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To all who have followed this forum for a long time, you will know that I have been a strong supporter of the Toro 21” Super Recycler cast deck mower. I am now changing my mind and can no longer do so. Over the Labor Day weekend I went to the local county fair and was talking to the owner of the business I retired from when COVID struck. He informed me that they were no longer stocking or selling these models. For the past three years their quality and backing by Toro has decreased drastically and this spring they returned almost every model in stock to Toro. He told me Toro is trying to resolve these problems, but has seen no progress. I worked for this business for 12+ years and have known this owner for 40 years, whose business is over 75 years old, and fully trust in what he tells me. My apologies to anyone who has used my support to purchased one of these mowers in the passed 3 years, I’m going to try to keep up on this subject, but as I said, I cannot and will not recommend anyone purchase a Toro Super Recycler cast deck mower. Rivets

It's not just Toro. It's everyone else too. Got to make more profits for those CEO's. They got to have that fourth summer home in Figi you know....... They are all trying to cut costs and charge more. And the customer is paying for it all.

Something to add to the list like cub cadet troy bilt and husqvarna

sorry to hear, thank you for your honesty. Covid and the inflation that followed was a double whammy. People lack the money in general to pay for what it really takes to make a quality product, and all the hard working baby boomers retired out. It has been discussed many times. Stats today came out that one political party in particular now believes with a majority that everything should rely on socialism and it would solve these issues. The 1% will just move their assets somewhere else, and people who aren't willing to work hard won't have much to share. We met two couples from Denmark a few years ago while camping. Had some interesting discussions. Simply put, when a society is really hard working and frugal, there is a lot to go around so sharing it works. When people refuse to work because it is no fun and they believe they have earned more, there is little to share. These couples both told us that Denmark brought in so many immigrants who wanted to participate in receiving but not working, that socialism in their country was showing signs of failing. In the USA, with the 1% taking their huge cut, and those who won't work wanting their share, the middle is really going to get squeezed. Toro is one of those companies being squeezed. If they raise their prices their product is unaffordable for many. But if they continue to let the quality fall - and the hire people who can't or won't do the jobs they were hired for - well that won't work either. I am not at all happy with the Toro products we have purchased in the last five years. They are expensive and are wearing out too fast. At the same time, a 21" mulching rear wheel drive mower from 2006 just keeps going strong.

sgkent said:

sorry to hear, thank you for your honesty. Covid and the inflation that followed was a double whammy. People lack the money in general to pay for what it really takes to make a quality product, and all the hard working baby boomers retired out. It has been discussed many times. Stats today came out that one political party in particular now believes with a majority that everything should rely on socialism and it would solve these issues. The 1% will just move their assets somewhere else, and people who aren't willing to work hard won't have much to share. We met two couples from Denmark a few years ago while camping. Had some interesting discussions. Simply put, when a society is really hard working and frugal, there is a lot to go around so sharing it works. When people refuse to work because it is no fun and they believe they have earned more, there is little to share. These couples both told us that Denmark brought in so many immigrants who wanted to participate in receiving but not working, that socialism in their country was showing signs of failing. In the USA, with the 1% taking their huge cut, and those who won't work wanting their share, the middle is really going to get squeezed. Toro is one of those companies being squeezed. If they raise their prices their product is unaffordable for many. But if they continue to let the quality fall - and the hire people who can't or won't do the jobs they were hired for - well that won't work either. I am not at all happy with the Toro products we have purchased in the last five years. They are expensive and are wearing out too fast. At the same time, a 21" mulching rear wheel drive mower from 2006 just keeps going strong.

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Toro makes one of the best self-propelled mowers on the market. Everything from mowers to measuring cups have cheapened in quality and raised in price, especially the last 20 or so years.

While we were talking the one thing that really surprised me was when the owner said that Toro support was very poor on these mowers. I started dealing with Toro in 1980 and never really had any problem dealing with them, but nonsupport in my mind means I can no longer recommend them. They used to make the top product on the may, but not any more.

Easy to say, "Don't buy Toro" but you've got to recommend something better. Who do you know first hand makes a better mower for the same price?

jack vines

Unfortunately I think that's every brand since 2020.....

