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I used a push reel mower when I was a kid in Hawaii. Didn't have to mow much cause it didn't rain much and we couldn't water the grass. (dry side of the island)
The problem with reel mowers is that no one has the sharpening machine anymore. They make a great cut but only in bermuda. If you have crab grass (St Augustine) or a northern tall grass they don't work very well.
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The boys I hired to cut my lawn at the beginning of the season used the EGO mowers and string trimmers. I liked that they were quiet and easy to store, I took them home when it started to rain. They fit great under the Tonneau cover on my truck
The property is a half acre so I need to decide gas or electric.
Thanks
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(04-06-2020, 04:15 PM)WoodworkerTom Wrote: The boys I hired to cut my lawn at the beginning of the season used the EGO mowers and string trimmers. I liked that they were quiet and easy to store, I took them home when it started to rain. They fit great under the Tonneau cover on my truck
The property is a half acre so I need to decide gas or electric.
Thanks
I have over a half acre and have a 46" riding mower. Great for getting the trailer from the back to the front of the house etc. I wouldn't do mine with a push mower. Lots of trees and other obstacles.
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My Honda mower lasted about 15 years and I was told that it would need a new clutch soon and it did not pay to install one on a mower that old.
I had a bag, but the mulching was so effective that I never used it.
I have a very hilly yard and the Honda had rear wheel drive (much better for going up hills than front wheel drive).
I wore out the tires and replaced the wheels.
The engine was very fussy about dirty air filters. If the air filter was not changed every two years it would refuse to run.
I was worried about the plastic housing, but that was never an issue. I don't know the price nowadays. I paid about $400.00 back then.
I'm not sure which model I had, but the budget models is about $410.00.
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Outdoors-Out...vZc5arZ3le
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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Location: Bluegrass of KY
This is what I would use for 1/2 acre lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuC5WORjm-A
1st class birdhouse builder/scrapwood mfg.
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For a riding mower check out the
Ariens B250. Ariens Bought Westwood in England and has now brought most of their mowers here to the US. However the hood is utterly hideous. The Westwood hood is much better looking. It's a 4wd mower with available attached lawnsweep catcher with some having an electric dumping feature.
Unfortunately the Diesel isn't available here... Like all the diesel cars they can't sell here... The Westwood also has sound deadening to make it quieter. Here in the US they don't care how loud mowers are.
Not sure what the Ariens costs or where to buy them as I haven't seen one in decades. They don't compete in our region. The Westwood costs nearly as much as buying a subcompact tractor though...
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I should rescind my recommendation for the Honda. I vowed never to buy another Honda produced product, so I should not be recommending them to others.
The class action lawsuit was won (on a 2018 Honda CRV EXL), but since I decided after 6 months to trade in the car and not deal with the problems I am not eligible for the payout.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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Location: Lewiston, NY
I've had a Honda self propelled hydraulic drive walk behind mower for over 25 hears. I mow 1 to 1.5 acres with it regularly. It must have 1000 hours on it by now. I've worn out and replaced tires. and had to rebuild the drive once because a shaft wore through from dirt abrasion, but that mower just keeps on cutting. I also inherited a Toro self propelled walk behind and actually prefer using it because it's a lot lighter than the Honda. It's awful in high grass but for normal cutting it's great. The mulching blade works super well and I no longer bag. Both mowers start easily and run fine as long as I use Stabil, even with alcohol laced gas though I have switched to pure gasoline since I can readily buy it now.
Having said all that, if/when I need a new mower it's going to be an EGO or other battery powered one.
John
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What John said...
I have a Honda walk behind (HR215 I believe) that was my weekly go-to for 10 years until I picked up a used commercial 48" walk behind (.75 acres) and have never looked back. I still use the Honda on occasion, and other than replacing the wheels, and biannual air filters, have never had a problem. Purchased it in 1995, from a mower shop, before big boxes carried them, paid close to $600 after tiring of repairing/replacing a variety of lesser machines. Starts 3rd pull after a winter of storage, and 1st pull all summer long. Mulching blades/plug can make an entire pile of leaves disappear...
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Honda makes good mower engines but Kawasaki is the preferred engine to the commercial mowers. My only complaint about Honda is their warranty support. I worked at a friends mower shop a bit years ago when he got busy and needed help. Him and a couple other businesses did Honda warranty repairs for a while. Most dropped them because they would constantly deny warranty claims. One shop here had an engine fail and they sent out 3 factory techs spent a couple hours among them took stuff back with them and then claimed it wasn't a factory issue. They spent more to deny the claim than if they had just replaced the engine. That's how much they want to prove their engine isn't at fault.
