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

During the late fall of last year I got great advice on a Ariens 926DLE. It worked great when the snow was deeper than 2 inches. Below that height and it was a snow spitter.

Anyway. I am in the market for a new lawnmower. I would like to purchase from the same local retailer I bought my snowblower. Below are the models I will be looking into.

1. Toro 20057 Personal Pace, $650 (not at retailer I prefer but thought it should be included)

2. Snapper - Hi-Vac (P217018bv s/p), $569

3. Ariens - SLM 21SW, $539

What are your feelings about these 3 models?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of a straight axel and swivel casters?

Are the leaf shredder kits worthwhile?

The toro has a cast aluminum deck while the other 2 are steel. Are the aluminum decks more prone to cracking and bending compared to the steel decks.

Are there stripping rollers available for these mowers?

Please add any other info that may be helpful

Thanks in advance

Ccroad, My parents have the Toro Personal Pace, and they love it. They mainly just use it for trimming because they have 2 acres. I don't know to much about the Snapper but I'm sure it's a great unit too, I don't know anything Snapper makes that is'nt great.  And Areins aren't sold in my area so I don't know anything about them. I'm sure some of these guys that  have the in's & out's on all these mower will drop by soon. seeya Mike

You are looking at some nice lawnmowers, but I'd like to know how long you've been in the house. Some of the best advice I got was when we first moved in to get the cheapest lawn mower money could buy (used at a garage sale is best). It was great advice because I used that cheap machine to find the roots and rocks that were just below the grass height. I also learned how low I could cut before running into even more roots and rocks. After a couple of seasons I moved up to a nicer mower.

--SnowRemover

I have a POS poulan pro walk behind right now. it is nearly impossible to start, slow, and generally crappy.

I would really just like to hear people's opinions of these mowers.

Do you want to bag or mulch? Mostly.

mostly mulch but i will be bagging occassionally

ccroad,

Welcome to the forum. First of all, all three are very good mowers, well made and top notch!

The biggest difference I see right off the bat is that the Ariens is a mower made more for bagging and side discharge while the other two will mulch better. The Snapper, with the use of their Ninja Blade and that Hi-Vac deck, will mulch like nobody's business. With the use of their normal or Hi-Lift blade, it will suck up about anything. The Toro is probably the best of the bunch for bagging while getting small clippings and giving you the ability to mow a lot of area before having to empty the bagger. See, the Toro uses the deck design to give it it's mulching ability so it can use a bagging type blade making you receive bagged mulch, so to speak. The Snapper uses a Ninja blade to mulch with, as I said before, and will mulch the grass finer than the Toro. You'll likely never see the clippings.

Strait axle vs casters? As long as you can remotely engage and disengage the casters, their pretty neat to have. But, if you have to stop and manually do so, forget it, too much of a pain. The caster, when not looked in, make it difficult to achieve strait lines.

Leaf shredder? I don't know, I use the Ninja blade to mulch the leaves. I can either leave them their, put on the bagger and bag up all of the mulched leaf clippings or side discharge them out into a field beside my home.

Aluminum vs steel? This has never been a big deal to me on a walk behind for some reason. The weight of the steel is not a problem because it's not a push mower. Yes, aluminum can be cracked or broken more easily. Steel can rust faster. Pro's and con's to both. I look for the better overall mower for my mowing needs. I would hate to buy a mower that didn't bag well, if I wanted to bag, but bought it because It has a certain type of deck material. Watch what you mow over and the aluminum won't break. Don't let your deck sit with caked grass under it for years at a time and it wont rust.

Stripping rollers, not that I am aware of from the factories. However, there are after market ones for sale and some people on this forum have made their own. 

All three are good mowers, and reputable brands. They all have a little different niche, pick what's best for you.

well any of those three mowers will provide you with a lifetime of service ....

however Snowremover made an exellent point   . if you have a NEW lawn then get yourself a low buck special and use it till you have your lawn in tip top shape.

then make the big purchase and enjoy it forever.

it only takes 1 rock or survey stake to ruin a mower ,dosent matter how good it is they cant stand that stuff.

Snowremover ...you get extra points in my book for this special tip.

 i see way to many new mowers destroyed by this very problem every year...

Marshall,Chris ,Rob somebody put that tip right up front please please please.

later chris