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Lawn mower question...

GetReal

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 15, 2020
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Looking at a push / walk behind mower for tight areas, and some 30% grade sections of the lawn.

Due to back injury sciatica, not wanting a pull start, so I'm looking at the battery start gas powered, or a full electric walk behind. Self propelled seems like a good idea.

Any wisdom for me, what to look at / for and what toi avoid?

Thanx !!
 
Although I cut mostly with my smaller 48" ZT made by Hustler there are times I need a walk-behind. Mine is a Honda self-propelled and it works very well. A little lighter than many out there and, most importantly for my preference , the set-propelled mechanism is rear drive. Maybe not a big deal but the mower before this one was front wheel drive and I just didn't like it.
If I were buying again I would seriously take a look at one of these:
Just wish it could bag clipping too.
 
Since you have a back injury, look for something self propelled and as importantly, lightweight. Even if it's self propelled, you have to muscle most around corners.
 
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I have Still battery powered chainsaw and hedge trimmers. In a word, awesome! I would not have believed the power available and the ability of the battery to deliver on that power for extended periods of time.
When I was looking at them, I used the stihl as a guide but the comps were pointing at the lowes brand kobalt, it got good reviews and is self propelled
 
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When I was looking at them, I used the stihl as a guide but the comps were pointing at the lowes brand kobalt, it got good reviews and is self propelled
If Kobalt brand could be any better than what I bought I would not be able to use the extra. Besides, I love my local Ace Hardware and it's a 40 mile round trip to Lowe's. But then I do not have the EV lawnmower from any source; just the chainsaw and hedge trimmer.
 

Bought an Ego Mower 3 years ago...now I own the snow blower, weed whipper, and have an Ego Nexus power station that uses the same 56 volt lithium ion batteries as my tools and will run my house all night in a power outage. They all use the same batteries - get the biggest ones you can afford.

The mower folds up and with the battery out can be hung on a nail in the wall....self propelled and cuts my whole lawn 2X on a single charged battery.

VooDoo
 
If Kobalt brand could be any better than what I bought I would not be able to use the extra. Besides, I love my local Ace Hardware and it's a 40 mile round trip to Lowe's. But then I do not have the EV lawnmower from any source; just the chainsaw and hedge trimmer.
sorry stud, i was referring to the lawn mowers.
im also a sthil owner, many, and also a ace hardware fan. believe it or not we have one across the street
 
sorry stud, i was referring to the lawn mowers.
im also a sthil owner, many, and also a ace hardware fan. believe it or not we have one across the street
NBD Brother! I had to replace my older Echo backpack blower and decided to go Stihl. Also, being a "stud", I decided I needed MORE POWER!
Well ,even a stud like me gotta confess sometime; DAMN, that thing is heavy!!!!
Looking at getting a Stihl battery power blower now (since I already have batteries).
 
Whatever you purchase, see if it can be repaired as needed - many from big box stores can't be repaired. Better to buy from your local independent mower shop.

Bought the top of the line from Depot / Lowes and after a few years they each needed repairs. First it was the blower and then the trimmer.
Took them to the local lawnmower shop and basically they couldn't fix them, parts were't available for those models, etc. Went to another shop (a Stihl dealer) where I knew one of the owners since we were kids - same story. After some dialogue it was clear they were a throw-away item from the get go. Bought Stihl and Echo as replacements and the shop does free tune-ups, etc. and has stood behind the products. The new ones are totally repairable and the cost was only $50 - $60 more than the throw-aways. I wish I'd known that from the start.

I know some Depots now carry some Echo models - not sure if they are the regular models that can be repaired at a local shop or a specific model for just that big box store (this is fairly common) but I'd ask. Better yet - just go to your local shop and get solid tools from a retailer that will support you over the long haul.
 
I’ll got for the Honda. We have one, our son has one, though ours are pull starts, they start easy, propel from the rear wheels and cut great. If you purchase a gas powered mower, when you are finished mowing, cut the fuel off from the carburetor and let it run out. With todays green new deal fuel, the hygroscopic qualities of ethanol pretty much has long term effects on carburetors. and it ain’t pretty.
 
I’ll got for the Honda. We have one, our son has one, though ours are pull starts, they start easy, propel from the rear wheels and cut great. If you purchase a gas powered mower, when you are finished mowing, cut the fuel off from the carburetor and let it run out. With todays green new deal fuel, the hygroscopic qualities of ethanol pretty much has long term effects on carburetors. and it ain’t pretty.
My Honda starts with one pull every time. As for fuel, I now live close to a store that has a pump with non-ethanol fuel for sale. Yes, it is expensive but I believe worth it in the long run. I have had zero issues with any yard equipment or ATV/SXS since I began using it. I let my mowing equipment sit all winter this year and everything started first try.
 