Instead of focusing on quality a durability that has kept them alive and well all these years, many are leaning towards "options and electronic gadgets" that fail in a very short time.

I think we will suffer from this for quite some time to come.

The term I hear quite often is "shrinkflation". Everyone is paying more and getting less. In the past 4 years, the world economy has tanked.

Quite frankly, we need to go back to basics. If you are not willing to work (and are able to) you don't eat.

https://www.openbible.info/topics/he_who_will_not_work_shall_not_eat

Guess you’ve never read my previous replies to what is the best push mower to purchase. I used to say that even the cost of the Toro Super Recycler was high, it was a 20 year mower and worth paying the higher price. I no longer can say that. Honda used to make a quality mower, but they have gotten out the that business. Toro Recyler steel deck is a good mower, but not close to the Super Recycler. For me to now say this is the mower I would now recommend, I would to say “it’s a crap shoot, get what you feel comfortable with”. If you really want an answer, start watching FleaBay, garage sales, Craig’s List, etc. for a Super Recycler built before 2020, and treat it like your first born. As with everything nowadays “They don’t make them like they used to”.

Rivets said:

Guess you’ve never read my previous replies to what is the best push mower to purchase. I used to say that even the cost of the Toro Super Recycler was high, it was a 20 year mower and worth paying the higher price. I no longer can say that. Honda used to make a quality mower, but they have gotten out the that business. Toro Recyler steel deck is a good mower, but not close to the Super Recycler. For me to now say this is the mower I would now recommend, I would to say “it’s a crap shoot, get what you feel comfortable with”. If you really want an answer, start watching FleaBay, garage sales, Craig’s List, etc. for a Super Recycler built before 2020, and treat it like your first born. As with everything nowadays “They don’t make them like they used to”.

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Push and self-propelled mowers two best: Honda and Toro. No hesitation, no caveats, no excuses. Buy a crappy Hyper Tough made by MTD from Walmart and see how many years you get out of that.

I'm not a big fan of the Toro Personal Pace mowers. Sure, they cut okay. However, their cheesy drive system is their weakness. A Snapper Ninja Commercial will run rings around them.

MParr said:

I'm not a big fan of the Toro Personal Pace mowers. Sure, they cut okay. However, their cheesy drive system is their weakness. A Snapper Ninja Commercial will run rings around them.

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Duh, tell us something we all, should know LOL. An old real Snapper will do the same. Got a couple from the 1980's that still cut like a laser today.

MParr said:

I'm not a big fan of the Toro Personal Pace mowers. Sure, they cut okay. However, their cheesy drive system is their weakness. A Snapper Ninja Commercial will run rings around them.

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How much is a Snapper Ninja commercial mower cost? You can buy a good used Toro for under $200.

Tiger Small Engine said:

How much is a Snapper Ninja commercial mower cost? You can buy a good used Toro for under $200.

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Used they go for roughly $350.00 in OKC. There is one with the Kawi FJ-180V in Stillwater for $380.00. That one is cherry clean. I have two Commercials but looking for more.

Personally I would stay far away from a used Toro. They are not near the build of the old Snappers. Especially the Commercial jobs. Good mowers no doubt but not pure bred tanks like the Snappers are.

Tiger Small Engine said:

How much is a Snapper Ninja commercial mower cost? You can buy a good used Toro for under $200.

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Why would anyone want their Personal Pace mower? I've had one and their plastic transaxle is garbage.

Got a Dixie Chopper LT2500-50D Silver Eagle 50" built circa 2006 in 2007 and have been abusing it since. Cutting 3.75 acres of grass and small limbs at least twice a month on a tree filled lot and the biggest challenge is keeping the belts replaced. The 25 hp engine is awesome, the steel deck is tough as nails and the frame and front wheel hubs and tires are original. With all of that said, they make smaller mowers with the same quality. May be time to spend a little more and not have to worry about all that stuff.

