Okay, so after years of mowing my larger property with a commercial ZTR, I've downsized to a new home with a considerably smaller amount of grass to cut. Having sold my ZTR I now need a good quality walk-behind mower to mow a 1/4 acre. Yes, that is not much grass but I'm looking for a very good mower that will perform well and be an investment for years to come. Here are my requirements: Lot has some steep slopes (30 deg in some areas), so self-propelled is a must. I plan to mulch almost exclusively so I need an excellent mulching mower. Lawn is here in Ohio and is fine blade fescu. I'm looking at two options right now.
#1) the new Husqvarna 22" AWD. The appeal here is the AWD. I would think it could drag me up the slopes (which would be ideal). Everything else about the mower seems to be high quality but I've got no other real experience with Husqvarna other than chainsaws which is pretty positive.
#2) a used Honda HRC216. I'm currently checking into this to determine # of hours run and maintenance but don't have that info right now. The mower looks to be in near-new condition from photos and was used for residential, not commercial mowing only. The appeal here is the quality of construction, hydrostatic drive, ball-bearing wheels, rust-proof deck and all the rest that made this mower such a favorite. Of course I'm hoping it will also give an outstanding cut and have great pulling power up the slopes.
Both machines are approximately the same cost. So, assuming the Honda is in good to great condition (but still used)... which would you buy? To muddy the waters a little more I would say that I would also entertain the idea of a wide-cut residential mower (26" - 33") to make the mowing job even quicker, but I want to stay within a $750 budget so that might force me to find a used machine, which I'm not opposed to so feel free to suggest other options than the two I listed. I'm really eager as a newbie on this forum to read some of your feedback! Thanks in advance to all!
#1) the new Husqvarna 22" AWD. The appeal here is the AWD. I would think it could drag me up the slopes (which would be ideal). Everything else about the mower seems to be high quality but I've got no other real experience with Husqvarna other than chainsaws which is pretty positive.
#2) a used Honda HRC216. I'm currently checking into this to determine # of hours run and maintenance but don't have that info right now. The mower looks to be in near-new condition from photos and was used for residential, not commercial mowing only. The appeal here is the quality of construction, hydrostatic drive, ball-bearing wheels, rust-proof deck and all the rest that made this mower such a favorite. Of course I'm hoping it will also give an outstanding cut and have great pulling power up the slopes.
Both machines are approximately the same cost. So, assuming the Honda is in good to great condition (but still used)... which would you buy? To muddy the waters a little more I would say that I would also entertain the idea of a wide-cut residential mower (26" - 33") to make the mowing job even quicker, but I want to stay within a $750 budget so that might force me to find a used machine, which I'm not opposed to so feel free to suggest other options than the two I listed. I'm really eager as a newbie on this forum to read some of your feedback! Thanks in advance to all!
