Happy to report that the Timemaster is finally mine. Been thinking, dreaming of owning for over a year. My lot is big enough for a small rider and I'd been going back and forth between the Timemaster and either the 38" Husqvarna or a 42" Cub Cadet.
I had wandered over to Home Depot to pick up some more of the 5 quart oil they had for $9.88. Of course I had to look at the mowers before purchasing the oil. That's when I spotted the Timemaster sitting next to one of the JD riders. It had a clearance tag on it that they use for returned equipment. OMG I thought this is my ticket to the Timemaster. I looked it over good, checked the oil and pushed it out the garden area and started it up. It started on the first pull and sounded great. Whenever it stops raining here I'll report back on how the Timemaster and I get along.
#2
7394
Cool, must'a been meant to be yours. Enjoy the new machine :thumbsup: Always nice getting a great deal.
#3
gotomow
The Timemaster is back at Home Depot. It turns out that the engine has a massive oil leak. I'm thinking the first owner returned it because of the oil leak. Before I bought it the HD tech said it was returned because of hard starting when warm. Hmmm, ok maybe but when I had it running without mowing everything was fine. 15-20 minutes into my backyard and I'm seeing smoke coming from the engine. After stopping I could see that there was oil everywhere, OMG. I almost cleaned it off before returning it but I thought I'd let them see first hand the amount of oil gushing. Seems only to spew when mowing so if they cleaned it up after the first owner and then just ran it a bit without mowing everything probably was fine. I got the Timemaster for a great price and if I was in love with it I'd give them a couple of chances to fix it. But I found out my yard it not suited for the Timemaster. While I do have a big yard there are areas that require too much uphill maneuvering that requires one to grab for the blue "boost" handle too much. Home Depot handled the return very nicely and since I have a trailer, lugging the oily mess back to HD was easy. Plus I live less than a mile away, LOL. While I'm a bit bummed it proved to be a super opportunity to try out the Timemaster and prove to myself that it's not for my yard after all.
#4
7394
Well, good you were able to return it then. Best to find out now.
#5
gotomow
When down to Home Depot to pick up some fence boards. OMG the Timemaster is back on the sales floor sitting over by the JD riders. One of the places I noticed it leaking before I bought it was at the base of the dipstick tube. When I wheeled it over to the service area I mentioned this to the tech who took it apart. While disassembled he cleaned the o ring and the base where the o-ring seats and reassembled. He started it up and there was no leak. When I took the Timemaster home I'm sure it was leaking there and other places because the oil was everywhere, but who knows. So on this latest trip I decided to take a look at the base of the dipstick tube and I could see oil was weeping from around the base. This things not even running and it's leaking oil. Are they kidding me?? How can they keep putting this defective stuff back on the sales floor?? Some poor fool will buy it and it will run out of oil and they will blame him.
#6
7394
"Some poor fool will buy it and it will run out of oil and they will blame him."
Sounds like that's what they are counting on. That's a shame.
For the right price, sure, I'll deal with the cheap-o wheels.
Not buying new, no way no how, not with the issues my Dad's 2009 Personal Pace Recycler has experienced. I have two Personal Pace Recyclers from 2004 and 2007 that I will try to hold on to for a long time. However, my yard is a bit big for a 22" mower. It takes me hours to cut, someday I think I would like to cut down on that time.
I’ll bet the unit your dad has is one of the cheaper steel deck units. Second I’ll bet you replaced the wheels yourself and purchased them at the B.B. store without the aid of a dealership. If you would have talked to a good dealer or tech they would have told you there is a kit to solve that problem. For your info, the cast deck units and the TimeMasters have metal on metal drive gears, but I’ll bet you knew that because of your great knowledge.
I don't buy jack squat at the big box store. Cheaper to buy online. I know now that there are replacement plastic wheels with METAL gears, learned from a youtube video. Would have saved him $$$ overall to buy once, cry once on those wheels.
