It's hard to label one mower as best, depending on what you're trying to do with it (mulch, bag, vacuum leaves or just cut). Snappers do have the best vacuum action. Somewhat of a downside to Snappers, was they are heavy, something you're not going to lift it, to put in your trunk to mow grandma's yard.
Years ago, the grass cutting services for small residential lawns used Lawn-Boys. Being light, dependable and rugged. It wasn't uncommon to see their trailer with 4 or 5 of them on it to do the back lawn (to get through a Cyclone fence gate) and a larger walk behind to do the fronts.
With 2 strokes now a thing of the past, I'd have to give the nod to Honda's, especially ones with the GXV engine. Their twin blade setup does leave a nice finish cut. Remember when your shaving razor had one blade, now how many does it have?
For the worst, it would be best to talk to the guys who own repair shops (not a dealer as the dealer will say their brand is the best,,,lol), they'll tell you which brands come in for service most often. This is true for appliances as well.
the problem is the best and worse can vary from year to year. What is good this year may have problems next year. And if dealing with the consumer level mowers, most are made by one company under several different names.
Good example is everybody complains about the plastic carbs on the new briggs push engines. but in reality it isn't so much a carb problem as it is a fuel quality issue that sets off a chain of events which clogs passages in the carb. And can't forget the camshaft issues with the compression release breaking. Or requiring constant valve adjustments, and the valve guides moving if they get too hot. Everybody brags on Kawasaki engines being the best, and they have good reliability but when they break down tend to have multiple organ failures. What comes in as a no start will transition from a carb repair, and a valve adjustment will lead to a failed ignition module or two, and then after the engine is running great you find out it isn't charging and also needs a stator or regulator. And nobody will forget the Kohler courage block cracks or counterbalance blowing out the back of the block.
#4
PTmowerMech
I'll take an old green craftsman with an opposed twin any day. Easy and cheap to fix.
I don't care for the electric PTO's either. The cables for the manual blade engagement is too easy and too inexpensive to ignore. $35 parts & labor vs $200+ plus labor.
It does not exist
There is the right mower for the application at hand .
There is the best compromise for the application at hand and the available money
And there is the wrong mower for the application at hand.
Every brand has at least one disaster they would like to pretend they did not make .
Every brand has a really good mower with a niggleing problem that annoys owners o
#6
tom3
And it might depend on the model and price level of a certain brand's machine. John Deere and Cub Cadet are maybe the best examples of this. A $2500 machine is a throwaway, a $7000 machine will outlive most of us if maintained. Not really up on the Kubota non-commercial mowers, might be the top of the heap?
It does not exist
There is the right mower for the application at hand .
There is the best compromise for the application at hand and the available money
And there is the wrong mower for the application at hand.
Every brand has at least one disaster they would like to pretend they did not make .
Every brand has a really good mower with a niggleing problem that annoys owners o
Of course, but that's why I asked for opinions instead of facts, I just like hearing what brands/models people like and what they don't. Remember...opinions....
#8
PTmowerMech
If properly maintained, even an MTD can be good equipment. Then again, they can also be junk within the first 2 years, with regular maintenance.
The biggest problem, IMO, with just about any brand, is the operator.
I have an old fart for a customer, awesome guy. He's got an old craftsman lt1000, that he uses for his "brush hogging," sort of speak. Not part of his yard. But close enough to keep it looking decent. Mostly weeds, leaves and small sticks.
His John Deere, he saves for his yard. Of course I see the Craftsman a lot more than the John Deere. But his parts and labor on the Craftsman is generally inexpensive.
LOL.. The last time I worked on his craftsman, I was working on another just like his. So I robbed some parts off the other to put on his. A deck belt and an idler pulley (that was still quiet when you rotated it.) When I delivered it back to him, I said "On the house." His face lit up like a brand new LED.
He's just one of those old guys that are so dayum nice, that you don't mind doing little things like that for.
BTW, the other customer, was getting his idlers & belts replaced. He had one real bad idler, so he said to just replace both.
Well you can not kill a Cox , got an 1134 Compact in right now for new belts it is a 1994 model
Or perhaps a Greenfields currently rewiring a 1988 one because the seat bolt fell out & shorted the loom to the body while the operator was knocking down 4' tall grass & weeds in an old strawberry farm.
Both use plain belts that are always running so cost 1/3 the price of aramid fiber mower belts.
Both drive the deck from the rear so if you smack into something the belt goes slack rather than snapping.
Both use swing back bladed so you can plow through the tallest grass
One uses a cone drive & the other friction drive so a tranny fix is about $ 200
Talk to the people who do returns at Home Depot, Lowes, and like that. At Home Depot, I took back lots of yardman and Toro, but not one Honda. That is a good measure of initial satisfaction. Then look to repair people for information on durability. I hate mowers that are designed to drive you crazy on repair. The Huskvarna I had was a real pain for accessing belts about four different socket sizes with a screw requirement just to remove the plastic covers. Toro has a bad history on acknowledging design flaws. I'm currently frustrated with my Honda (see my Actuator post).
