Mulching HRX217HYA mulching

[ejudgie]

I went out and got the Honda HRX217HYA mower this weekend. My lawn had been about 10 days since mowing and it was quite high and thick.
I wanted a good test for the mulching capability of this Honda and this was. The good news. The engine is an absolute beast.
Never sounded stressed at all and the self propelled power was plenty fast and had no problem getting up hills. However, I was expecting it to
shred the grass to bits and leave no clumps but unfortunately I did see some. It was about noon so could have been a little wet and it was longer
than I usually leave it.

- Should I expect to see any clumps?
- Are the Toro Super Recyclers better in terms of mulching (would they have been any better)?
- Are the Honda's more expensive to fix than the Toros?

I have a hilly .5 acre yard with some small bumps that has a lot of twists that requires me to engage and disengage the clutch.
I am concerned that this type of yard will eventually shake the mower apart and cause problems for the transmission. Not sure if this would be
covered by the 5 yr warranty but if it isn't or after 5 years will I start paying for expensive Honda repairs?

My old lawnmower was a 7 year old Craftsman that had no self propelled function anymore and did not mulch well either. I spent a lot on this
Honda and want to know if its really worth every penny.

I will try it again in about a week so that might be a more accurate test. But the grass is also not growing as fast now.
I want to make sure I am happy with it before the Home Depot 30 return policy is up.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

No mower will do good if the grass is VERY long and thick! But the Honda is one of the best mulchers around. If yours is like mine, clumps fall off the left rear tire if cutting tall grass, so what I do is go in counter-clockwise rectangles and you won't see clumps. I have tried lots of mowers and the Honda HRX is the best at mulching. I don't think your yard's terrain would void the warranty.

 

[ejudgie]

No mower will do good if the grass is VERY long and thick! But the Honda is one of the best mulchers around. If yours is like mine, clumps fall off the left rear tire if cutting tall grass, so what I do is go in counter-clockwise rectangles and you won't see clumps. I have tried lots of mowers and the Honda HRX is the best at mulching. I don't think your yard's terrain would void the warranty.

Just looking at the limited warranty. Looks like the clutch disc, tires and wheel bearings are not covered. Aren't those the the types of things that my yard's terrain would stress? I am sure no warranty covers these things and maybe I am looking for issues. It's just that my last mower failed this way (although it was a Craftsman) and I think it had to do with my yard's terrain. Concerned about Honda repair costs? Are they higher than average?

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Just looking at the limited warranty. Looks like the clutch disc, tires and wheel bearings are not covered. Aren't those the the types of things that my yard's terrain would stress? I am sure no warranty covers these things and maybe I am looking for issues. It's just that my last mower failed this way (although it was a Craftsman) and I think it had to do with my yard's terrain. Concerned about Honda repair costs? Are they higher than average?

Yeah those might be the things to wear down first, but you've got to remember I have had my Honda HRX217HYA for 1 year now and I started out doing around 10 lawns a week with it because I did not want to use it full-time after purchase, but then by a month or two in I was using it on around 14 lawns a week. At the beginning of this year I was using it on around 15 lawns a week and now I am up to 20+ lawns a week and the biggest problem I have had over these hundreds and hundreds of hours is a wheel squeaking (it just needed to be oiled) and a push nut fall off (like a $1 fix). Honda's repair costs might be a bit higher, but I still think they are competitive with others, and since my mower only goes into the shop for routine maintenance, I think I save money. The yards I do might not be exactly like yours, but they do have hills and flowerbeds.

 

[ejudgie]

Yeah those might be the things to wear down first, but you've got to remember I have had my Honda HRX217HYA for 1 year now and I started out doing around 10 lawns a week with it because I did not want to use it full-time after purchase, but then by a month or two in I was using it on around 14 lawns a week. At the beginning of this year I was using it on around 15 lawns a week and now I am up to 20+ lawns a week and the biggest problem I have had over these hundreds and hundreds of hours is a wheel squeaking (it just needed to be oiled) and a push nut fall off (like a $1 fix). Honda's repair costs might be a bit higher, but I still think they are competitive with others, and since my mower only goes into the shop for routine maintenance, I think I save money. The yards I do might not be exactly like yours, but they do have hills and flowerbeds.

Good to hear about its durability. I generally do my lawn once a week and it only takes ~60 minutes so it's not even close to what you do. I can try to flatten out the bumps (from moles and roots). I have a lot of 20-30 foot strips and will be engaging and disengaging the clutch on each run. Is this normal and similar to yours? Any tips for how to maximize the clutch's life?

 

[dfbrown]

I went out and got the Honda HRX217HYA mower this weekend. My lawn had been about 10 days since mowing and it was quite high and thick.
I wanted a good test for the mulching capability of this Honda and this was. The good news. The engine is an absolute beast.
Never sounded stressed at all and the self propelled power was plenty fast and had no problem getting up hills. However, I was expecting it to
shred the grass to bits and leave no clumps but unfortunately I did see some. It was about noon so could have been a little wet and it was longer
than I usually leave it.