I knew that you had more knowledge than me, as I have not heard about OEM replacement wheels for those units with metal gears. As I am learning everything you read on the Internet is fact. My opinion is that buying on line is buyer beware, and then you must find someone to repair it, at Internet prices, when something goes wrong. I have had people come into the shop, ask me what is or could be wrong with their unit, then tell me my parts prices are too high, they’ll get them on line. What would you do if you were standing in my shoes? I may not charge you for my knowledge, but most times I will see your unit down the road. Just like members who come to this forum asking for help or advice and then do one of two things when help is provided. Either tell us we don’t know what we are talking about because they don’t like the answer or use the advice but never come back to give us a simple THANK YOU. Should the techs here stop giving away their knowledge for free because of them. NO, we’ve got thick skin and do this as a service to those who value our expertise. If you don’t like what I say and hate me for saying it, get in the short line. The long line is for grateful members who have been helped and have save money following the technicians answers.
Ahhhh yes, and today I discovered that it needs a new transmission.
So let's see. Two sets of 4 wheels. A transmission. The cheap pot metal/cast aluminum "anchor plate" that supports the pulley for the extra belt for the blade clutch.
Not even counting normal wear items like belts, cables, and blades.
Probably could have bought a brand new mower by now.
If he was taking it in to a shop for service, he could have probably bought five mowers by now. Thank goodness I do the work myself.:wink:
The Toro 20333 definitely took on a lot of "wear and tear" for mowing a relatively small yard at a town home/duplex for less than eight full mowing seasons.
What is the life expectancy of these mowers exactly?
I was just at the local Ace Hardware the other day buying C-clips because one of them popped off on his mower. I saw these brand new Toro mowers, probably with Kohler engines but the same deck as the 20333, I think they were on sale for over $400?
I have just ordered a new 2018 Toro TimeMaster from my local and trusted independent power equipment dealer. It should be delivered on Monday 7/30.
It is taking over for my 12 year old Ariens 21" commercial rear bagger which although still going strong is becoming tired after doing 4/5 of an acre of grass over those years.
The Ariens has been a very dependable machine and does the vast amount of work for me in tall grass season as well as in leaf season.
Hopefully I will be happy with the Toro 30" TimeMaster. It joins my 1950 Locke 30" rotary workhorse which is as old as I am, literally.
I have watched a slew of YouTube videos on the TimeMaster and it appears that Toro has incorporated quite a few improvements over the
5+ years of this model's life. Toro has apparently modified the under deck design with different blades and baffle, improved pulleys, a newer more powerful Briggs Motor and for 2018 a new
muffler guard are a few of the items that my local dealer told me have been incorporated.
I tried the TimeMaster on his turf at his shop and it was an immediate total ease of use that had me sold.
Also the fact that the TimeMaster comes fully equipped as a three way (side discharge, mulch and rear bagger) fit the bill for my use case.
I still like walking behind the mower for the exercise.
Was I foolish in not going for the electric start model variant? I have never had electric start and I feared that it was
just going to be another sub-system to go wrong. The dealer said it starts usually on first or second pull depending upon
how long between starts.
Cant wait to get it delivered. First thing will be to install an induction Time Meter to keep track of the use for oil changes, etc.
Ears open for any suggestions from other TimeMaster owners.
Having a wider mower would definitely help. My 10,000 square foot corner lot normally takes at least 4 hours to mulch including trimming and blowing. Not counting edging which I do not do every cut, maybe once a month or less often than that. I am a perfectionist so that takes more time, too.
#17
gotomow
I think that you will love the Timemaster. It's easy to start because the blades are not engaged when starting so it's pretty easy to pull and start. I'm glad I tried the Timemaster and while it didn't work out for my yard if you have lots of long runs without obstacles you will quickly appreciate the time-savings and quality of cut. If the Timemaster had been ideal for my yard I'd have taken it back until the leak was fixed. I live close to Home Depot and having a trailer made it a breeze to transport. I'm now leaning towards an entry level rider like the Cub Cadet CC30H or a Cub Cadet or JD 42" rider.
Please report back on how the Timemaster works out for you.
I only have one tree and a light fixture as in-lawn obstacles along with a stone wall which can be dicey if you do not pay attention. Other than that I can plan either long or short straight runs every other cut (I tend to change up my cut paths every other mowing so I do not do the same stripes each time I cut).
Regarding the sit down mower, If you can find a used high end sit down which has not been abused, that would be a good option. My dealer had a few nice condition Scag, Exmark and Gravely zero turn used machines. He told me that if I was interested in them the best time to make a deal was in the winter when the landscapers were refreshing their equipment. Probably something to consider.
