Lawnmower question - honda or briggs & stratton engine?

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

If you've got really hilly property, two-cycles are the only way to go. I worked for the local parks service a few summers ago and they had a couple of two-cycle pushmowers around for mowing hills and such because the 4-cycle mowers would have all their oil slosh to one side of the case and they'd had them burn up before when working on hills.

I also came to hate whomever it was who came up with the idea for the blade clutch on the walk-behind mowers. We had a couple of John Deere mowers (the Deere pushmowers are complete crap) that would just let their blade clutch slip in tall grass. Had one that clogged itself completely but the engine kept going with the blade stopped. Love that burnt clutch smell.

ZV

 

[NeoSolo]

my yard is flat surface.

i think i might be going toward MTD Pro (honda engine) with extended service.

sams club offers Three years of coverage after expiration of manufacturer warranty for around $13.


I guess the difference will be around $70 more (with extended warrenty) with MTD Pro (honda engine), but it will come with 5(2 manuf warrenty + 3 ext warrenty) years warrenty over 2 years warrenty (craftsman, b&s engine).


So what is life expectancy for mower?
hmmmm..

 

[NeoSolo]

flot: I also looked at that one. But I was not sure I needed 6.5 hp. So I just went with 4.5hp which seemed little too weak. so I will try 5.5hp.

Linux23: I did consider electric mower but I have some trees in the backyard and front. So I did not want to mess with the cord.

 

[Nitemare]

For the price of a Honda pushmower(non-warehouse club) you can almost get a name brand riding lawnmower

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

:beer::beer:

 

[ThisIsMatt]

WTF?! Where's onery with his token xenophobic post!?!?!?!!?!??

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: woowoo
Hate to say it but

Honda

Never buy a Craftsman lawnmower

Baaah! I've had my Craftsman w/ a 6.5 B&S Engine for 3 years now without a bit of maintenance other than sharpening the blade and running Stabil through it before storing and it still runs great, starts on the first pull every time.

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

:beer::beer:

At least SOMEBODY gets it.
:beer:

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: bunker
Baaah! I've had my Craftsman w/ a 6.5 B&S Engine for 3 years now without a bit of maintenance other than sharpening the blade and running Stabil through it before storing and it still runs great, starts on the first pull every time.

That's practically brand new. We replaced out last mower (a "garden tractor") when it was 25 years old. Loved that old Simplicity.

ZV

 

[CraigRT]

either... they are both good.
we have a briggs 11hp engine in our 36" cut area lawn tractor and that thing is bulletproof... starts first time every year after the winter, never had a single problem with it at all. I dont doubt Hondas are the same!

 

[Ornery]

Where the hell is Eli?

I bought a Sears cheapo, 22" with a 3.5HP B&S back in 1982 for $119.00 with a side grass catcher. I still use it once in a while, but the primer never did work right on it. That's my only complaint with it. She still doesn't burn oil after all these years. I think I've replaced the plug about 4 times, and the cheap wheels were replaced with larger wheels on bearings many years ago.

I don't care for a mower spitting grass out the back. Sometimes I like to run it without the catcher, and just spit it out the side. I don't think you'll find many, if any commercial mowers shooting grass out the rear.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

:beer::beer:

At least SOMEBODY gets it.
:beer:

Mowing the lawn with a 2-cycle engine just smells like summer.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Where the hell is Eli?

I bought a Sears cheapo, 22" with a 3.5HP B&S back in 1982 for $119.00 with a side grass catcher. I still use it once in a while, but the primer never did work right on it. That's my only complaint with it. She still doesn't burn oil after all these years. I think I've replaced the plug about 4 times, and the cheap wheels were replaced with larger wheels on bearings many years ago.

I don't care for a mower spitting grass out the back. Sometimes I like to run it without the catcher, and just spit it out the side. I don't think you'll find many, if any commercial mowers shooting grass out the rear.

Awww, you let me down

 

[Ornery]

I'd have bought Honda if they didn't cost 5 times as much back then. In hind sight, that would have been quite a waste of money!

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

:beer::beer:

At least SOMEBODY gets it.
:beer:

Mowing the lawn with a 2-cycle engine just smells like summer.

Yessir it does... does indeed

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Where the hell is Eli?

I bought a Sears cheapo, 22" with a 3.5HP B&S back in 1982 for $119.00 with a side grass catcher. I still use it once in a while, but the primer never did work right on it. That's my only complaint with it. She still doesn't burn oil after all these years. I think I've replaced the plug about 4 times, and the cheap wheels were replaced with larger wheels on bearings many years ago.

I don't care for a mower spitting grass out the back. Sometimes I like to run it without the catcher, and just spit it out the side. I don't think you'll find many, if any commercial mowers shooting grass out the rear.

