Tuesday is SNAPPER Day

[kevinpreston8]

Ok, this is my third POS mower, and I have been babying it along. Since I bent my blade, followed by some smoking, the mower never was the same. I can't say I didn't abuse it, but these MTD Yard Machines from Home Depot are not real quality devices. The first one I got, on my first mow, the engine seized, and Home Depot actually wanted me to take it to a mower repair shop rather than getting me a new one, until I raised heck there and got a new one. This one lasted me about 2 years. I had a cheap model even before then, but after sitting in the shed during the rainy season, when I went to use it again the engine had seized!

On the presen mower, pieces just keep breaking off of it (I think the end of the crankshaft is slightly bent and therefore the unbalance of it is cracking the shaft collar I keep having to replace) and I have finally had enough.

Buying my last-try replacement part at a REAL mower shop today, I had the guy show me a Snapper. Snappers appeal to me as they are made in America, and the president of the company basically said goodbye to selling it at WalMart when they pressured him to make cheap models. For that alone they have my interest.

Anyway, this guy rolls out this model with a self-propel belt, throttle controls on a console, and even a damned cup holder. I bet I get 10 years if not more out of this thing.

Anyways, I am venturing over there tomorrow. The mower is $500 ready to run. I plan to finish the front lawn which I have stopped and started three times now fooling around with this mower.

I will post pics tomorrow of the new machine.

 

[oxydolfan]

That's not a bad price at ALL if you want one that's going to last.

I know exactly how you feel about the disposa-mowers. It's frustrating.

 

[petek]

Can't wait to hear how you like it,,why...because I get to go buy a new mower once we're in the new house !!! I left my trusty Kenmore err Craftsman lawn tractor as a gift to our neighbors when we moved and I think this new house doesn't warrant a ride-em. I've read the Hondas are good mowers and some of the Sears now have Honda motors.. but I had good luck with our previous Toro though I don't know if the new ones are as good as the oldies.

 

[kevinpreston8]

Pete...

By the way, good luck in your new home! I read on the other thread...moves can be very exhausting.

I will give you full details tomorrow. I am going to try to get a jump on work and get things done so I can take a mid morning break and go get it. Damn, am I turning into my dad, getting excited about a mower? Geez, I think back about him and that damned iron Jacobsen he bought that I had to push around, the thing weighed a ton and he loved that thing!

I can guarantee you something else guys, I WILL be using the cupholder, playing with the throttles and I will definately have a stupid grin on my face.

You know me. Anything with a motor on it.

 

[scott55405]

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, I've become my father after all.

(My sister-in-law had a mug with that saying ony with "mother." I always thought it very amusing).

 

[tbolt25]

6,000 RPM lawn mower

Has anyone out there actually got angry enough at a lawn mower, and revved the motor to 6,000 RPM?

 

[tolivac]

WOW!!MTD to lawn equipment is as bad as WCI to laundry equipment-whenver MTD swallows up a lawn equipment maker--we know the rest.Witness what happened to Troy Built.Now JUNK.I used to have a Troy Built Mower after MTD got ahold of 'em-was VERY unreliable-Constantly breaking.Replaced it with a Toro walk mower and a used Snapper rider mower(Rear Motor)Snappers are common here-their factory is just over the border of West NC in Eastern Tennessee.MTD also has a factory in that area.The Snapper product-its just not fair comparing-Snappers are much better.CU doesn't like them-but at this point don't think CU know about mowers as much as they think.I have seen more Snappers used(Walk mowers) used by the lawn services-as well as the large "industrial" walk behinds.One I saw being used has a 17Hp Kohler motor.would really cut grass.Would love to have one-but they are $6,000!I think Snapper really wants to stay a dealer product so they can maintian their quality.At some point would like to get a newer Snapper rider-the one I had was pretty worn.Had to replace its blade drive belt-was kinda like replacing the belt in a WP-KN belt drive washer!All kinds of things you had to loop the belt around and thru.Other mowers I like at present are Toro and OLDER Lawn Boy.also KEE mowers.KEE mowers are common in the South.I used to have one-but someone STOLE it!Same with a Toro.I have a newer Toro to replace a new Sears Craftsman-hate that thing!!Sears has GONE DOWN in quality like MTD.Its self propelled mechanism broke the first two weeks I had it-Rather than go thru Sears "Tooth Pulling" service dept-went to a dealwer and got another Toro.This is disappointing-a plastic decorative deck insert on the top viubrated loose while I was using it-then jumpted under the deck and turned into plastic shrapnel!think that is an unsafe design.Please keep the deck ALL Metal-no plastic decorations.Other new mowers I like are the new John Deere tractors-VERY nice!!SOMEDAY!!