sgkent said:

sorry to hear, thank you for your honesty. Covid and the inflation that followed was a double whammy. People lack the money in general to pay for what it really takes to make a quality product, and all the hard working baby boomers retired out. It has been discussed many times. Stats today came out that one political party in particular now believes with a majority that everything should rely on socialism and it would solve these issues. The 1% will just move their assets somewhere else, and people who aren't willing to work hard won't have much to share. We met two couples from Denmark a few years ago while camping. Had some interesting discussions. Simply put, when a society is really hard working and frugal, there is a lot to go around so sharing it works. When people refuse to work because it is no fun and they believe they have earned more, there is little to share. These couples both told us that Denmark brought in so many immigrants who wanted to participate in receiving but not working, that socialism in their country was showing signs of failing. In the USA, with the 1% taking their huge cut, and those who won't work wanting their share, the middle is really going to get squeezed. Toro is one of those companies being squeezed. If they raise their prices their product is unaffordable for many. But if they continue to let the quality fall - and the hire people who can't or won't do the jobs they were hired for - well that won't work either. I am not at all happy with the Toro products we have purchased in the last five years. They are expensive and are wearing out too fast. At the same time, a 21" mulching rear wheel drive mower from 2006 just keeps going strong.

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Chinese castings.....

Rivets said:

To all who have followed this forum for a long time, you will know that I have been a strong supporter of the Toro 21” Super Recycler cast deck mower. I am now changing my mind and can no longer do so. Over the Labor Day weekend I went to the local county fair and was talking to the owner of the business I retired from when COVID struck. He informed me that they were no longer stocking or selling these models. For the past three years their quality and backing by Toro has decreased drastically and this spring they returned almost every model in stock to Toro. He told me Toro is trying to resolve these problems, but has seen no progress. I worked for this business for 12+ years and have known this owner for 40 years, whose business is over 75 years old, and fully trust in what he tells me. My apologies to anyone who has used my support to purchased one of these mowers in the passed 3 years, I’m going to try to keep up on this subject, but as I said, I cannot and will not recommend anyone purchase a Toro Super Recycler cast deck mower. Rivets

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I always thought Toro was junk anyway. They turned Wheel Horse into trash long ago. My dad was a big fan of toro, i did the fixing of them and seemed like cheap stuff to me decades ago, never got any better. These youtube mower guys are always fixing time cutter models, they seem to come right back in a week or two with another problem.

I’m not bad mouthing TORO, just the Super Recycler version.

Rivets said:

I’m not bad mouthing TORO, just the Super Recycler version.

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I will bad mouth the Toro Timecutters with the stupid electric brake module.

The name "Time cutter" is an illusion that just cost you more time and money.

Similar to many models that now have electronic "intelligent" throttle controls. Let your mower do the thinking for you.... What a gimmick.

Folks we can blame the CEO, the stock holders or who ever we want but the American buying public is to blame for 2+ decades the cry has been "We want it cheaper" and manufacturers have done just that. Say thank you to China when you buy your next mower.

I've had excellent experience with with the Honda 21 HRN or HRX two bladed mowers. For the money they are hard to beat and reliability is high in my experience.

Food for thought, possibly the support level has lessened due to the implementation of electric power tools.

The company is probably moving forward with that agenda. Either way, poor excuse for not providing support to existing customers in my humble opinion.

I know our local dealership closed after 60 years. He said he was unhappy with the pressure of selling electric equipment to customers that wanted gas.

So, the dealerships and company have to move forward to maintain profitability. The rest of us will have to deal with the repercussions of those decisions.

Too bad, they choose not to stand by the models they are selling during the transition. As others have mentioned, I see the issue across the industry to include other industries.

Profit over people is the sad reality we face .....

Rivets said:

To all who have followed this forum for a long time, you will know that I have been a strong supporter of the Toro 21” Super Recycler cast deck mower. I am now changing my mind and can no longer do so. Over the Labor Day weekend I went to the local county fair and was talking to the owner of the business I retired from when COVID struck. He informed me that they were no longer stocking or selling these models. For the past three years their quality and backing by Toro has decreased drastically and this spring they returned almost every model in stock to Toro. He told me Toro is trying to resolve these problems, but has seen no progress. I worked for this business for 12+ years and have known this owner for 40 years, whose business is over 75 years old, and fully trust in what he tells me. My apologies to anyone who has used my support to purchased one of these mowers in the passed 3 years, I’m going to try to keep up on this subject, but as I said, I cannot and will not recommend anyone purchase a Toro Super Recycler cast deck mower. Rivets

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We have a Hustler Fastrak 52" been using since 2003 and I just keep it running. I'm not looking foreword to replacing it. I think of it as a collection of parts that can be fixed or replaced when worn out or broken.