That's what I've been wondering, he would be all over this like RossMAN posting in a web hosting thread ...

I vote neither.

Get a Black & Decker electric lawnmower

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

:beer::beer:

At least SOMEBODY gets it.
:beer:

I get it. We still have our 20y/o lawnboy. Classic.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Homerboy
OMG that is WHY I bought a LawnBoy... NOTHING says old-school Miller time like mixing up some 2-cycle and gas on a Saturday morning (and maybe just slipping in a bit more oil to give a nice smoke cloud....) MMMMMmmmm love the smell.

2-cycle for life

:beer::beer:

At least SOMEBODY gets it.
:beer:

I get it. We still have our 20y/o lawnboy. Classic.

My parents still have their 20+ year old Lawnboy too.

I actually volunteer to mow pushmow their lawn when I go home for a visit.

 

[BooGiMaN]

well fromt he prices you stated the question is do you want to get a powerful and relative middle to top of the line B&S or bottom of the line honda?

Because as people have stated on here the hondas are 3 to 5 times the price of a B&S so i would think a honda at the price of a B&S wouldnt be the best they have out there.

 

[Ornery]

Purchased Old Faithful back in 1986. I begged for a Kohler engine, but Wheel Horse didn't offer it on that model, so I ended up with an 11.5HP B&S commercial. It was fine for about 12 years, but then it started getting hard to start. After a few more years the compression was gone. Eli helped me troubleshoot that. I replaced it with a 12.5HP B&S from Small Engine Warehouse. It seems much stronger than the original, and starts just by looking at the ignition key!

 

[Eli]

Damn, missed this one.

For the price difference you quoted, the Honda is definately worth it. Happen to have the model number of the engine it uses?

Bottom of the line Briggs engines are adequate, but they are not high quality(designed to last). Plain sleeve bearings(as opposed to ball), aluminum bores(as opposed to cast iron), no valve seat inserts(seats cut directly into the aluminum block), etc.

They will last quite a long time with proper maintenance, but most people can barely even take care of their car, let alone be bothered with their lawnmower.

If the Briggs engine is a Vanguard or I/C(very doubtful, with the price you quoted), the above does not apply. Midline(Vanguard) and top of the line (I/C) should be comparable to Hondas.

Of course, without proper maintenance the Honda may die before the Briggs with proper maintenance. So... maintain your sh!t!

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Eli
So... maintain your sh!t!

:beer:

Where were you Eli? I called Vera Katz and the Oregon National Guard because you were MIA.

 

[kranky]

I wish my mower wasn't so durable. I have a 12 year old bottom-of-the-line Craftsman with a rear bagger. I bought a cheap one because I needed it in a hurry and didn't know anything about mowers. Two years ago my wife and I agreed we could get a new self-propelled mower when this one died. So I quit doing any maintenance. Didn't drain it, didn't change the oil, nothing. The sooner it died, the sooner I'd get that new mower.

It ran find all last year. So I was sure after another year of no maintenance I'd be set. The last couple of weeks I was doing mower research to be ready. Yesterday the grass needed cutting so I figured I'd go through the motions, show her that the mower was now dead, and run out for a new one.

That stupid thing started on the first pull. Die already!

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: kranky
I wish my mower wasn't so durable. I have a 12 year old bottom-of-the-line Craftsman with a rear bagger. I bought a cheap one because I needed it in a hurry and didn't know anything about mowers. Two years ago my wife and I agreed we could get a new self-propelled mower when this one died. So I quit doing any maintenance. Didn't drain it, didn't change the oil, nothing. The sooner it died, the sooner I'd get that new mower.

It ran find all last year. So I was sure after another year of no maintenance I'd be set. The last couple of weeks I was doing mower research to be ready. Yesterday the grass needed cutting so I figured I'd go through the motions, show her that the mower was now dead, and run out for a new one.

That stupid thing started on the first pull. Die already!

lol. figures the one time you dont want reliability, you cant kill it.

my plan is just to buy the cheap 99 buck model. that way if it only lasts one year, im only out 99, and by the time i could pay to have it fixed, ill just buy a new one, and sell the old one off cheap to a local repair shop. i bought the first mower last year from wal-mart. murry brand. ran fine last summer, and started on the 3rd pull this year. granted, i only have a 1/4 of an acre, so its not like i need some massive lawn tractor. if that were the case, i would fix it. itd be too impractical and expensive not to.

now i know i should just fix it myself if something goes wrong, but childhood memories dictate other wise. every summer my dad and i would have to work on those stupid lawnmowers at least once every three mowings. screw that, ill just save my time and energy.

 

[yee]

definitely honda. have a friend and his uncle whos cuts grass for living, they both use a honda for their mower.