So the old Husqvarna Honda motor walk behind rear wheel drive is about had it. I would buy another in a heart beat if they were still made. Alas, they are not. Looking at Honda HRN216VKA or possibly Toro Recycler 21386. Both these things are in the $550-$600 range. Uneven yard. Looking for any input or suggestions. Other brands/models for consideration?

I'm a big fan of Honda small engines and would look there.

Made the mistake of buying an Ariens about 12 years ago. Can't recommend them at all.

I own the Honda HRN216VKA and it has been a great mower. My issue with it is that when you release the safety bar at the handle the mower not only stops the blade but also stops the engine, meaning when you have to stop to pick up a rock or branch the engine shuts off and you have to restart each time.

My understanding is the HRN216VYA only stops the blade when the safety bar is released allowing you to leave the mower running while picking up debris. I wish I had purchase that model. I hope it is still available as I did not look before posting this message.

Be aware that some models will not allow you to pull the mower backwards in free wheel when the self-propelled handle is released. You will be pulling against the drive clutch assembly which makes it very hard to mower where you have a lot of obstacles to mow in an around.

Years ago I had a Toro. Started first pull every time. Great mower. Sold it when I moved

I've had my Toro Recycler for 15 years. Still starts on the first pull every time. I love it. I have no experience with Hondas though.

Have the Honda quadra cut its been a great mower!

Honda

Honda all the way. I love the honda engines.

I'm on the tale end of my second Toro walk behind mower in a 20 year period. The problem with them is that they eventually lose the self-propulsion, and then you're left with a needless heavy push mower. The one I have now is to the point where it hardly self-propels at all. When my last one got to this stage, the small engine repair guy I brought it to told me that, based on what he'd have to charge to fix it, I might as well just buy a new one.

This is the last year Honda will make push mowers. If you want one better get it now.

John Deer I have had my push mower 27 years

If the self propel is almost worn out but the mower otherwise works fine, I would look at stripping out the self propel unit. If you can remove that it will probably push easier.
I have a Toro that is about 12yrs old and has been a great machine.

Are the Hondas hydro static now?
I was gifted one several years back and didn't really care for it as it was always at full throttle if engaged.
My Lawn Boy[2 stroke as a plus] is hydro static so the speed can be controlled.

The old two stroke Lawn Boys were the best walk behind mowers ever made. I owned two in a 29 year period, each good for roughly fifteen years before the mower deck and drivetrains were shot. The engines still started first pull, every time. The engines were made by Honda.

Those two stroke days are long gone. As other have said, look for features you want, but always make sure it has a Honda engine. The brand name on the mower itself isn't all that important, it's the engine that matters.

I have a Honda-engined TroyBilt self-propelled that I like a lot. It's about five years old now. Starts right up, only needs 15 seconds, tops, to fully warm up and be ready for use.

I secure the kill-switch bar to the handle with a small dog collar when using it. It has a seperate lever to engage/disengage the propulsion, so I can leave it running while clearing debris or opening a gate.

Good mower.

Those older husqvarna with honda engines were wonderful, had one over 10 years. Went to a honda self propelled but killed it using it as a bush hog, bent deck all up but thats my fault, not the mowers. My buddys newer honda has self propel issues, it will just stop working, you can turn the rear tire some and something engages and it will start working again, doesnt happen a lot, but its done that ever since new.

I just went with a non self propelled honda knowing it would be a little lighter and I wouldnt have to worry about the self propel unit messing up when I'm going over small sweetgumbs and other trash I have to keep cut back. I'm not 20 anymore and its still a chore as light as it is.

I thought the engines were Tecumseh??
Mine needs a carb but I can't find one for it, maybe I've been going in the wrong direction?
Been 3 years and I cannot bring myself to dispose of it.

Kobalt 80v from Lowes. Once you go electric you won't go back to gasoline.

I have 2 Honda HRs from the mid 90s. Those things are tanks, mine are rear wheel drive IIRC which I'm not a fan of but it works well. No telling how many hours they have on them.
I replaced the wheels on them because they wore out.

I have a 10+ year old Craftsman with a Honda motor that runs like a champ.

I have a 6 or 7 year old 21" Troybilt. These days they're making them almost completely automatic, no adjustments at all. With this one, the only adjustment is blade height. To start it, you squeeze the lever and pull the rope. No switch, no squeeze bulb, no choke. The switch is the handle lever. When you release it, everything shuts off instantly. When it's running, there's another lever to engage the drive wheels. It's easy to start and has been very reliable.
Most of my mowing is with a garden tractor. I use this for trimming so it doesn't get a lot of use. It's been very good for what I use it for.
The only problem is the grass chute. It has a flapper door that closes for mulching. If you want it to eject the grass, you lift the door and attach the chute which takes all of 5 seconds. The chute is the problem. Any light bump and it falls off.

Have you tried here?

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/lawn-boy-lawn-mower-parts-c-166797_167463.html

You don't think the battery will expire in a couple years?

Thanks HH,
I may have been barking up the wrong tree if the engine is possibly Honda.
I will get my model #/year this evening and see what I can find on the site.
I know it's a Silver Series, 6.5 HP but need a year or model # to get going.

Thanks again!

The best ones I have found are propelled by someone else

Rock chuck hit the nail on the head. Cost is less than most, and Troybuilt do a fine job. Gave my eight year old one, to a grandson, and bought a new one this week. Half the price as many and they do a great job.

I have 15 years on my Honda and going strong. Would go Honda again if/when it dies. Bought a Toro electric as a backup last year. It works ok but doesn't bag near as well as the Honda. I have 9-10k sq ft of lawn and wouldn't want electric as my primary mower.

