self-propelled mowers

[sourceninja]

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[OutHouse]

i had a front wheel drive john deere for about 18 years. the motor went out last year. went to Lowes and bought a 4wheel drive mower. man i love that thing.

 

[Elixer]

They already exist and have for years.

Yeah, most of them require you to lay down some 'tracking wire' along the border of your property.
From what I have read before, they are slow, and tend to stop on trivial things.

 

[JM Aggie08]

No kidding. I could probably tow with my troy-bilt

Beautiful. It's pricey, but I desperately want to buy into their modular system:

 

[John Connor]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2439118

 

[eldorado99]

Take care of your shit and it won't break down so quickly.

I've had my Troy-Bilt for ~2 years, and still runs like new. Rear-wheel drive for the win.

I would f'in hope it would still run like new after 2 years. That is hardly a long time in the life of a lawnmower.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I would f'in hope it would still run like new after 2 years. That is hardly a long time in the life of a lawnmower.

Eh, maybe should have said 'looks like new.'

I've known folks to go through a mower a year...but that's just blatant carelessness.

 

[AMCRambler]

Toro with a Briggs engine on it. Change the oil every year and air filter every two. It's going strong for the last 6 years. Before that had a craftsman push mower and I would never go back. Self propelled definitely easier to use and very reliable. Craftsman was also a side bagger, what a pain in the ass.

 

[evident]

Eh, maybe should have said 'looks like new.'

I've known folks to go through a mower a year...but that's just blatant carelessness.

I've seen so many nice machines that were just flat out abused by people perusing craigslist, and going in person to check em out myself. I purchased my snowblower on craigslist, but my lawnmower and weed trimmer i ended up buying new because almost every one i've seen were just so bad. I dont get why people can't take good care of their belongings.

 

[RelaxTheMind]

in the market for a mower also. Is RWD preferred over FWD? How about 4WD? I have a relatively flat lot. 0.37 acres

ive had both. if you are the type that pushes down on the handle to lift the front when doing turns then a fwd is better because turning is easier. also note dont get the ones with tiny rear wheels. the action of pushing especially if you had let your grass grow taller than normal will press the front wheels down making the drive wheels work better.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Cheap self propelled that is 10 years old and never changed the oil. When it ceasses one day, I junk it and get another new one for $300. $30/year is not a big cost. to cut grass.

 

[XavierMace]

Self powered and super cheap. Low maintenance as well.

 

[notposting]

Self powered and super cheap. Low maintenance as well.

The suburb I'm in now has two of them. They get dropped off with some fencing set up...picked up later. Stay with other goats at night and the offseason. They started with one goat two summers ago, had two last year...should have a whole fleet soon.

 

[Charmonium]

If the mower is light enough, you don't need any sort of drive train. I have a Greenworks that uses 2 8" (or so) blades. The power source is 2 40v lithium batteries. It's very easy to push an maneuver.

If you're going to be doing a large area, say more than 50x100 feet, then you probably want a propelled model regardless. That's about the most you can do on one charge with 2 of the large batteries. But for anything less than that, the effort in pushing isn't that much even on ground that isn't perfectly level. If you have a significant grade to navigate, say more than 2 or 3%, then again, yes, self-propelled.

 

[SP33Demon]

Self powered and super cheap. Low maintenance as well.

Don't they shit all over the place and then you have to pick it up?

 

[Thump553]

Take care of your shit and it won't break down so quickly.

I've had my Troy-Bilt for ~2 years, and still runs like new. Rear-wheel drive for the win.

It's probably a Ford versus Chevy thing (I'm showing my age) but I've had both and I greatly prefer front wheel drive. If you have a lot of things to mow around or have to make a lot of turns just push down on the handlebar to lift the front=no more drive. Far easier to use than rear wheel drive.

Self propelled is basically just as reliable as push types and very nearly the same price. If you don't get at least a decade out of a mower you just aren't trying. My last one I dumped at 25 years because the deck rusted through and I was to lazy to bondo it.

Personally I stay away from Honda-overpriced initially and parts prices are insanely priced, and over complicated. But if you are the type that wants neighborhood prestige so for it.

