Need some lawn mower advice. What is the best?

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lorainfurniture

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I want to replace my tired old toro mower. My wish list is electric start, GOOD suction bagging, prefer aluminum deck, made in America, reliable, durable, serviceable. Must be push style mower, 20" ish inch cut, and self propelled.

I don't have a budget, willing to pay whatever for a good unit.

Any thoughts about snapper?
 
Well for starters, how much do you have to mow? We have an electric 56v EGO mower that run on a lithium ion battery. It is lightweight and mows just as well as a gas mower, and with less noise. There is a 5 year warranty on the mower and they stand behind it. The one we have is the first generation of the mower and its not self propelled, but for us thats a non issue. They make a new one that does have self propelled wheels. I love it since I don't have to deal with gas anymore and the battery lasts for about 45 mins to an hour on a charge. The mower comes with the battery and charger, grass catcher and side discharge. We have it set to mulch and it does an amazing job at that. It also has LED lights on it if you feel the need to mow at night. And this mower folds up so it doesn't take up a lot of real estate in a shed or garage.
 
I Love my Snapper Hi-Vac

I own two.  One is almost 30 years old, still running.  The other is four years old.  

 

Don't buy just by name.  The Snappers you see at the big box stores, are not the same Snappers as you buy at a garden or power supply.

 

The Wal-Mart, Sear's Snappers are re-badged Murrays.  When Murray went bankrupt they owed Briggs & Stratton $10 million, so B&S took over their tooling and marketed it to recover their losses.

 

B&S also owns Toro, Troy Built, Lawn Boy, and Huskvarna.  As well as Poulan and Weed Eater.  

 

So as I said, look at the features and design as well as the names.  In the Snapper line, the Hi-Vac is the original design, can't beat their simple and easy to work on drive system.  You can get your choice of engines, even though B&S owns them.  Kohler, Honda, and Briggs are all available. 
 
I don't have much to mow. I can usually edge, trim, mow, and bag in under 1.25 hrs. I bought the ryobi battery mower last year, works well, and I was grateful to be liberated from gas. It does not bag very well at all, and I found myself going for my toro again.
 
B&S also closed the Murray plant in Lawrenceburg, TN (I used to work there in 1992, blah).   We used to make Craftsman for Sears.

 

I have a Snapper 9hp rear engine rider.  I bought it because my father had one for almost 20 years trouble free.  Mine is now 15 years old and has been trouble free too.  It has a B&S engine on it and no electric start...but ALWAYS starts on the first pull!

 

My push mower is a Troybilt with a Honda engine...also starts on the first pull.

[this post was last edited: 6/8/2016-22:29]
 
I have a Toro that I bought in 2007 and love it. I have done yearly maintenance in the spring and off it goes. It has a self-propelled idea called "Personal Pace." My personal pace is slow! lol Happy mowing. Gary
 
I remember buying a snapper about 10 years ago. I remember it being a hivac, with the 5hp I/c Briggs motor. Ran very well and had excellent suction.

I loaned it to my brother and somehow he managed to seize the engine within 1 day. I eventually scrapped it, I didn't know what I had

This is what I'm looking at now.

 
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I've never used an electric mower.  Two weeks ago I traded in my 29-year-old Honda for a new Honda mower.  I bought the first Honda in April of 1987 and was never disappointed in its performance.  I did a better-than-average job of putting it in the shop each spring for the appropriate maintenance; maybe that's why it lasted as long as it did.  It featured a clutch for the drive and a separate clutch for the blade.  The new one uses a different drive and does not have a clutch for the blade; the "old" technology is still available but is reserved for Honda's 'Professional' line and retails for around $1200.  I did not have that kind of $$$ to spend and didn't feel the need to purchase a mower that might last another 29 years.  I am happy with the new mower and it set me back about $400.

 

lawrence
 
Snapper!

I have a Snapper Ninja. The Ninja is the Hi-Vac, with a slightly different shaped deck to facilitate mulching over bagging, although I can still bag if I want to. The Ninja uses the same drive system as the Hi-Vac.

Mine has a B&S overhead valve engine with an oil filter and pump. This engine is no longer offered. My mower is a beast, but it also does a spectacular job. The finished lawn looks so much better than when I used various Craftsman and other cheap mowers.

You do pay a serious premium for a Honda engine, but I think it might be worth it. My B&S engine is powerful, but will it be reliable, fuel efficient, and reasonably quiet (relatively speaking)?

I bent my crankshaft, so I am about to take it apart to replace it. Aside from that, I love my Snapper.

Dave
 
I was just checking

The website for Maximum Outdoor Equipment where I bought my last Snapper.  You will pay a premium for the Honda engine, approximately $250.  If  you go with a Briggs, I have the 8.75.  the electric start is about $100 more. 

