Looking to get a new push mower. Had a .25 acre town lot, but we bought a new house this past fall and need an upgrade. I will eventually probably get a zero turn, but have some water issues to work out and that is a few years down the road. The current lot is .5 acres which is fine to do with a push mower for now.
Current is on its last legs and i want something self propelled and good mulching. I have primarily being looking at Honda and Toro as those 2 seem to be the best reviewed. Plan to buy from a local dealer, but links to just show what i am looking at
Toro Super Recycler- I would prefer the one with the Honda engine for $50 more, but dealer i called said they don’t have any and not sure if will be getting
Honda- Like that this one has blade stop. I believe these discharge out the back and not the side which i find odd, but like the blade stop feature for when bagging or having to move a branch or something
I got a Troy Bilt piece of American Mediocrity shit with the Honda engine. Avoid their line of garbage. The engine is, of course, good. But their (troy bilt mower) designs are bad, cheap, and annoying. I’m guessing they hired the space shuttle O-ring designers after they blode up the shuttle.
Yea from everything i have been reading Toro and Honda seem the way to go. Current is a cheap Troy bilt that was prob $200-$250. It barely made it through last year and was only about 4-5 years old with decent maintenance
I have a Toro push mower that I basically use a a small brush mower or to trim small areas I can’t get with a rider. The thing is 13 years old, and I have never changed the oil, spark plug, or sharpened the blades. I don’t need to run it long when I use it, but I brutalize that little sucker 4-5 times a month from April to December. Dump in some gas and starts up usually on the second pull.
But I had a Toro Personal pace that was dead nuts reliable and did a decent job of mulching. Gave it to my neighbor in trade for lawn service.
I think Toro strikes the better balance between peformance and affordability. The cost of a Honda push mower is pretty much hard for me to justify, even though Toro isn’t necessarily cheap.
It’s been a long time since i experimented with living in town and had a “yard”. When I did, I paid to have it mowed. In terms of equipment, labor, and time I thought it was worth it.
Now days I use a 6’ brush hog to knock down what the cows don’t eat. And the cheapest box store, Honda engine mower I can find for around the house.
Side note: if you use those cheesy, clip-on, wire “thatcher” things it picks up the dog crap pretty well. But I got pretty low standards in lawn maintenance.
if you want to go battery, I have an EGO push mower and it’s been excellent. Replaced a 15 y/o Toro with it and no complaints after the first year. Same with the snowblower too.
I’ve used a Husqvarna push mower for the last decade with no issues. I’ve also used Honda for other small engine applications with predictable dependability.
Toro, my old department head of quality went there after the last company we last worked at and he was a solid guy who really understood quality manufacturing practices
Well it seems like i am on the right track with either Honda or Toro, thanks for all the feedback guys
I did look at electric and would consider if the yard was .25 or less acres. The run time on them is generally 60 minutes or so and if i am not done would have to recharge or buy an extra battery. The biggest thing holding me back with electric is the run time and cost of buying a separate battery if i want to make sure i can get everything done. The batteries are at least $250 or so from what i saw and depending on how long they last it could turn in to a pretty expensive way to go if batteries need replaced every few years
I have three batteries because of the snow blower. The battery lasts long enough to do the backyard then switch a fresh for the front and sides. I use it as a marker to say it’s time to take a break for a few while I change out.
I am a long time Honda fanboy but I wouldn’t get the one you linked to. You need to get one with the larger engine. You may also look at Masport if you don’t have grass with fine blades like my Zeon Zoysia. Good luck finding anything other than a Honda mower with a Honda motor.
Masport Mowers… Check them out. I sell them for a living and they are some of the nicest most well built mowers I’ve ever seen. Durable as a tank. Just not cheap.
Cheap seems to be the order of the day. I see it every day… someone buys a big box store POS and then whines about the quality.
I’ve spent the last 22 years selling and servicing outdoor power equipment in a professional setting. Toro was the king… not anymore. The Toro engine is made in China. Toro is consuming everything in it’s path so beware. Toro 30" mowers… good luck keeping transmissions in them.
Honda motors are good. I’ve got a GCV160 on a mower from 2005… It starts on the 1st pull still. Honda trim mowers aren’t bad but they have transmission/cable issues.
Troy-Bilt, Pulsar, Sears… the dumpsters out back. Husqvarna is an upper level of Poulan… Dumpsters out back.
B&S… filed bankruptcy last year and are trying to get back on they’re feet. They over extended themselves buying up equipment companies instead of sticking to small engines. They’re B&S power equipment line… not too great.
Tecumseh went out years ago… a company is making parts for them again but damn I miss the engines.
Zero turns: Hustler… Made in Heston Kansas since 1964. Awesome mowers. Spartan Mowers… Made in Batesville Arkansas. Good mowers… now owned by Toro. I guess if you can’t beat them buy them.
Ego for the tree huggers… not a bad option but been having fits with the self propelled units… wiring in the handles goes tits up. Can’t get parts so the factory just sends a new mower out… typical tree hugger crap… feel good buying a battery powered mower that’s made of plastics (see petroleum) with battery’s made of lithium and other nasty crap (battery vendor won’t except bad ones) so they end up in the trash and are charged up by electricity that is derived probably by coal.
Yep… you can get a Big Box mower and get a good one but the odds are against you. I bought a MTD Pro in 2005 with a Honda engine on it. I bought it based on the structure of the SPP system, deck thickness, engine manufacture. I’ve done nothing to it since I purchased it other than change oil and air filter. It still has the original belt and spark plug in it. I check it in the spring… it’s still fine. I don’t leave ethanol fuel in it for long periods. The last mow I run “engineered fuel” through it. Ethanol free 50:1 two stroke fuel. I do the same on my Hustler zero turn. It purges the system of ethanol and leaves a coating of oil inside the carb and combustion chamber. On the zero turn I pull the battery and it set in my garage that stays 50 degrees or warmer for the winter with a battery tender hooked up.
Seriously… Look at Masport Mowers. Beyond excellent mowers.
I’ve been using Ryobi since ‘16. No effing with carbs and sparkplugs in the spring. Its quiet and has headlights so I can cut at 0200hrs in the deep summer. For the expensive battery problem and needing to swap them, I bought some companion tools that came with the same battery, so I have a few. I also bought a second mower when the first one got stolen, so I’m set on batteries for a while.
A buddy of mine has a lawn cutting business and he went with E Go. They’re pretty sweet. He’s got self-propelled push ones and a zero turn. I help him out sometimes, and they’re great. Good battery life on a charge.