Hello all! I'm new to this forum and need some purchase advice. Hope you all can help me out.
I have about 12,000 sq ft of residential lawn. While not sloped, it is a bit uneven. One day I'll spend the big bucks to have it leveled.
For the past 6 years I've mowed my lawn using a silver LawnBoy. It has served me well but could be much better in one critical application: leaves! Every fall I have a lot of leaf picking up to do. When all is said and done it tends to come out to between forty and fifty recyclable lawn bags (the brown ones). My township requires that leaves be placed in those bags for their free pickup. I'm happy to oblige.
While I have experimented with different pickup methods over the years, I have found mowing them up and dumping the bag into the bag to be the fastest and least strenuous. My LawnBoy has been up to the job. However its bag attaches using a plastic tunnel that connects to the front of the mower and has a habit of getting plugged.
I have gotten so sick of the stupid leaves that last year I paid someone to do the bagging. It was $300 (I got two quotes) but still seemed worth it to me. While I don't mind mowing, leafing really does take it out of my back.
This fall, as I switched from the mulching plate to the plastic tunnel to pick up a little extra, the screw that holds the attachment in broke out of the deck. It was rusted through. Now while I could probably get a new hole drilled and use the LawnBoy a little longer (it also needs maintenance and sharpening), I'm leaning towards buying my first new mower.
Now there's one feature I want this mower to have above all else. It has to be an absolute killer at picking up leaves. Unpluggable, super-fine shredding and mulching, big bag, easy to empty etc. I don't mind to spend a little extra if it means it will be easy enough that I don't spend $300 on leaf service again.
After perusing Consumer Reports and reading up in this forum, I have come to the following choice: Honda HRX217HYA. The Versamow system seems to be best for leaf shredding and I don't have to keep track of parts. The Nexite deck seems to be relatively maintenance free. And I've always dreamed of having bladestop for when I empty the bags, which I need to do frequently. With my current mower it takes two to three bags to fill a leaf bag, so figure about 100 times emptying. That's a lot of restarting the mower! I don't care for electric start as I think it's overkill if you have bladestop. Consumer Reports also scored the Toro Super Recycler highly for leaf shredding, so that would be a second choice. However, it requires an additional part to install and take out. And I like the hydrostatic transmission on the Honda.
My runner up would be a Snapper Rear Engine Rider. I've never had a rider and think it's total overkill for my small lawn. That being said, it has this sweet attachment for the rear that puts leaves directly into lawn bags. That would be a major time saver. Then again, I don't think you can get into all the nooks and crannies with a rider, so I would probably have to clean up in a second run. I don't do cleaning up with a weed eater now, because I'm lazy. However, would getting a weed eater be enough to clean up behind a Snapper, or would I need to buy another mower? I'm also turned off by the high price of a Snapper plus leaf bagging kit. I'd look at about $2,000 as opposed to $700 for the Honda walk behind.
So please: fire away! Help a newb out to make his first lawnmower purchase. Don't hesitate to ask for any details you need. And thank you so much in advance for taking the time to help me out.
tl;dr: What's the best mower to pick up 40 lawn bags of leaves each year?
I have about 12,000 sq ft of residential lawn. While not sloped, it is a bit uneven. One day I'll spend the big bucks to have it leveled.
For the past 6 years I've mowed my lawn using a silver LawnBoy. It has served me well but could be much better in one critical application: leaves! Every fall I have a lot of leaf picking up to do. When all is said and done it tends to come out to between forty and fifty recyclable lawn bags (the brown ones). My township requires that leaves be placed in those bags for their free pickup. I'm happy to oblige.
While I have experimented with different pickup methods over the years, I have found mowing them up and dumping the bag into the bag to be the fastest and least strenuous. My LawnBoy has been up to the job. However its bag attaches using a plastic tunnel that connects to the front of the mower and has a habit of getting plugged.
I have gotten so sick of the stupid leaves that last year I paid someone to do the bagging. It was $300 (I got two quotes) but still seemed worth it to me. While I don't mind mowing, leafing really does take it out of my back.
This fall, as I switched from the mulching plate to the plastic tunnel to pick up a little extra, the screw that holds the attachment in broke out of the deck. It was rusted through. Now while I could probably get a new hole drilled and use the LawnBoy a little longer (it also needs maintenance and sharpening), I'm leaning towards buying my first new mower.
Now there's one feature I want this mower to have above all else. It has to be an absolute killer at picking up leaves. Unpluggable, super-fine shredding and mulching, big bag, easy to empty etc. I don't mind to spend a little extra if it means it will be easy enough that I don't spend $300 on leaf service again.
After perusing Consumer Reports and reading up in this forum, I have come to the following choice: Honda HRX217HYA. The Versamow system seems to be best for leaf shredding and I don't have to keep track of parts. The Nexite deck seems to be relatively maintenance free. And I've always dreamed of having bladestop for when I empty the bags, which I need to do frequently. With my current mower it takes two to three bags to fill a leaf bag, so figure about 100 times emptying. That's a lot of restarting the mower! I don't care for electric start as I think it's overkill if you have bladestop. Consumer Reports also scored the Toro Super Recycler highly for leaf shredding, so that would be a second choice. However, it requires an additional part to install and take out. And I like the hydrostatic transmission on the Honda.
My runner up would be a Snapper Rear Engine Rider. I've never had a rider and think it's total overkill for my small lawn. That being said, it has this sweet attachment for the rear that puts leaves directly into lawn bags. That would be a major time saver. Then again, I don't think you can get into all the nooks and crannies with a rider, so I would probably have to clean up in a second run. I don't do cleaning up with a weed eater now, because I'm lazy. However, would getting a weed eater be enough to clean up behind a Snapper, or would I need to buy another mower? I'm also turned off by the high price of a Snapper plus leaf bagging kit. I'd look at about $2,000 as opposed to $700 for the Honda walk behind.
So please: fire away! Help a newb out to make his first lawnmower purchase. Don't hesitate to ask for any details you need. And thank you so much in advance for taking the time to help me out.
tl;dr: What's the best mower to pick up 40 lawn bags of leaves each year?
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