Ordered my new lawnmower

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: Benito
Mystic, did you look at the Black & Decker SPCM1936?

Has mulching. Is suitable for 1/3 acre. Self propelled.

Going for $350.


Look dude, only idiots buy battery powered lawn mowers. That Honda will last him 20 years on his small yard. That battery powered turd you keep referring to him will need a new $100 battery pack every 3 to 4 years.

 

[Mystic]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Benito
Mystic, did you look at the Black & Decker SPCM1936?

Has mulching. Is suitable for 1/3 acre. Self propelled.

Going for $350.


Look dude, only idiots buy battery powered lawn mowers. That Honda will last him 20 years on his small yard. That battery powered turn you keep referring to him will need a new $100 battery pack every 3 to 4 years.


Heck, I am even taking a chance with the battery powered weed trimmer. But it was not too expensive and I dislike gas and corded weed trimmers, and I figured it was worth the try. A huge number of people really liked the battery powered weed trimmer. So maybe it is time for battery powered weed trimmers. I also like that it has 300 feet of line that is automatically fed out.

Maybe I should have paid more for a self-propelled Honda but I don't have that much grass (although I have a big yard) and I figured the little Honda would get the job done. I really like Honda engines and Honda lawnmowers.

 

[Shrubitup]

Mystic, go and enjoy your new Honda (but you prolly already knew that).

 

[Benito]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Look dude, only idiots buy battery powered lawn mowers.


There are some 800 reviews on Amazon and over 200 on Home Depot. Not everyone who buys the item leaves a review on those websites.

Lot's of idiots in this country according to you.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Benito
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Look dude, only idiots buy battery powered lawn mowers.


There are some 800 reviews on Amazon and over 200 on Home Depot. Not everyone who buys the item leaves a review on those websites.

Lot's of idiots in this country according to you.


I can agree with that... Go talk batteries someplace else...

 

[HerrStig]

I've got a 216 which is about 20 years old. I take pretty good care of my lawn but I have a neighbor who now stays on Florida most of the year so I'll hit her yard when it gets long. It's like an Italian tuneup for the machine, I slap the discharge shoot on it, move fast, and the engine never bogs down. To keep this BITOG relevant I use T6 and swapped the plug foe the NGK platimun version.

 

[Mystic]

My new Honda lawnmower finally arrived. The UPS guy did not get to my house until about 8:30 PM local time.

The oil that came with the new mower was SN and not SJ. It did take the 12 oz and showed full. The lawnmower was easy to setup. I already mowed the lawn with it. It runs pretty quiet. It cuts the grass well. The grass had gotten tall because I had not been able to cut it. The mower is lightweight and is easy to push around the lawn. And it should be easier now that the grass is shorter. It is easy to adjust the weight of cut. I set it to 3.5 inches because I have always heard grass should be allowed to be tall in the summertime.

I might use the Honda oil for a while. If I can find it. I can order it from Home Depot in a kit with an air filter and spark plug. I am going to check a local Honda dealer that has ATVs and stuff like that and see if they have the Honda oil. Probably in 1 qt bottles so I will get something to measure out 12 oz. of oil.

 

[KD0AXS]

Do you have Northern Tool stores out there? They sell a ton of stuff with Honda engines, so I'd bet they carry the Honda oil.

 

[Mystic]

Thanks for that information. But I don't think so. There is a Honda dealer that sells ATVs and generators and other stuff. So I am going to check there. I went there a long time ago because my Toro lawnmower had a Honda engine. But they said they did not do anything with lawnmowers. But it seems like they should have Honda oil, especially since the Honda oil that came with the mower is actually SN and not SJ. At least they should have Honda oil if the ATVs and Honda generators they sell are using Honda oil.

If they do have Honda SN oil (probably in quart bottles) I could get that and just get something to put it in to measure out 12 oz. I can't use the 12 oz. bottle because it does not have markings and is not translucent on one side.

Otherwise, if they make it impossible to get Honda oil and especially since SN oil is being used anyway, I will probably just use Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum oil. No use making it too difficult.

I am going to order the kit that comes with oil, an air filter, and a spark plug because I can use that stuff next year. And I will order a new blade. The blades are not that expensive and not really much more expensive than just getting the blade sharpened. So I figure I might as well just put a new blade on each year but keep the old blades to be safe. They could always be sharpened.

The UPS guy who delivered the mower said he was getting his lawn tractor ready and he said it had taken him two weeks to get his blade sharpened at the local shop. I figure I might as well do my own basic maintenance and just install new blades. I can do that. Or else get some stuff so I can sharpen the blades myself.

 

[bubbatime]

Get a used bench grinder off craigslist for $10-20 and you can sharpen your own blades. Some people lock the blade in a vise and use hand files. That works too, but a little slower. No need to buy more than 1 spare blade as two blades should last you 10-15 years unless you hit a lot of stumps/rocks.

Honda oil = over priced.

Just get a quart of Rotella 10W30 or Defy 10W30. If it says energy conserving on the back label of the oil, its not ideal for use in a lawn mower.

 

[Mystic]

The Honda oil in the Home Depot ads seems to be misidentified. Leastwise the Honda oil I got was SN and not SJ. Maybe in the kit which I need for the air filter and the spark plug it is SJ oil, in which case that will be the clean oil in the engine for winter storage.

Since the oil is SN it seems to me that it does not matter what SN oil you use, as long as it is 10W30. I will check and see what 10W30 oils are not energy conserving.

