Excellent engine and very good mower combination.

I don't think I'd spend a grand, however, even if new.

Easily on par in reputation and reality with the Suzuki 2-stroke of Toro Proline fame. When it left production, the dealer near my house in Houston had something like 30 in stock in boxes, and he was cleaned out of them in a couple weeks by all the pros who wanted a supply of them. The mower is a commercial version of the Hi-Vac, which mostly just means it has steel front ball-bearing wheels and extra handle bracing along with a commercial engine. They probably cost about $800 new, maybe with msrp of $899. This assume self-propulsion (a CP214012r2). A push version (C214012r2) would probably have cost $200 less.

With the crazy market for Duraforce Lawnboys and Toro Prolines, I'd say that in market value this Snapper is probably worth $1k (i.e., the seller will get that much from someone). Whether it's worth it to _you_ is another matter that only you can decide. If you love or need a 2-stroke, and you are a Snapper fan (I am), then this is the one to get. If you plan to use residentially instead of commercially, then it will probably last you a lifetime.

Thanks for the response.
Is 4 HP enough power?

yes -these engines put out a fair amount of power and wouldnt be on a comm machine if the engine didnt live up to the task. i have many 1000,s of hrs using these engines and they are indeed the best 2 cyc there is. they usually last 10-15 years in comm use so as matt says -its the last engine you will ever buy in you life time for home use. they are fussy about oil and like high quality oil best. they will foul the spark plug if a low quality oil -like walmart supertech-is used

This is probably a side-discharge/bagging mower, for which 4HP is adequate. Mowers have more power now for mulching. The Lawn-Boy 10201 was rated at 4.5HP and it did fine for mulching, so maybe it can do the job. The question is, can it mulch? You can't just put a mulching blade on and expect it to work. The deck must be closed off and mulching decks have a different design than the older baggers.

Saxman1 has a point. However, there is a vast difference in Robin-rated power vs recent Briggs ratings. In _real_ life this Robin has about the same power as a Briggs Quantum (rated most recently at a highly bogus 6.5 or 6.57hp). They both make around 3.5hp if my memory serves me. If you doubt that, check both engine's torque output at 3200rpm on published curves - they make the same torque at the same rpm, which means they make the same power. The Quantum has been sold for at least 15 years on Hi-Vacs for mulching, and I gather it does a decent job. My suggestion would be to use a Gator blade for this instead of a Ninja, because the Ninja traps the grass for so long and recuts it so many times that it really saps power. It feels and sounds like garbage disposal on steroids when cutting! The Gator doesn't mulch so finely, but cuts more evenly and saps less power. But the short answer is that if you are happy with Quantum-powered mower you'll be happy with a Robin 2-cycle.

Great info guys thank you.

1 last question. Will this have as much power as the Duraforce.
The mower is supposed to be 3 in one. I would mulch most of the time.

not as much power as a duraforce but few engines do. the robin is head and shoulders above the duraforce in reliability . the robin also has plenty of power to run the power sapping ninja blade but as matt says you can make do with a gator and have a blade that does all 3 jobs well. if i was given the choice between a brand new lawnboy duraforce 3 speed and a new snapper with the robin 2 cyc-i would pick the robin hands down -its that good! . matt- i put a 6.5 quantum i/c on a snapper this winter and its an amazing preformer! easy the best american engine combo yet. its smooth -quiet and very strong and reliable . also filter cost is low and easy to find. this is the reason i did it as robin filters are now 15$ and very hard to find.

I had this mower in storage 6 years

Rebuilt carb

Started in 10 pulls

I have the blade with wings on it

It sucks up debris from a year ago

Absolute best machine ever

I need money but would not sell this mower for a grand

Huge gas tank

I dont know how old this mower is

I hooked up a bicycle light generator to the drive gear and can grass at night