I miss my old two cycle Lawn Boy… Never any problems with the ones I had.

It’s the same as the automobile industry….planned obsolescence. I have 2 old mowers, a 2 stroke Lawn boy and an aluminum deck super recycler from 90’s - 2000’s that I’ll never get rid of.
Problem is a supply/demand issue. Electric units are getting better and guys in their 20’s-30’s still live with their parents, are not getting married so are not buying homes. Dumbass Powell and the feds have purposely kept interest rates high to stifle Trump’s efforts to stimulate the economy, which also limits home loans.

@ Rivets, looking at the brighter side, you went to the fair!

Rivets said:

Guess you’ve never read my previous replies to what is the best push mower to purchase. I used to say that even the cost of the Toro Super Recycler was high, it was a 20 year mower and worth paying the higher price. I no longer can say that. Honda used to make a quality mower, but they have gotten out the that business. Toro Recyler steel deck is a good mower, but not close to the Super Recycler. For me to now say this is the mower I would now recommend, I would to say “it’s a crap shoot, get what you feel comfortable with”. If you really want an answer, start watching FleaBay, garage sales, Craig’s List, etc. for a Super Recycler built before 2020, and treat it like your first born. As with everything nowadays “They don’t make them like they used to”.

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Toro has long been my favorite brand of mower also. This is not to say that they made the best mowers or even overall the best mowers but they did make plenty of good ones that serve people quite well.
They certainly could have improved their mowers over the past about 3 decades if they would have taken some constructive input but they seem to not care about those things.

They, like most other manufacturers, only care about selling mowers and most of their marketing is about price or what I call fake features on paper so you will choose theirs over the one beside it but in reality you'll get no benefit from those features other than a slightly lighter wallet.

While the super recycler or any of the cast deck mowers are "better" bandy stamped steel versions which most people have bought at home Depot over the years (until more recently when they switched to Lowe's) many people didn't need it better mower.

When you say that the super recycler was a 20-year mower, my brain immediately responded that so was the stamped steel deck model.

I've been running a high volume shop for 15 years now but been working on mowers far longer than that.
Since the first generation of these mowers with the shorter more round deck as I call it and the Tecumseh engine, the average person got 15 to 17 years out of the mower before they replaced it, at least in my area.
Some who would get bored and probably didn't really enjoy cleaning their Mower and making it look nicer, would buy a new one around the 12 to 13-year mark but many got well over 20 also.

Sure, they likely had a repair or something during that time just like you would have on a super recycler but if you had multiple people do the math, in most situations the total cost of ownership per year was cheaper with the stamped steel deck because even if you were on your second or third set of drive wheels, the initial savings at purchase more than made up for this.

This is far more true if you do your own repairs and frankly, if a person can't go back to home Depot and buy the replacement Wheels right there on the shelf and remove the half inch head bolt from each Drive wheel and replace the new wheel, I almost think they don't have enough ability to actually mow the lawn and probably shouldn't even be mowing the grass.
It's a considerable difference buying two wheels and putting them on versus taking the mower into a shop and even just having those same two wheels replaced.

Regardless, I'm simply saying that for most customers, those stamped steel deck mowers were beyond adequate if not excellent mowers for them.
They were also 249 to 269 for the front wheel drive mower and 349 to 359 for the personal pace and these prices were rocks solid steady for over 20 years.
Now, those prices aren't so attractive.

Yes, they cheapen some things down over the years so they can keep the price the same and that's why you might be on your third set of wheels and 15 to 18 years as opposed to being on the originals that are still moving the mower at 15 plus again like on those Tecumseh engine rounder decks I mentioned.
After Tecumseh went bankrupt, there were a few of them for part of the year that had the new Briggs engine on the old round deck which is odd to see.

Then they went to the newer deck design which is the taller more squared off deck and then in just a couple of years after that added the bag on demand feature,

I was very happy about the engine switch because I much prefer the Briggs L head to the Tecumseh engine and I also like the deck design better but due to various things, it is not as substantial of a deck.
They get stress cracks and actually break right in the middle of the side discharge whole and it will get small cracks right by the rear wheels but these mowers still function fine for people for years after they crack or break with most of them not even knowing.