I am going to order the kit for the air filter and spark plug so if that oil is SN I will use it for the second oil change since I will have it anyway. I have not even registered the lawnmower yet and I want to maintain the warranty.

I will check and see how much they charge for a quart of the Honda oil if they have it. If it is reasonable I might buy the Honda oil, because I could do over 2 oil changes with one quart. Because you just add 12 oz.

They really did know exactly how much oil would be trapped by the engine. Because when I added the 12 oz. of oil it was right on the mark.

 

[Lawn_Care]

A flea-market or pawn shop angle grinder, a blade balancer from Lowes or Home Depot, and do it yourself.

Tip - a cordless impact makes changing the blade quick and easy as pie.

Delo 5w-40 or Rotella T6 for oil changes (if you want to go fancy), if not than regular Delo or Rotella 15w40, and they're both 10x the oil that Honda markets.

 

[Finz]

Good luck with the new mower...

Good advice on sharpening your own blade with a used grinder from Craigslist... 10 - 15 minute job including removal and reinstall of the blade. You'll probably find many other uses for the grinder as well and it will pay for itself in no time.

Even some clamps or a vice to secure and using a file as Bubbatime suggested won't take long assuming no nasty nicks on the blade.

 

[Mystic]

I tried out my new B&D battery powered weed trimmer also. It works pretty good. I cut a lot of weeds on one side of my house with just the low setting of 1 to make the battery last as long as possible. It seemed to have good power even at the low setting. And the weeds are high because we have been getting so much rain and I have a pretty large yard. I do think it would be a good idea to have two batteries. I think they cost about $80.00 and I will get another one.

The one thing I don't like about the B&D 40V is that it seems like it was designed for short people. I am not real tall-I am about 5' 8.5". But it seems like the B&D was designed for people shorter than that. I don't think I would recommend it for somebody that is 6'5".

I like the way the line is designed. I never cared for that silly hitting the trimmer head on the ground to TRY to feed more line.

The battery held up pretty good at the setting of 1 and did a good job of cutting. You can cut pretty big weeds at the highest setting of 6 but the battery will not last as long. In just a fairly short period of time I got most of the weeds on that side cut. I will get the rest tonight after the battery recharges. I just have a fairly small area left on that side.

I have two sides to cut and a large back yard. And a few smaller areas. Even the side areas are not that small.

The B&D starts up easy and runs pretty quiet. I think it would be all a person with a small yard would need.

How reliable the batteries are and all of that is something I will have to find out.

 

[bubbatime]

The tune up kit is convenient, but expensive.

Get the airfilter and spark plug on eBay, oil at Wal-Mart, and save $5-$10. Don't bother with the Honda oil. It is overpriced SM conventional oil. Shell Rotella 10W30 or Chevron Delo 10W30 are great oils, and likely much better than the Honda oil.

OEM airfilter
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-GENUINE-OE...=item4d33fc0934

OEM NGK spark plug
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NGK-7131-Spark-Plug-/370852567119?hash=item565889184f&vxp=mtr

quart of Shell Rotella T5 synthetic blend 10W30 or
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rotella-T5-Synthetic-Blend-10W30-Motor-Oil-1-qt/23848080

quart of Chevron Delo 10W30
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Chevron-Synthetic-Blend-10W30-Heavy-Duty-Motor-Oil-1-qt/36171538

 

[TFB1]

Whatever spark plug that was in my Honda engine when I got it in '11 is still in there(was used at that time, may be orig)... Starts first pull, may never replace it...

I did buy a couple filters and installed the spare this spring...

 

[TFB1]

BTW I just came in from mowing, checked my plug, it's a NGK...

Yep started first pull...

 

[NH73]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime


Just get a quart of Rotella 10W30 or Defy 10W30. If it says energy conserving on the back label of the oil, its not ideal for use in a lawn mower.


Why is energy conserving not ideal for a lawn mower?

 

[Mystic]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
I tried out my new B&D battery powered weed trimmer also. It works pretty good. I cut a lot of weeds on one side of my house with just the low setting of 1 to make the battery last as long as possible. It seemed to have good power even at the low setting. And the weeds are high because we have been getting so much rain and I have a pretty large yard. I do think it would be a good idea to have two batteries. I think they cost about $80.00 and I will get another one.

The one thing I don't like about the B&D 40V is that it seems like it was designed for short people. I am not real tall-I am about 5' 8.5". But it seems like the B&D was designed for people shorter than that. I don't think I would recommend it for somebody that is 6'5".

I like the way the line is designed. I never cared for that silly hitting the trimmer head on the ground to TRY to feed more line.

The battery held up pretty good at the setting of 1 and did a good job of cutting. You can cut pretty big weeds at the highest setting of 6 but the battery will not last as long. In just a fairly short period of time I got most of the weeds on that side cut. I will get the rest tonight after the battery recharges. I just have a fairly small area left on that side.

I have two sides to cut and a large back yard. And a few smaller areas. Even the side areas are not that small.

The B&D starts up easy and runs pretty quiet. I think it would be all a person with a small yard would need.

How reliable the batteries are and all of that is something I will have to find out.



I need to do a correction here. I just skimmed over the directions and started to cut weeds. I missed in the directions that it is possible to extend the weed trimmer length and therefore it will work for taller people. Sorry that I missed that in the directions at first.

 

[Mystic]

I found a Honda authorized facility where I can get parts. I can get a new blade there for less than ten dollars. And I can get other parts for the mower.