Good question. This is our third year with this machine and the battery is doing fine. In fact, I set the battery on the shelf last October, fully charged. After six months of dormancy, I pulled it down last week to run the mower I figured the battery would be at half-charge at best. No, the battery was fully charged. I couldn't believe a battery could set up that long and not lose any charge.

I have zero complaints about this badass machine and it has just as much power as our old 5.5 HP Briggs and Stratton.

The aecret is to grease the transmission via the grease zerk.

This will be the 4th year on our eGo 21" walk behind, and when it dies, I'll get another electric. I is as powerful as the 9hp Troybilt that it replaced, and hassle free, Ditto in the electric weed whacker. But I still use a Cub gas whacker with the brush cutting blade.
RB

That was my last Lawn Boy. 1999 model year. Absolutely bulletproof unit.

I replaced it because the mower deck was rusted out from the bottom in the back, and it would spit grass clippings onto the person walking behind it.

Is the biggest advantage to the electric - simply not buying gas or are they lighter/faster in anyway? How do they handle bagging?

I need to trash my Ariens and am not opposed to electric but I also don't really mind buying gas either. I mow my lawn 2x on a tank of gas, takes about 35 mins each to do it. Not a big field or anything.

The Kobalt comes with a 6 AH battery. A new one costs $360. If you don't need one to run that long, a 4 AH is $250.

The bagger works just fine and can be set either as a side bagger or a back begger. I live in a very rural area and our lawn is a feral lawn; a lotta grass but boocoo weeds and stuff. I don't bag the cuttings, just leave them lay. The biggest advantage is no pull start and no gas to pour; just pop in the batteries and go. If I'm out gallivanting around, my wife has no problems with cutting the lawns -- we have one at the house and one over at the guest cabin. The mower weighs 60 pounds so it stays on the ground without being a gut buster putting it away.
RB

Another vote for battery operated. I have a Toro bout 4 years old and going strong.

Teal,
I got our first one (2010 or so) so my wife didn't have to deal with gas while I was working 8 months away from home, spring thru fall. Small suburban yards. Haven't gone back to gas since, our "lawn", such as it is, is a small one also. Mine bags well enough, I let ours grow pretty high so I have to empty the bag a couple of times per mowing usually. Lotta times I just let it mulch and stay on the lawn too.

Ours is a 40V Black and Decker, I'd look into an 80V if I was in the market for a new one though.

No gas to deal with, no smell of exhaust on my clothes and in my beard when the wind is blowing toward me, and quiet. No need for hearing protection (yes, I wear it around power equipment, I can still hear!)

If I had a larger lawn I'd likely just get a gas riding mower and use it on our little 1 acre pasture too.

I'm just looking at a 40V for mine and boy have they gone up in price in the last year or two.

Let's Go Brandon

Am I the only married person[here] whose wife can still pull start a gas push mower?

Askin for a friend.

My daughter started mowing our lawn with the Lawn Boy when she was fourteen!

Thanks - good to know. Maybe I'll give them a more serious thought.

My girlfriend can't crank a gasoline lawnmower, that is the main reason we went to the Kobalt.

On our old Briggs and Stratton, there is a safety lever next to the handle. Let go of the handle to move a branch out of the way, and the mower shuts off. A good safety feature. But, a PITA. Every time the mower shuts off you have to re crank it. So I just wired the safety lever to the handle, so now there is no safety lever. Convenient, but dangerous.

The Kobalt has the same safety lever, so when you have to walk away from the machine for a minute, let go and it shuts off. Come back, depress the lever and it starts right back up. The girlfriend loves it. Now, I can sit on the porch and drink a beer and watch her mow the lawn.

It is powerful! And it runs about 90 minutes on a charge. I don't know about bagging, we don't use a bag.




Nervous about mowing a steep embankment, because gasoline will run out of the machine? It could catch fire.
There is no gas.
Engine oil will run out, and you might blow the engine.
There is no oil.
Tired of cleaning air filters?
There is no air filter.

I removed the safety bar from the last walk behind 3 mowers I bought and installed toggle switches wired from the magneto to the engine block. Forward position for run and backwards to kill the engine.

I just pay a neighborhood kid to do it.

If I could find one - I would. Hate mowing the grass.

Snappers have served me well.

2-cycle Lawnboys here. Gonna fire one up this weekend.....

All good choices. I pick Honda

I have the Honda and sing its praises every time it starts on first pull....which is every single time. I use non ethanol gas -recommend it for 4 cycle or two cycle.

Features:

• It has a gas cut off for winter storing to keep carburetor gum free
• Past mowers had a crappy housing for the air filter that invited clogging. These will get dirty but are just better.
• Wheel adjustments are better and less flimsy than most. Perhaps you have had ones that became soft over time and a real pain to adjust?
• Like most newer mowers it doesn't have a drain plug. Just top off the oil...rarely. I didn't like this at first but there has been no issues and oil remains clean looking.
• the mechanism you depress to engage propulsion is operated by your thumbs and is adjustable
• A GREAT mulching mower thanks t odual blade design. I never get the cut hay side rows when using it.

There is a large easy to move switch to go from mulch to bagging. You can use bagging without the bag but I won't say I recommended that.

Best mower I ever bought. Wish I would have gone this route sooner.

Cheaper Greenworks batteries will also fit a Kobalt...more or less. The battery is the same. The difference is the slots on the side that match up with the slots on the mower. There's a youtube video showing how to use a Dremel to easily mill a couple new slots on the battery to make it fit.

Rock chuck hit the nail on the head. Cost is less than most, and Troybuilt do a fine job. Gave my eight year old one, to a grandson, and bought a new one this week. Half the price as many and they do a great job.

I do have a troybilt snow thrower - it's been good. Wouldn't hesitate to look at other things they sell.

The best is in front of an underpaid Mexican!