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Craftsman Professional 21' Walk Behind Caster Mower

15 years ago

Just wanted to see if anyone know how good this new Craftaman Mower is? I am in the market for a good reliable mower that easy to maintain and parts aren't expensive to replace if I need to. Anyway I came across this in the local Sears ad:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07188776000P?keyword=71-88776&sLevel=0

Let me know if any of you have one or if you know if it's a good mower or not. Or if you could recommend good self propelled mulcing mower with castor zero turn wheels. I want to keep it under $400 if possible. I know the one I am looking at is $480, but have all the features I want like the zero turn wheels, electric key start, and good engine with a Brigg and Stratton.

Thanks

-Pong

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Comments (4)

ejb190
15 years ago
Craftsman equipment is OK. Our problem is the local Sears Hardware refuses to deal with parts and don't even ask about service. Luckily, Sears has a decent online parts system with diagrams and pretty good response times (I got parts for my table saw a few months back). Some parts, like blades, my local lawn mower shop could get cheaper, even after shipping.

So if you don't mind working on your own equipment, Craftsman is fine. If you are looking for customer service or a place that will stand behind their sales, find a locally owned dealer. (I might suggest compare the Craftsman to a 17.5/32" Simplicity Pacer - yes I know it is expensive, but with mowers I really believe you get what you pay for. They both have B&S, but the engines are totally different quality levels.)
Greg Goyeneche
15 years ago
I'm not much of a believer in front casters, but if that floats your boat, go ahead.

As long as you're looking at Sears, why not consider the same model with the Kawasaki engine. Same price. While Briggs is competent, Kawasaki is clearly a step up.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07188921000P?mv=rr

As for the other post, what a silly apples-to-oranges comparison. $500 21" mower compared to a $2200 32" mower. Useless. I guess he missed your comment about keeping in the $400 to $500 range.

There is better equipment than Craftsman, and I agree their service is questionable, but that suggestion doesn't add much value.
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Yet another of the misinformed or otherwise ignorant masses lumping the Sears Repair Plan in with all the Extended Warranties that cloud the market. If it were simply a case of extending the terms of the manufacturer's warranty, I would agree with the stance of "do not buy." You have to remember that, as with any warranty, an extension of the manufacturer's warranty will only protect the manufacturer. If all Sears offered was one of those piece of crap policies, not only would it be not worth your time to consider it, but it would not be worth my time to inform you of it. On the whole, people who buy the repair plan at Sears spend less on repair and replacement than those who don't. And for the person who said that Craftsman Professional was an oxymoron, he obviously didn't do his homework to realize that Bobcat actually designed the first Craftsman Pro Zero Turn Tractor.
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The three mowers you are looking at are probably equal in quality. All are light duty. The Husqvarna is equipped with ball bearing wheels. This would probably be easier to push than the troybilt and craftsman. The Kohler engine is actually a Chinese design that has some good features including a cast iron sleeve and double ball bearings on the crankshaft. On the negative side, the engine is designed with several layers of trim that make access the the engine more difficult and perhaps heavier. I worked on several of these for "will not start" conditions related to last year's fuel. When testing, I found the engine seemed to be under powered for a 21" Ariens mower. Consider this carefully, as the engine has only 149CC - a very small engine. None of the kohler dealers in my area carried any parts for the push mower engine. The other mowers have the regular plastic wheels without the ball bearings. This will probably require more effort to push. The engine on both is the 190cc Briggs quantum series with ready start. This engine has good power and is easy to start. Parts like carburetor kits are usually stocked at dealers and the parts are cheap. On the negative side, the automatic choke sometimes gets confused - resulting in a will not start condition. The condition goes away if the mower sits for a while - or the home owner can manually open the choke to start (provided he knows how to do this).
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alby
15 years ago
Did you notice the link to customer reviews on the web page that you referenced above? If I recall, there were over 30 reviews for the model with the Kawasaki and even though the page for the model with the B&S says there are no reviews, click on the link anyway. There should be one there. Lots of reviewers liked them. Lots clearly did not. The problems reported seemed pretty consistent.
pongt17
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the great info. I was at Sears yesterday to take a look at it in person and did notice the model they carried at that location was with a Kawasaki Engine. I did read the reviews and they have mixed reviews, but seems to have more bad reviews than good. Anyway I decided to look on Craig's List to see if I can find a cheap reliable mower. I came across this Toro Super Pro Recycler II for $100. Anyone know if this is a good model/brand? http://columbus.craigslist.org/for/1149634785.html
Thanks

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