Push mower on hill, am I stuck with Lawn Boy?

[Ron Jeremy]

Darren, I have little doubt that it is a fine piece of equipment. It is, afterall, a Honda. I will defer to NThomas's experience on this one, as I'm going strictly on 2nd hand info. I think the bottom line is that perhaps this engine is not the "commercial quality" engine that the "GX" is, and thats maybe where people have issue with the "GC". But let's face the "GX" is a very hard act to follow. I hope I didn't take the lustre off of your purchase.

 

[Scott P]

We just bought a house and I was planning on buying myself a push mower to maintain the little .40 acre plot it sits on. You guys have me scared silly on what I thought would be an easy purchase. I figured I'd go buy a Deere or Toro, but I don't know what to think.

At least I've been using Mobil 1, RP or Amsoil and M1 or K&N filters all the while on my car, so I'm in your good graces there.

 

[bigspoke]

S2000 driver, I have to agree with Ron Jeremy on the LawnBoy. I got laid off from my job shortly after high school and was living on my own. I bought an LB self propelled mower in 1979 and I started mowing lawns, 10-12/week + my own. I did that for 4 years and then did it again for 1 year around 1986. I just replaced that old mower a year and half ago. Mowed approx 60 yrs of normal 1 lawn/yr like avg homeowner. I replaced 2 wheels (rears) and this was a 5hp engine. Newer is 6hp+ now. Always mowed quick with little fatigue due to the MUCH lighter weight of the LB. I hardly ever cleaned air filter (once/2 yrs or so) changed plug about 4-5 times and left gas in it every year. Just pulled the plug out for 1st startup of the new year and poured in a tsp of gas in the cyl and put plug in and it would fire up. Started great rest of year. My wife mowed with it once and knocked off the kill switch after I had used it for 20 yrs (WOMEN and machinery don't mix)so I just pulled the bare wires out and wrapped em together to start and pulled em apart to kill it and it still runs. The last 10-12 yrs it sat outside in the weather all winter and I never did grease the drive system. I haven't had the heart to junk it cause it WON'T DIE! It was not a commercial model either. I love my new commercial LB. Getting rid of that old mower would be like smothering your Grandma with a pillow cause now you have to change a diaper on her now and then. I guarantee you NO OTHER MOWER MADE can equal a LB's record for durability, value and abusability/neglect.

[ March 04, 2003, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: bigspoke ]

 

[Ron Jeremy]

Bigspoke, I finally bought a new LB last week. I was checking out mowers at a store and they had one last 2 stroke model left and it was marked down $90. Needless to say, I jumped on it imediately. They were going out of the 2 strokes and stocking only LawnBoys with the Tecumseh.

 

[bigspoke]

Ron, you won't be sorry. Wish you could have bought one of the 2 stroke commercial models like mine (maybe you did). It is awesome! Has all kinds of power and the self drive sys is eons better than my '79 model. I figure at 43 yrs old it will be the last one I buy. I like the looks of the Toro 2cycle Suzuki commercial but it weighs a ton like any other commercial. Really makes a diff when you want to hurry along or mow on several yards in a day. I never broke that old cast deck either. Had a small crack in the chute but never broke up. I probably ran into something going pretty fast with it to crack it in the first place. Did you get a cast alum deck or steel? Cast is going to last you longer. Take care, Gary.

 

[cousincletus]

I agree with the Lawnboy fans. My Lawnboys have been really good mowers but I do agree that for certain kinds of mowing situations the offset front wheels will dig in. I use Amsoil 100-1 and mix it in a 5 gallon can instead of the recommended 6 gallons of gas. Havn't had to clean any mufflers since using Amsoil and compression tests ok.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

Bigspoke, I bought the Silverpro w/ the steel deck. I would have had a look at the cast deck, but stores in my area don't seem to bring them in. The steel deck is basically the same weight as the cast deck, so that's great, but I agree, for longevity, the cast deck may be the hot ticket. I got a smokin' good price on this unit, so I have no regrets. Cheers.

 

[NThomas]

they did have a recall on some of the LB mowers
the plactic mulch cover was not strong enough
i will check on the model and serial # for the
effected models so you can make sure your is not one or get yours fixed.
good grab though

 

[Ron Jeremy]

Thanks NThomas, That issue has been dealt with on this unit.

 

[NThomas]

thats good. here is the info just so you can read
http://www.lawnboy.com/recall2002.htm

 

[Bror Jace]

This is a little off-topic, but dad had our snowblower out (John Deere 1032) a couple weeks and when it came back, it appeared to be leaking oil. It was, actually, and the oil level on the B&S motor was down .25 of a quart.

I had been using Delo 400 15W40 in this beast but topped it off with Pennzoil straight 40. I mopped up the oil under the machine as well as the slick down one side of it and I found a breather tube which came out of a hole in the side of the crankcase (near the top).

He started the machine up and ran it around ... no problem. My brother was on hand and he thought to ask if dad had tipped the machine up (backward) or over on one side. Dad sheepishly admitted that he tipped it backward when attacking rather large snowdrifts.

Aha! That's when the oil must've come out the breather.

Sure enough, we found splotches of oil all over the place even though the machine hasn't leaked a drop since.

