What is a good walk behind lawn mower brand?
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Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
No offense to anyone here but I do not like personal pace or self propelled mowers.
You're not the only one.
No offense to anyone here but I do not like personal pace or self propelled mowers.
You're not the only one.
I got a cheap Lawn Boy from Home Depot for $225 with a 20" deck and the Briggs 6.75 motor. It works very well. It is self-propelled, but at only 75 lbs it's still pretty easy to push.
The only issue I've had with it was the rear wheel drive belt stretched to the point of needing replacement at year five.
Every year I just put a new spark plug and air filter in it and change the oil twice each season.
The only issue I've had with it was the rear wheel drive belt stretched to the point of needing replacement at year five.
Every year I just put a new spark plug and air filter in it and change the oil twice each season.
I would say a good used mower, Toro and Snapper are a few of my favorites. You can find cheap ones that have been stored inside and run great for a fraction of the price of new. The newer ones have slightly worse build quality and after all it is a lawn mower. The first time you use it you will get it dirty. Plus if you happen to break it, you won't be out a ton of money. A customer of mine brought me a few month old Husqvarna walk behind mower. The thing is in beautiful shape and was very expensive new. It has a Honda engine and all the nice features. He hit a stump with it and bent the crankshaft and cracked the motor mount, so now I have to find him a used or new engine.
I'm not sure about the newer Toros, but I personally own a 2008 Toro Recycler with the Briggs 6.5 torque engine. It ALWAYS starts first pull, and mulches great. I don't even bag the leaves anymore. I've put enough hours on it that I wore out the tread on the drive wheels, and I replaced those and its still kicking. I've only replaced the air filter and spark plug a few times, a few blades, and I use Sta-bil in the fuel. I use Rotella 5w40 and it doesn't use or leak any oil.
For what its worth, my dad had a Murray push mower for almost 20 years. He bought it when he first bought our house, and only added oil when it got low, never changed it. He sold it in perfect running condition. The wheels were a bit wobbly, but it still ran and cut great. The high wheel mowers are easier to push, and if it has a Briggs engine, that Murray should be a good little mower. They are cheap but they definitely last if taken care of.
I'm not sure about the newer Toros, but I personally own a 2008 Toro Recycler with the Briggs 6.5 torque engine. It ALWAYS starts first pull, and mulches great. I don't even bag the leaves anymore. I've put enough hours on it that I wore out the tread on the drive wheels, and I replaced those and its still kicking. I've only replaced the air filter and spark plug a few times, a few blades, and I use Sta-bil in the fuel. I use Rotella 5w40 and it doesn't use or leak any oil.
For what its worth, my dad had a Murray push mower for almost 20 years. He bought it when he first bought our house, and only added oil when it got low, never changed it. He sold it in perfect running condition. The wheels were a bit wobbly, but it still ran and cut great. The high wheel mowers are easier to push, and if it has a Briggs engine, that Murray should be a good little mower. They are cheap but they definitely last if taken care of.
Thanks Jeepman. I did poke around a little and did not even find a used mower on Craigslist. The Murray seems to be the best deal for what I need so I will pick one up today or maybe tomorrow. I think it should do fine for my yard.
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Thanks Jeepman. I did poke around a little and did not even find a used mower on Craigslist. The Murray seems to be the best deal for what I need so I will pick one up today or maybe tomorrow. I think it should do fine for my yard.
Yeah I believe it about the lack of used mowers. Kind of like trying to find a used snow blower after the first snow storm, haha.
I just looked at that 22" Murray high wheel at WalMart tonight since I had to pick up some oil. Seems like a solid little mower for the price and the online reviews seem pretty good. I don't think you can go wrong with it.
Thanks Jeepman. I did poke around a little and did not even find a used mower on Craigslist. The Murray seems to be the best deal for what I need so I will pick one up today or maybe tomorrow. I think it should do fine for my yard.
Yeah I believe it about the lack of used mowers. Kind of like trying to find a used snow blower after the first snow storm, haha.