They didn't prove the handle on this model though and subsequent models even though they can't seem to figure out how to just pick a good handle design and stick with it!
Those old sagging round deck models with a Tecumseh had that very thinner hard edge metal on the handle for the round tube gets pressed down and the bracket it rested against was also very thin so therefore it wore nice grooves into there from all the pushing down and the handles would sag excessively with no real easy fix.
You could flip the bottom part over on most of them and make it fairly like new again but it would continue to wear.
You could also weld up the bracket part to build it back up and then grind it back down and hit it with some black paint which is what I have done on a number of them because the sagging handle is annoying and while there are two holes for the pins on most of them down there, it's normally already in the highest handle position hole but they really didn't make that to be an adjustment anyways or at least not a good one.

So in my experience the mower from Toro that wasn't even the cast aluminum super recycler was far more than adequate and a good value for people and serve them well so most people had no reason to buy the more expensive aluminum mower but don't get me wrong I love them and prefer them and that's the ones I keep. Lol

Yes, some of the transmissions are better on those and many of the belts are a lot easier to change which is another big positive.

Unfortunately, the engines didn't make much difference unless you went up a couple more steps and bought one of the other engines available from the Toro dealer like kawasaki or Honda.

I am completely not a fan of the older Briggs overhead valve engine which was considered an upgrade but frankly you're more likely to burn out a head gasket on that one then you are on an L head and I have seen pretty much every L head out live those and give fewer problems.

You pretty much ended up with the Briggs or the Tecumseh on so many years and while I like the brakes l head, the cast mower was a better machine than the engine was engine especially if you're talking any type of commercial use or mowing more than one lawn once a week.

Now put a Kawasaki on it and your gold.
But again, the average person doesn't need a Kawasaki because it's just overkill.

Nobody needs a walk behind self-propelled mower that can cut over 4,000 hours when they're likely not going to keep the mower long enough to ever see 500 hours!

In many parts of the world, people keep a lawnmower 20-plus years and don't even have 450 hours on it.
The average person and a lot of the US what's between 25 and 35 hours a year on their mower whether it's a push mower or a riding mower.

Kind of silly to pay extra for a Kawasaki engine whose parts are going to be far more expensive if you do have to replace something with no convenient good used ones sitting around for parts, when the base engine is capable of lasting through four of the lawn mower frames.

igneous said:

It’s the same as the automobile industry….planned obsolescence. I have 2 old mowers, a 2 stroke Lawn boy and an aluminum deck super recycler from 90’s - 2000’s that I’ll never get rid of.
Problem is a supply/demand issue. Electric units are getting better and guys in their 20’s-30’s still live with their parents, are not getting married so are not buying homes. Dumbass Powell and the feds have purposely kept interest rates high to stifle Trump’s efforts to stimulate the economy, which also limits home loans.

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I don't see most of the walk behind self-propelled up to 22-in mowers that are battery powered getting better at all.
In fact they're getting worse because the batteries are getting more expensive so that makes the overall situation not better.
If they had done what other electronic devices and batteries have done since the late 90s, where when they're new and buying OEM batteries they're expensive but after just a year or less the battery prices come down and aftermarket makes quite adequate batteries at about a third of the price, then they would be getting better overall but this has not happened.

They are also not getting better as far as cutting power, increased cutting duration, blade tip speed etc.

The only improvement is some of them are coming with or having an optional higher capacity battery maybe twice the amp hours but even with the best battery you can buy, they typically won't even cut the a huge amount of people's single front yard or single backyard LET ALONE think about cutting your front and back lawn at the same time with one battery with one charge.

Anyone who has experienced otherwise has a very small lot.

