrs. Then it was down hill. So for me if the honda lasts 4 yrs with zero issues itll have been worth it. It was only double the cost roughly from a briggs flat head.

 

[JTK]

Sounds like a nice mower.

It's just the double blade and blade clutch mechanism that scares me for the long run. The rear axle shaft bushings always become an issue after some years on Honda self propelled mowers, but lubrication and/or replacement of them is pretty easy. Many misdiagnose this as a trans issue, or let it go long enough that it fries the trans.

FWIW, the single speed self-propelled Honda 21" I bought new in 1999 is one of my favorite mowers.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
and the GX engines if thats what you got are fine engines (not as big a fan of the GC)


They only put the GX engine on the $1000+ commercial mower, so he got the GC engine. They USED to put the GX on their homeowner models, but not any more. I have a 23 year old Honda HR215 with a Honda GX140 that I still use and still runs great. I think they figured out that if they still put GX engines on their homeowner models, people would never replace their mowers!!

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Sounds like a nice mower.

It's just the double blade and blade clutch mechanism that scares me for the long run. The rear axle shaft bushings always become an issue after some years on Honda self propelled mowers, but lubrication and/or replacement of them is pretty easy. Many misdiagnose this as a trans issue, or let it go long enough that it fries the trans.

FWIW, the single speed self-propelled Honda 21" I bought new in 1999 is one of my favorite mowers.


It doesn't have the clutch but it does have 2 blades. The clutch worries me to for reliability reasons.

 

[zoinks]

I bought a new Honda mower last fall. The rear-drive transmission failed in less than half a season. I think that is the weak link.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
How are Honda small engines. Ive heard they are great but never owned any. What kinda common problems do they have?


Your Honda GC160 or GC190 engine is a fine homeowner engine and should have good power / good fuel economy. Honda, unfortunately, did cheapen these engines. For instance, they have an aluminum bore (no cast iron cylinder liner). The carburetors are also notorious for gumming up with today's ethanol fuel, so keep fresh fuel in it and run the carburetor dry by using the fuel shutoff switch. The good news is that these carburetors are only about $20 from Honda and very easy to replace. Most mower shops don't even rebuild these carburetors, they just throw a new one on and throw away the old one.