Advice Wanted For Buying A Lawn Mower

Status
Not open for further replies.
Go buy a Walmart Murray. The cheap ones are less than 150 and have a Briggs engine on them. For all the more you mow it will last forever if you take care of it.
 
I got something like this with chonda OHV about three years back. Mindlessly reliable.

I've had numerous briggses, they all get a B- grade. The dopey diaphragm carb, loud exhaust, and crummy fuel economy do them in. The interchangeable parts and premise that I can go to the town dump on any given Sunday and get two or three spares makes up for this.

Some briggs have been so cheap they don't have a spark plug boot! I'd push the mower under a shrub damp with dew and it would start missing.

Chonda has a well-sealed gas tank with a cap that clicks like a car's. If Briggs finally joined on this thanks to the EPA it finally means they sealed the cap vent which let gas out and humidity in. It's quiet, super easy to start, and the governor is smoother, IMO, than a briggs.

Nasty cheap mowers need the grass clippings scraped off their decks. They all do, but the cheap ones rust out pretty fast. The above is no exception.
 
Hereabouts in the spring, good mowers turn up at the "transfer station" with gummed carbs because the owners did nothing in the fall to prepare them for storage. If you're handy it's a good place to pick up a free one in my town anyway . Often a little carb cleaner is all it takes. Testing is easy, a little squeeze bottle of fuel sprayed in the carb and if it starts and runs for a bit before it stalls it's a clogged jet.
 
You might want to check your local HD and Lowes for returned mowers that have been repaired and are available. You might find a real bargain for little $. They are usually in the garden center at my local HD.
 
I've been doing the $140-$160 new push B&S 20" gas mower every 4-5 years. I do the basic maintenance but eventually the wheel mountings will rot away and the deck flexes to much at end of life. My last one I ran on 3 wheels the last 2 years. I wanted to get my 5 years...without blade sharpening or carb maintenance. That's $30/yr. I used to take apart auto carbs all the time, yet the first time I tried that on my B&S it never ran again....lol. My yard is only about 5,000 ft2 and takes 45 min.

If you go the cheap route, ensure you pre-treat the inside of the deck with anti-rust paint or a tough coating, particularly the bare steel parts. At least that will slow down the rusting. Don't wait until you've used it once or twice. I don't like the current models that require you tipping the deck 90+ deg to drain the oil. How stupid. I guess that's for people who couldn't get a drain plug out, couldn't tighten one, or got a cut from the blade when changing the oil.

I'd have preferred a reel push mower like I used as a kid in the 1960's. What I found was that most of them today don't free wheel once you stop pushing. That's a bummer. And most of them cost as much or more than a gas push mower. Why even bother?
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
A $25 craigslist mower will be perfect for your mobile home lot. Patience is key here....
No reason to have an expensive mower unless you are trying to lighten your wallet.

You have until May to buy one so check CR daily until you find the one you want. Ideally the "I bought this last year, used it twice and now it won't start ad"

Please don't buy a new one and please don't pay for any $$$ oil for it.

Put in leftovers from your cars ... It will be perfectly fine

This is life advice


Mowers don't grow on trees. I don't see any $25 mowers on craigslist where I live. They are more like $100-$125 and up for an old worn out POS.
Yeah, you might beat em down a $20. Or you could buy the $40 mower that states it leaks oil.
v95ib.png



Did you read what I posted?

HE HAS FIVE MONTHS!!

Scan Craigslist daily and when your mower pops up you jump on it.

I bought Yamaha jog scooter a few years ago and have put 8000 miles on it. Paid $200 and the only money I have spent on it has been gas and 2 stroke oil.

4 years ago I bought a cub cadet push mower with the Kawasaki engine on it. Paid $25. Lady said they used it in the fall and come spring it didn't start... was maybe 2 years old.

Cleaned the carb, changed the oil, and has cut my lawn ever since.

PATIENCE YOUNG GRASSHOPPER PATIENCE

Sheesh, I honestly think some people on this site are kicking themselves for paying top dollar for new stuff and feel so bad for themselves that they are actually encouraging others to fall for the same trap.

That is sad and f###ed up
 
Last edited:
As Brybo86 said, maybe you can find a senior person who doesn't know much about a mower that won't start. Instead of helping her, you can screw them good by giving them a lowball price and congratulate yourself for what a great find. Pretty sad commentary.
 
I'd buy a Murray at Walmart for $129 or so. Run AmsOil if you want, but I'd be fine running any 10w30. I got one last year, and for what I use it for, It's fine. For that budget, that's definitely what I'd be doing.
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
As Brybo86 said, maybe you can find a senior person who doesn't know much about a mower that won't start. Instead of helping her, you can screw them good by giving them a lowball price and congratulate yourself for what a great find. Pretty sad commentary.


Actually the lady and her husband, who was home and I met when I picked it up.... Live in Wilmette,IL in a multimillion dollar home next door to a golf course. They were probably around 40 yrs old. Their brand new Honda lawnmower was in the garage next to the one I bought from them.

Also $25 was the price she had listed in the ad.

Nice try though.

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

As I said before some people, obviously including yourself, are butt hurt.
 
Last edited:
I've used a Toro Recycler self propelled walk behind in my yard. It has a Kohler engine and has done well with thick, long grass and a pretty extreme slope (the riding mower will not even make it to this part of the yard).

Was a bit leery about the engine since my only other experience with a Kohler was in a Cub Cadet rider that used to just cut off for no apparent reason. However this one has done well.

A quick Google search turned up a 20" Toro recycler with a 149cc Kohler on close out at $199. You can even add a gas can to your order. Will be a little above the $200 you want to spend, especially since it's an online retailer and you have to ship. Probably no tax though.

In reality though, a basic $159-$179 MTD pushmower that you can get at a local big box store should serve you for years and years.
 
Originally Posted By: jhellwig
Go buy a Walmart Murray. The cheap ones are less than 150 and have a Briggs engine on them. For all the more you mow it will last forever if you take care of it.


That would be my suggestion too. Sometimes Walmart has a scratch n dent one for cheaper too! It really is hard to find an inexpensive new mower cheaper than Walmart. And, they even have various choices of cheap mowers!
 
I found a craftsman mower on CL for $50. Owner says it doesn't idle well, and said it may need a carb because they have replaced one in the past. I think it needs a good cleaning and maybe a new spark plug.
 
what does the carb look like?

Sometimes the bolt that holds the carb bowl on is also a jet that gets clogged easily.

Idle quality can also be a bad governor spring which doesn't hold the engine to a specific RPM. Try touching the governor arm while the engine is running, if the RPM increases and stays there the spring is bad.

If the engine keeps surging probably needs the jet cleaned. 5 min job , max.

what craigslist area do you search? Like I said, you have 5 months to look. You can be a little picky.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
How Old Is Your Lawn Mower(s)?? And How Many Hours Approximately?
3 4 5
Replies
98
Views
4K
odie
W
Good mower for mulching leaves
2 3
Replies
42
Views
5K
RAVL
O
Need opinions on a new riding lawn mower
2 3 4
Replies
66
Views
2K
Jackoat777
Hall
Tire selection for small zero-turn
Replies
18
Views
564
Hall
M
Snapper mower
Replies
17
Views
2K
nwjones18
Back
Top