No 2-cycle mowers currently manufactured in the USA. There are still plenty of used Lawn-Boys but nice ones are getting pricey. I understand the last LB engine, the 'E' engine or 'Duraforce', is still made by Briggs & Stratton for snow blowers. If I wanted a 2-cycle mower, I might be inclined to get parts together and make one. Also, you can find them all the time at yard sales and in local papers for sale, and they are sometimes found beside trash cans on trash day. :-(

What are people using that is light weight and that will run on an incline or bank? Are they weed eating banks now instead of trying to mow them?

You need a pressure lubed four stroke engine if you get a newer mower. If not like Saxman said, you need a Lawnboy or Toro with a two stroke.

If you live in Kansas I have a couple nice Lawnboy two stokes for sale.

My front yard is a very steep bank as well and two strokes are the only real choice.

Neal

In my experience steel deck mowers are usually the same and sometimes lighter than aluminum alloy deck mowers. If they were of the same thickness then, yes the AL alloy mowers would be lighter. But they are thicker.

How steep is steep anyway. I've used splash lubed 4 cycles for years on what I would call steep slopes with no problems.

What saxman said. Thank Mr. Nader and the EPA for the demise of the two stroke.Look for a good Lawnboy or 2 stroke Toro.

I too have mowed steep slopes for years without the slightest problem with splash type Briggs engines. I think pressure lubed engines would be more susceptible to failure on slopes because they would suck air into the oil pickup.Roadbike is right about the weight. Aluminum deck mowers are slightly heavier. They do not rust and corrode very little. The aluminum deck is much stiffer too.

Steve, Your best bet would be to try and find a older two cycle Lawn Boy 19 or 21 push model.If you have been using a modern 4 stroke mower, you will be amazed at the lightness and power of the Lawn Boy.

"You need a pressure lubed four stroke engine if you get a newer mower."

Always amazes me that people think that when the pick up of a pressure lubed engine can't reach oil it is better than when the slinger of a slinger lubed engine can't reach oil.

Walt Conner

"You need a pressure lubed four stroke engine if you get a newer mower."
Always amazes me that people think that when the pick up of a pressure lubed engine can't reach oil it is better than when the slinger of a slinger lubed engine can't reach oil.
Walt Conner"

Second that thought for sure. Given that splash oiled motors have been around for a century, if oil starvation was a real problem we would see many examples of 4 stroke lawn mower motors with seized bearings and pistons. Oil starvation seems to be a part urban myth and part justification for the purchase of a new mower that endows it's owner with enhanced bragging rights.

ok, so what is a decent pressure lubed, 4 stroke push mower brand? Maybe I can compare weights to find the lightest one to buy and use

Did I miss something here? Why look for a decent pressure lubed mower? I thought we explained in detail that pressure lube is not the way to go.

'Oil starvation seems to be a part urban myth and part justification for the purchase of a new mower that endows it's owner with enhanced bragging rights.'

That.

I think oil smoke has been seen at extreme angles because it got into the intake tract which is really the only problem. This is the real reason for using a 2-cycle on a steep angle. In fact, if the angle is that steep, it is way past the safe slope range for using any mower.

Whats wrong with pressure lubed?

"Whats wrong with pressure lubed (lawn mower engines)?"

Nothing is wrong with them. For most consumers, a pressure lubed mower engine is a wonderful solution looking for a problem to solve.

So I'll ask again. Does anybody have a specific brand of a four stroke that will work on a steep bank and not smoke like it's on fire? If I can get a few ideas to check out, I can compare the weights of the mowers to what I currently have and this is a aluminum deck Lawn Boy. I once had to have mine worked on so I borrowed my neighbors steel deck Toro and it was way heavier. Anyway, how about ideas!

How about an Ex mark or Toro with a Kawasaki? Or Even a Snapper with a Kawasaki? Those are pressure lubed.

if it is too steep for a splash or pressure motor you should probably be using a weedeater for safety. falling down on a lawnmower is not good or even worse lanwmower falling on you. Grandfather-in-law went to hospital for overdoing this slopes with his mower. what he saved in mowing time vs weedeater was not worth the hospital stay.

stevebaretta:

The lightest (and possibly the **only**) non-self-propelled walk behind mower with a pressure lubed engine is the Toro PT21 commercial 21" unit. IIRC, it weighs about 80 pounds, so its far from light. (Unfortunately, pressure lubed 4-cycle engines are heavy, since all of them are built to commercial duty standards.)

If I were you, I'd either buy a used 2-cycle Lawn-Boy in good condition or use a string trimmer for the steeply sloped parts of my yard.

Hope this helps.

Another possibility might be a battery powered mower like a DR trimming mower. I have a battery powered Snapper (made before DR sued them---DR had the patents on the design) and it is VERY light, has a low center of gravity, and the battery pack consists of Gel Cells that couldn't care if they are upside down or any other direction.

The other possibility (but getting VERY rare) would be a Fly-Mo.