I currently have a craftman with a Honda engine self propelled with high back wheels. It's too damn fast for my little town house postage stamp. I'm gonna dump this one on Craigslist and want a PUSH mower. Big fan of the Honda engines. Seems like a number of folks incorporate the Honda engine into their own decks. Husqvarna, Lawn Boy and I'm sure others have basically what I'm looking for. Is there any meaningful difference in these decks vs say a genuine Honda deck?
I had a Husqvarna push mower with a Honda engine. It was fine but wouldn't bag my super lawn clippings as well as I'd like so gave it to my mom and bought a Honda push mower.
Same engine(I think) but different decks.
The Honda is maybe 10-20lbs heavier and also bags way better, just feels more solid. The Husky will be fine for most grass and also pushes easier.
Trying to remember price, probably $50 more for the Honda?
The Toro mowers get good reviews. I'd not be scared to buy one.
The steering wheel zero turn Toro is the chit, drink beer and mow!
(just don't back into daylight basement windows....)
Uber fast blade speed, mine will vacuum up (dry)mini-dog turds. Hopefully the engine lasts for a long time.
It's so wet out here I can't even get a mower to suck up clippings a week after the last rain.
Nothing worse than trying to mow or swath wet grass.
Super douche just showed up here in the desert. Rain/snow, we'll take it!
I have a Husqvarna self-propelled deck with a Honda engine. Mowers have a very hard and sometimes short life here, but that one has been studly... have bent a couple blades but never sheared the shear key, which I used to do regularly on another mower.
But-- the front-wheel-drive on the Husq deck was total crap. I finally cut it out with a sawzall. Now it's a push mower.
My Honda motor did have an ominous clatter under load the other day, timed right with the RPM's.... hoping it was something loose somewhere and not the rod about to come through the cylinder wall.
I got a little postage stamp yard too.
I bought the $150 model at Home Depot,...cheapest one they had.
It's actually a decent mower for 150 bucks. 3.5 HP Briggs motor,..20" deck.
I'll run it until it blows then go buy another $150 mower.
Money bags. It would cost me $700 a month.
The Toro mowers get good reviews. I'd not be scared to buy one.
I have had honda and Toro mowers. In my experience the Honda was a much better mower.
Money bags. It would cost me $700 a month.
160 a month for me, but i'd rather spend a sat or sun fishing or at the ranch instead of doing yard work.
It is unusual in my experiance to have a self-propelled mower that did not give one a "push" option--or at least a "ground speed" adjustment.
Yours have neither?
A Honda powered Craftsman has worked for 6-7 years so far for me.
I should clean the carb so it'd idle a bit better but it runs fine at Ramming Speed so, na, I'll run it a while longer.
I have a Honda with the plastic deck (pex?). It's small wheel, rear wheel drive. It's the Honda 2-blade system. It's the cheapest in the line of plastic decks. I run the schitt out of it. Cuts great, runs great. You can bag or mulch. Oh, you can adjust the self-propelled speed also.
It is unusual in my experiance to have a self-propelled mower that did not give one a "push" option--or at least a "ground speed" adjustment.
Yours have neither?
It obviously had the ability to not engage the self prop but you are fighting the gearing. Free balling ain't possible.
I have the Husky 4wd with Honda power and it is superb. Only ding if you want to call it that is you have to let go of the drive and push it the last few inches so the drive disengages.
Its been a good one and when it goes TU i will buy the same again.
The push model Husqvarna with the high back wheels seems to be winner.
I'm running a Honda powered Craftsman and have never had a bit of trouble with it. Change the oil every year, tune up every other year, and sharpen the blade as needed. That's it and it going strong after many years of use. I did somehow manage to break one of the wheels, but other than that, nothing has ever happened to it and it starts every time.
I have been a home owner since 1983. I have had two mowers in that time span. The first was a 19" Snapper laid to rest in 1997. Had I not hit a clothesline stub and bent the motor shaft, after which I beat back straight as I could get it, the Honda would likely still be going. It finally vibrated until it cracked the deck beyond repair.
It was replaced with a John Deere 21". Both of them were/are push mowers, no self propulsion.
It is unusual in my experiance to have a self-propelled mower that did not give one a "push" option--or at least a "ground speed" adjustment.
Yours have neither?
It obviously had the ability to not engage the self prop but you are fighting the gearing. Free balling ain't possible.
Had a Honda given to me last year. It was a nice push mower but nothing like my older LawnBoy. The LB has variable speed built into the engage lever where the Honda didn't. Big difference.