 

The Hi-Vac deck will take the Ninja blade, and a discharge plug to make it an excellent mulching mower. 

 

Differences between the older vs newer.  The newer mower still has the same deck. Handles are lighter weight and longer with a cup holder.  Speed control is a little easier to adjust, but the old leaver wasn't that bad either. 

 

Here is my Peeve with Briggs & Stratton.  They no longer give you an oil drain.  You have to turn the engine sideways to drain.  That is just stupid in my book.  I have been reading now they have an engine that you never change the oil, just top it off and go.  Wonder what short life cycle they have planned for that one.

 

I usually change my oil at the last of the season, and about mid season.  I use synthetic oil, Mobil-1,  as I feel it gives the little air-cooled engines a little better protection. 

 

Air filters are usually cleaned about every use by tapping them out and blowing with the air hose.  I change them about twice a year along with the foam pre-filter.  That $8 or so is cheap insurance for a longer running engine.

 

The main and only reason I bought a new mower was my old one only had a 3.5 HP engine.  That little engine did well mowing and bagging but could not pull the mulching blade.  The 8.75 doesn't even grunt pulling the Ninja blade, even in higher grass. 

 

Speaking of the Ninja blade.  The Ninja blade is kind of a stepped X shaped blade, so you have four cutting surfaces per rotation.  It does not, however, create much suction; so you have to change blades if you want to vacuum bag.

 

Bagging:  I try to mulch most of the time.  I do have to bag several times a season because I have  a huge Red Cedar tree and the little needles will smother the grass and the high acid will kill the rest that isn't smothered.  I also bag in the fall to suck up the leaves.  Everything is composted and fed to the garden.

 

Fuel usage: I do notice some, then again the engine is twice the size.  My older mower would do the Front/back and the front again on a tank.  The new one will get the front/back done if you hurry.  If you spend too much time around trees and bushes or are doing the strip around the garden; you will have to re-fuel.

 
 
Have a 8 yr old TroyBilt

push mower with Honda OHV engine, bought on sale at Lowes for about $290, and used for a 1/2 acre lawn. Zero maintenance other than maybe 2 oil changes and a blade sharpening every couple years. It looks all beat to hell but it has never needed more than one pull to start. My Honda 1976 XL250 dirt bike also still runs like it did when new. Nothing but a Honda engine for me.
 
Toro, SR-4 Super Recycler

With Honda engine. If I were to buy a mower today that would be it. They can't be beat for mulching (you will rarely need to bag)but they can do that too. In the 17 years I had my Super Recycler, model before the SR-4 I NEVER needed to bag due to tall or wet grass. Also that mulching capacity makes fall cleanup a snap. Blow the leaves into the lawn, mow and you're done. Or bag up the shredded leaves and use them as ground cover.
Anyhow, you can't go wrong with a SR-4.
WK78
 
I know RickR who is a member here loves his vintage Lawn Boy mowers.  He has one from 1963 and 1976 and both are self-propelled units.  Scroll down to Post # 756210 in the link below.

www.automaticwasher.org

Lawnmower advice needed.

Someone stole my lawnmower and now I need to buy a new one. What should I get? I really liked the mower that was stolen. It was about a 2001 or so Snapper Hi-Vac. It had a 21" cut and had the rear wheel variable speed disk drive system. I used a mulching plug and was satisfied with the...
www.automaticwasher.org www.automaticwasher.org
 
In order of preference

1) Honda gas engine powered

2)Vintage Craftsman - not newer than the late '80s, gas or electric

3)Black and Decker electric

 

Current Craftsman is pure trash and worthless.

Toro is not what it once was, I'd not waste my time on even looking at it.

While battery powered mowers work really well, they require new batteries at a much faster clip than the manufacturers promise. If spending large sums of money every other season on batteries doesn't bother you, the super high blade speed can make mulching work far better under less than ideal conditions than any other device.

 

Given the decline in quality of all brands, you'll need to accept that nothing you buy today will hold up for more than a few years at most.
 
We really love our Honda mower. My father also has one, and has had it for 25 years without an issue, still starts on the first pull everytime! We have had our Honda mower for about 5 years, and it seems equally as reliable. Honda usually makes a lot of their stuff in North America, but I'm not sure about the origins of their mowers, specifically.
 
I've had a Toro Personal Pace recycler/mulcher for 10 years. The mulching capability is great - no bagging and there are no traces of cut grass on the lawn at all. It always starts from cold on the 2nd or 3rd pull. I like the personal pace system which allows me to walk at my pace and the mower speeds up/slow down.

Gary
 

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