No oil change required….ever?

The “younger generation” are not buying these. They either can’t afford to buy a house with a lawn, or are buying electric mowers because they care more for the environment.
Young millennial here… The image of my father going Hulk on an old Black & Decker cordless weed whacker when I was a kid is vividly engrained into my mind, I’ve never and will likely never buy any electric lawn care tools from that experience lol.
 
Yes, even that aren't marketed as no oil change is the same way. The smaller briggs engines don't have drain plugs.
Hardly any of the residential OPE mowers have drain plugs anymore. Certainly no Honda engine. But honestly I find the drain thru the filler oil change very simple and straightforward. I keep some of my china restaurant carryout plastic food trays for this, take the filler plug out, grab the mower and tilt it over while holding the little tray. I have never spilled a drop on the floor or deck that way. Actually easier than messing with a drain plug on a mower ...
 
As a guy who does part-time small engine repair, it seems people REFUSE to do any sort of maintenance to their equipment anyways. Usually, it's the cheaper brands (although I've seen quite a few neglected hondas as well) people just run em till they either throw a rod or seize and buy a new one.

now I see lots of electric stuff out on the market, (mainly EGO seems to be the brand of choice for most) which I could see as a much better option than gas to the general public (ie, no maintenance other than charging the battery)

Briggs accountants and marketing team are playing a win-win game in their mind, more mower sales since its gonna be burning oil anyway (and seizing in 2 years) , and more sales since on the surface its "less maintenance" thus making it more appealing.
 
As a guy who does part-time small engine repair, it seems people REFUSE to do any sort of maintenance to their equipment anyways. Usually, it's the cheaper brands (although I've seen quite a few neglected hondas as well) people just run em till they either throw a rod or seize and buy a new one.

now I see lots of electric stuff out on the market, (mainly EGO seems to be the brand of choice for most) which I could see as a much better option than gas to the general public (ie, no maintenance other than charging the battery)

Briggs accountants and marketing team are playing a win-win game in their mind, more mower sales since its gonna be burning oil anyway (and seizing in 2 years) , and more sales since on the surface its "less maintenance" thus making it more appealing.
I agree with you, but there is no snowball's chance in hell that I will ever own a B&S powered piece of equipment or Kohler for that matter. Kawasaki and Honda are so far ahead I cannot even see those in my rear view mirror ... maybe a Vanguard ...
 
I agree with you, but there is no snowball's chance in hell that I will ever own a B&S powered piece of equipment or Kohler for that matter. Kawasaki and Honda are so far ahead I cannot even see those in my rear view mirror ... maybe a Vanguard ...
Yeah, briggs really became crap after they killed off the flathead and started using plastics where they shouldn't be (ie, the ENTIRE CARBURETOR) the old flatheads were okish, I have them on my project bikes (mini bikes and a motorized bicycle) but I wouldn't run them for lawn equipment.
 
Most people never change the oil on their lawn mowers anyway, especially the cheap $100 mowers from the big box stores :unsure:

I changed the oil on a 10-year-old Briggs flathead once, a few years ago, but even that probably wasn't even necessary.

The odd thing is that my lawn mower actually does have a drain plug. It's an MTD/Yard Machines with the 158cc flathead 5 hp

To javacontour: You're 100% right. A catch-all expression I employed sloppily.
To others who leave their OPE outside all year long and claim instant starts: You kidding me?

NGK spark plugs are awesome :)
 
I’ve thought about giving one of these a try. I need a push mower with a bagger for our dog kennel, around the AC etc. and the Craftsman models Lowe’s carries seem to be decent although I haven’t seen them in person yet. I’ve had decent luck with Briggs, but they’re ~20 year old mowers too.
 
Young millennial here… The image of my father going Hulk on an old Black & Decker cordless weed whacker when I was a kid is vividly engrained into my mind, I’ve never and will likely never buy any electric lawn care tools from that experience lol.
Cordless and electric tools have come quite a ways. I’m a young millennial myself. Grew up with my dad having corded stuff until about 2000 or so. Cordless is the way to go IMO. You work so efficiently. My father in law on the other hand still has a corded drill from like the 80’s because he doesn’t like cordless. Looks like a space gun from a futuristic movie of that era. Lol.

A smaller yard id go with cordless electric tools all day long. It’s hard though for me because a high end electric mower is about the same as a Honda.

Some people just hate doing “maintenance” too. I get it. I know many car people who keep new cars in their garage for this reason. The convenience of not having to buy and worry about and/ or mix gas is almost worth it in of itself. I have forgotten to buy gas many times. With electric, oh darn... charge it for ~30 mins.
 
Cordless and electric tools have come quite a ways. I’m a young millennial myself. Grew up with my dad having corded stuff until about 2000 or so. Cordless is the way to go IMO. You work so efficiently. My father in law on the other hand still has a corded drill from like the 80’s because he doesn’t like cordless. Looks like a space gun from a futuristic movie of that era. Lol.