- Should I expect to see any clumps?
- Are the Toro Super Recyclers better in terms of mulching (would they have been any better)?
- Are the Honda's more expensive to fix than the Toros?

I have a hilly .5 acre yard with some small bumps that has a lot of twists that requires me to engage and disengage the clutch.
I am concerned that this type of yard will eventually shake the mower apart and cause problems for the transmission. Not sure if this would be
covered by the 5 yr warranty but if it isn't or after 5 years will I start paying for expensive Honda repairs?

My old lawnmower was a 7 year old Craftsman that had no self propelled function anymore and did not mulch well either. I spent a lot on this
Honda and want to know if its really worth every penny.

I will try it again in about a week so that might be a more accurate test. But the grass is also not growing as fast now.
I want to make sure I am happy with it before the Home Depot 30 return policy is up.

Thanks,
Ed

1. IF you are cutting grass that tall and trying to mulch it, any more cutting something that high will not mulch it and look like yankee stadium. It just doesnt work that way. You are SUPPOSE to take 1/3 of the height and i would use about the middle of the hydro lever clicks somewhere like 4-6 clicks from the slowest and keep blades sharp and clean deck and there is NO mower even my commercial HRCs that mulch quite like the HRX.
2. NO the toros and weather its new old commercial or residential they DO NOT MULCH like a honda. Period! I have owned so many different or used different 21" mowers you can image and nothing mulches like a honda with hrx deck.
3. Parts wise well I know from my honda hrc parts to hrx parts costs, the hrc parts look expensive compared to a HRX. Toro commercial mower parts are expensive and I would say more then my hondas. As far as residential honda vs toro, honda might be a little more expensive but you wont replace them nearly as much as the newer toro residential stuff. Engines are made it china to toro specs and the stuff seriously is JUNK. The residential toros made in the mid 1980s till about 2000 are way way better then the crap now. I am not trying to be biased because I own a lot of hondas but I still have 2 toro prolines are are good mowers but they are NOT hondas. Nuff said.

CLutch and wheels and tires I understand why they dont cover it and its because it is a wear item. No different then say a car or motorcycle. It is simpily a wear item and you know what is nice is that in a few years when tires wear or you need spark plug, air filter and oil, home depot carrys all that stuff including wheels and blades.

Good luck with your new purchase and if you have any questions just ask.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

...I have a lot of 20-30 foot strips and will be engaging and disengaging the clutch on each run. Is this normal and similar to yours?...

The front yards of a lot of the houses I mow look similar to this (below). As you can see there are curves, and some yards aren't very wide, so there can be a lot of turning. Most of the yards I do are 0.25 of an acre.

 

[ejudgie]

The front yards of a lot of the houses I mow look similar to this (below). As you can see there are curves, and some yards aren't very wide, so there can be a lot of turning. Most of the yards I do are 0.25 of an acre.

View attachment 15519

Great. Thanks for all of you replies. I'll let you know how my second cut goes.

 

[robert@honda]

All the previous comments about mulching are spot-on. Works best when you small clippings and do it a bit more frequently than you might if discharging or bagging.

For the warranty, here are a few facts:

--You nor Honda can "void a warranty." It's legal obligation from Honda, and can't be technically voided at all. When you buy a mower (new) from an authorized Honda dealer, you get X amount of warranty time, and that clock starts the day you get the mower. Length of warranty varies with model, and also promotion. During the spring, Honda adds +1 year to the standard warranty if the dealer/customer buys and registers the mower with Honda during a promotional period.

--If you don't register, you still have warranty. Registration is NOT required to get the base warranty, but IS required if you want the +1 year extended factory warranty.

--In simple terms, the warranty covers factory defects in parts or workmanship. It does not cover parts that simply wear out, like tires, blades, etc. Warranty does not cover problems caused by neglect, lack of maintenance, outdoor storage, etc.

 

[ejudgie]

All the previous comments about mulching are spot-on. Works best when you small clippings and do it a bit more frequently than you might if discharging or bagging.

For the warranty, here are a few facts:

--You nor Honda can "void a warranty." It's legal obligation from Honda, and can't be technically voided at all. When you buy a mower (new) from an authorized Honda dealer, you get X amount of warranty time, and that clock starts the day you get the mower. Length of warranty varies with model, and also promotion. During the spring, Honda adds +1 year to the standard warranty if the dealer/customer buys and registers the mower with Honda during a promotional period.

--If you don't register, you still have warranty. Registration is NOT required to get the base warranty, but IS required if you want the +1 year extended factory warranty.

--In simple terms, the warranty covers factory defects in parts or workmanship. It does not cover parts that simply wear out, like tires, blades, etc. Warranty does not cover problems caused by neglect, lack of maintenance, outdoor storage, etc.

Is the Honda "promotional period" over (to get the additional year warranty coverage)? I did not see any special incentives to register.