Well, I'd guess from your comment that a MTD is a bad thing. We are not heavy lawn mowers as a general rule. For instance, the mower doesn't even come out until the Mexican Hats and Indian Paintbrush finish blooming. Year before last, that was September :). Last year it was more, but I mowed around large patches of them for most of the summer. That's why I'm looking for a self propelled walk-behind. The riding mower just isn't maneuverable enough or small enough to get between the patches of flowers, and a weedeater takes too long. I thought that a mower with casters would steer around things better.

Baymee: No, i didn't say, but i really didn't think the spark would be missing. After replacing the key, and checking everything else, maybe i got in too big a hurry to get it running again, so i'll have to check that. But, since i reset the flywheel with a new key and checked the flywheel gap at the coil, tell me what should i do next? Could it have twisted the flywheel/crankshaft relationship? The mower was running at operating speed when the man hit the pipe! And, the key sheared immediately! I know, that when a running engine gets stopped very quickly, that the forces inherent with the inner workings do get damaged, some severely! The flywheel nut seemed to be tight to the correct torque. It took my good half-inch torque wrench to loosen the nut. and also to retighten it. So, Monday morning, i'm going to reinspect the fly key, to make sure it is still ok. I'll let ya know what goes with it, and the fix, if it does fix it! Thanks: Rusty J. A quick thought: Maybe the shop sold me the wrong type of fly key. I'll have to check that, too!

Well, my friend and i worked on that crazy riding mower today. Found out that the controls are decidedly different from USA type controls! At the front, on the steering column brace cover, down by yer feet, are two pedals. I haven't figured out what the left one does, but, the right one will send ya into the woods, or yer work-bench, at frightening speeds! So, when it doesn't stop, ya let up on the pedal, and that infernal machine backs up at the same speed as when it smashed into the work bench! The side gear shift sez it has 4 speeds and reverse, on a metal plate at the left side of the engine where the bent shift handle resides. Problem with that---it doesn't say where Neutral is--nothing to show its location! On the left side of the steering column plate, is another foot pedal, which i haven;t figgered out yet what it does. It took 7 minutes to find neutral, so i could even get the engine started, since it doesn't have electric start. At least, i haven't found that either, if it even has it. Finally, i did start the engine, got on it, moved the shifter handle to R (Does "R" mean something else in swedish?) And it ran swiftly into the arc welder and cart in front of it! I left up on the right pedal, and it backed out of the garage swiftly, then i pushed the pedal down and--yep--you guessed it--the arc welder cart again! By that time, i was sorry i had ever seen that infernal machine! It is going back to the owner-free-no charge! I did get it tamed down once and had it mowing and going along good, then Ruth called me for lunch, so i shut it off. I guess it had a fit of pique, because, after lunch, it did everything backwards, except it didn't put the grass back on the stems! After many years of using the right pedal for the braking process, to have it work just the opposite is scary! WEEEeee--over the cliff, foot firmly planted on the brake pedal!

I'm sure that there is much info comparing a battery vs fuel powered mower out there. Battery mowers typically start and run and need less maintenance. There still seem to be trade offs such as less power for bagging or heavy grass. When batteries or circuit boards fail, expect the cost to be higher, but hopefully that's 5 years plus down the road. For gas engine mowers, I tell people to buy one with either a Honda or better Briggs engine. If one keeps fuel treated and can do basic maintenance - you will be able to keep the repairman away for a while. So were you thinking of a mower that bags, mulches or simply discharges the clippings out the side? Self propel?