For a postage stamp yard, take a look at battery electrics. They require a lot less maintenance, are lighter in weight, and winter storage is just putting it away with the battery in the house. The newer models are pretty good these days.
ya'll like my flamingos
I've been using my in-laws while they're out of town. It a Toro with a honda on top. Has the personal pace. It's a dream to use compared to my craftsman with the B&S engine, with the cheapest FWD they can make and call it a "powered drive" mower. I keep hoping the craftsman will die...
I ended up getting the Husqvarna 7021. Very pleased. Pushes easier than it is to chase the self propelled around the yard. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice push mower.
Do you find that the large rear wheels actually make a helpful difference?
Maybe a little fuel flow adjustment would rectify the issue. Have two self propelled and I can tune both of them.
My first honda mower was bought back in 1991 it had a cast aluminum deck . I gave it to my brother when it was 16 years old and would still be running if my brothers wife had checked the oil level 2 years ago. I have had 2 of them since, nothing is as reliable, runs as quietly and in my case Mulches grass as well. I do not have a big yard and that may be a big factor as well.
I have a Honda with the plastic deck (pex?). It's small wheel, rear wheel drive. It's the Honda 2-blade system. It's the cheapest in the line of plastic decks. I run the schitt out of it. Cuts great, runs great. You can bag or mulch. Oh, you can adjust the self-propelled speed also.
I have one of these as well. I got rid of a rider to get this. I couldn't how uniform the grass looked after mowing. It does a decent job mulching and I don't have to worry about the deck rusting from thatch. I opted for the 190cc engine over the 160cc. Great mowers.
Been using one like this for 7 summers now...
still runs great...$40 less w/o self propelled
Lawn Boy..from Amazon....$279 shipped
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/810FyNJw9gL._SL1500_.jpg
Short of a couple of tractor mows a year that I do, my wife takes care of the yard. She gets a house cleaner in return.
I ended up getting the Husqvarna 7021. Very pleased. Pushes easier than it is to chase the self propelled around the yard. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice push mower.
I like mine as well. On my third summer with it at the new house. 3/4 acre yard.
Got a Troy-Built self propelled mower with a Honda engine. Engine runs great, but the self propelled is crap. Bought it used from a local repair shop. Someone had brought it in for repair on the self repelled gear and a new transmission had been installed, but they never picked it up. I used it for a couple of months and the self propelled quit working. Took it back to the shop and they ordered and installed a new transmission for it charging me only for labor. Used it for a couple more months and it broke again, same problem. Took it back to the shop and had him remove the self propelled gears so I can use it as a regular push mower. Learned that this model has been discontinued. No mystery to me as to why. The Honda engine starts easy and runs great.
Do you find that the large rear wheels actually make a helpful difference?
I honestly couldn't tell ya one way or the other.
As a kid I tried to mow with my sister's pet sheep. Didn't work.
I have a Honda push mower with aluminum deck that I bought new in 1979 or 1980. It still starts up on 2d pull and runs perfectly. I change the oil every season.
I currently have a craftman with a Honda engine self propelled with high back wheels. It's too damn fast for my little town house postage stamp. I'm gonna dump this one on Craigslist and want a PUSH mower. Big fan of the Honda engines. Seems like a number of folks incorporate the Honda engine into their own decks. Husqvarna, Lawn Boy and I'm sure others have basically what I'm looking for. Is there any meaningful difference in these decks vs say a genuine Honda deck?
I'm really hard on lawn mowers. I've had a Husqvarna deck with a Honda motor for 7-8 years now. It's had the [bleep] beat out of it. What I REALLY need is a brush mower, haha.... anyway the Honda is a great small engine. I have had my disappointments with the Husq deck. The front wheel drive setup was total crap and after futzing with it as nauseam I cut out the little gearbox with a sawzall to leave only the front wheels on stub axles. Works fine now <g>. The sheet metal shroud around the blade got damaged and I had to remove part of it, and drill and tap some jimmy-rig holes to hold other parts together.
I'm a fan of my Husqvarna chain saws, big time, but this Husq deck is pretty cheesy.
Motor runs good still though. I'm flat amazed I never blew the shear key; in fact I'm not convinced it even has one. I think the only thing I've fixed on the motor, and it's a stretch to say it's the motor, is a part where the blade attached to the output shaft of the motor. I think maybe that served as a shear key; it certainly eventually failed, but not gracefully, requiring me to drill out the snapped bolt from the output shaft. Then again shear keys are a PITA too.
Anyway. Honda good.