Buying a forever lawnmower. Lawnmower buying advice.

I don't have a lot of experience in buying lawn mowers. Mine have lasted decades. I do have a lot of experience in owning a lawn mower. My yard is .41 acres. So if anything, I have a bit more mowing to do than you do.

My second lawnmower was a Murray, I think. The important thing was the engine. It had a Honda engine. A nice feature that may be impossible to find today with the nanny state protecting you from yourself, is the engine speed was totally independent from any walking speed. In other words, you could run it at idle over areas like gravel or newly seeded grass that had just started growing and then go to full throttle in the thicker grass.

The second most important thing to me was the lawn mower deck. Some lawn mowers are designed to bag efficiently...and they stick a mulching blade on it and call it a mulching lawn mower. You want a deck that'll let the clippings be tossed upwards and then be recut as they fall.

I kept that lawn mower for 26+ years with little to no maintenance. The oil was changed every year. I'd change the sparkplug (or clean it) about every 7-10 years. You can blow out the loose debris from the air filter with your leaf blower as you're cleaning up. I generally would change the air filter when I changed the spark plug...which wasn't often at all. I didn't baby it, and it kept going like the Energizer bunny.

Spare parts? Didn't need any. When I did need a spark plug or air filter, the local hardware store sold them. They're cheap and pretty standard. The only other thing I changed was the wheels. The hub area would eventually wear out. But that took a lot of use and many years.

I bought push lawn mowers. When I get to needing a "self-propelled" lawnmower, I'll probably move into an old folks home. I've used lawnmowers with a drive before and they have their drawbacks. If you're trying to cut close to trees, flower beds and the like, you don't want your wheels spinning away, or to be trying to hold the lawnmower back. If your grass is fairly new and wet (like in the Spring or Fall), having those wheels spinning while you're barely moving can rip the grass up. While the manufacturers have probably made that drawback a lesser problem, my guess is that is the part that will fail the most. The complexity will lead to failure. And when it fails, you have a heavy lawnmower to push till you buy another or fix it.

I bought another lawn mower finally after having that second one last for so long. I tried to find virtually the same thing. I bought a Craftsman M140 from Lowe's Hardware. https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-...-Push-Lawn-Mower-with-Honda-Engine/1000705996

That model is no longer sold, but the link will show you what it looks like and what features it has...or doesn't have.


Electric lawnmowers...you're at the borderline with 1/3 acre on making those work well. The batteries are the weak link. If you use the batteries a lot, they'll last. Sometimes. But if you put them away (like over the winter), they may not. And the battery you use for a lawnmower is generally larger than you'd use for hand tools. The cost of new batteries, can easily get close to what you spend on a new gas lawnmower. I bought a number of Ryobi hand tools. The design seemed good and the price was decent. I pulled out my edger to use the next spring and the battery was dead. A new battery was close to what I paid for the edger+battery originally. And you won't know the battery is dead till you get ready to use it. Count on buying two batteries, because if you get almost done...and your battery runs out of juice...and the rain is coming in...well, that sucks.

Good luck.

Craftsman Garage said:

get a life

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Really dude.
Reported

Look for a Snapper Hi Vac. Mine was purchased new in 1996, was 700 bucks then. Still have all the original attachments. I mow 1 acre but don’t bag much. Recycling/ mulching is great. All parts are available aftermarket. Original Briggs 6 , does not smoke. Oil change every year. Wore out rear tires 4 years ago. I still look to find another Big 6 but never see them for sale.

GearHead36 said:

Obviously, some people have drunk the green kool-aid. The OP asked for recommendations for a "forever mower". Which I take to be, one that will never need to be replaced. Battery mowers are currently the exact opposite of this. There are pretty much zero 5 yrs old battery powered mowers in use. They are notorious for having unavailable parts after 2 yrs. Admittedly, the gas mowers are getting cheaper and cheaper, too, and I don't mean cost wise. This is why I recommended an older used gas mower. Battery powered equipment may get to the point of never needing to be replaced, but it's nowhere close to that at this point in time.

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I gotta chime in here. You sound like you need to seriously open your mind and welcome yourself to the 21st Century. It's not 1945-75 anymore. Electric battery powered mowers are for now and they are real.

A few of my neighbors have battery powered electrics, and one has had his for almost a decade. One has replaced the battery. One has a rider that's electric (which I don't really like). The only maintenance I've seen is blade sharpening. No fuel, no draining gas, no oil adding or changing oil, no tune ups, no gas spoilage, no mechanic. Maybe that last one is the real problem here.

No, these things are not green cool aid. They work and they work well. No I wouldn't buy a electric yard tractor or zero turn, but mainly due to cost and lack of run time / battery capacity. If all you have is a 1/3 acre or less or a moderate sized suburbanite/urban yard, all you need is a 21 or 22 inch electric self propelled mower.

