I cannot find a quality lawn mower to purchase - for any amount of money, anywhere within a reasonable distance to me in Southern Ontario...
I had just found out Honda stopped making lawn mowers and small engines last year.
Cub Cadet units are receiving the same poor reviews as Craftsman on par with "Yardworks" - a local stores crap budget chinese brand...
We really are living in tragic times.
How about goats. Or forget the lawn and do a rock garden. Or hire a gardener. Ain't I just full of ideas.
Down here you won't be allowed to buy a gas powered mower soon.
My 1970 Cub Cadet still keeps working so I take very good care of it.
My 4 year old Cub Cadet self propelled 22 inch mower was given to me and it always seems to start first pull. Before the self propelled mower I just bought whatever I could at the big box store scratch & dent sale. As long as it was cheap I was fine with it. I see them as the disposable junk they are. Even the new Cub Cadet was made by MTD.. they make 60 or 70% of all the mowers. All junk.
Lol. I hate rock gardens (up here). They look nice for a week, MAYBE a season if the person takes care of it. Then next spring ALL weeds... Pointless.
Lawn mowing is about $60 a week. Wife would never allow it 🙄
A development this afternoon - someone replied back to me with a 21" Honda HRR216. It's got some interesting features. The old dude selling it was interesting too. $400. It's still in the back of the truck. Need to give it a whirl after dinner.
I really didn't want to buy another used mower but I was making special considerations for older Honda's.
The whole deck - top and bottom - still has all its paint intact.
Blade start and self propel is clutch activated rather than direct geared like other models (that break)
It has two blades!!
Ah, just get a tractor and flail mower. Mow yard, ditches, trim trees, hedges, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JNKO17Ioeo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JNKO17Ioeo)
Plant the same grass that they plant in the road ditches and claim that it is a natural area. Never mow it again.
Quote from: TerryWerm on Jul 20, 2024, 10:02 PMPlant the same grass that they plant in the road ditches and claim that it is a natural area. Never mow it again.
Hey... I work hard on my lawn and gardens... best gardens in the neighbourhood!
But my lawn mower died two weeks ago, an old Toro... can't remember the engine now. Nothing notable.
I hate how the toro's deal with clippings. They're advertised as "recyclers" but to me all that means is bog down and clog. Or put a normal plate on and the bag, and it clogs the chute. They're all designed the same (or so I've seen so far). The bag clogging is the most infuriating... the grass in the back gets a lot of run off and grows thiiiick, it's always been a hassle. I've nearly thrown the old lawn mower over the fence because it clogs so quickly.
I ran the Honda earlier. Seems nice. It has two blades, one stacked on the other. It has a blade clutch so you can release the handle to stop the blade (to do a bag dump) but the motor stays running - nice feature.
It's also variable speed self propelled with a thumb push lever.
It sounds a bit cluttery, I may need to investigate the various gear boxes and clutches but I did the whole front, side, and back yard in record time (prooobably about a 1/4 acre). The previous owner took care of it. Applied some kind of oil to the underside each season to keep the rust at bay. I'll do the same. I imagine even old engine oil would do the trick. I think I'll even keep this mower out of the weather.
Each winter I remove the deck of the Cub Cadet and strip it , looking to remove any corrosion and "weakened" paint. Then it gets 3 coats minimum of new paint and then a top coat of bed liner. You know that "rubberized" bed liner they use in pickup trucks. A lot of work but it keeps the 1970 tractor working!
Quote from: 34_40 on Jul 21, 2024, 07:31 AMEach winter I remove the deck of the Cub Cadet and strip it , looking to remove any corrosion and "weakened" paint. Then it gets 3 coats minimum of new paint and then a top coat of bed liner. You know that "rubberized" bed liner they use in pickup trucks. A lot of work but it keeps the 1970 tractor working!
Wow, that's commitment.
Quote from: Adasha_Machining on Jul 21, 2024, 09:47 AMQuote from: 34_40 on Jul 21, 2024, 07:31 AMEach winter I remove the deck of the Cub Cadet and strip it , looking to remove any corrosion and "weakened" paint. Then it gets 3 coats minimum of new paint and then a top coat of bed liner. You know that "rubberized" bed liner they use in pickup trucks. A lot of work but it keeps the 1970 tractor working!
Wow, that's commitment.
that's what it takes to keep a piece of history working I guess. :smiley_cry:
Everytime we gat a rain, the grass grows at least by 6" and my kids have to mow to keep up with it. This time of the year the rain stops in May and it generally stays dry most of the summer and we usually a month of no mowing. But this summer is different. It's been a wet one.
It has been unusually wet here too. Granddaughter has been mowing every 4 to 6 days depending on just how wet or how warm it has been.
I know mine won't grow six inches every rain fall. Thank gawd for that 'cause we got three days of rain coming! :smiley_flabbergasted:
My kids mowed the grass 8 days ago. It rained this past weekend, grass grew nearly a foot in the backyard and almost as much in the front. It won't get mowed for a few days since my son has to work.