A smaller yard id go with cordless electric tools all day long. It’s hard though for me because a high end electric mower is about the same as a Honda.

Some people just hate doing “maintenance” too. I get it. I know many car people who keep new cars in their garage for this reason. The convenience of not having to buy and worry about and/ or mix gas is almost worth it in of itself. I have forgotten to buy gas many times. With electric, oh darn... charge it for ~30 mins.
I debated an electric weed whacker but bought a Husqvarna 525…. I’ve got a hill you can’t even really get at with a push mower so I just take the weed whacker to it.

As for maintenance… I finally tore into my riding mower to figure out why it was throwing sparks from under the deck. A bearing gave out on an idler and that was rubbing on its arm, and a blade came loose/stripped the teeth on its spindle… in the words of Derek from Vice Grip Garage “that’s fine. Not really.”
 
To be fair, these engines have an automotive style paper air filter that is supposed to catch any debris that is in the oil and you just add oil as the oil breaks down and vaporizes. Its an interesting idea and one that is kind of interesting and makes sense once you realize how it works but Id still much rather just change the oil every year.
 
To be fair, these engines have an automotive style paper air filter that is supposed to catch any debris that is in the oil and you just add oil as the oil breaks down and vaporizes. Its an interesting idea and one that is kind of interesting and makes sense once you realize how it works but Id still much rather just change the oil every year.
These engines do not have an oil filter. An air filter does not catch debris in the oil.
 
I’ve thought about giving one of these a try. I need a push mower with a bagger for our dog kennel, around the AC etc. and the Craftsman models Lowe’s carries seem to be decent although I haven’t seen them in person yet. I’ve had decent luck with Briggs, but they’re ~20 year old mowers too.
I have one, a Craftsman push type mower with a rear bag and a Honda engine. It has served me well for at least 15 years of hard use and is still going strong. I change the oil every year, have changed the spark plug twice and the air cleaner probably twice - though I clean the debris off of it periodically.
 
On number 3, why expect schools to teach what parents should be teaching? All my kids and even the neighbor kid when his dad was deployed to Afghanistan were trained on basic car care, how to change a tire, etc.

Schools have a lot on their plates, even before the 2020 events. At some point, parents have to step up and teach their children what we think they need to know.

I don't disagree with your idea of teaching kids, just the tacit assumption that it's someone else's job.
I completely agree with this, in concept. In real life, however, I have encountered many parents who are not equipped with the intellect necessary to do much more than breathe. Probably not reasonable to expect them to teach their kids how to do basic maintenance! Just sayin'.
 
I millennial, I prefer gasoline equipment, because I barely have any problems with regular maintenance.
 
I completely agree with this, in concept. In real life, however, I have encountered many parents who are not equipped with the intellect necessary to do much more than breathe. Probably not reasonable to expect them to teach their kids how to do basic maintenance! Just sayin'.
Then life will be tough for those kids.

I've taken enough trips around the sun to realize that if education isn't important to the parents, it's not going to be important to the kids. No amount of cubic public dollars can fix the impact of the parental example.
 
1) "Seems absolutely insane and wrong you pay $400 for something and you are told right off the bat to neglect it" Even the Pope condemned the manufacturing of throw away stuff as immoral and wasteful.

2) Assuming the term, "millennial" can mean, "younger than me" (and it does) please remember that pimple-faced kids didn't make the corporate decision to make cheap, self destroying engines. Older guys did while hiding behind the credo of "maximizing profits for our shareholders".

3) Why don't we teach, "anti-wastefulness" in schools?
I'm with you on this. The neighbors down the street from me just junked their 20 year old Hyundai elantra to a "we buy junk cars" guy. On the back of his bed was perfectly straight no damage lexus es300 probably 1998-99. According to him it overheated. Both were heading straight for scrap. According to the driver "his boss doesn't fix anything " It's a huge problem in the USA.
 
1) "Seems absolutely insane and wrong you pay $400 for something and you are told right off the bat to neglect it" Even the Pope condemned the manufacturing of throw away stuff as immoral and wasteful.

2) Assuming the term, "millennial" can mean, "younger than me" (and it does) please remember that pimple-faced kids didn't make the corporate decision to make cheap, self destroying engines. Older guys did while hiding behind the credo of "maximizing profits for our shareholders".

3) Why don't we teach, "anti-wastefulness" in schools?
People's response to this type of suggestion is funny. Regardless of how "holy" people present themselves, when faced with the choice between profit or Pope, the dollar always wins.
 
There goes the small engine repair shops. Well I guess they could transition from engine repair to engine sells.
I don't think either of us will see that in our lifetime , but I get your point .
 
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