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The EGO lawn mowers. Hands down. This is for the specific use case you are describing of using the mower to clean up areas that don't hit well with a rider.

They charge quickly, you basically get 1 minute of run time for 1 minute of charge time.
Cut extremely well. Mine cuts stuff my 9HP gasser will choke on.
Easy to clean, almost no maintenance to be done with, and the things just work.
Store in a folded position that takes less than 1/4 the space of a traditional push mower.

The negative they have is they do not run as long as advertised. The worse your grass is the more energy it'll use to cut it. But it will cut it, it'll cut 2ft tall wet grass -- with the discharge gate blocked. But it'll eat the living eff out of the battery if you're doing that. If you keep up with your grass every 5-7 days, they run just fine. And for just doing touch-up after a rider -- you'll have no problems.

That's just been my experience. I also have, as noted above, a 9HP electric start mower. The battery on it died in the first season and was going to cost some stupid amount like $30 to replace so I just pull start it. Personally not a fan of electric start push mowers, especially with the benefits you get from an EGO... really hoping my gasser dies this year, looking forward to replacing it. Might just sell it since we're at the start of the season.
 
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Gas is dead. The battery powered stuff blows it's doors off...my Ego snow blower throws 30' rooster tails of snow when the neighbors are trying to get their gas powered stuff started. My Ego mower walks easy and makes no noise...hangs on the wall in the garage when done. My Ego Nexus Power Station runs my refrigerator and a fan and all my Network stuff and charges phones and laptops all night (11 hours) while sitting on the stove - no noise, no fumes, no problem. Takes minutes to set up and when I get up in the morning and the Nexus inverter is on it's last few minutes I fire up my gas generator and charge all the batteries in 2 hours to run another 11 hours.

My battery mower cuts my lawn 2X on a single battery and the neighbors don't even hear it. I'm never going back to gasoline powered stuff - I have a Generac 2000 watt generator to recharge my batteries if I need it in an emergency or power outage but my Wife's car will recharge them in 2 hours if needed. Fuck gas stuff. It's over...I have a solar charging option for the Batteries coming. I'll sell the gas stuff and move along.

VooDoo
 
In your case wanting an 'electric start' I would just say get a battery op mower, you need it and it will work fine.

I faced a new mower decision 4 years ago, and I went with a Honda gas self propelled
I have no regrets, it starts first pull and runs great
I have a 5 gallon gas can, I buy gas ONCE at the start of every season, maybe 3 gallons and I treat the gas IMMEDIATELY with this


and I also add Sta-BIL fuel stabilizer

I mix the two right in the gas can, so every bit of gas that goes in my mower is treated, it can sit all winter and there are no problems ever. I learned this trick with Startron on my old carbureted motorcycle
 
Gas = Honda
Electric = EGO

I wouldn't trust any other brands for push mowers.

As for blower/chainsaw, go with the Milwaukee combo kit, especially if you already have other red tools for that monster 12 AH battery the kit comes with. Both of those are tits, blower clears 6+" of snow off the car in two minutes flat and the chainsaw is more than any typical homeowner needs, easily.
 
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That Milwuakee battery chainsaw is badass.
Used one when the husky was giving fits last summer to finish a tree dropping job.
 
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Another vote for Honda. Kept the first one 20 or 21 years. Sold it and bought one with electric start five or six years ago. Repairs? Never heard of 'em.

ETA: The S/N on mine is MAGA-XXXXXXX
 
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We have a Toro (from a Toro dealer) that has been magnificent. My impatient 76 year old mother can start it and walk behind.

It's their Personal Pace self propelled, and it has been a gem. Starts on the first or second easy pull every time, and it has a blade brake. Crank it once, mow till done. Really easy to push as well.
 
I use the green works pro line. Mower, blower, and trimmer. No issues in the last 3 years.

Ive also heard really good things about the Harbor Freight electric mowers.
 
Battery start gas powered will be very expensive. If I were you, given your back injury, I would just hire a person who would mow your lawn once a week, that's all, well, that's just my opinion. And in general, I have never heard of such models that you are talking about. To be honest, I will have to read about these things on the Internet. I've been admiring my tiftuf bermuda grass in the yard for about a year now. I use a regular lawnmower once a week and water the grass almost every day before work, and I like everything. So I hope my post will be useful to you.
 
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