New push mower advice

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benjamming

benjamming

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northern Alabama
Well, we finally have bermuda grass growing in our yard, & it's about time for the 1st mowing. So, I need a mower (kitchen shears would take too long & the wife wouldn't be very happy). I'll be happy with a push mower. Referencing CR, my two choices would be:
1) Toro Recycler model 20055 Personal Pace 3-in-1 with B&S 6.5HP engine, aluminum deck, & 5-year warranty. I like the side discharge on this one. How is the Guaranteed-to-Start?
2) Honda HRX217VKA with 190cc engine, Xenoyn deck, & 3-year warranty. Side discharge isn't there!

I don't bag grass clippings (that's sorta like putting a dust collector at the beach). I like the Toro the best and it's less expensive. However, what do fellow BITOGers say on these two & any other thoughts?
 
Not positive about the Honda you mention, but my Honda masters HR215 (2003 model) has a "side" discharge that you can put on in place of the bag. Not as nifty as a real side discharge, I suppose, but it does discharge sideways
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I pretty much never use it. We're required to mulch in my region, so that's what it does most of the time. I bag a portion of the back yard where my daughter and dog play so they don't track mulch in all over the house.
 
I bought the Honda a few month's ago and couldn't be more happy. Auto choke, adjustable clipping settings, easy to use thumb operated drive system and no clutch assembly, this mower suited my needs perfectly. Bought the extended warranty through HD for an additional 2 years, which brings the total warranty to 5 years. It's a little on the pricy side, but should last 20+ years.

I did have to bend the frame on the bag for a better fit against the deck, but that took less than 5 min.

There is no side discharge on that model.

Either one of the above mentioned mowers would be a good choice. I chose the Honda, well, because it's a Honda!
 
You can't go wrong with either mower. If you buy a Toro, do not buy from Home Depot, buy one from a Toro dealer and make sure it's the Super Recycler (which the one you mention above is). Both of them will mow very well and last a long time. I recently replaced my 10 yr. old Honda with a self-propelled Toro (20054) and love it.
 
By the way, the Super Recycler (Toro) has a standard 5 year warranty and will be much cheaper than the Honda.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. The Toro is $500 from a local dealer. Why not buy from Home Despot?

I'm not starting to think about a regular push mower. The mower I'm most interested in is the Yard Machines model 11A-546B. It's ~ $270 less but still has a 21" cut and a 190cc 6.75HP engine! Who makes this engine? I don't know that a self-propelled mower is worth the extra money, reliability concerns (more parts), etc.
 
B&S makes the Yard Machines mower I mentioned above & it's $200 at Home Despot. HD doesn't have the Toro 20055 I mentioned above.

Gilitar,
I saw your link above. That mower is front wheel drive. I wonder how much difference that makes between the rear wheel drive models that I'm looking at.
 
Quote:

B&S makes the Yard Machines mower I mentioned above & it's $200 at Home Despot. HD doesn't have the Toro 20055 I mentioned above.

Gilitar,
I saw your link above. That mower is front wheel drive. I wonder how much difference that makes between the rear wheel drive models that I'm looking at.

Click to expand...


Yard Machines is an MTD brand, not B&S. Reason I mention that is that B&S did buy one of the lower end manufacturers (Murray?) and markets their own lawnmowers now.

The push mower model you referenced sold at HD does have a B&S flathead engine on it.

As far as fwd/rwd self-propelled mowers go, in my experience the rwd models cost more and work better. The fwd models are ok for light duty flat ground use.
 
If the engine isn't clearly marked Briggs and Stratton, Honda, or Tecumseh, it may very well be a Chinese knockoff of a Honda. Be wary of the Chinese knockoffs. They are made from Honda blueprints, but not the high-quality materials Honda uses. If you find a Yard Machine mower with a Briggs, it will last much, much longer.
 
Yeah, sorry I meant to say that B&S is marked as the engine on the Yard Machines that I can only find at HD.

Gilitar,
I don't mulch nor bag & my yard is fairly level.

The Toro I'm looking at is only available at a local dealer. That may be a good thing.
 
Quote:

Yeah, sorry I meant to say that B&S is marked as the engine on the Yard Machines that I can only find at HD.

Gilitar,
I don't mulch nor bag & my yard is fairly level.

The Toro I'm looking at is only available at a local dealer. That may be a good thing.

Click to expand...


A front wheel drive mower will be fine for you.

Off topic:

You should really consider mulching as it returns nutrients to the soil and cuts down on fertilizing and watering needs.
 
I recently bought a Toro recycler 20073 at Home Depot. It has the Personal Pace system.

The cheaper Home Depot Toros have steel decks and mostly Tecumseh motors while the more expensive, small dealer, super recycler models have aluminum decks and mostly Briggs and Stratton engines. Interestingly, the steel decks have a 22inch wide cut while the aluminum are 21.

Some of the negative comments about the Home Depot Toros originate from the very dealers who sell the more expensive versions and are not happy about having their sales eroded. Part of the higher cost of the fancier versions is simply the higher margins.

I love the personal pace self propulsion system. Some people don't seem to adjust to it easily but it works very well for me. I really appreciate the ability to vary my speed effortlessly after trudging behind a very slow, single speed, Yard Man motor for ten plus years. Long term durability remains to be seen.

Side discharge is a very valuable feature IMHO and is one of the reasons I went with the Toro. Our lawn grows extremely fast in the spring and fall and sometimes I just can't get to it when it needs it. It was really nice this spring to use the side discharge when the mulcher simply could not hack the tall wet grass. It did a pretty good job of speading the stuff out as well.

I read quite a few complaints about the Honda selp propel system being hard on the thumbs. This might be baloney or it might have been fixed by now. I don't have first hand experience.

So far I am extremely happy with my Toro.

Another interesting choice might be the Lawn Boy mowers. They are now owned by Toro and if I remember right they sell an aluminum deck version with Personal Pace through Home Depot.
 
I've just started spending huge amount of time on www.Lawnsite.com and they are primarily geared towards Lawn Care Operators. Most there will recommend Toro over Honda except in the area of bagging clipping. No one on that site recommends Home Depot or Lowes grade mowers.
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Most recommend the ProLine of Toro but they are over $1100 and do not have the personnel pace system. Not trying to offend anyone here but I've seen them side by side. Get the aluminum deck. I have an older 3 speed Toro Super Recycler with an aluminum deck. My dad bought an aluminum deck Toro Personnel Pace mower a few year ago same mowers as the ones sold today. My vote is to go for the more expensive Aluminum deck model with personnel pace. $550 - $650 range I actually mow a few yards for extra cash with my old Toro however I would prefer the personnel pace system over the 3 speed. Once you get used to it - it's much faster and handier to use. Toros are not the best baggers in the world so if you mulch they are great.
 
I have no doubt that the professional grade Toro mowers are better. Most people don't have $500+ to spend on a walk behind mower.
 
just purchased the TORO 20055 over the weekend to replace the 7 year old Crapsman. Paid 498 at local dealer. There has to be some good reasons why the 20073 at 370 bucks from HD is cheaper and only carries a 2 year warranty vs the 5 year warranty on the 20055. Very happy with it so far
 
the Crapsman 6.75 Briggs OHV engine will be dissected by a neighborhood kid who wants to learn about engines-it will be a pleasure to show him the ropes
 
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