Ordered my new lawnmower

[Mystic]

My new lawnmower should be arriving soon. I ordered the lawnmower I always wanted to have anyway-the little push OHV Honda lawnmower with mulching capability.

My old Toro lawnmower was starting to have some serious problems although the Honda OHC engine was always great.

So what does everybody think of the Honda lawnmower? Personally, I already have experience with the Honda engine and I love the Honda engine compared to Briggs & Stratton.

I also have a new Black & Decker 40V weed trimmer. I can hardly wait to start using it if it ever stops raining long enough here. I hate gas engine weed trimmers and corded weed trimmers.

 

[CT8]

I have two Hondas a HRC and a low end Honda HRR . The HRC is nicer to 'drive' The HRR is way lighter and for tight areas is nicer, But all I can say is both of them are lawn mowers. I have has Toros and Craftsman over the years and they all did good.

 

[Mystic]

I wanted to get the Honda lawnmower years ago, but it was really expensive. Over 400 dollars and the Toro with a Honda engine was cheaper. So I bought the Toro. It was on sale and I got a good deal although I can't remember how much I paid for the Toro.

The one thing I really liked about the Toro was the Honda engine. Otherwise, the Toro was not perfect and I had problems with the front wheel drive. I prefer just a little push mower.

I am not sure what motor oil I will use with the Honda. It comes with 12 oz of Honda oil. The engine actually holds something like 17-18 oz of oil but Honda says some oil is always trapped in the engine. I am going to order a kit that includes a genuine Honda air filter, a spark plug, and Honda oil so I have parts for next year and I am going to order a blade. So the second oil change I will use Honda oil but I don't know right now if I will stay with Honda oil or maybe use something like Mobil 1 Extended Use oil.

 

[CT8]

I use 15w-40 or 5w-30 or 10w-30 it really doesn't matter Unless you cut the lawn in freezing weather. Any quality oil will be fine .

 

[Benito]

I would have gone with a electric cordless mower.

 

[VetteElite]

Originally Posted By: Benito
I would have gone with a electric cordless mower.


1) Nobody cares
2) Some people have to mow more than .1 acre
3) Bob is the Oil Guy, not the snobby electricity man

 

[Benito]

Originally Posted By: VetteElite
1) Nobody cares

"Nobody"? Not even one person? How do you know?


Originally Posted By: VetteElite
2) Some people have to mow more than .1 acre

And some don't. So this point is relevant how?


Originally Posted By: VetteElite
3) Bob is the Oil Guy, not the snobby electricity man

Well you must be referring to the OP considering he also got himself a cordless electric weed trimmer as well.

 

[VetteElite]

Don't you think it's kinda asinine to post a snobby comment about how you'd have rather bought an electric lawnmower in a thread where a guy is posting about how happy he is to have ordered his gas powered mower? I've been reading this site for years and my goodness it seems like [censored] like this happens all the time. Someone posts something about a recent purchase and the Type-A Know-it-alls barge in about how they'd have done something different.

OP, congrats on your new mower. Hope you love it! I've never used a Honda mower but I've used equipment with Honda engines and they are solid.

 

[Rand]

what honda mower this thread is useless without a model ?

 

[Mystic]

I was thinking about the B&D battery powered lawnmower, but I eventually decided just to get the Honda. I am not sure if battery powered lawnmowers are quite there yet. They were actually about the same price. I got the Honda for about $340.00 from Home Depot. I can remember in the past that a Honda lawnmower I looked at was over 400 dollars. One thing I like about the Honda is that it is a mulching mower. The B&D has a grass and leaf bag.

I know the Honda lawnmower is really good. But I really dislike gas engine weed trimmers and corded weed trimmers. I heard a lot of good stuff about the B&D weed trimmer. My old wheeled Craftsman weed trimmer is just about at the end of the road. If necessary I will get a second battery for the B&D weed trimmer. I think those batteries are about 80 dollars.

I think I will use just the Honda lawnmower oil at first. Maybe it has more anti-wear additive. But it is only SJ. It is probably nothing special unless it has more anti-wear additive. Probably I will start using Mobil 1 10W-30 extended life motor oil before very long.

What I have heard is that the older motor oil had more anti-wear additive. I don't know. Does anybody know?

 

[Mystic]

Originally Posted By: VetteElite
Don't you think it's kinda asinine to post a snobby comment about how you'd have rather bought an electric lawnmower in a thread where a guy is posting about how happy he is to have ordered his gas powered mower? I've been reading this site for years and my goodness it seems like [censored] like this happens all the time. Someone posts something about a recent purchase and the Type-A Know-it-alls barge in about how they'd have done something different.

OP, congrats on your new mower. Hope you love it! I've never used a Honda mower but I've used equipment with Honda engines and they are solid.


I will tell you the one good thing about the Toro lawnmower was the Honda engine. The rest of the mower was s0-so and eventually the front wheel drive went out. And even after it was repaired it did not really work good. I have a small lawn so I wanted a simple and quality push mower.

 

[Mystic]

Originally Posted By: Rand
what honda mower this thread is useless without a model ?



Sorry. It is the Honda 21 inch push mower HRS216K5PKA. It is a nice, simple lawnmower with a quality Honda engine and a mulching mower. Pretty much exactly what I like. Not a great deal to go wrong.

