Talked my dad out of my Lawn-Boy

skyactiv

skyactiv

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My parents have a second house they spend a lot of time in during the Lake Erie boating season. It's on a 1/4 acre lot flat as a pancake. My dad is tired of paying to have the lawn mowed and wanted to buy my old Lawn-Boy which isn't self propelled. He is fit but up there in age. I retired the Lawn-Boy when I moved to acreage and use a weed trimmer anywhere the rider won't mow. The Lawn-Boy has narrow staggered wheels and isn't an easy mower to push.


I suggested he buys a Troybilt TB240K. Has a Kohler engine and FWD. He's always liked mulching at the other house. He'd use ethanol free boat gas he gets from the pier since he's right there.

What do you think of this mower?

 
I find my really light troy bilt much easier to use than a self propelled I had before. The Self propelled was heavy and hard to turn on my my former small lot. In fairness it was very old and probably heavier than the ones today, but I won't do a self propelled again. The lightweight troy bilt once its moving is really just like walking behind it.

I would let him try the push mower. You can always change later.
 
@ SkyActive - I like the Kohler engine but I have found that is prone to having it's crankcase vent system get clogged. To clean it you need to pull the flywheel where the breather vent cover is located (just finished servicing a Husquvarna with this issue). If your Dad is handy and can do this potential maintenance then your choice is a good one.

Another option is the 80v Kobalt Cordless mower from Lowes. This offer comes with 2 batteries and the charger, and will require virtually no maintenance other than blade sharpening and occassional cleaning of the mower underside deck. The motor is made by Briggs, and is used on several other brands (Snapper etc). This mower weighs a little less than the Troybilt, and has RWD self propel. It will work very well on a flat lot. I have this same mower with a 30 degree hill incline in my front yard and it has no issues whatsover.

You can save an additional 5% if you use your Lowes charge for the purchase.
 
You, obviously, have a front row seat to make the correct call.
For no money you can let your pop try mowing the billiard table with the LB. He might like it.
Will he tell you honestly if it's too difficult to do?
Selling the Lawn Boy would be easy if you want to offset the cost of whatever pop ends up with.
Giving it away would be easier still.

Also, the electrics now are so much improved (way better batteries + self propelled) from the mid 1990's.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
@ SkyActive - I like the Kohler engine but I have found that is prone to having it's crankcase vent system get clogged. To clean it you need to pull the flywheel where the breather vent cover is located (just finished servicing a Husquvarna with this issue). If your Dad is handy and can do this potential maintenance then your choice is a good one.

Another option is the 80v Kobalt Cordless mower from Lowes. This offer comes with 2 batteries and the charger, and will require virtually no maintenance other than blade sharpening and occassional cleaning of the mower underside deck. The motor is made by Briggs, and is used on several other brands (Snapper etc). This mower weighs a little less than the Troybilt, and has RWD self propel. It will work very well on a flat lot. I have this same mower with a 30 degree hill incline in my front yard and it has no issues whatsover.

You can save an additional 5% if you use your Lowes charge for the purchase.
Click to expand...

My brother-in-law has one of these Kobalts and loves it. I don't know if this applies to all of them, but this video on them made the grim reality of today set in kind of hard:
 
Not all of the Kobal Cordless mowers are the same. The 80v is the only one that I recommend and have experience with.

Amazing that Chiktanic could not find this part. She obviously did not try very hard due to her bias and attitude about it as reflected in the video. Here is the part and looks to be in stock at this distributor.

 
Last edited:
Ausfahrt said:
A flat quarter acre and probably half of that is house or driveway. I say let Pops get some exercise and push the old Lawnboy around.
Click to expand...
Agree. I see no reason for a propelled mower on flat turf. Even if he’s up in age. At least until he’s too weak to do it, which then is a different discussion.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
Amazing that Chiktanic could not find this part. She obviously did not try very hard due to her bias and attitude about it as reflected in the video. Here is the part and looks to be in stock at this distributor.

Click to expand...

Per that link, the part is not currently available, but "on order". It could come in next week, it could be never available.

This isn't just a Kobalt thing. It's an everything problem today.
 
Suggest your Dad get that Troy Bilt or any other self propelled mower.. Don't listen to these responses thinking they are experts saying an older person should push their mower cutting a 1/4 acre lot. On an 85 degree day, that's stressful for an elderly person pushing a lawn mower. He will get excercise with the walking.
 
Last edited:
JTK said:
Per that link, the part is not currently available, but "on order". It could come in next week, it could be never available.

This isn't just a Kobalt thing. It's an everything problem today.
Click to expand...
The "on order" note says typically ships in 7 - 10 days. It is a common Briggs and Stratton part and is available through multiple suppliers including via eBay (see below).

1679931641853.jpg
 
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I do not like Front Wheel Drive mowers. I know there are some who really like them, for what reason, I'll never know.

Tall grass wraps around the drive mechanism.
 
Kohler engine wouldn't be my first choice, but front drive is probably a good setup. Easy to handle, and fairly light. A lot of the favorite mowers on here (Toro super recycler, Honda, Snapper, etc) are well built but heavy. If he is open to electric I have a few older customers who really like their battery Toro Recycler. Easy for them to use and the cut quality/parts availability is good.
 
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