Mower suggestions

[eddie1]

Hi Everyone,

I currently have an 18" electric Black & Decker mower which has worked great for me for the last 9 years. I just recently moved to a new home with a half acre yard and the 18" mower is just not working for me. It takes me 3 hours just to mow the lawn and that does not include trimming/edging.

I was thinking of purchasing a riding mower or a wide area mower and have spent a lot of time reading up on mowers for the last few weeks. I am now to the point where I have no idea what to get. It seems the riding mowers with Briggs & Stratton and the Kholer Courage engines are unreliable and pretty much won't last a very long time. Kawasaki based mowers seem to be the best, but they also cost a lot more than I'm willing to pay. The $1,000 Toro Timemaster wide area mower was what I was leaning towards, but reading more reviews has led me to believe that thing is under powered and may not last long.

Basically, I'm looking for a inexpensive, reliable mower. Ideally, I would like to spend no more than $1,500, but would consider going higher if the mower is that good. I'd also like to reduce my mowing time significantly (1 hour or less). I don't mind using a walk behind mower.

Sooooo, I'd like to read your suggestions and experience on good mowers.

Thanks! :smile:

 

[txzrider]

with your budget, I would look on craigslist for a used zero turn rider... I just bought a mower with a B&S 20hp engine... and so far it has been excellent. I do believe in yearly oil changes and greasing all the grease fittings per the mfr. I think if you take care of them, they will last long enough. That being said, I thought I wanted the toro ss4260 because it had a 42 inch deck and kawasaki engine. I ended up buying something with a briggs engine and have been quite happy with it. I only had to work on my last snapper zt after 12 years... and then it was not the engines fault. As far as walk behinds go... there are plenty in your price range and I have even read several reviews of the toro timemaster 30 inch mower on this site that were very positive!

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

About the Toro Timemaster, I've heard it does good bagging but not mulching. Have you looked at enough ratings/comments to know if that is true?

 

[txzrider]

no idea... but then no one that I have ever know who has a toro has complained about it mulching... if anything they brag about every aspect of the mower. I have a snapper 21 inch mower that is about 15 years old... it mulches very well, it uses there "ninja" mulching blade and it works great. I am sure their wider mowers will work as well. Snapper still makes a rear engine rider that is probably in your price range. They have it with a 33 inch deck. I would not have a problem at all recommending that to you. you can find them all day long on craigs list for under $1000, they tend to be about $1000 cheaper than the equiv snapper zt. They also make a 33" walk behind but I dont have any idea about its price. My 1st ZT was a snapper 33" 13hp, with a joy stick to steer. I guess because of that working so well for me I upgraded to my Country clipper with a joystick.

 

[Ric]

Hi Everyone,

I currently have an 18" electric Black & Decker mower which has worked great for me for the last 9 years. I just recently moved to a new home with a half acre yard and the 18" mower is just not working for me. It takes me 3 hours just to mow the lawn and that does not include trimming/edging.

I was thinking of purchasing a riding mower or a wide area mower and have spent a lot of time reading up on mowers for the last few weeks. I am now to the point where I have no idea what to get. It seems the riding mowers with Briggs & Stratton and the Kholer Courage engines are unreliable and pretty much won't last a very long time. Kawasaki based mowers seem to be the best, but they also cost a lot more than I'm willing to pay. The $1,000 Toro Timemaster wide area mower was what I was leaning towards, but reading more reviews has led me to believe that thing is under powered and may not last long.

Basically, I'm looking for a inexpensive, reliable mower. Ideally, I would like to spend no more than $1,500, but would consider going higher if the mower is that good. I'd also like to reduce my mowing time significantly (1 hour or less). I don't mind using a walk behind mower.

Sooooo, I'd like to read your suggestions and experience on good mowers.

Thanks! :smile:

If you only have 1/2 acre and you want to cut your mowing time and with your budget you mite be better off buying a lawn tractor like the LTX 1045 CC from Home depot. They have Mowing decks from 42 to 54-inches wide, engines, from 18 to 27 horsepower, 3-year/120-hour and 5-year/500-hour limited warranty and
they start at $1499.

 

[txzrider]

when you say "1/2 acre"... is it wide open or are there trees and other obstacles? If so a ZT would clean up over a garden tractor. But Ric is correct a LT is the cheapest way to get a new rider...

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Yeah I hate that....better things are always more expensive! hahaha:laughing:

 

[eddie1]

Thanks, guys for all the great suggestions! I just spoke to someone who claims they can mow a half acre with a 21"/22" walk behind mower in an hour or so. I'd be curious to know if that is true? Anyone have any experience and can provide input?

I would prefer a walk behind as it would be easier to store.

 

[eddie1]

Also, my lawn has trees on the border which I have to mow around and a nice size hill in the back yard.

 

[possum]

An average half acre yard can be mowed in one hour with a regular push mower 21 inch. However it can get a bit tough after the heat and humidity of summer arrives. A bunch of good ideas have been dropped for your consideration. Here is one more. For the money you say you can provide about five decent average mowers can be purchased brand new. At least three much nicer ones can be purchased. Consider a pair, you always have a backup if the one is in shop for warranty work. Or buy an upper end machine and a lower one, still always have one for backup. If you buy a used machine or a new lawn tractor in your price range you are going to need a backup anyway for possible shop time. Another thing to consider is to just buy one 300 to five hundred dollor machine and keep some cash for a purchase of a backup if you ever need it. One hundred fifty dollors is alot easier to come up with on short notice than five hundred or a thousand for minor to somewhat serious repairs. A cheap mower to do an acre can be had for one hundred fifty to get a person by. If you are still healthy a cheap to good to great quality 21 inch mower will get you by just fine for one half acre. Very little to maintain, very little to go wrong by comparison, less filters, less stabilizer, less oil, no tires to puncture, no hydros or steering to wear out, less folks that want to borrow or steal it, easy to take to a shop, easy to put away and forget about it until next season, trims nice around trees, very healthy to operate. Just something different to think about.