Timemaster had to get fixed...

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Oct 17, 2007
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utah
2.5 years and about 45 hours on it, and one of the pulleys failed. This caused the belt to slip and the blades to touch. Luckily Toro paid to replace all the parts, and the new pulleys look better. Glad it didnt break after the 3 year warranty ended. This failure is annoying but this mower is so good that i will buy another (3rd) if needs be.

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Fuel tank is small, but i can always finish if its totally full at the start of mowing. I would buy a bigger tank if they made it. Some people have the pulleys or the transmission go out but not terribly expensive to fix out of warranty. For the time saved i am still a big fan.
 
I think it's an excellent mower. So much better than my Ariens 22" self propelled.

But when I had a lawn full of fallen leaves and tried to mulch them it did not have the power. Nor would my Ariens have had the power. Used my riding mower that has lots of power to mulch everything.

The net is if you are using it to cut grass on a normal basis, not 1' high grass, it will do an excellent job.
 
Timed blades make for a nice overlapping cut but are problematic and expensive to repair. Good to know yours was warranted.
 
Yep, there's something to be said about Toro and their warranty for sure.

I didn't realize these mowers had a timed cutting deck. Definitely don't care for that.
 
Originally Posted by super20dan
the personal pace trans isn't up to the task for a machine this big


On my 4th season using a Toro 824 QXE 8 HP snowblower with zero issues, and it has the Personal Pace system. It is robust in my application at least. And this is on a very large corner lot with lots of sidewalk and driveway.
 
Originally Posted by super20dan
the personal pace trans isn't up to the task for a machine this big

If you have any serious hills, it isn't good enough. Flat to low slopes it can certainly handle. On the small area of my yard that has some steep hills i do have to push some. Oh well, no big deal. A beefier transmission and drive setup would be appreciated but what it comes with is adequate. Ever since this mower came out i've been an owner/fanboy of them. I never had one issue with my 1st 190cc model.

Lawn Care Professionals have mixed reviews on these. Some run the home owner version and wear them out in a year or two, some run the turfmaster and have longer lifespans. Some have a lot of issues, and some do not. Most seem to not use the 30" size because they zip around with a 21" mower and then a ZTR.

If your just doing your own lawn, or your own lawn and a few rentals or whatever then its really good. They are not built for all day use. I've had this one since April 2017 and only put 45 hours on it. My first timemaster i did some side job rental mowings in addition to one of my rentals with it and it took it all in stride.
 
They do have a few flaws, mostly with the transmission, but they are good homeowner machines. I can see why a lot of Lawn-Care Pros have mixed reviews. A lot of those guys expect to just go top speed through tall wet grass all day without issue, and the machine isn't made for that. It is made for the homeowner with a small residential lawn who wants to cut down on mowing time while also mulching grass and leaves. They work well in that scenario.
 
Another caveat of the Timemaster is you certainly cannot mow your lawn twice a month and hope to have good results. If you try and mow really tall lawn you will either clog the mulching, fill the bag in 2 seconds, or have piles of grass side discharged. If you mow once a week or every 10 days, like your supposed to, in dry grass, even the old 190cc model is enough. The bigger engine is better power wise but worse fuel wise because the fuel tank wasn't enlarged. Sometimes i would mow twice a week, but i like mowing, and cutting a small amount side discharge makes the clippings invisible. My new place has a green waste can so i typically bag 4/5ths the time with an occasional mulch for nutrition sake.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Has anyone put a larger engine in a Timemaster.

I am not aware of any. It first came out at 190cc for several years, and in 2017 Toro upped it to 233cc. There isnt much bigger from Briggs that is the same pattern and not super heavy. Adding weight is a concern for these 140lb mowers. Too much more and you might as well have a commercial hydro walk behind 32".

The 233cc is good enough but just for fun i would consider an engine swap if it was only a few hundred bucks.
 
Originally Posted by dareo
Originally Posted by Donald
Has anyone put a larger engine in a Timemaster.

I am not aware of any. It first came out at 190cc for several years, and in 2017 Toro upped it to 233cc. There isnt much bigger from Briggs that is the same pattern and not super heavy. Adding weight is a concern for these 140lb mowers. Too much more and you might as well have a commercial hydro walk behind 32".

The 233cc is good enough but just for fun i would consider an engine swap if it was only a few hundred bucks.


Mine is the 190cc.
 
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