 

[toggleswitch]

I bought a POS Black & Decker brand rear-bagger electric lawn-mower, in that the cost and time involved in maintaing a gasoline powered one [for the size plot that I have] was felt to be ridiculous.

{The old one went to a neighbor with a teen-aged son who LIKES to tinker and play macho}.

The darned D&B at times never fully released its safetly brake, which caused the motor to slow to the point that it had smoked on various occasions.

It finally passed-away, not two weeks after I gave it to my sister. [I have a lawn service and am selling my house, so I don't need it anymore]. No incense needed. It generated plenty of its own smoke.

No mass-cards necessary or sympathies required. I am sustaining the loss as well as can be expected. *LOL*

 

[Cybrvanr]

I purchased an MTD mower about 15 years ago, and it's still running today. I can't say it's the best mower out there, but the Briggs & Stratton quantum engine on it is in excellent shape. The mower deck is pretty beat up. I guess MTD equipment has really fallen off in quality recently as they try for the basement-bargain big-box store market.

I think my next mower is going to be a Toro or Snapper too. I've seen some of them in very good condition with a lot of age. One of the ones I am interested in is the rechargeable electric mowers. They have two 12 volt batteries in them and a 3HP motor. They will typically run 1.5-2 hours on a charge. Many people have installed solar panels on the roof of their garages or sheds to charge the mower up. Seems sort of ironic...the same thing that makes the grass grow also cuts it!

 

[toggleswitch]

Who me dyslexic?

LOL

ooopps I mean B&D (Black & Decker) not D&B (Dunn & Bradstreet).

 

[tolivac]

I used to have a B&D rechargeable electric mower-bought it for the townhome when I was Wash DC area-Got it from Home Depot in Manassas VA,during a demo BD was doing there-when I moved to North Carolina-the machine wasn't so good on the larger lawn here and its load of pine straw,pinecones,and twigs.I have my mowers set to "mulch" mode-that little electric mulched BETTER than some gas motored mowers-But the plastic deck was abraded and cracked from the heavy use-wished it had a METAL deck-probably would be fine today.Aslo liked it was quiet,and no smoke from the gas motor.Made less noise than many vacuum cleaners-you even felt you were vacuuming a giant carpet!

 

[petek]

Has anyone heard of American Yard Products. I was told that was the name of the company that manufactured the Craftsman lawn tractors like the one I had. I had always that thought it was an MTD. It was a good little tractor. Some of the models had B&S engines and some had Kohlers, still do. I had the one with the 14hp Kohler. We certainly got our monies worth out of it with 13 years of use mowing about 3 acres, some very rough, pulling a garden cart around and lots of things (abuse). My sister bought one about 5 years ago and they haven't had any problems with theirs either. They have one with the B&S engine.

 

[wiskybill]

Kevin...
If you do get the Snapper, I hope it lasts as long as mine. I bought one about 6 yrs ago at auction. It's about a 1975 vintage self-propel walk behind. Had'nt been used for about 2 yrs before I got it. I took it home and cleaned it up, changed oil, put in fresh gas and I was off and mowing.
I moved 3 yrs ago and gave it to my dad. He was skeptical at first as he had never used a Snapper. He wasn't sure 3.5HP was enough power. It didn't take long for him to change his mind. No amount of money could part him from it now.
Good luck with whatever decision you make!
Bill

 

[goatfarmer]

Snapper

Snapper is owned by Simplicity. Simplicity is owned by Briggs and Stratton.You should be very happy with your purchase.
To tie this all together,American Yard Products (AYP)at one time was part of Electrolux. Might still be.Haven't kept up with them lately. The MTD products of today are basically cheaper,throwaway type mowers and tractors.

