Lightest Models?

[Beamster]

Nowadays you just don't see neighborhoods kids cutting the lawns...at least that's my perception down here in west Texas. The professional landscaping crews do most of the lawns down here..

Around here you don't even see the grown up kids (I'm talking in their 30s) who still live at home cutting the lawn. It's their single moms doing everything. It's a shame.

 

[tom3]

Alright, got some of them weighed and about what I figured, except for the D-400 bricks of the 60's compared to the 1970 bricks, the 60's bricks are about 2 lbs. heavier. All weights are with fuel tanks empty unless stated otherwise. There are still 2 more that I haven't weighed yet, the 1973 model 5022, and the 1966 model 5234 (Deluxe). So far the 5024 is the winner hands down, even with an upgraded crankcase with dual bronze bushings. Okay now that my back is out picking up these mowers, here is a link to the winner in action if anyone cares to view. It really is a joy to cut with, and perfect for those postage stamp size lawns. I think back in those days it was more of a selling feature because kids very young like myself were cutting most of the lawns. Nowadays you just don't see neighborhoods kids cutting the lawns...at least that's my perception down here in west Texas. The professional landscaping crews do most of the lawns down here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc0zBgh11kY


That's a sweet sounding 2 stroke. Does that engine have an adjustable carb on it? Wish I could get my F motor running that smooth. Nice looking lawn too!

 

[jp1961]

Hello,

My dad's tool and die shop had a walk behind non self propelled staggered wheel mower that was not a Lawn-Boy. It had an Outdoor Power Products 2 cycle engine with no recoil start, just wrapped a piece of rope around a pulley. We're talking WAY back here,,,60's? It was super light.

Possibly a Sears Craftsman clone of the Lawn-Boy,,,not 100% sure.

Regards

Jeff

 

[H20loo]

I will weigh my 3060 It is the lightest of my group.
I started out on an iron horse and I don’t remember it being light. But I was a lazy 10 year old. Thought I was king of the neighbourhood when my dad brought home a 21” sand color lawnboy. We ran the wheels off that mower... many times lol.

 

[AnthemBassMan]

Thanks for sacrificing your back for the good of the group! Even your heaviest Lawn Boy is still below what my old John Deere 14SB weighed. Dry weight on that tank was listed at 111 lbs, and that is with a cast aluminum deck. Talk about stout!

L8R,
Matt

 

[Lawnboy77]

That's a sweet sounding 2 stroke. Does that engine have an adjustable carb on it? Wish I could get my F motor running that smooth. Nice looking lawn too!

Thanks Tom, yes it's an adjustable carb, a single speed carb that is fairly easy to adjust. The F series mowers seem to need a bigger load to get them to sound really smooth, which is understandable since they have much higher compression and about 25% more torque/HP.

 

[Lawnboy77]

I will weigh my 3060 It is the lightest of my group.
I started out on an iron horse and I don’t remember it being light. But I was a lazy 10 year old. Thought I was king of the neighbourhood when my dad brought home a 21” sand color lawnboy. We ran the wheels off that mower... many times lol.

Yes, you read my mind. I was really wanting to get one of those 18 inch models weighed. I'm thinking those from the 60's without steel wheel adjusters and magnesium deck might beat the 45 lb. mid 70's 19 inch brick.

In reference to the last generation brick being lighter by 2 lbs. over the 1960s bricks. I think between the heavy air filter housing assy. (comparatively speaking, it's still mag, but much heavier than the plastic), the steel wheel adjusters and of course the steel fuel tank is where the mid 70's brick beats the 1960s brick. You know what I think makes the small deck/blade mowers so easy to push vs. the larger ones is really not so much weight, as it is the smaller blade has less resistance rotating, even if a smaller bite is used on a larger mower. Not as noticeable in thin bluegrass and fescues like what I was used to growing up in Kentucky, but very noticeable in the real thick warm season sodded turfs of the south.

I know exactly what you mean by being King of the neighborhood! My dad finally broke down and bought a 21 inch brick and boy I thought I was on top of the world. It had so much more torque than the old mowers I had been using, which really paid off for me because most of my customers in the neighborhood would want to the grass super high before they would let me cut it just so they cut down on the mowing frequency, and therefore save a few bucks.

 

[Lawnboy77]

Thanks for sacrificing your back for the good of the group! Even your heaviest Lawn Boy is still below what my old John Deere 14SB weighed. Dry weight on that tank was listed at 111 lbs, and that is with a cast aluminum deck. Talk about stout!

L8R,
Matt

Yes I knew the 14SB was a beast, but I didn't know it was that heavy! A great mower for sure. To be honest I thought my 10420, with the latest generation Gold Series cast deck was heavier than 67 lbs. It seems like such a beast compared to the old OMC mowers that I have. Toro did that deck right though, a super heavy aluminum deck that will probably last forever if maintained in a decent manner.

 

[Lawnboy77]

Hello,

My dad's tool and die shop had a walk behind non self propelled staggered wheel mower that was not a Lawn-Boy. It had an Outdoor Power Products 2 cycle engine with no recoil start, just wrapped a piece of rope around a pulley. We're talking WAY back here,,,60's? It was super light.

Possibly a Sears Craftsman clone of the Lawn-Boy,,,not 100% sure.

Regards

Jeff

Yeah I think Lawnboy had a hand in those Power Product machines that Sears used to sell back in the 50s, early 60's. I'm not really up on that aspect of OMC, but I've heard other forums talk about it.

 

[AnthemBassMan]

Yes I knew the 14SB was a beast, but I didn't know it was that heavy! A great mower for sure. To be honest I thought my 10420, with the latest generation Gold Series cast deck was heavier than 67 lbs. It seems like such a beast compared to the old OMC mowers that I have. Toro did that deck right though, a super heavy aluminum deck that will probably last forever if maintained in a decent manner.

I was wrong. I just read in the 14SB manual that the weight is 120 lbs! No wonder it was a grunt to lift it up onto my work stand!!

L8R,
Matt