Problem with new mower, looking for advice...

[gibson00]

Hi all, homeowner here, looking for a new mower.
Our yard is roughly 1 acre, and I'm happy to use a push mower, no need for a ride-on...

Anyway, our last mower, which we purchased 2 years ago, was an electric/rechargeable mower from Yardworks, purchased at Canadian Tire.
I loved the fact that I didn't have to deal with gas, gas engine, etc. But the problem was that the batteries would have a hard time lasting one entire mowing session, and it also was not really powerful enough to mow if the grass was more than a few inches tall. As well, the batteries completely died after less than a year. So we were able to get new batteries from the company under warranty.
We are now past our warranty period, and the batteries have completly died again after the winter... I looked into replacements (takes 2), and they are over $100 each, so not really worth it.

SO, we went out and bought a Toro Recycler 21" gas mower this weekend. Now, granted, our grass was pretty long in spots, about 6 inches. But I figured a pretty powerful Briggs engine would have no issue...?
Well, the mower started fine, and if standing still, ran fine. But once I started mowing, it stalled in the long grass about 20 times during the less than 1 acre of grass. And not only that, while going through the grass, and even after going through grass, while running, it was making a metallic pulsating sound, like something metal was rubbing together in the engine.
I flipped it over once just to have a look, and I can see where the belt drive goes into the mower, and a ton of grass going in there. I assume that is normal, no way to really avoid that?
All this on the first day owning it. So not wanting to deal with issues already, I am simply returning the mower.
But now I don't know what to get. Want to stay around $400 or less.
Have rechargeable mowers been improved at all in the last year or two? I don't want to be faced with spending $200 on new batteries every second year!!
I'm now obviously nervous about getting another mower with a Briggs engine. Honda (but $$)??

Help a newb!

 

[Carl in CT]

Hi, $200 is not a ton to pay for a good mower when the cheapest ones are still around $150 if you are talking self propelled mowers. I would say that Honda is probably the best small engine for push mowers but be careful as even Honda has started outsourcing their lower end engines to China. Maybe they are still good, I don't know but just know what you are buying.

I bought a Toro personal pace mower about 10 years ago with a 6.5 hp motor (I think it's a Briggs if I recall) and it's run great but I only use it for trimming areas my tractor doesn't fit so it doesn't have a lot of hours on it. Now they rate everything in CCs instead of hp. I think you can expect roughly 1hp out of every 25cc so 6.5 hp would be about 165 cc, roughly. It has plenty of pwer but it will stall out if stuffed into tall, thick grass, they all will. I paid about $300 and I saw them at Home Depot just the other day, I think the price was around $350. They had a Honda mower right next to it for somewhere in the $400 ball park I think but that's not for a commercial grade Honda, those will run $700-$800 or more. If you really plan to mow 1 acre regularly with it I'd spend at least $350 and get something that will last and not drive you crazy with problems. I have used the expensive Honda commercial mowers when I was landscaping full time and they are sweet, very rugged but that was 20 years ago.

I'm not a fan of Cub Cadet tractors or the Kohler motors they use on most of their equipment but they do offer a lot of bang for the buck as far as features go and a small walk behind mower has much less to go wrong then a tratcor. Check out the Cub Cadet web site as it looks like they are having some good sales right now. They have one for $449 with a Honda GC engine and front caster wheels. The GC is Chinese made for Honda, not a genuine Japanese Honda. Like I said, they still might be good as they still put the Honda name on it but they are definitely not a commercial motor, strictly residential use but that's what they all are going to be in that price range.

Best of luck!

 

[Mark Widmer]

...As well, the batteries completely died after less than a year. So we were able to get new batteries from the company under warranty.
We are now past our warranty period, and the batteries have completly died again after the winter... I looked into replacements (takes 2), and they are over $100 each, so not really worth it.

Hi,

A couple of comments regarding the electric mower:

1. If all those batteries died in a year or less, they are being mistreated. Probably the mower was being run too long on them, you should swap for a fresh battery as soon as you notice motor speed is slowing down while you mow. The batteries should last more like 4 years or so, and discharging them too deeply at a time is known to shorten their life. It's recommended to keep them charged through the winter as well.

2. Cordless electric push mowers I'm aware of are mostly designed for 1/4 to 1/3 acre. A full acre is too much, even for two batteries -- another sign that the batteries were running too long between recharging.

Rather than dealing with the 3 or 4 batteries you would need to mow your yard, you may find it easier to get a gas mower.

Mark