Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I purchased my lawnmower  May 12 , 1998 , so it is about 13 years old. It is a Craftsman 944.368300  s/n 010 998m 000270 It is powered by a Tecumseh VLV066  6.75 horsepower engine             No, I am not taking any pictures of the old thing.

21 inch cut,  , front wheel drive, has no throttle. starts wide open. I have had no problems with this mower  except maintenance required replacing the (always spinning ) front wheels twice. They are around $60  each at Sears , but I got  2 for $12    on e-bay ,twice. I have changed the oil every year, use the Craftsman 30 oil. and have changed the sparkplug  a few times.

I have been looking at some the new offerings and would like to  have an opinion on front or rear wheel drive. I've never used a rwd .

I looked at a Troy built at Can Tire yesterday.  It is rwd , has large rear  wheels, a Honda 160 cc engine,  Electric start with a battery on board, all 4 wheels can be adjusted for cutting height with  one control lever.   I think it is 21 inch , has left and right control levers to adjust ground speed.     It is priced at $599.99    I will get them  to move it down from the rack , the next time that I am in the store, so I can get a better look at it.     Sears are just getting in their new models  so will look at them soon.

Some of the best mowers that i know of are the vintage ones from the 1980's.  They were cast aluminum or magnesium decks with solid mechanical.  The Honda Master HR14 and the John Deere 14SB, 14PZ were my favorites.  The engines were very tolerant of abuse and not as sensitive to bad fuel as today's "Made for California" machines.  I like that they were lightweight, compact, felt solid, and very maneuverable.  My old time favorite was the Deere 14PZ mower, simple push mower with very little to break.  It was fairly light so self propelled was not necessary.  In fact, I prefer non self propelled mower for trimming.

I haven't used Lawnboy 2 stroke mowers, but there's a lot of good things said about them.  Vintage or not, good solid design is timeless.  Too bad Lawnboy name of recent has eroded due to corporate take overs and EPA pressures.  Although I like Toro products overall, I don't much care for the Toro clones Lawnboy machines.  They were supposed to the Toro's premiere line but that didn't last.

If a person is an OPE fanatic, it's more appealing to pick up a vintage mower and bring it back to life than to buy the disposable paper thin stamped deck variety of modern budget mowers, they're functional machines without soul.  Because of this, its very easy for owners to ditch them when they start behaving badly.

royster wrote:
Amen.

The old Lawnboy engines were great,  Since Toro bought them they have been getting farther away from their roots...  

In the 90"s Lawnboy had a nice 2 stoke commercial with a 5 1/2 hp 2 cycle motor. 

 I was always liked of the ones that had the Rear bagger kit on them that went through the deck, and the muffler that exited by the blade.  (every once and awhile someones muffler would get loose and get hit by the blade or catch dry grass on fire)

Also Lawnboy supplied a dive/ snorkle company with engines for a floating air compressor  for snorkling..

Hey Borat-  does yours have the plastic engine shroud or the stamped steel? 

Friiy

It's got the white plastic cover. 

I've got two more Lawn Boy mowers to pick up yet.  Not sure of the condition but they looked not too bad.  Won't know for sure until I get them home.   

I am sure that these vintage lawn mowers are interesting and there were  many good lawnmowers  among them, but I am in the market for a new self propelled walk behind lawnmower

And  I am looking for recommendations, if possible.

Is rear wheel drive better? I have only had fwd .

I just have a cheap Craftsman built by AYP.  I will agree with what was said above about a full bag causing the FWD tires to lose traction.  I have never used RWD either and I normally mulch so it doesn't bother me too much.  One of those ones with the swivel casters in the front might be nice though.

"Is rear wheel drive better? I have only had fwd "

Could have sworn that I already answered that............

royster wrote:
SInce you didn't mention price range and more specific requirements, people have thrown out a few suggestions.   Its good to have requirements so you don't get all over the rainbow recommendations.  You can spend anywhere from $150 to $1500 on a 21" push mower.  Anywhere from a disposable walmart special to a commercial grade mower.

I'll throw in my recommendation based on my own experience. 

The current model Toro Super Recycler Model 20092.  This is rear wheel drive, personal pace self propelled, with cast aluminum deck.  No frills, no brake blade clutch or electric start.  I have this one.

It's a good mulcher, easy to change speeds, nice balance and easy to steer.  The engine is as simple as they get, no choke, no throttle control, just a primer bulb.  It has a simple B&S L head engine.  Reliable and cheap, although not as quiet and fuel efficient as a more expensive OHV engine.

Rear wheel drive absolute must if you ever bag.  As the bag gets heavier, front wheel gets lighter and lose traction, especially going uphill.  If you make a lot of 180 degrees turns, FWD might be more desirable, tipping up and turn without changing speed or disengaging the drive.  Its easier to pivot around a non driven wheel. 

royster,

If you are going to buy one with a Honda engine, I would just buy a new Honda lawnmower.  You can get a HRX 190CC (around $599) and you will like the cut and quietness.  I had a HRR 160CC for 10 years and it was slightly underpowered.  Not sure if FWD is better than RWD or vice a versa.  I have had no issue with RWD.  If you are willing to pay $699, you can get a hydrostatic HRX.  HRX cuts really well (either mulch or bag) - I am sure others will cut well. 

Thank you for your suggestions,   I am  looking for one in the $600 range.