I just looked at that 22" Murray high wheel at WalMart tonight since I had to pick up some oil. Seems like a solid little mower for the price and the online reviews seem pretty good. I don't think you can go wrong with it.
I picked up my new Murray at Wally's after work today, $180.00 including tax, not a bad price at all for a high wheel mulcher. It is a very nice mower and is extremely lightweight which will help a lot in my yard. I thought it was odd it only has a 15 ounce oil capacity, my old 5.5hp Briggs took 20 ounces. It took all of 5 minutes to get the mower out of the box and put together. I put in the oil that was shipped with the mower, filled the gas tank and it started right up on the first pull, starting was very easy and I hope it stays that way.
I like the fact that it has a washable foam air filter, much more economical than the paper filter for my old mower. One thing I thought was odd is nowhere in the manual or on the mower itself does it give a horsepower specification. I am still trying to decipher that one but I did cut a bit of the yard and it cut the grass fine. The mower is a bit louder than I thought it would be but it's not too loud.
It will be another 5 or 6 days before my grass will need cutting again. I am actually looking forward to the next few times I cut the grass so I can use up the E10 gas in my gas can. We have a WaWa station here now that sells E0.
Here are a few pics in case anyone wants to see the Murray 2200 in real life:
I expect this new mower will do a fine job. It made a very fine and smooth cut in the patch of grass I tested it on today. Thanks everybody for your help and suggestions here.
I like the fact that it has a washable foam air filter, much more economical than the paper filter for my old mower. One thing I thought was odd is nowhere in the manual or on the mower itself does it give a horsepower specification. I am still trying to decipher that one but I did cut a bit of the yard and it cut the grass fine. The mower is a bit louder than I thought it would be but it's not too loud.
It will be another 5 or 6 days before my grass will need cutting again. I am actually looking forward to the next few times I cut the grass so I can use up the E10 gas in my gas can. We have a WaWa station here now that sells E0.
Here are a few pics in case anyone wants to see the Murray 2200 in real life:
I expect this new mower will do a fine job. It made a very fine and smooth cut in the patch of grass I tested it on today. Thanks everybody for your help and suggestions here.
They don't put HP ratings on the engines anymore because several manufacturers recently had to pay out millions in a class action lawsuit for making false HP claims. So now they just advertise the engine displacement, usually in CCs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042104737.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042104737.html
Nice looking mower! I'm digging the red! The one I saw at WalMart the other night was a silver one, but was the same otherwise. Like stated above the manufacturers don't use HP ratings anymore since they got sued for false claims on engine HP ratings. On your engine it says "5.00 Torque" on the front cover. That is the equivalent to the 3.5hp or 4hp Briggs and Stratton engines on older mowers.
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Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
No offense to anyone here but I do not like personal pace or self propelled mowers. Honda, Snapper Commercial and Toro are out of my price range and most of them have features I do not want.
Given this, you're left with an MTD product or something made by the Husqvarna Group. Unless you find some nice used beast on CL or the likes, check out a few basic cheapies and pick the color you like.
*EDIT! Just saw your post and pics. I wish you luck with the high rear wheeled models. I've never had luck with them. The rears would get all wobbly over time and need some serious mods to keep them in place.
No offense to anyone here but I do not like personal pace or self propelled mowers. Honda, Snapper Commercial and Toro are out of my price range and most of them have features I do not want.
Given this, you're left with an MTD product or something made by the Husqvarna Group. Unless you find some nice used beast on CL or the likes, check out a few basic cheapies and pick the color you like.
*EDIT! Just saw your post and pics. I wish you luck with the high rear wheeled models. I've never had luck with them. The rears would get all wobbly over time and need some serious mods to keep them in place.
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Jimmy, does it have a primer bulb or not? If it does, then it should continue to be easy to start as long as that bulb is good. If it doesn't have a primer bulb, then it's got an automatic choke, and those can be problematic over time. Just something to keep an eye on.
