phil2

Eric dont you have a dirt lawn right now

Scrib

It always grows that way in the spring. Nice cool, wet weather with intermittent days of full sun to make the stuff grow.

I'll look into the goat. Although, I doubt my neighbors will be happy.

Scrib

Weeds actually. But I'll have sod soon enough.

Crazy Bimmer

Did you move in yet?

Scrib

20 days :o

dallison

pull the cord and push

lrutt

My last mower was a $100 murray from kmart that lasted 12 years. I have at least 1/3 acre of grass and cut once a week, year round practically (45 minute job).

My latest mower cost (Craftsman 6.5hp, 22" highwheeler) $160 and I would expect it to go minimum 10 years if not more. I would like a Honda but I don't think a Honda is gonna last a whole lot longer. Especially if I do the math, knowing a cheapo will go 10 years min, a $700 Honda will have to go 40 years for the same payback. Taint gonna happen. Why waste the bucks.

Scrib

^^^^

And you bring up a good point.

My dad has a Lawnboy which has given him over 7 years of zero-hassle cutting. Now does that happen with every lawnboy? I doubt it. But are you guaranteed the longtime cutting from an expensive Honda too???

I dunno. I'm not opposed to paying the money. I just need to justify it.

eclipse23

My father had a Jacobsen mower for 27 years. It was all alluminum and works almost flawlessly. He has a craftsman now that is 5 years old seems to work fine.

phil2

Jimcol711 highly recommends JOHN DEERE

Acura3.0CL

Ive got a Deere 14SB....love it..i mow 5 lawns a week and its still going strong after 8 years....i will never buy anything but a deere now...

xrunner86x

Consumer Reports just retested self propelled mowers. The Toro Personal Pace 20031 was the top rated best buy at ~$420. We have had a very similar model for 5 years and it still starts the first pull and runs strong.

Scrib

Cool... Another data point. Toro. I've heard good things about them too.

Slimey

That's the one I have with the electric starter. As I said above, I think the electric starter is gimmicky and unnecessary (and raises the price of the mower).

Bulldog01

I had a Scott's when I had my house. Bought it at Home Depot for a couple hundred bucks, I think. Worked well, but the bag was small, so I was stopping to empty it too often. I ended up going without the bag, and raking after I finished mowing. My lawn wasn't very big, either.

synth19

every other week?? You werent kidding about being cheap... you gotta do that shit weekly foo. I pay my dude $20/week.

synth19

Jesus Scrib, how many home improvement threads you gonna post here?

Scrib

45,596

Six Shifter

If you're tired of reading thru all the bs posts to your thread ... I just (2 weeks ago) picked up the HRX217HXA. Same price as you've listed. I had a CRAFTSMAN that I bought from Sears 14 years ago, and I just couldn't get another year out of it ... they wanted more for a new grass-catcher bag than the unit was worth.
This HONDA is a pleasure to use. One thing it allows you to do is go directly from Mulch to Cut - or anywhere in between - by way of the "Clip Director Knob". You do not have to mess with any additional accessories to go from side discharge to mulch as you do with the Toro's. You can also choose to either bag or not in any of the 10 positions that you place the knob in (well, 9 of the 10 as full right is Mulch and there is no discharge) ... it's all rear discharge, so if you don't want to bag the grass that comes it just hits the discharge guard and falls to the ground before you take your next steps. I've used it 5 times in the past 2 weeks and am more than pleased with the purchase. It is a bit costly, but if I get anything near the use out of it that I did from the Craftsman, this should be the last mower I ever buy. It's damn quiet by comparison too! for your consideration

Eggplant-EX

Wow! 1/4 acre. Go with a good riding mower for that amount. It will free you up a bit to do some weeding and work on the plants. Hopefully you have a level lot.

Any decent Honda self propelled mower will work. Don't have to buy the high end. Mine is going on 7 years (used consistantly) and runs great. Never a problem and starts right up.

GreenMonster

Scrib, if you're looking to justify buying the honda check out a couple of the online forums. I'm sure you'll find a couple of reviews from "average joes", with their likes and dislikes.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/lmower/ scroll to the bottom and search for honda. Lots of posts on the honda (and others).

Allout

I agree. Most commercial landscapers use Honda's. I've had mine for 12 years with no problems. Starts with 1 pull.

Infamous425

my dad has a honda mower. got it like back in 95. it has that safety shit shawn was talkin bout. probably got it for $300 or less. takes a few pulls to start but it still works great. rarely changed the oil and never sharpened the blade since he got it just put gas and its good to go

darrinb

get a honda scrib, i got one and it works alot better than the toro i used to have

Allout

One additional reason I like the Honda is that the motor stays running unlike some of the others that kill the motor when your hands leave the grip. A clutch disengages the blade so you can dump your bag. Also, Hondas are known for their ability to cut and bag damp grass - great vacuum deck.

Scrib

I think I've got a few choices to look at.

I'm going to start snooping around soon.

EdgarFanCLS

I just bought this model last weekend at Home Depot. We had a 10% coupon and the whole thing came out to something like $375 after tax. The personal pace thing is pretty nifty. I've dealt with self propelled lawnmowers in the past which only had the ability to engage/disengage and go at one speed. The Toro actually goes YOUR speed...you speed up it speeds up, you slow down it slows down...incredible. Maybe not that incredible, but a vast improvement over the crumby mowers I've used before. The 6.75 hp engine is a beast and chopped through everything on my lawn. Good stuff.

Slimey

And although not a real long term review, I've had mine for three seasons now and it still starts on the first pull of the cord, even after sitting in my detached garage all winter. I do almost nothing to maintain it (OK, I change the oil once a year and hose it off after I'm done using it) and it cuts and mulches well enough for me. I agree that the Personal Pace system is nifty and works well.