B&S engines are nearly indestructible.

8/26/2014 9:11:48 PM

I just picked up a 10yo honda self propelled mower. Still cranks on the first pull. Everything's working great.

8/26/2014 9:50:47 PM

Quote :

"B&S engines are nearly indestructible."

That's what I'm saying. I've had my Craftsman mower for 7 years and put it through some shit (you're supposed to change the oil?) and it always starts first pull and runs like a champ.

8/26/2014 11:56:19 PM

Honda mowers have a stellar reputation all around. I have one and love it.

Think about how many hours a car timing belt runs over the course of 90k miles or whatever the interval is. At that interval and an average of 45 mph, that's 2000 hours (which, incidentally, is the TBO of many/most light aircraft engines as well, but I digress).

If a similar hour lifespan (and again, that's for recommended replacement in the car, which has a safety factor--it's STILL short of when you'd expect the belt to actually fail, but we'll ignore that) to the mower, and you mow your grass for an hour, 35x/year, well, that belt would last for 57 years at that rate.


I mean, I'm making a number of assumptions here without anything to back them up, and so I'd only assume the very roughest accuracy, but I feel pretty safe in saying that for any normal user, you don't have much to worry about with the belt.

[Edited on August 27, 2014 at 12:26 AM. Reason : sure, the belt prob isn't as high quality, and it prob deteriorates with age, not just run time]

8/27/2014 12:26:34 AM

yeah duke I made the same argument to the wife (also an engineer) using the service intervals on our cars for the example. I also mentioned the nearly constant speed probably increases the belt life as well. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any horror stories out there because let's face if bearings and belts can be designed for nearly infinite life or just a couple uses depending on design parameters.

8/27/2014 3:50:04 AM

Quote :

"B&S engines are nearly indestructible."

Except for the Intek V-twin series. fuck that mess-

8/27/2014 7:28:46 AM

I think I may go with the honduh for being 2 db quieter.

8/27/2014 9:49:56 AM

^^^ not only constant RPM, but relatively low RPM, and some things wear proportionately to the cube of velocity, so that might be a big factor, too.

8/27/2014 12:50:38 PM

3600 isn't exactly low... All of my cars cruise lower than that but yeah I thought that too.

8/27/2014 5:30:36 PM

right, but that's about as high as it ever gets

8/28/2014 12:02:33 AM

the cut quality from the honda is infinitely better than most anything with a briggs motor, this is especially true for fine grasses like fescue. Nothing wrong with the briggs motor generally, but the twin blades and shape of the mower deck on honda's push mowers make a big difference. I have yet to see a craftsmen mower than cuts evenly without a bunch of blades sticking up.

8/28/2014 11:05:25 AM

Yep, I'm not worried much about the longevity of either, but the Honda mowers really cut smoothly.

8/28/2014 6:53:28 PM

^^I have to disagree. I used a Honda commercial push mower for 2 seasons before getting rid of it due to it's cut quality. The mower would cut okay if the blades were sharp and deck was clean but even then it wasn't great. However, let the blades slightly loose their edge and it would leave stringers and eventually a row of uncut grass. I was disappointed in the cut quality of a Honda push mower.

8/30/2014 11:31:21 AM

I've got a self propelled Husqvarna mower with a Honda engine. I'm not sure if it's really a Honda because so many of those brands share parts. But I've been very happy with it.

8/30/2014 3:19:11 PM

I have heard more folks complain because of bent crankshafts in Honda push mowers than anything with a Briggs engine. You hit one root and it is done for supposedly.

8/31/2014 3:25:29 PM

can't vouch for/against that. no roots in either yard i've mowed with a Honda. my yard here in FL is smooth enough to mow with a manual push-reel.

I maintain that Honda out-cuts most any other brand I've seen.

Maybe if you're mowing tree roots and shit, or don't keep it clean and the blades sharp, it suffers more than others? I don't know. I don't have anything like that in my yard, and I hose out my mower top and bottom almost every time I use it (and wash it with car wash detergent and a sponge a few times per year, haha).

If you have a nice yard and you're gonna take care of your equipment, I would get the Honda. If you're going to mow stumps and rocks and not take care of the mower, go get a cheap piece of shit from Craigslist, and chuck it when it breaks. You'll be able to do that, like, 5x for the cost of one new Honda.

[Edited on August 31, 2014 at 3:40 PM. Reason : hell, I run Mobil One in the motherfucker, because have gallons of it sitting around, so why not?]

8/31/2014 3:39:16 PM

Does anybody know what this part is and where it might go. I have a John Deere GX 85 riding mower, and all of the sudden the engine completely stopped turning over. I looked around in the garage and found this lying next to it on the ground. I looked everywhere on the engine block, but can't find where it goes, and there is a possibility that it doesn't go on the engine, but that would be quite a coincidence.