So for those people they are fine and they didn't need to get better because they already did this.
In fact, Black and Decker made a better mower over 20 years ago that came with two batteries and they had a handle on them and they were the size of a car battery that you simply dropped into the center of the mower and it locked into place and the mower without mow power wise and cutting time wise almost anything on the market today.
So what that the battery was kind of big and heavy. I would gladly take that idea today for a walk behind mower to be able to mow for 2 hours instead of 30 to 45 minutes.
I also forgot to mention specifically when I said cutting power that these things work very poorly and don't cut very long if you have quite overgrown grass which is the way a lot of people have been cutting their lawns for decades.
Gas mowers don't care as much and they just trounce on through it.

So actually think it's the other way and not that more people are buying and keeping battery powered mowers or at least it's not going to stay that way because as more and more people buy them and try them, they get buyer's remorse quickly or in a few months to within the year anniversary.
They see that they are let down and they have to make sacrifices and changes in their mowing patterns and people don't like that.

They start to wish they had their old mowers back and there's going to come a time eventually where there's going to be a big increase demand for gasoline-powered mowers like people used to have because they want that convenience and power back of being able to get the whole mowing done in just a couple of hours or so in an afternoon without switching between three or four batteries or having to break their mowing over 2 days.

Since the prices of mowers went up, the price of used mowers have gone up too.
I think unfortunately in a few years we're going to see a market of very nice looking used gasoline mowers selling for as much money as they did when they were new like 15 years ago.

For a long time you could buy a Toro Personal Pace for $349. I fully expect people to be listing and people to be buying nice looking used and multiple year old similar mowers for $300 to $350 in the very near future.

Rivets said:

To all who have followed this forum for a long time, you will know that I have been a strong supporter of the Toro 21” Super Recycler cast deck mower. I am now changing my mind and can no longer do so. Over the Labor Day weekend I went to the local county fair and was talking to the owner of the business I retired from when COVID struck. He informed me that they were no longer stocking or selling these models. For the past three years their quality and backing by Toro has decreased drastically and this spring they returned almost every model in stock to Toro. He told me Toro is trying to resolve these problems, but has seen no progress. I worked for this business for 12+ years and have known this owner for 40 years, whose business is over 75 years old, and fully trust in what he tells me. My apologies to anyone who has used my support to purchased one of these mowers in the passed 3 years, I’m going to try to keep up on this subject, but as I said, I cannot and will not recommend anyone purchase a Toro Super Recycler cast deck mower. Rivets

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Is this kind of like - I've never been wrong. One time I thought I was but I was mistaken.

Hammermechanicman said:

Something to add to the list like cub cadet troy bilt and husqvarna

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Not to mention Honda, I bought one of the last factory repaired recalled HRN 216's from HD and now with 12 hours on it blow's smoke Leaks oil bad from valve cover, Hope to get the season out of it done, what self propelled yard lawn mowers are decent if any?

billroy1 said:

what self propelled yard lawn mowers are decent if any?

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Jump on facetrash marketplace. Look for Snapper Commercial mowers. Can grab a clean one for around $350 in my area. Your great great grandchildren will be mowing with it.

True side discharge, mulcher and a bagger that no other mower comes close to. Mine will suck spare change off your garage floor. Most simplistic heaviest duty mower on the planet.

Sounds like someone unfortunately bought a defective store return Honda. My experience is the Honda 160s and 190s are very long lasting. Interested in the experience of the old pros. Im just 74

TobyU said:

I don't see most of the walk behind self-propelled up to 22-in mowers that are battery powered getting better at all.
In fact they're getting worse because the batteries are getting more expensive so that makes the overall situation not better.
If they had done what other electronic devices and batteries have done since the late 90s, where when they're new and buying OEM batteries they're expensive but after just a year or less the battery prices come down and aftermarket makes quite adequate batteries at about a third of the price, then they would be getting better overall but this has not happened.

They are also not getting better as far as cutting power, increased cutting duration, blade tip speed etc.

The only improvement is some of them are coming with or having an optional higher capacity battery maybe twice the amp hours but even with the best battery you can buy, they typically won't even cut the a huge amount of people's single front yard or single backyard LET ALONE think about cutting your front and back lawn at the same time with one battery with one charge.

Anyone who has experienced otherwise has a very small lot.

