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

We just entered August but the weather feels like we are in the middle of September already in MN. I am not sure what kind of winter we will have but hopefully it will be shorter than 2012-2013 season. I hope I am mowing in November and grilling outside. I am ready as you all are too.

I see a lot of people taking here about the Honda brand. What exatcly makes that brand better than the others? My lawn mower is very old and need to get a new one.

GtWtNorth wrote:
I don't care for the cold, but I like the "snowy" stuff.

Jessica85 wrote:

Honda makes good snowblowers and lawnmowers and so does Toro and other brands. I have Honda snowblowers (a 2-stage and a single stage) and lawnmower and would have no problem buying Toro if I had to since it is from Minnesota. AA335 and Borat have good luck with their Toro single stage snowblowers. We like performance, reliability and the long term cost of ownership associated with either Honda or Toro.

GtWtNorth wrote:

Biting Cold: When you bike to work, you can temporarily damage your reproductive organ and may gain full control within 24 hours. Piercing Cold: When you bike to work, you can permanently damage your reproductive organ and cannot use it again until you die. So there are differences.

MN_Runner wrote:
Just to add a few of my comments.  I have a Honda and Toro snowblowers, and a Toro lawn mower.  These two brands have been around for a long time, by the same owners.  They have parts and service network support, as well as history, and their quality has not degraded like some other well known brands.  Honda and Toro engineered and build their products.

There are other brands that merely brand engineer their products, or have poor product life management.  Simply specifying paint colors and price points and then slap on the company logo just doesn't do it for me.  That's a lazy way of grabbing market share.  Big companies can do this, and they will.

Every consumer have different requirements and price points.  I suggest you do some research, talk with sales people, service people that you buy from.  Kick the tires on the product you intend to buy to make sure it works the way you think it should work.  If not, ask yourself if you can adapt to it.  The lawnmower is probably one piece of equipment that is most often used, in terms of hours.  Make sure you are comfortable using it.  Don't be seduced by "commercial grade", there are instances where homeowner user friendliness is sacrificed.  Homeowners typically do not need 125 pound commercial lawn mower.  The user is likely to be worn out long before the mower. 

MN_Runner wrote:
What if you don't ride a bike?  Does the same risks apply?  Can that be mitigated with heated seats?  Wait, I think I'm going to apply for a patent  or an IR for that.  :)

aa335 wrote:

Electrically-heated bicycle saddle seat covering, has heating element supplied from battery embedded in plastics foam material DE 10144607 A1 ABSTRACT The seat covering for a bicycle saddle has an electrical heating element, embedded in a plastics foam, material, which is operated from a battery voltage supply, in a similar manner to a heated insole for a ski boot. The plastics foam material is cut to match the shape of the bicycle saddle and secured beneath the latter. I was going to file your idea for the patent but it seems a bit too late. Sorry!

Piercing Cold:
Like a needle piercing your butt

Biting Cold:
Like a wolf's teeth in your butt

Bitterly Cold (aka: Brass Monkey Cold):
'Bitter' hope global warming is real

oldcrow wrote:
Thanks for the analogy, but it's hard to imagine the biting cold.  Never had a wolf biting experience to relate to. 

oldcrow, I like that explanation, I may steal it.

I don't know what kind of winter we are in for, but so far September & October have been very nice with temperatures above average by 5 or 7 degrees.

Cheers
Paul