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Hello, new to the forums so "Hello!" :biggrin:

For the past 9 years I've been mowing with a Toro 20031 Recycler that overall I've been satisfied with. Yard is flat, 1/3 of an acre with relatively few obstructions (except when I get on the other side of the fence or around the garden). Outlets on all sides of the house. I prefer to mulch, except for the first mowing in the spring when I'll usually bag as the grass is often a bit long then. Last week the mower refused to start (I suspect carburetor and have removed it pending a rebuild or replacement), but I've decided to take the opportunity to purchase a new mower and keep the old one as backup (after repair). It's also developed an oil leak that leaves the mower deck covered with oil following each mowing. My first choice was to go for a cordless electric (Greenworks Twin), but my wife is stubbornly opposed to ANY electric mower (and to her credit she does about 2/3rd's of the time she does the mowing as she enjoys doing it for exercise. I usually end up mowing my father's yard using his beastly heavy Troy-Bilt on a hilly yard with a non-functional self propel :thumbdown:... would love to trade places on that deal! :laughing: ). She's likewise opposed to getting a riding mower or tractor (sigh). Anyway, this has me looking at gas mowers. (Though I still might sneak a corded electric in one day for the days when I mow).

Things I liked about the old Toro: Electric start (but that died after 5 years or so...plastic teeth on flywheel are worn), fairly easy pull starting (usually on 2nd or 3rd pull until this year), adequate power unless the grass is long and damp, self propel system is effortless to use and works well, wider deck allowed for the mowing task to finish fairly quickly (1.5 to 2 hours usually). Mulched fairly well, though it would leave clumps if the grass was damp or a bit long. I also liked the easy folding handle, which made garage storage nice.

Things I disliked: loud! (Tecumseh 195cc motor); wide deck is tricky to maneuver between wife's flower bushes; extra room in front of deck would leave a small patch of unmowed grass in front of mower when slipping mower between bushes and into corners; small bag required very frequent emptying and replacing; wheel adjusters are stiff and difficult to move. Self propel mechanism was tricky some times to disengage for pulling backwards, but not a major issue as I learned to avoid mowing backwards as much as possible.

So in my search for a new mower I pretty much have the following criteria (from most to least important):
-- excellent mulching ability
-- quiet, smooth motor (fuel efficiency is a plus!)
-- easy starting (though they all seem to offer this now among quality mowers)
-- easy to fold handle
-- easy wheel adjustment
-- relatively light weight
-- decent bagging ability and capacity
-- easy cleaning
-- affordable ($200 to $300 ideal, though I'm willing to stretch that to get the features I want)

So, some of the mowers I'm considering include:
Lawn Boy 10632 Light at only 58 lbs, but don't know anything about the Briggs 140cc motor. (I would have preferred the Kohler model 10604 as it's motor is listed as 88 dB as opposed to my old Toro which was around 92dB, but it seems to have been replaced by the newer Briggs model).

Honda HRR216K9VKA Highly rated in Consumer Reports for it's mulching and bagging, but a tad pricey (but about what I paid for my old Toro). Clip director seems like it would be a useful feature as I could switch to bagging only in areas where the grass is longer and then switch back to mulching. Mower was listed in Popular Mechanics as being 91dB, so it seems rather loud.

Toro 20381 Rather expensive, but receives top marks for it's mowing ability in Consumer Reports. User reviews rate the engine as quiet. Personal pace system is a system I'm familiar with and like. Con is that it's quite a bit heavier than the Lawn Boy, but about the same as the Honda (though more expensive than the Honda).

Toro 20332 Comparable to my old Toro, but without the electric start. Popular Mechanics lists the Briggs & Stratton 190 motor as 89dB.

An outside contender is the Cub Cadet CC98M. Large rear bag, castor wheels in front. An unknown is it's mowing ability (though user reports are good) and the efficiency and noise level of it's 173cc motor.

So, given these choices which one would you pick? (Also any other suggestions that I may have not listed here).

Craig

Looking at your criteria, I don't think your going to do any better than a Honda. definitely stay away from the Cub Cadet, its basically MTD junk. A Toro with "their" new engine wouldn't be bad either, but the jury is still out on whether their engine will hold up or not, its basically a "chonda" design. My neighbor just got one and loves it so far, and I can attest to how quiet it runs, sounds like some one is mowing 2 or 3 houses away ( I live in town). I know it'll cost you more initially, but I'd say the Honda is your best bet, especially since they switched to that new clip director, should make it real easy to use.

Try to buy a self-propelled Lawn Boy from the early 80's.

yes, there is always that option as well if you don't need to go with something brand new. or a toro with the Suzuki 2stroke. I also forgot to add, they new Kohler Courage engines on the push mowers, like the lawn boy you mentioned, are generally considered junk as well, so I would avoid them.

afoulk said:

Looking at your criteria, I don't think your going to do any better than a Honda. definitely stay away from the Cub Cadet, its basically MTD junk. A Toro with "their" new engine wouldn't be bad either, but the jury is still out on whether their engine will hold up or not, its basically a "chonda" design. My neighbor just got one and loves it so far, and I can attest to how quiet it runs, sounds like some one is mowing 2 or 3 houses away ( I live in town). I know it'll cost you more initially, but I'd say the Honda is your best bet, especially since they switched to that new clip director, should make it real easy to use.

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Agreed. :thumbsup:

I personally find all lawn care engines to be too loud, so I buy a big jar of disposable earplugs from Kmart. So I'm not sure if I would base my decision on the loudness of a particular engine, as it seems that most of the ones you listed were within a few dB of each other anyways. I do really like the Honda engines and I like some Toro's okay, so I would say that either the Toro 20332 or Honda mower would be good bets. But yeah, like others said, if you don't necessarily want to buy a new one, you can find good used Snapper Hi-Vacs (great mower by the way, fantastic self-propelled) for a pretty good price on Craigslist, as well as pretty much any other mower brand as well. If you have a dealer nearby, it would be a good idea to check them out, as they can point you in the right direction, and since they service the mowers, they can give you a good idea of reliability (but they are salesman, so you can only get so far with some of them). So yeah, that's it.