Simplicity/Allis Chalmers garden tractors are my other place to throw money.I've got about a dozen of 'em.....

kennyGF

 

[kevinpreston8]

Results are in

About an hour ago the owner of the mower shop, Chuck, brought over my mower and showed me all the workings, including some tips I would not have thought of.

The mower model is a "Hi-VAC", which means it has a special deck and a hood that help suck the grass up better. There is a plastic tunnel before the bag, and he recommended spraying PAM in there to lubricate it and the grass will swish through even faster.

I just did my whole front lawn. I have mowed my parents lawns since I was 15, only lived in apartments for a few years before I had a home. So I have used probably 8 or 9 mowers extensively, and a bunch of others occasionally. And I will tell you this, NOTHING compares to this mower. I can't believe how nice it is.

First off, the thing is solid. It doesn't rattle and shimmy if, say, you lift the front wheels off the ground slightly and move the handlebar. It has foam on the handgrips, so it is comfortable. The wheels are nice and large, and the deck is well made and well painted and finished. The few plastic parts that are on this are that really heavy gauge stuff.

The bag lifts off the top of the mower, no reaching around the underside of the bars and pulling it around. Then, the back of the bag just flops open, spilling all the grass out in one or two short shakes. Then you just slide it back on really easy.

I am glad I spent the extra $100 on the drive model, and I got the better of two drive models that has a better engagement setup. I have a control on how much speed the drive gets, and it uses an ingenius mechanism like a record platter to change the speed. The thing really moves out even on the "turtle" setting! I was surprised. Yet, it's easy to manuever when you don't have the drive engaged.

The motor also has a throttle control, which is nice too. The control rods are steel with rubber coatings.

We will see how this does on the long road, but right now, could not be more happy with it.

Here are some pictures.

 

[kevinpreston8]

Control console

The engagement lever is on the far right of the handlebar.

In front of it is the throttle control. Note the cupholder. On the other side is the speed adjustment for the self-driving mechanism.

 

[kevinpreston8]

I think it just goes to show the

difference in buying something "high end".

The guy showed me all models I was interested in, even some oddball ones.

He brought it to my house free after work and showed me everything. It was completely assembled, tested, and full of oil and gas. All the documentation was there.

Plus I have a high quality unit that will last. The owner told me that most people that buy these mowers are on their 2nd or third "Home Depot" mower, and have had enough, just like me.

 

[wiskybill]

Congatulaltions...

It's absolutely beautiful! Hope you have many trouble-free years of mowing pleasure.

KennyGF mentioned that Simplicity owns Snapper, Dad's riding mower is a Simplicity Coronet, about 15 years old. No problems with it until this spring, the steel mower deck rusted thru in a couple places. He considered trading it for a new model, maybe a tractor style, but in the end he ordered a new mower deck shell. Last weekend we transferred all the hardware to the new deck and installed it. Spent about $250 for the deck and 2 new blades so he should be good to go for however much longer he wants to take care of his yard. He just turned 87 and hasn't slowed down much.
Anyway, congrats... Bill

 

[myhooverco]

Congrats on the new Snapper mower. I bought a new "extra tough" model in 1985 when I was 13. It had the 4hp Briggs and Stratton engine with the cast iron sleeve and the rugged deck with the ball bearing wheels. I had been through two mowers the year before and saved enough money to buy a new Snapper. My mowing business continued to "grow" and I made money hand over fist with my Snapper. That machine bought my first car, paid for prom, and paid for many semesters at Kent State. I even used it at my first house in 1999. In 2003, the old girl was just getting too wobbly and the ORIGINAL engine was losing compression. I looked into getting a new motor but after seeing that the quality was as good as 1985, I too bought a new Snapper with the B&S motor. I like how the "Hi-Vac" deck sucks up debris from the lawn like a vacuum cleaner. I have had no trouble yet and I expect to have it for another 20 years. Long Live Snapper...an American Company that ACTUALLY builds something good. CU missed the boat on their testing of this fine mower. It will outlast anything you buy at Lowes or Home Depot. Congrats on buying such a fine machine...it is beautiful!

--Tom (A HUGE Snapper fan!)