21" Mower Advice

[beenthere]

Re: 21

Good plan (listen to TBN for your 'consumer report'). To me, the worst source for good, honest buying information is the Consumer Reports.

 

[smthng2do]

Re: 21\" Mower Advice

Consumer Reports...Phooey. Got a friend and a case of Heineken working there, and they'll tell ya that the Renault was the car of the year.

 

[Kelvin]

Re: 21\" Mower Advice

TresCrows,
For what it's worth, I live in Tennessee and have to mow from Feb-Mar until the Nov-Dec time frame also. I, too, have had a Craftsman "Eager-1" push mower last for over 20 years. I changed the air filter and oil at least once a year. The bad part about the mower is that I had to replace the deck once and the handle twice over that 20 years, but the engine ran fine until this season (I think that it is a carburetor problem). So I am interested in finding more about these "aluminum deck" models.

In the last 4 or 5 years (since I started getting the Kubotas) I have used my Craftsman push mower only for trim duties. About the same time I decided to replace my original Craftsman push mower and purchased a Craftsman 6.5hp self propelled 3-in-1 mower (side discharge, mulch, or rear bagger mode of operation). Hated it. It was TOO HEAVY and bulky to do much beyond mowing the open areas that my Kubota now handled just fine. I parked the new mower and kept using the old one.

I have now decided that for push mowers performing mostly trim duties, I prefer a light-weight non-self propelled mower.

Kelvin

 

[Kelvin]

Re: 21\" Mower Advice

I certainly have mixed emotions about Consumer Reports.

The Bad: Around 1980 or 1981 the Chevy Citation was listed as a "Best Buy" and within two years it topped their "Cars to Avoid" list (I may have the specific year and GM vehicle wrong, but the incident occurred... ). There have been other incidents like the above.

The Good: For vehicles, I find that the tables that list strong and weak points of each vehicle (electical, engine, transmission, depreciation, reliability) are fairly accurate and unbiased, especially the depreciation column.

Kelvin

 

[s1120]

Re: 21\" Mower Advice

<font color=red>The Bad: Around 1980 or 1981 the Chevy Citation was listed as a "Best Buy" and within two years it topped their "Cars to Avoid" list (I may have the specific year and GM vehicle wrong, but the incident occurred... ). There have been other incidents like the above.</font color=red>

A little OT story for you.
My wifes Mom got a chevy citation in 80 becouse of there recomandation. You know? I think she got the only good one made./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Only thing she ever needed on that car was a rusted out rad at over 100k when she traded it in for a new car.

 

[TresCrows]

Re: 21

Yeah, I have heard good things about some Craftsman mowers. You will like the aluminum decked units better. Honda also has a plastic/Xenoy deck that may provide similar service. The aluminum decks are much stiffer and of course do not rust. They will generally outlast the engine several times. Toro, Lawnboy, JD, Cub Cadet and many others offer aluminum deck units. Good luck. J

 

[bmabe]

Re: 21\" Mower Advice

re: old Craftsman

Yep. Have a 35 year old (maybe more) with aluminum deck - on its 3rd engine, 3rd set of wheels, 3rd driver (Dad bought it, now my son is using it). Missing some safety features of the new ones, but does a better job of mulching clippings than my newer Snapper, and much lighter weight. I'm sure the latest models wouldn't last this long, though.
Barry

 

[Buster57]

Re: 21

I agree the Consumer Reports is a good place to start and a better place to stay away from.

I bought a 14SD(?) Al deck JD and it just fell apart. The deck looked like a .50 went thru it when I hit a rock. I would never purchase a JD mower or recommend one to anyone. Horribly over priced and maybe good enough for a homeowner but terrible for commercial applications. The Kawasaki engine was tough. I suggest finding a different material deck, same engine, and different brand.

Or go buy a steel or composite deck Honda.

 

[TresCrows]

Re: 21

I have never heard of anyone putting a hole in an aluminum deck. The problem with steel is weight and rust and they typically are thin stamped sheet with rolled edges which also flexes and cracks. I know nothing about JD push mowers or who builds them for JD. I would prefer a brand name mower such as Toro, Lawnboy, Honda, and some others. Aluminum decks outlast most steel decks many times over for a typical home owner use. Since you may be a commercial user and I am not I cannot say aluminum decks are good for that use but I would think they would be. The plastic Honda deck looks like a good deck also but the problem with Honda mowers and many others is that they do not allow side discharge which is the only way I would want it. I do not mulch and I do not bag. Side discharge has worked well for me and thus that rules out many push mowers in my mind. What is this bagging thing all about anyway? J

 

[Egon]

Re: 21

TresCrows
Perhaps bagging the grass clippings gives an immediate nice looking effect after you have let the grass grow to long. It will also make for additional work by enabling you to set up a compost bin.

I prefer to leave the cuttings on the lawn where they will decompose and add to the soil quality without the extra work. If one did some reasearch I'm sure you would find information to support leaving grass clippings on the lawn.
Egon