I like these newer Briggs OHV engines. I never cared for the older Quantum flatheads. These new e-series are a lot quieter and a lot smoother. I fixed one for somebody last month (needed a carburetor clean-out) and I rather like how they run.
I like these newer Briggs OHV engines. I never cared for the older Quantum flatheads. These new e-series are a lot quieter and a lot smoother. I fixed one for somebody last month (needed a carburetor clean-out) and I rather like how they run.
It has a bright red primer bulb in the middle of the air filter housing. It appears to be made of good quality thick rubber. Yesterday I pushed it 3 times and the mower started right up on the first pull. I think this new mower will do fine, it does run smoothly and now that I think about it it is quieter than my old mower.
I put my old mower out by the side of the main road running through my neighborhood with a couple of signs that said "Free". I also ran a zip tie through the plastic bag containing the owner's manual and service guide and zip tied it to the handle bar. My old mower was gone in less than an hour after that.
The old mower still started and ran but would bog down and cut off when cutting grass maybe 4 or 5 inches tall. It also had a loping idle and a bad vibration in the handle bar. I tried to fix it by cleaning the carb and replacing the plug. I also tried to adjust the throttle lever and spring to help it run better but nothing worked. I have a good-sized yard and it was no fun with a wheezing mower that had to be re-started 10 or 15 times. I hope who ever got it will fix it and get some good use from it. My wife said she heard someone start it up and by the time she looked out our patio door the mower was gone.
I put my old mower out by the side of the main road running through my neighborhood with a couple of signs that said "Free". I also ran a zip tie through the plastic bag containing the owner's manual and service guide and zip tied it to the handle bar. My old mower was gone in less than an hour after that.
The old mower still started and ran but would bog down and cut off when cutting grass maybe 4 or 5 inches tall. It also had a loping idle and a bad vibration in the handle bar. I tried to fix it by cleaning the carb and replacing the plug. I also tried to adjust the throttle lever and spring to help it run better but nothing worked. I have a good-sized yard and it was no fun with a wheezing mower that had to be re-started 10 or 15 times. I hope who ever got it will fix it and get some good use from it. My wife said she heard someone start it up and by the time she looked out our patio door the mower was gone.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Jimmy, does it have a primer bulb or not? If it does, then it should continue to be easy to start as long as that bulb is good. If it doesn't have a primer bulb, then it's got an automatic choke, and those can be problematic over time. Just something to keep an eye on.
I like these newer Briggs OHV engines. I never cared for the older Quantum flatheads. These new e-series are a lot quieter and a lot smoother. I fixed one for somebody last month (needed a carburetor clean-out) and I rather like how they run.
I was tempted to buy a new lawn boy with one of those on it someday, but now I see they've gone back to using kohlers again. I have an ohv Briggs intek on my snapper and I love it, was curious to see how one of their new , smaller ohv engines run.
Jimmy, does it have a primer bulb or not? If it does, then it should continue to be easy to start as long as that bulb is good. If it doesn't have a primer bulb, then it's got an automatic choke, and those can be problematic over time. Just something to keep an eye on.
I like these newer Briggs OHV engines. I never cared for the older Quantum flatheads. These new e-series are a lot quieter and a lot smoother. I fixed one for somebody last month (needed a carburetor clean-out) and I rather like how they run.
I was tempted to buy a new lawn boy with one of those on it someday, but now I see they've gone back to using kohlers again. I have an ohv Briggs intek on my snapper and I love it, was curious to see how one of their new , smaller ohv engines run.
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Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
It has a bright red primer bulb in the middle of the air filter housing. It appears to be made of good quality thick rubber.
I think you're golden. This is the only version of this engine I would buy (with the primer). It's a smooth running little engine.
It has a bright red primer bulb in the middle of the air filter housing. It appears to be made of good quality thick rubber.
I think you're golden. This is the only version of this engine I would buy (with the primer). It's a smooth running little engine.
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