New Turf; New Lawnmower - advice on mower brands please?

Question

I recently put in new Zoysia grass which is doing very well. My old lawnmower (a troy built) is useless and breaking down. This is my second troy built product (the other is a roto-tiller and broke down too) and I am very unhappy with the brand. I am looking at other mowers and want a good one. I do not need a bunch of bells and whisltes like Honda seems to have on their models. I just want self-propelled, rear bagging, adjustable height mower that is good on zoysia and will last with regular maintenance. What brands do you all like, what problems have you had with them - would you buy the same brand again? Thanks.

Answer 1

Have you been having trouble with the engines or the actual parts like the gears and bearings? The first thing I look at is the engine. The old Troy Builts used to have Tecumseh engines on them, which I think are poorly built engines. However, their old tiller transmissions were great, so if your engine ever quit it made sense to buy a good new motor instead of a new tiller. My grandfather's Troy Built tiller and my neighbor's Troy Built tiller have both lasted over 20 years, although the engines for both (Tecumseh's) lasted for only 2-3 years. Both replaced them with good motors (Kohler and Briggs & Stratton). My family had a couple of Tecumseh motors and they broke down all the time. My family has had good luck with Briggs & Stratton engines, but I don't think Briggs & Stratton has the quality that they once had. My old Snapper lawnmower has a Briggs & Stratton and it constantly overheats even after having had it worked on. Briggs & Stratton has several different grades of lawnmower engines. Ones built with sturdier parts and others built with cheaper less sturdy parts. And now they build so many for MTD which builds all of the cheap store brand mowers, it's hard to say which Briggs & Stratton engines are good and which ones are cheap. That leaves two engines that I like Honda and Kohler. Both seem to run well and last a long time. I was comparison shopping myself the other day and most all of the mowers had the same engine (Briggs & Stratton), the only thing different was the bells and whistles the bigger names had. Since you are looking for a self-propelled mower, I recommend sticking to one of the better name brands like Honda, John Deere, or Toro. Their drive-train for the self propelled portion should probably be built better. If you are looking for one that isn't self propelled then I recommend you look at just the engine. That's why I ended up choosing a Troy Built because it has a Honda engine on it and I didn't want a self-propelled version. The cheapest price for the best engine. Anyway, I hope I have better luck with my Troy Built than you have with yours. I know the quality of Troy Builts aren't what they used to be as far as quality. I think MTD started building some of them a number of years ago, but I may be wrong on that.

Answer 2

Even though you seem to think Honda has a lot of bells and whistles I would go with there basic model. Mine has lasted me 14 years and still starts on the first or second pull.

Answer 3

first of each and every of the salesman is incorrect. seem on the sign up the gas pumps. All gas offered in this united states of america incorporates as a lot as ten% ethanol. I keep in mind that someone can nonetheless discover gas without ethanol yet I honestly do no longer comprehend the position you may want to get it. only use time-honored like the owner's guide says. on the end of the season both use gas stabilizer or drain the tank and run the engine out of gas. you may also actual get rid of the drift bowl from the bottom of the carburetor and drain it too. the issue with ethanol is that it absorbs water.

Answer 4

one word: Flymo