3/14/2015 10:02:56 AM

so was it running when it quit? or did you go to start it up one day and it won't turn over? if so, how long since you parked it the last time?

3/14/2015 10:22:17 PM

neutral start switch:
http://www.greenpartstore.com/John-Deere-Neutral-Start-Switch-AM36886.html

3/15/2015 9:05:28 AM

^Awesome thanks, I was able to find where it goes based on that. Appreciate the help.

3/15/2015 1:16:59 PM

Went to start my riding mower today for the first time of the year and it cranks but wouldn't start. Gonna put some new gas in it later. Would starting fluid help?

3/15/2015 3:04:42 PM

putting new gas in the tank isn't going to help the crud that is likely in the carburetor. did you leave gasoline w/ ethanol in it? if so, time to clean the carburetor.

3/15/2015 3:27:44 PM

I use non-ethanol gas only. Do I still need to clean the carb?

3/15/2015 3:42:55 PM

are honda lawnmower enginers more reliable than briggs+stratton?

3/15/2015 4:37:15 PM

^^take the air filter off and pour just a little bit of gas down the carburetor. if it will run for a little bit like that, then you have a fuel delivery issue. if not, then it is probably spark. pull the spark plug out, but leave it connected to the plug wire. turn it over and watch the electrode to see if it sparks. once you know if it's fuel or spark, you can start investigating more.

^honda makes excellent small engines. i wouldn't say they are really more reliable, but they are certainly better engineered, better built, and are known for being easier to start.

3/15/2015 6:12:25 PM

Any advice on what to do with this? Looks like maybe a missing rivet. I was thinking about putting some JB weld in the hole, screwing a bolt in there, and snipping off the end of the bolt on the other side.



I don't think there's any danger of the thing flying off right, since that main bolt is there? Or should I have someone actually pop a rivet back in there, or weld something?

4/14/2015 9:32:32 AM

I wouldn't do anything to it.

4/14/2015 12:22:54 PM

It's currently making the whole thing vibrate...I'd like to make that stop.

4/14/2015 12:36:17 PM

Try the jb weld thing I guess, then. You could just replace that hub/spindle/whatever they call it.

4/14/2015 1:02:47 PM

where do you live?

if you found a bolt or something i could plug weld in there for ya i'd do it.

4/14/2015 1:21:28 PM

So what's the consensus (if there is one) on push reel mowers? Currently house shopping, and all the places we're looking at are in old in-town neighborhoods with really small yards (the one lot size I can remember off the top of my head is 0.18 acre). Almost seems like overkill for a gas mower, and it'd be nice not to worry about running out of gas. Electrics you either have to worry about the cord or spend $400 plus to get a decent cordless. Push reel seems like it could be the best bet.

Trimmer I'm going to go stihl, I think, just based on reading this thread. Plus the last place I lived before currently, I had a B&D 18volt cordless, and it was beyond horrible. Left it behind when I moved for the new renters to use or throw out as they saw fit.

4/19/2015 1:28:45 PM

I'd just do the whole thing with the string trimmer. How much grass can there really be with a house on .18 acre?

4/19/2015 4:13:58 PM

Reel mowers are good if you want to mow your lawn way too often for excersize.

Essentially they don't cut seed stalks for shit so if you forget to cut the grass on the 4th or 5th day... You are in for some fun...

4/19/2015 5:53:03 PM

Quote :

"I'd just do the whole thing with the string trimmer. How much grass can there really be with a house on .18 acre?"

Did that for three years during college; we lived in a house on Dixie Trail with a small yard and cut the whole thing with a string trimmer (an electric one though.) Kind of a pain in the ass, I'd rather pony up for a mower, just not a super pricey one.

Quote :

"Reel mowers are good if you want to mow your lawn way too often for excersize. Essentially they don't cut seed stalks for shit so if you forget to cut the grass on the 4th or 5th day... You are in for some fun..."

That's what I was afraid of. I was looking at the reviews of one in particular and some of them noted that, while it was great for weekly cutting, it was good to have a gas mower as a backup in case you went on vacation, or it rained all weekend, or any number of other things.

[Edited on April 19, 2015 at 7:46 PM. Reason : d]

4/19/2015 7:45:22 PM

get a decent Stihl straight shaft trimmer, remove the guard on the head, run the strings nice and long. it won't be a pain in the ass

4/19/2015 7:51:59 PM

that ethanol corn gas will fuck your shit up

get regular gas with no ethanol to run in it

4/20/2015 12:08:14 AM

Quote :

"Electrics you either have to worry about the cord or spend $400 plus to get a decent cordless. Push reel seems like it could be the best bet."