Brand name of the mower isn't as important as the brand name of the engine. Don't get a no-name Chinese engine.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

in the market for a mower also. Is RWD preferred over FWD? How about 4WD? I have a relatively flat lot. 0.37 acres

Not gonna take the time to explain it but, RWD is the ONLY way to go!

 

[runzwithsizorz]

it's probably a ford versus chevy thing (i'm showing my age) but i've had both and i greatly prefer front wheel drive. If you have a lot of things to mow around or have to make a lot of turns just push down on the handlebar to lift the front=no more drive. Far easier to use than rear wheel drive.

Self propelled is basically just as reliable as push types and very nearly the same price. If you don't get at least a decade out of a mower you just aren't trying. My last one i dumped at 25 years because the deck rusted through and i was to lazy to bondo it.

Personally i stay away from **honda-overpriced initially and parts prices are insanely priced,** and over complicated. But if you are the type that wants neighborhood prestige so for it.

Brand name of the mower isn't as important as the brand name of the engine. Don't get a no-name chinese engine.

this is the truth!

 

[Midwayman]

Beautiful. It's pricey, but I desperately want to buy into their modular system:

Interesting. Though honestly if I were to buy into something that complicated it would probably be a rider with attachments. Seems like a lot to break. The monster I have is over a decade old and still in beautiful shape, It has a commercial 10hp B&S engine on it. Though it was made before troy bilt got bought out (by mtd I think)

 

[Midwayman]

Not gonna take the time to explain it but, RWD is the ONLY way to go!

They have way way better traction. My folks have one of the FWD ones and you have to be super careful not to put any pressure on the bars or it loses traction even on a flat lot. Big wheel + RWD is what you want if you're in a situation where self propelled is really useful in the first place.

 

[evident]

Personally I stay away from Honda-overpriced initially and parts prices are insanely priced, and over complicated. But if you are the type that wants neighborhood prestige so for it.

Brand name of the mower isn't as important as the brand name of the engine. Don't get a no-name Chinese engine.

agree with the overpriced parts prices. An auger for my Honda snowblower goes for $350 brand new. I ended up buying two of the same snowblowers for $250 and just refurbishing them. the only problem is now i have 3 snowblowers, LOL.

 

[JTsyo]

I'm actually buying one of these soon. I'm doing my homework now on the best brand.

Post here the model you choose. I'm curious how capable they are.

 

[evident]

Post here the model you choose. I'm curious how capable they are.

here's another lawn mower thread that i just posted in the other day w/ the thoughts on my lawnmower
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2472973

I got the honda HRX217HYA for $650 at home depot. pricey yeah. I was tempted with getting the Toro Timemaster 30 inch deck (most push mowers are 21 inches) that would allegedly save a ton of time, but it's $1K and apparently it has a ton of issues. there's a commercial 30 inch Toro but that runs for $1600. damn.

 

[Meghan54]

They have way way better traction. My folks have one of the FWD ones and you have to be super careful not to put any pressure on the bars or it loses traction even on a flat lot. Big wheel + RWD is what you want if you're in a situation where self propelled is really useful in the first place.

Exactly. Having had both FWD and RWD self-propelled mowers in my life, I got rid of the FWD as soon as I could...mistake for buying one.

As you mentioned, if you put any downward pressure on the handle, the traction disappears on a FWD mower. Guess how you hold your hands on the bar of a mower? It isn't from the bottom and you're constantly lifting upward.

And ever wonder why the cheaper self-propelled mowers are FWD and the RWD cost more?

 

[Demo24]

They have way way better traction. My folks have one of the FWD ones and you have to be super careful not to put any pressure on the bars or it loses traction even on a flat lot. Big wheel + RWD is what you want if you're in a situation where self propelled is really useful in the first place.

While that is true, I've also not had any problems with FWD ones apart from very steep inclines. Even then as long as you get behind it and give it a bit of a push it works ok. I'm sure rwd is better traction wise, but I'd find it very annoying to constantly go in/out of drive when manoeuvring around.

The only thing I've ever had go wrong on a self drive mower was the front wheels wearing away and traction became very limited.