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

HI there I am new to this forum and I am looking for a new lawnmower. 

When I was at Home Depot I saw the Lawnboy model 10683.  This is a push mower that was very balanced and includes features such as inset wheels, front wheels that are wide and therefore easy to turn, 3 in one, adjustable wheel height, and adjustable handle height.  The only item I was curious about was the 6.5HP Tecumseh motor that they use.  Does anyone have any experience with these motors and are they reliable?  How about the mower in general.  Is it a good quality mower?

I have also looked at the Toro but did not like the push mower because it was not well balanced and the handlebar was uncomfortable.  Any other mower I should look at (but not Sears)?

Thanks,
Frank

Well, it looks like Lawn Boy has come out with homeowner ZTR's. Richi, Ben and Marc are going to be ecstatic when they see how Lawn Boy is rating the engines!

PDF Version

Lawn Boy ZTR Link

As far as their walk behind mowers go, you might want to go to a dealer and look at the Insight Gold series or the Gold Series. Both of them use Honda engines as opposed to the Insight Series which uses the Tecumseh. I'm not saying the Tecumseh is a bad engine by any means but I would say it is safe to say that the Honda engines are generally better engines. The Gold Pro Series use the 2 Cycle Duraforce engines.

Well..........based on this thread I thought I had better take a little trip over to the Lawnboy site.  Almost made me cry!   I never thought I would see the day that Lawnboy would be phasing out the 2 cycle engines.  Admittedly, I knew of the Tecumseh engines and the Honda engines, but the venerable 2 stroker was always there.  Even the commercial machine has a Briggs engine on it now!   The only machines left are the Gold Series (like Marshall said) that have the aluminum decks and 2 stroke engines.  Looks to me like the end of the line is coming for the 2 cycle engine.  The offset deck and the 2 cycle engine is what made the Lawnboy a Lawnboy.  The new machines are just Toros with a different colour.  I guess Toro is streamlining the machines and hoping that buyers will still spend money on the Green machine (or the Red ).

I absolutely agree with the statement that  the old Lawnboys were somewhat of a status thing.  If you owned a Lawnboy, back then, then you were "in the money. "  My dad bought a 1974 Self propelled Lawnboy and I don't think he ever cut the grass himself!  Always had some neighbour that wanted to give it a try!  BTW, I still have that mower and use it to cut my lawn, when the Walker is on the trailer.

Oh well......................

Ken

Ken, isn't it funny how you can get opinions on things? I know many people that have had Lawn Boys and loved them, as for me, I was never much on them. I think it was because my folks had one when I was young and it was the first mower  I ever used. Being a kid I was too short to push it properly, when I pushed on it, I would push forward and up on the handle and it make the front end end tear into the ground where the front wheel was offset. I hated that damn offset wheel. That and, it clogged badly. The problem was probably mowing grass to long or having the deck not adjusted properly but I didn't know any better.  So, my memories of Lawn Boys are not good ones and those are the well thought out and scientifically based reasons I have never bought one. 

FYI......Lawnboy Recall for Owners

Marshall wrote:

Well I guess you can't say they certainally took all the guess-work out of it. 

(I'm assuming that you were referring to only having cc's listed.  as I didn't  see anything else there)

And you are completely correct on the height thing for using a lawnboy. ( my son always pops up from the time he was way too little when your running something)  consequently I had to start him early on everything, safely of course,   When he was say 10  he didn't seem to enjoy the lawnboy just on a slight upgrade.  Then he rebuilt a 1960 craftsman 20 inch with a mag deck, so he used it for a few years. , now he is full grown he uses the lawnboy, because of it's efficiency and ease. The duraforce's we like less than the older ones as they are slightly heavier..  He still likes his other antique,  but he only takes it out in middle of summer with dry grass etc a couple times.  He is now doing the same thing with the cars, mine always seems to be the one elected to get dirty when his is in the garage all clean and waxed etc. 

Ben07

Ben07 wrote:

LOL . Yes Ben, you got it,  no HP ratings at all!    We're getting one extreme or the other, guess we're not easily satisfied.

we sold 2 of the 2 stroke lawnboys last year.they were the last ones available in Canada...thats it no more available here ever.

at least thats what we are told.

the older ones were a great mower but the 2 we sold were crap plain and simple,very thin steel deck that would bend when you lifted the handle...sheesh not good.

as for the 2 stroke engine...in my opinion they are a dying breed,they cant handle the no lead gas.

not saying they needed the lead but somthing in the unleaded fuel makes them run a bit hotter.

we get a half dozzen every year that just run out of power cause they heat up 2 much.they dont score a piston but they get tired.

but when you consider that they are 20 + years old what can you say...they did well.but they are gone and we wont see the likes of them again i fear.

later chris

snowshoveler wrote:

Does rings, seals and a honing get them going well again?

Ben07

Thanks for all the information on the Lawnboy.  I checked out the price difference on the Tecumseh verses the Honda engine and they want a 50% premium for this.  The price for the Honda version seems to high and I will have to call another dealer to verify.  Interesting thing, the price of the Lawnboy with the Tecumseh engine is the same price at either the small engine shop or Home Depot.  I guess I know where my business will go.

Here is the disclaimer on the Tec. engine that is on the web page,

* This engine was manufactured and laboratory rated by the Tecumseh Power Company at 6.5 gross horsepower in accordance with SAE J1940. As configured to meet safety, emission, and operating requirements, the actual horsepower on this class of lawn mower will be significantly lower.

I wonder what the actual HP actually is???

IHave 3 old 2 cycles, couldnt stand them. Had the same problem with the off set wheel. Any uneven ground they would dig right in.