The manufacturers know it, even gas engine makers know it. Why do you think gas engine mowers ads talk about one pull starting, no oil changes and electric start options? Because they are trying to compete with electrics. The fact is that gas powered mowers are losing market share. Even Honda, who made some of the best small engine mowers has pulled the plug. Pun intended.

Craftsman Garage said:

Climate change and global warming is a hoax guys, and you need to snap out of it.

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Folks:
I think I see what the real problem here is.
What we have here is another person who has decided to stick with solutions and facts from 50 years ago.

I am a ski instructor. Been skiing for 55 years. Don't tell me that there is no climate change unless you call it what it really is: "Climate Warming" is what it should be called, because that is what is really happening out here in the real world.

My employer has kept statistics that go back to 1958 (when they opened) on snowstorms, seasonal snow totals, daily and temperatures, number of days below freezing (days we can make snow). Days of rain.... and it all points to climate warming. But you are stuck in a mindset that doesn't want to hear, maybe doesn't want to understand.

Ignored

GearHead36 said:

Um, where did you prove anyone or anything wrong? Ferrari makes an EV. Ok. Does that prove anything?

I tried a battery powered trimmer years ago. I'm an electrical engineer, and I wanted to be able to "go electric". The technology was nowhere close to good enough. Now the tech IS much better, but still not the equal of gas. Power-wise, yes, electric motors can compete with gas engines, but it's energy where the batteries fall short. I have a Echo PAS attachment system. I trim, edge, and blow every week, and need a full tank of gas every time, which is about the equivalent of two 6Ah batteries, which cost more than my entire trimmer system. Current battery tech is still at the point where they lose capacity every year. So if I need the full capacity of two 6Ah batteries this year, I'll need to add another one next year. And we are still in the phase of battery development where any given battery system is obsolete in just a few years. And mowers use MUCH larger (and more expensive) batteries than trimmers. For tools like drills, hand saws, sawzalls, impact wrenches, etc, batteries are great. For some reason, DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc, don't obsolete their battery systems as often as mower companies do. The OP asked about a "forever mower". Currently, battery powered mowers are the exact opposite. Eventually, they will get there, and I look forward to when that happens, but that time is not now.

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I would agree that for the professional landscaper mower service, electric is not there. But for harry homeowner, an electric is a forever mower. For the 20-22 inch mower for the homeowner, we are already there, and have been for 5 years. Yes batteries are going to get better, but if all you need is a 22 inch mower to run for 2 hours a week.... battery power is the way to go.

sailingharry said:

Us homeowners with "larger small lots" have limited choices. You say you want 20" width, and you may want it (but I suspect you'll tire of 90 minute mow jobs in the heat of summer!). But our lawns cry out for 28-36 mowers, a void in the market.

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Which is one reason I have kept my mini rider (MTD/Yardman Yardbug) with its 27 inch blade for 25 years. Its a weird one, with the bagging basket under the seat.

rberman999 said:

It’s not that electrical isn’t the way to go, yes someday it will be, but not today for the masses. First, if everyone switched to all electric vehicles at the snap of the fingers the electrical grid would be overwhelmed by 5-10 times its present capacity. I believe that number to be seriously low but that’s what “experts” say. Not sure about where you live, but I don’t see massive electrical grid updates going on in my back yard, do you? Second, today in the US, the majority of electric is generated by natural gas, not solar, wind or hydro electric. So charging your electric car makes and adds to global warming CO2. Third, the CO2 generation of earth moving equipment to create the Li ion batteries requires a car to travel roughly 86,000 miles just to “break” even in CO2 generation(the 86,000 miles may include the overall manufacturing process, I don’t fully remember). Next, the cold (real cold) weather severely reduces the amount of miles your long range battery will deliver. For example, a 320 mile battery may deliver 125-175 miles in sub 30 degree weather(less miles the colder out it is). Mileage estimates for the long range batteries are based on a mixture of 60% city driving and 40% highway. Takes lots of electrical energy to make an electric car travel 70 mph. Also the driving range is based on spring or fall driving weather, not summer when it is hot out and you need the a/c, not winter when it is cold out and you need heat. Another concern, high speed accidents, between electric to electric vehicles, if an Li ion battery is split open and exposed to O2 they tend to burst into flames. Today, what is the likelihood two electric cars are in a high speed head on accident, must be very small. Finally, talk with people who have issues with their Tesla vehicles, first, if you can get the parts (that is the Tesla dealership to do the repairs) only Tesla can repair your vehicle as Tesla will not sell the parts to you or a mechanic of your choice or even a body repair shop. Some Tesla vehicles are being junked due to lack of collision body parts, and these are very fixable cars. I’ll finish up with two last items, it will take a generation before you will be able to have an all electric car repaired at a local mechanic, so to speak, so you will only be able to have the manufacturer repair your car for many years. Also, to address why all the car companies are marketing all electric vehicles , well, electric cars have a significant number less parts than ICE vehicles, so they take less labor to manufacture them and as I stated many less parts, yet they are significantly more expensive, so bottom line profit margins are significantly better with all electric vehicles. So, as I started, future, maybe 35-50 years, electric should be for the masses, just not today. Good luck with your all electric vehicles, lawn mowers and saws, included because I wasted money on a battery operated circular saw (big mistake).