So for those people they are fine and they didn't need to get better because they already did this.
In fact, Black and Decker made a better mower over 20 years ago that came with two batteries and they had a handle on them and they were the size of a car battery that you simply dropped into the center of the mower and it locked into place and the mower without mow power wise and cutting time wise almost anything on the market today.
So what that the battery was kind of big and heavy. I would gladly take that idea today for a walk behind mower to be able to mow for 2 hours instead of 30 to 45 minutes.
I also forgot to mention specifically when I said cutting power that these things work very poorly and don't cut very long if you have quite overgrown grass which is the way a lot of people have been cutting their lawns for decades.
Gas mowers don't care as much and they just trounce on through it.

So actually think it's the other way and not that more people are buying and keeping battery powered mowers or at least it's not going to stay that way because as more and more people buy them and try them, they get buyer's remorse quickly or in a few months to within the year anniversary.
They see that they are let down and they have to make sacrifices and changes in their mowing patterns and people don't like that.

They start to wish they had their old mowers back and there's going to come a time eventually where there's going to be a big increase demand for gasoline-powered mowers like people used to have because they want that convenience and power back of being able to get the whole mowing done in just a couple of hours or so in an afternoon without switching between three or four batteries or having to break their mowing over 2 days.

Since the prices of mowers went up, the price of used mowers have gone up too.
I think unfortunately in a few years we're going to see a market of very nice looking used gasoline mowers selling for as much money as they did when they were new like 15 years ago.

For a long time you could buy a Toro Personal Pace for $349. I fully expect people to be listing and people to be buying nice looking used and multiple year old similar mowers for $300 to $350 in the very near future.

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The hard push by corporate America, the government, and media for battery powered outdoor power equipment and electric vehicles has been the last 5 to 8 years. It has not caught on and been near as successful as they would have liked, for many reasons. I am going to the Equipment Expo in Louisville, Kentucky in about a month, and will see tons of battery equipment. Gas got us here, and gas will take us home. At least for several years to come.

I bought a Milwaukee electric mower only because I already have a bunch of their batteries and chargers. New on Fakebook market place was about $400. Two 12 ah batteries takes it to over $1,000! The quality and power are good BUT the batteries go maybe an hour. Wheels spin on bearings and are robust unlike any other mowers I have seen. Funny thing is my wife, who does the mowing, still prefers her 20 year old craftsman! Control Cables have all broken and I can’t find replacements so I made my own.

What I do like about electric is no gas, dirty carbs or oil changes. Have 8 other ICE pieces of equipment to keep me busy.

From what I have seen, most of the big box e-mowers are quite flimsy and I don’t want another battery platform to deal with. I tried an Ego back pack blower as it was the only powerful model at the time a few years ago and the batteries declined over a year. Milwaukee batteries don’t seem to decline like that.

Electric isn’t for everybody but I must say, they do serve a purpose if you pay the price for a good one.

mcspeed said:

I bought a Milwaukee electric mower only because I already have a bunch of their batteries and chargers. New on Fakebook market place was about $400. Two 12 ah batteries takes it to over $1,000! The quality and power are good BUT the batteries go maybe an hour. Wheels spin on bearings and are robust unlike any other mowers I have seen. Funny thing is my wife, who does the mowing, still prefers her 20 year old craftsman! Control Cables have all broken and I can’t find replacements so I made my own.

What I do like about electric is no gas, dirty carbs or oil changes. Have 8 other ICE pieces of equipment to keep me busy.

From what I have seen, most of the big box e-mowers are quite flimsy and I don’t want another battery platform to deal with. I tried an Ego back pack blower as it was the only powerful model at the time a few years ago and the batteries declined over a year. Milwaukee batteries don’t seem to decline like that.

Electric isn’t for everybody but I must say, they do serve a purpose if you pay the price for a good one.

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You are confirming three main issues with battery powered outdoor power equipment.
1) Cost- Who wants to pay $1000 for a self-propelled mower? (For example)
2) Build quality-Often not that impressive. Lots of plastic, and designed for planned obsolescence. Wait until you have to replace a motor, switch, controller, etc. in your Milwaukee mower. How many shops around today will even work on it? Cost of parts and labor ain’t cheap. Also, Milwaukee is often not as individualized on parts unlike Makita.
3) Battery life-Nothing like having to wait hours later to charge your battery to finish the job. Wait until the batteries take a dump and you have to spend hundreds of dollars to replace them.