Same as the Craftsman, made by AYP. It and Husqvarna are owned by E-lux. I would not be happy replacing a mower every two or three years after cutting 1/3 acre. Do you maintain your mowers or run them until they drop?

I hope you were being sarcastic when you say "good mowers." 3 years is completely unacceptable for a lawn mower. Given that two of yours have ended prematurely, I would have to question if you are maintaining them properly: cleaning, oil/filter/spark plug changes, gas stabilizer. On occasion, they may need professional servicing if there is a problem.

That said, I would consider spending a little more and get a Toro SuperRecyler. They come in a number of configurations to suite different needs and budgets but ALL come with a 5 year warranty.

According to Consumer Reports from last year, the Troy-Bilt 11A-436A (push) and the Toro Recycler 20041 (Self-propelled) are those recommended.

I'm happy with my Toro 20017 because I got for only
$339 from HD...in a box!

OK mower but, if had to do over again would go for the super recycler. Need to go to a dealer for that one tho.

The Troybilt is an MTD. It and the Toro Recycler are good bang for the buck, my money is on the Toro, but neither can be considered a premium machine.

drssyoon; Mind telling us what happened to your mowers? We may be able to better reply if we knew how they failed. If you had early engine failure on both mowers, it would suggest a maintenance/operation problem.

Drssyoon:

Judging by the short life of your lawn mowers, I am betting you are one of those individuals that cuts his grass real low and jams the blade regularly.

I have a Snapper I just reengined which is over 20 years old and the engine I took out was still working well but was burning oil and making me gag from the exhaust.

My personal opinion is if you have destroyed 2 mowers, and one of them a Honda, you can't be helped by the good people on here. You have to read the manuals and follow them first and I suspect you are not doing so.

Just buy a $100.00 cheapie until you start reading the helpful instructions.

Ruddman

Yessir, Ruddman said it just like i was going to say it!---- Go buy another cheapie, since it seems you'd just be wasting money if ya bought a good, expensive mower! And, you're the kind of mower user that the manufacturers love!! Yep, wreck every one you buy--there's always another cheapie out there!
When the oil needs changing, ignore it! When it gets too low--ignore it! If the blade gets dull- ignore it! and, when it gets too bad to use--junk it, then complain to everybody about how-whatever make it was---how awful it was!
i suggest to you--go around on garbage night--there's usually a mower sitting out on the curb! Best way to get 'em! A bit of clean up, and yer good to go again, and hasn't cost ya any money!

Hondas are usually very tough. Though you may be hard on your mowers, they can stand a lot of abuse. Make sure you keep the carb. clean and use the right gas/oil mix. Using a gas mower that few times a year can allow clogging in lines and bad gas.

These low hour failures are very hard to understand. Even with no maintenance at all, both of these mowers should still be in perfect shape. The Honda should only have 45 hours on it. I have one of these Honda OHC engines on my almost six year old mower, and I change the oil once a year, usually in March. Mine gets used between 60 and 70 hours a year, Right now, my mower has 63.7 hours on it since the last oil change, and it has used absolutely no oil. (I have an hour meter on it).

These low hour mowers should not have required any maintenance yet. We need to know just what the nature of the failures is.

A question for some of you who have made some rather cruel remarks about this gentleman's lack of performing maintenance on his low hour lawnmowers. He apparently only uses his mowers about 15 hours a year. In the case of the one that lasted only a year and a half, outside of changing out the original oil at 5 hours, just what additional maintenance should he have performed on a mower with less than 25 hours on it? In the case of the Honda that lasted 3 years: This should equate to about 45 hours use. I have this same 5.5 hp Honda engine on my mower, which I acquired in 2000. It gets used 60 to 70 hours a year, with one oil change per year. Right now it has 63.7 hours on the oil change it received last March. The oil is still up to the full mark, and has never used any oil between yearly changes.

This man's Honda mower should be in perfect shape at 45 hours without any oil changes. I just cannot understand several of you jumping on him and accusing him of lack of maintenance or not reading the manual, when we don't know what went wrong with his mowers.

I think it's interesting that the original poster has not replied to any of the valid comments. Either there is a logical explanation, or this post was a joke from the start.

Please explain what happened, in detail.

Don't think the OP was serious or interested in the solution.
I think it is time for serious members to move on.. just a bump in the road :-) TGIF.

Xlindax:

Actually I was being quite calm and reserved.

Now that you have come along to play bleeding heart, let me say I believe the man is either a complete idiot or mentally stunted. Either way, nothing we say will help him.

I have to agree with the posts by "Ths Hawkeye" and "Sreeram Tx".

You, Xlindax, if you are really that compassionate and not part of a setup in concert with "Drssyoon" would serve humanity better by working for the needy in a soup kitchen instead of butt scratching buttheads and in the process, trying to make those of us on this forum believe we are the bad guys.

With all due sincerity;

Ruddman

Hmmm==I question the suggestions of harsh, mean talking posters who suggest that a 25 hour mower needs more oil and spark plug changes and that makes me a bleeding heart who should be working in a soup kitchen?

By the way, I also agree with "Ths Hawkeye" and "Sreeram TX". I had just logged back in to tell them so when I read your crappy, insulting opinion of me. Yes, from the tone of your posts, I definitely think you are a bad guy who gets his kicks by making deprecating remarks about other posters.

"I have a Snapper I just reengined which is over 20 years old and the engine I took out was still working well but was burning oil and making me gag from the exhaust."
with what ruddman said i must agree i am still using the mower my father uses back in the 60's it recieves around 40 hours of use a year and gets a yearly plug oil and air filter change and its still goin although starting to turn into a bit of an aol burner but still a year in a half if horrible life for a new mower. I also have a honda 5.5 HP ohc engine on an old ariens tractor which origonaly came with a 10 HP engine. Even though the engine is overworked by pushing the heavy tractor and turning the blades i keep it from overheating by welding on extra cooling fins to keep it cool so the only thing that i can possibly think of to kill a mower in a year in a half or 3 years for the excelently built honda engines is a total loss of cooling. I know that every year when the leaves fall and i vacume them up i have to clean the cooling fins of my mover after every use as they clog with leaves that got sucked into the top of the recoil starter and chopped up byt the metal screen and even when just mowing grass patricles can be sucked in and clog the cooling fins. So because i know that the honda can be heavily overworked but be fine if kept cool my personal opinion is that this guy should check under the fan shroud from time to time to check to see if the cooling fins are clogged