I know when I did some push mowing (landscaping) as a summer job over a decade ago I used to tip the mower back and send the whirling blade straight at the taller (12"+) underbrush in certain places. Tipping it back too far produced a WHOOSH of blueish white smoke from the little machine. I thought it was neat at the time ... and it kept the 'skeeters at bay.

--- Bror Jace

 

[S2000driver]

Well it's now been a year since my first post.

I got through last year with the lawn boy again, I replaced the rear wheels to keep it going.

ANYTHING NEW AND EXCITING THIS YEAR?

I'm especially interested in a 4-stroke push mower that can lubricate on inclines.

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

---

Originally posted by S2000driver:
Well it's now been a year since my first post.

I got through last year with the lawn boy again, I replaced the rear wheels to keep it going.

ANYTHING NEW AND EXCITING THIS YEAR?

I'm especially interested in a 4-stroke push mower that can lubricate on inclines.

---

I don't have time to read the rest of this thread, but you'd need something with a pressure lube system. I beleive smaller Robin and Kawasaki 4 cycle engines have such a thing, although they are quite expensive. Also Briggs Vanguards have a pressure system, at least the V-twins do, I don't know if a smaller push mower size does or not.

 

[arbeee524]

S2000driver

I'm also looking for a mower that will be OK on hills.

I contacted Briggs & Stratton regarding the maximum angles their engines can be used at. This was their reply:

"Fully pressurized lubrication engines can be used at an angle of 20 degrees or less. Splash lubrication is meant for 15 degrees or less."

I'm still waiting to hear from Kawasaki.

If your hill isn't too steep a pressurized model may be OK for you but they seem to be offered only on the higher end $$$ models.

So far this year Lawnboy is the only one I've found to offer a 2-cycle engine on a mower (I think it's an EPA thing) and they're hard to get. I had my ope dealer put a hold on one for me, a Goldpro #10550 for $498.

 

[S2000driver]

Thanks for the info. 20 degrees over 15 degrees isn't much. I probably need 30 degrees.

I see Toro is still handling 2-cycles (according to the website).

I can't see spending so much money on a complicated 4-cycle lawn mower when a 2-cycle engine lasts 12 years for me without any repairs.

Only a fraction of my yard has these extreme hills. I might consider electric but the cord would be hard to manage when I'm spending so much attention to just keeping the mower straight...

quote:

---

Originally posted by arbeee524:
S2000driver

I'm also looking for a mower that will be OK on hills.

I contacted Briggs & Stratton regarding the maximum angles their engines can be used at. This was their reply:

"Fully pressurized lubrication engines can be used at an angle of 20 degrees or less. Splash lubrication is meant for 15 degrees or less."

I'm still waiting to hear from Kawasaki.

If your hill isn't too steep a pressurized model may be OK for you but they seem to be offered only on the higher end $$$ models.

So far this year Lawnboy is the only one I've found to offer a 2-cycle engine on a mower (I think it's an EPA thing) and they're hard to get. I had my ope dealer put a hold on one for me, a Goldpro #10550 for $498.

---

 

[cryptokid]

the gc is a durable honda engine. i have one on my pressure cleaner and at the first 100 hours of use, i popped the vavle cover to adjust the valves, and wouldnt you know it that plastic cam had not worn enough to require the lash to be adjusted even after 100 hours of use. i even have an oversize pump on the pressure cleaner. it is recomended for 6hp engines and my gc is only 5hp.

the cam belt on the honda wont jump a cog if you hit somthing with a mower. the cam and pulleys of the valvetrain do not weigh enough to have enough inertia to jump some teeth. (they are plastic)
besides whens the last time you heard of any ohc engine doing this? even in a car with heavy metal cam pulleys and camshafts this kind of thing doesnt happen when you hit speed bumps or a brick in the road.

the gc is not a disposable engine, it is just made to be cheaper to build. you can still bore them. you can still replace the valves, and do anything you can do on a gc that can be done on an underhead cam engine. not like you would ever need to though, i mean it IS a honda afterall

lastly, be weary of engines with with oil filters may not have a pressurised lubrication system. i took apart a briggs once and found that the oil pump's sole purpose was to pump oil through the filter and them dump it right back into the case. if you buy an engine with a filter, make sure it has a fully pressurized lube system!

 

[blano]

quote:

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besides whens the last time you heard of any ohc engine doing this?

---

I saw 3 Merc outboards do this last summer. The thing to remember about cam chain skipping is that a direct drive motor like a mower or a outboard do not have a clutch or a auto tranny to soften impacts.

[ March 11, 2004, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: blano ]

 

[S2000driver]

I finally gave away the Lawnboy last fall.

I just bought a Honda HRX217HXA with the GCV 190 engine.

Comon' Spring!

 

[416Rigby]

I've used a Toro Commercial 2-cycle, and a Kubota Commercial 4-cycle. Both are great machines, but the Toro was my favorite mower. That Suzuki engine on it will run forever. Plus, it was easier to push.

 

[HEV]

quote:

---

Originally posted by S2000driver:
I finally gave away the Lawnboy last fall.

I just bought a Honda HRX217HXA with the GCV 190 engine.

Comon' Spring!

---

I’ve got the older version of that mower (hydrostatic drive, right?) with the GC160 5.5 hp motor. These are wonderful pieces of equipment. Enjoy the mower.