Lawn mowers are pretty easy to maintain. I like to change the air filter and spark plug once every year, although those parts are supposed to last two years. And instead of getting the blade sharpened I figure I will just buy a new blade for each year. It is about the same price as getting the blade sharpened and I will save the old blades.

I have already read the owner's manual online. The mower comes with 12 oz of oil and it says that the oil is supposed to be changed after 5 hours or 1 month of operation. And after that it should run the rest of the mowing season. I often change mower oil twice a year, instead of only once a year. It bothers me a little bit that they give you only 12 oz of oil when the mower apparently holds 17 oz. But they run the engine at the factory and they say the engine always traps some oil. They say it is very important to not overfill. A person is supposed to go by the oil dip stick.

 

[Lawn_Care]

I've got a HRR216 and love it. Can't go wrong with a 21" Honda mower.

Congrats!

BTW - buy a spare set of blades (yours has the dual blade setup i'm guessing). Sharpen one set while you mow with the other. Takes 5-min. for the whole operation - removing, sharpening, balancing, reinstalling. Of course a cordless Impact makes this much easier. lol

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
I think I will use just the Honda lawnmower oil at first. Maybe it has more anti-wear additive. But it is only SJ. It is probably nothing special unless it has more anti-wear additive. Probably I will start using Mobil 1 10W-30 extended life motor oil before very long.

What I have heard is that the older motor oil had more anti-wear additive. I don't know. Does anybody know?

SJ oil has a higher concentration of ZDDP than the newer oils...

They may be using that oil as a break in, at that point any of the off the shelf oils are OK... I would check the manual closely for Honda's recommendation...

I've had M1 0W-40 in my curb pickup Honda for almost four years, hasn't dropped off full mark... No I haven't changed or added in that time & don't recommend anyone does same, just that it's working for me(I mow around 2/5 acre weekly)... At 1100ppm, M1 0W-40 has approx zinc as your SJ oil...

 

[Mystic]

And the Mobil 1 will probably keep the engine a lot cleaner. Thanks for the information.

 

[Mystic]

Originally Posted By: Lawn_Care
I've got a HRR216 and love it. Can't go wrong with a 21" Honda mower.

Congrats!

BTW - buy a spare set of blades (yours has the dual blade setup i'm guessing). Sharpen one set while you mow with the other. Takes 5-min. for the whole operation - removing, sharpening, balancing, reinstalling. Of course a cordless Impact makes this much easier. lol


It has a single blade, but I am quite sure it can be equipped with the two blade setup.

At this point I am pretty much Honda mower or else go battery powered. Too many mowers have compromises in build quality. My Toro mower lasted for several years and the Honda engine was awesome but the rest of the mower was falling apart around the engine. I can't complain because I remember getting a good deal on the Toro but I can't remember what the price was. I bought the Toro at Lowe's and it was on sale.

Of course there are expensive commercial quality lawn mowers but all I want is a good quality, long lasting, easy to maintain mower that can handle a small amount of grass.

I thought for a long time about the battery powered B&D but it is not a mulching mower. I prefer just to mulch the grass. And a lawn mower just doesn't take that much maintenance-at least a quality lawn mower does not take much maintenance. Honda for years has been at the top of my list for lawn mowers.

 

[Mystic]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: Mystic
I think I will use just the Honda lawnmower oil at first. Maybe it has more anti-wear additive. But it is only SJ. It is probably nothing special unless it has more anti-wear additive. Probably I will start using Mobil 1 10W-30 extended life motor oil before very long.

What I have heard is that the older motor oil had more anti-wear additive. I don't know. Does anybody know?

SJ oil has a higher concentration of ZDDP than the newer oils...

They may be using that oil as a break in, at that point any of the off the shelf oils are OK... I would check the manual closely for Honda's recommendation...

I've had M1 0W-40 in my curb pickup Honda for almost four years, hasn't dropped off full mark... No I haven't changed or added in that time & don't recommend anyone does same, just that it's working for me(I mow around 2/5 acre weekly)... At 1100ppm, M1 0W-40 has approx zinc as your SJ oil...


The only problem is in the owner's manual they really push for 10W30. Straight 30 weight oil is allowed in warmer temperatures but it is clear they really want a quality 10W30 oil. I have already read most of the owner's manual. Before the lawn mower arrives. I read the owner's manual online.

Does the Mobil 1 10W30 extended use have high zinc? If it does maybe I will go that route, or maybe Pennzoil Platinum 10W30. Once the engine gets broken in if I am using a synthetic oil I will change oil just once a mowing season. Otherwise, with regular oil I typically change oil twice during the mowing season. I don't like how nasty the oil looks at the end of a mowing season if you go all season long with one oil change.

Any other suggestions from anybody about motor oil?

 

[mattwithcats]

Rotella T5 10W-30 perhaps?

 

[Mystic]

Where can I get that? The last time I checked Wal-Mart did not have Rotella in that weight. It might be a better choice than the synthetic oil, right? It has high zinc and so forth?

 

[KD0AXS]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
Does the Mobil 1 10W30 extended use have high zinc?


No, but M1 High Mileage 10W-30 does. It's SL and has over 1000 ppm of zinc. I like to use Rotella T6 in most of my OPE, but if I wanted to stick with a 10W-30 that's what I would probably use.