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Or more concisely put:
There is a good reason for range anxiety for cars and trucks. LI batteries can be dangerous cause they catch fire and are hard to put out. We don't have the infrastructure in place to support an all electric fleet. Electric cars are going to put many mechanics out of business and hurt car dealer profits at the service bay. Despite the fact that it should be cheaper and easier to make an electric car, its not because the batteries are so costly.

None of these things apply to my mowers, which are kept in a shed. Plus I believe in and have fire insurance.

stevef22 said:

Hello all! I recently purchased my first home. The house is located on 1/3 acre lot. Im looking to buy a long lasting lawnmower. Here are my requirements, all of them don’t need to be satisfied but preferred.

☐20" cutting width ( yard has allot of landscaping and tight spots, I like smaller cutting path )

☐Powerful and strong torque engine that doesn’t stall in knee high grass on a damp Saturday morning when the wife is yelling at you to cut the dam grass.

☐Bright Red deck color

☐Self propelled optional

☐Larger rear wheel

☐Commonly found parts

☐I’m 6 feet tall so adjustable or higher push bar would be nice

☐Add on bag optional. I plan on using mulching blade 90% of time



I’m OK with buying slightly used from FB marketplace, craigslist etc.

I’m OK with buying online. Here in South Texas we have Home Depot, Lowes etc.



My budget is $750 or less.




Thank you very much, please advise,

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Some of the used things I have purchased worked fine. Some did not. Its kind of a crap shoot, buying used.
So why not buy NEW, if you intend it to last FOREVER? I'm wary of buying something that someone else got rid of. I have found in my 82 years that it best to buy from a dealer rather than a big box store. Reason being that BB Stores sell many things at price points for the person that needs it to last just a few years. A lawn mower dealer can educate you on which mower of a particular brand is good, better or best. And once you purchase, you have a place to take it for repairs. Most of the better or best mowers will last many years if you do your part maintaining it. Home Depot and Lowes carry Brand name products. But the dealers don't sell the same ones, because they are lesser quality.

As side note. last year I purchased the best E-GO battery powered chain saw that Lowes offered. . Because my 20+ year old Stihl saw would not start, and a pine tree had broken off about 10 feet from the ground. I needed a saw quickly. Stihl dealer said it would be about 3 weeks at best. The tree was about 18" diameter where I needed to cut down the still standing part. The saw had a 16" blade of which only about 14" was usable. It took about an hour of cutting time plus 2 more charges to fell that tree. I have cut many trees that size and larger with that small Stihl 170 gas saw in just a few minutes. At that point I decided I would not even try to cut up that tree and the 80+feet already down, plus limbs, into manageable sizes with that saw. Especially when I already knew the price of an extra battery. So it went back to Lowes. I was able to get the Stihl running with new fuel lines. I have several battery operated hand tools, but something that has to do hard work and batteries don't work well for me. My next door neighbor bought a battery operated lawn mower which worked OK on shorter grass, but bogged on the tougher, taller, or wet grass.

Here is some FYI that I have experienced over the years.
-Mulching mowers will often turn wet or really damp grass into a slurry that sticks to the underside of the deck causing loss of vacuum and grass exiting in lumps, if at all. My mulching mower is used mostly for pulverizing leaves in the fall
-Tall or wet grass causes more stress on the engine, spindle and blades.
-Wet or damp grass doesn't bag well. It sticks in the chute.
-tall or wet grass don't cut well at all. When the grass dries, it looks awful.
-If using ethanol fuel, use a fuel stabilizer. And even then it will often go bad over the winter, requiring a visit to the dealer and long wait times plus parts and labor expenses. I found it better to spend the extra money and use NON-ethanol fuel. You can find it by Googling "Non Ethanol gas near me".

Good luck with your quest. There are lots of good suggestions on this forum. Take what you need and leave the rest.
k

I had an old Craftsman from the late 1960s with a Briggs & Stratton engine. Replaced the deck twice and the handle three times, but the engine started and ran fine 20+ years later when I gave it to the young couple that bought my home in 1992.