Just this week I replaced my electric mower with a gas mower. My yard was just slightly larger than the battery could handle. I also have really thick fescue so that probably didn't help. If you want to try the electric mower I could give you a pretty good deal. I'm pretty sure the link below is the exact model I have. Runs fine, nothing wrong with it.

http://t.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-19-in-36-Volt-Self-Propelled-Cordless-Electric-Mower-with-Removable-Battery/203506705/?showPLP=false

4/20/2015 9:48:26 AM

Dude, I live on .18 acre. I'll be goddamned if I want to cut my lawn every week with a string trimmer. That shit's gonna get old, quick.

With that said, you dont need anything special either. I cut my lawn for 4 years with an old Murray pushmower and it did great. I recently upgraded to a self propelled Honda HRS-216 mower because my entire back yard is a giant hill. I'm fairly in shape, and it was definitely a workout.

I'm not saying you need a self propelled, but you definitely want more than just a string trimmer.

4/20/2015 9:57:51 AM

^ agreed.

richthofen, wish you had posted this a week ago, i just gave away my old craftsman push mower on craigslist a few days ago.

4/20/2015 10:21:06 AM

^LOL, now I find out. well, a week from yesterday, we were only two days removed from getting our preapproval and starting this thing. It all came up rather quickly...

4/21/2015 1:17:30 AM

So for the Stihl trimmers...is it worth the extra $100+ go to with the FS 90 R as opposed to the FS 56 RC-E? They're both 2-stroke straight shaft, but the FS56 is labeled as a homeowner model whereas the FS90 is a professional model. I see that the FS90 has a little more power and has a solid driveshaft, but not sure if that's actually going to make a difference or not.

I would like to be able to use the cultivator attachment for gardening, so if that is only compatible with the solid driveshaft models, that could be a good reason. But I can't seem to find any info on what attachments are compatible with what models...

4/29/2015 7:54:07 PM

Solid driveshaft is orgasmic...

4/29/2015 9:10:52 PM

Solid driveshaft is orgasmic...

4/29/2015 9:10:52 PM

tnezami
All American
8972 Posts
user info
edit post
I just picked up a 10yo honda self propelled mower. Still cranks on the first pull. Everything's working great.


one of these was given to me by a neighbor, but he kinda forgot to mention it doesn't crank.

Any suggestions before I call lowes or somewhere so I can mow the damn yard?

4/30/2015 1:49:39 AM

buy yourself a new mower and regift your Honda to me

4/30/2015 8:21:39 AM

ncsubozo, what are you looking to get for that mower?

4/30/2015 4:13:59 PM

Quote :

"So for the Stihl trimmers...is it worth the extra $100+ go to with the FS 90 R as opposed to the FS 56 RC-E? They're both 2-stroke straight shaft, but the FS56 is labeled as a homeowner model whereas the FS90 is a professional model. I see that the FS90 has a little more power and has a solid driveshaft, but not sure if that's actually going to make a difference or not."

Hell yes its worth it. If you don't use it everyday commercially it will be the last trimmer you ever buy.

Why not look at the FS70R? As a homeowner you won't need the extra power but will enjoy the weight savings. Plus, it's only $70 more than the FS56.



As far as the cultivator attachment, it won't work very well on a long shaft trimmer head as there won't be any weight on top of the tines requiring you to constantly add pressure which will wear you the fuck out. I would just buy a Mantis tiller. Those things are awesome. I have one and found that I use it a lot more than I thought.

If you don't like the idea of owning separate pieces of equipment and think you will eventually want an edger, hedgetrimmer, cultivator, etc., I would go ahead and purchase the KM-90R. The Kombi-system works really well. However, it does have a high up-front cost but pays out of the long term.

[Edited on May 3, 2015 at 9:24 AM. Reason : -]

5/3/2015 9:09:26 AM

I'll look at the Kombi system, it might be worthwhile.

As to why not the FS70R versus the FS90R - the web site brings up the solid driveshaft as a selling point of the 90. If the 70 is also solid driveshaft, then I'd certainly be amenable to it. You're right that the power increase isn't something that would be super important - more interested in reliability, quality, and (relative) ease of use.

5/3/2015 2:11:47 PM

Quote :

"Solid driveshaft is orgasmic..."

5/3/2015 3:23:53 PM

^^^^ Sorry, didn't see the thread bumped until today. Looking for something like $125. Think the original price was $450 or so, but I just want it out of my garage and would rather sell here than Craigslist or something.

5/3/2015 7:01:12 PM