Lawn Mowers

[SuperBuickGuy]

A/F's trials with lawn mowers.... I suspect there are lots of other stories out there as well.

post em up

I have a Craftsman riding mower that has two annoying issues. 1) it backfires when you shut it off (which is not fun when it's parked in its mower shed) and has done since new; and 2) what the blarney stone is the reason that they have a half dozen mower models and 200 different models of blades? I have a wall full of replacement blades I've bought that were supposed to fit - but don't.... (I have granite rocks that appear in my yard that are the death of my blades).

[STINEY]

I'd like to know the reason behind the multitude of blade styles too. Its beyond crazy at the sheer volume of different designs.

I have an old Simplicity that likes to backfire on shutdown. It doesn't do it if it is throttled down and allowed to cool itself off for a minute before shutdown. Generally the time it takes me to back it into the barn at idle is all it takes, otherwise BOOM!!!

As to other lawnmower stories.......... do you really want me to get started on that again? That saga isn't over by a long shot. I hide my "new" zero turn behind the beatup old Simplicity, its a pain to get out but that assures me of having a running zero turn when I need it. Wife not interested in digging out 2 mowers to get to zero-turn......

Link to previous rant on UPS, lawn mowers, and significant others.
http://www.bangshift.com/forum/showt...r-rant.-GRRRRR.....

[Gary 351C]

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'd like to know the reason behind the multitude of blade styles too. Its beyond crazy at the sheer volume of different designs.

I have an old Simplicity that likes to backfire on shutdown. It doesn't do it if it is throttled down and allowed to cool itself off for a minute before shutdown. Generally the time it takes me to back it into the barn at idle is all it takes, otherwise BOOM!!!

As to other lawnmower stories.......... do you really want me to get started on that again? That saga isn't over by a long shot. I hide my "new" zero turn behind the beatup old Simplicity, its a pain to get out but that assures me of having a running zero turn when I need it. Wife not interested in digging out 2 mowers to get to zero-turn......

Link to previous rant on UPS, lawn mowers, and significant others.
http://www.bangshift.com/forum/showt...r-rant.-GRRRRR.....

then maybe listening to others issue will be therapeutic?

heck, I figured you had that problem solved (beside hiding the mower)

[Deaf Bob]

I have an old Toro push mower that had a 3 hp motor on it, got replaced with a 5 hp BS motor a few years ago from a ride on.
Toro is the old one... Late 60's if that new. It is set for WIDEDAMNOPEN! To turn it off... Clump of grass or screwdriver. It is for berry vines and knee high grass.. Blows out the chute a good 6-8 ft at a high rpm... Keep it from blowing by slowing it down in grass. Not lawn mowable unless I jog... Nobody wants to see a 300+ lb man jog behind a mower...trust me!

[STINEY]

It was a workaround, no doubt.......... I brought home a real shag-nasty older zero-turn (of the same basic design)

The deck was a spiderweb of cracks, the air baffles were completely missing, rusty, switches didn't work from sitting outside, etc.

Funny part was the reason it was traded in. A neighbor of our dealership, who is a HVAC independent installer/servicer and all around nice guy - well his wife traded it in. Seems it cut badly, stalled all the time, and was generally worthless.

Upon draggin it into the shop, I found a complete new set of blades on it..... upside down. Bet it did cut badly! And the air filter was so clogged with dirt that the poor thing couldn't rev up. Those two simple repairs let it work, and it worked well enough to justify more repairs. Treated it to new filters, new deck baffles welded in, all cracks welded up, new belts and some other odds-n-ends. It mows great now! And my boss tossed me a bone on the price, get it out of here before someone wants to buy it!

So I hide it, even though it looks nasty. I know that alone won't deter she-who-must-be-obeyed......


Just rereading my old rant was theurapeutic. That was a rough period! Good times now!

[428FE]

Good answer!
Gary wins

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10623[/ATTACH]

[dieselgeek]

I always had problems with air cooled motors backfiring unless I let them cool down for a few minutes at idle before shutdown - I've gotten in the habit of letting them warm up at fast idle when starting up too. Seems to make them last longer, my current ride is a 2008 Exmark Lazer 60" ZTR I picked up for $4500 last year, before that I used a Scag Super Z rider for about 12 years. It had a bad Kohler engine that liked to spit pushrods out the valve covers, the motor sucked but the rest of the mower was good stuff.

I mow about 4 acres - I spend more on my mower than BOTH my cars put together, haha. It takes me right at 2 hours, once a week, to mow the yard. No real horror stories, I keep the oil and filters fresh, etc.

[TheSilverBuick]

I went electric after screwing around with a hand-me-down gas mower. Starts up great, even when cold.

This is the first mowing last May.

[STINEY]

[TC]

I had a Honda for a long time, well over 15 years, it still ran but was pretty beat....I bought a Toro from Home Depot, it lasted a few years and then started acting up(didn't want to run right, stalling), so I went and bought a new Honda........The one thing I like about a Honda, mine starts on the first pull every time, even the one that was 15+ years old started on the first pull and that's pretty good for a mower that had never been serviced in it's life.......Just add oil.............

[TC]

I went electric after screwing around with a hand-me-down gas mower. Starts up great, even when cold.

This is the first mowing last May.

I think I got that same mower for my kids at Toys-R-Us............

[pdub]

I went electric after screwing around with a hand-me-down gas mower. Starts up great, even when cold.

This is the first mowing last May.

Buick, you know I have to have that photo and your quote for my website.

How's the right of imminent domain working for me today?

dub

[Whelk]

I have an old Sear reel-type mower. No power at all, i just have to push it. If I don't let the grass get too long it's nice light work out. If I do let it get too long, it's a soul crushing labor. Similar to this:

[pdub]

I have an old Sear reel-type mower. No power at all, i just have to push it. If I don't let the grass get too long it's nice light work out. If I do let it get too long, it's a soul crushing labor. Similar to this:

I had one of those, sure did, first house I ever bought. It was like a profound revelation the day came around....whoa, now I gotta cut the grass. And I couldn't afford anything better than the device shown above.

It was a small yard, I was out there pushing that thing back and forth feeling like Ward Cleaver, all the while wondering where Wally was. It was nearly embarrassing.