Lots of reasons" cause they can, hand me downs, freebies, run one till it breaks buy another and another ect... most people don't have clue and figure it cheaper to just buy new one till they can find somebody they can trust to work on them that don't charge enough to take trips to Vegas. Once you loose trust from people most rather throw lawn equipment away than repair it unless of course you are doing it for free then they are your best friend till you need some help!

I have 3 and I use them all on two acres. The push mower for close trimming. The Wheelhorse to trim around the buildings and all the trees and bushes because it has rear discharge. This is ideal because a side discharge would throw grass against other plants nearby. And finally the Deere with its 50" deck for the large open areas and it's powerful motor.

Even still, it takes 3 to 4 hours to cut everything.

I have 1 ZTR for mowing the big areas, 2 walk behinds (for close triming) and 2 string trimmers. The reason I have 2 walk behinds and 2 string trimmers is so if 1 has to go to the shop it takes several weeks to get it back but I have to mow at least 2 times per week and I can not be without a walk behind and string trimmer for several weeks.

Waal-ifn ya try to start one and it doesn't start--then ya go out to the barn and get out another one! And, if'n it don't start--well--close the barn door, go back in the house, open a cool one, and set on the porch and watch the grass grow. Too danged hot to mow now, anyways!

I'm overstocked with lawn equipment. I have four Toro PP, a Dr field and brush mower with the extra deck for lawns, a Troybilt walk behind with the 8hp. engine, two cheap 21 inch trim mowers, a DR zero turn. A free Troybilt rider that was given to me. Three weed eaters with straight shafts and two wheeled string trimmers. And two old Troybilt horse tillers. All this to take care of 2.5 acres. The four Toro PPs i got for 30 bucks each from a mower repair place that buys surplus un-repairable equipment. The owner is a good friend so i get some good deals.

Some people collect lawn mowers just as others find joy in accumulating stamps, wood planes, cars or ice cream scoops. They can recite differences between models that would escape 99.9% of lawn mower owners. Others can't pass up a good deal or they just like to tinker with mechanical things. Or the average age of their mowers is north of 20 years so they need a small fleet of backups. Although I fall on the side of lawn mowers as tools and only need one I can understand the urge to collect. Most of us me included are somewhat obsessive collectors of something. There are far more reasons for having more than one of something than any one person could ever list out.

I have gone through a long period of learning about mowers and owning a number of different ones. I picked up a slightly mistreated return/rehab at Home Depot once for $139, a Lawn-Boy Model 10684 'Insight' with Tecumseh engine that quickly became a favorite. At that time I had two other LBs, both 2-cycles, a 10201 and a 10550. The 10201 was the first of those to be sold, followed by the 10550. I used the proceeds to help offset the cost of a new LB 22271 that I got on clearance since it was discontinued (now lives on as the Toro 22156) for $795. I keep both of those even though I could easily get by with either one, and I tend to use the 10684 for my 'rough work' like leaf mulching, ditch cutting, wooded area, etc. They both use the same blade which I usually buy when I see a deal. I keep at least 5 blades in rotation, and I clean, sharpen, balance and paint each one when it comes off so I can just grab the next blade off the wall when I need a sharp one.
I think at one time I had as many as 5 mowers in the shed. I gave one that I bought in 1989 to my brother which he still uses and sold the others at various times. I generally take care of my mowers and did pretty well selling them, but the two I have now may be the last ones I buy. And, if for no other reason, a spare mower can come in very handy if one has problems that can't be fixed right away.
Now that I think about it, I also have multiples in my saxophones. It's good to have back-ups when you need them.

I have the Inty for most of the lawn, and the Lawnboy 2 strokes for trimmers. My son mows with the Toro 3 spd with the Suzuki 4 stroke . And I have a OHV Tecumseh powered Lawn boy for a spare. I paid 50$ for a 10415 Lawnboy, just because I wanted one with an AL deck. The rest were freebies that I rescued. I also have a pair of Ariens 24" snowblowers

The answer really depends on why they the mowers. Some people like collecting 2 stroke engines for their sound, for their history, because they like fiddling with them, etc. If you fit that mold and you are not buying someone elses bundle of deferred maintenance then go for it. Some people just love having a fleet of junker mowers to mow one lawn. It seems rather pointless and that is the point I am making. But many insist on a 20 year old fleet of aging, archaic, dirty polluting mowers that kill our environment. If I had it my way these people would be drawn and quartered.

Wow, RB, at least you're not taking a radical position on freaking lawn mowers.

I have three mowers ready for use, all are 2 cycle Lawn Boys. A 10323 set up as a mulcher, a 7271AE with a grass bag, and a 3052 (1965) for when I don't want to bag or mulch.
My shed also contains a 7266 salvaged from the trash, a '69 (don't know the number)with a permanent aluminium grass chute, and a 1978 given to me that is in mint condition. They all run.
You can never be too rich or have too many mowers.

Polution from a few 2-stroke mowers is the least of my concern within the environment lol , There are far more chainsaws and outboard motors to be of concern prior to the few obsolete lawnmowers , I do agree that many owners are happy to tinker with the old 2-strokes . Lets not even consider the coal fired boilers and industrial polution that should be a much more important consideration !

Ouch! Lot's of us in PA have coal fired boilers, including me. I have to shovel coal into mine, so I save on electrical use.

I also have some Lawnboys in the barn, but I don't use them, so I'm good. lol

By the way, there are two roadbikes in this thread. Only one is radical.

The approach I take is; that if I can tinker somebody's discard into a useful piece of OPE. Then I save the environment the pollution involved in making a new one. Besides , the older mowers. tend to be better built. RB,m surprised you havent gone to a few sheep or goats to keep your grass short. :D

"By the way, there are two roadbikes in this thread."...Maybe roadbike and roadbikee are actually the same person who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder?

So they can go longer without having to call you?

I have two, because I have a fence around my yard that I can not cleanly mow up to with my riding mower, so I mow near the fence and up to and around the curb and my sidewalks with my self-propelled Snapper.

By the time I have the margins mowed, my pacemaker is about overheated. So, I climb on my Snapper rear engined rider and mow the rest of the yard.

Why not?

I currently have 12 old snapper mowers, all between model years '79-'89 and different various models and engines. Collecting them has just become a hobby for me as they've always been interesting to me. I know this is an old post but, being a new member, I thought I'd jump in.

I have two, a cordless electric and a reel mower just in case the electric breaks down.

nod702 - you make it too difficult i find a mower sitting at the curb few times\summer. I also know a repair place where in the back lot he has all kinds of motors- old cub cadet riders (too bad they have been stripped for many parts) to recent push mowers & tillers @ $20 and $10 respectively. also i know another deere dealer that has a long row of riders of non deere riders. i asked whats up and if i could buy one for parts and he sold me one for $20. (turns out the last owner tried 'fixing' it and the OHV lifters were misaligned else there was nothing wrong with it)

I still have more than 1 mowers\riders\trimmers\etc cuz i sold some of my apt buildings and kept my toys. With the other apt buildings i still have, i rotate them for maintainance\repair.

I've had good luck on cl but also at my local family-owned mower shop. Several of my best mowers have been given to me by them because 1) they have too many mowers just get left behind by people when they buy a new mower 2) they know how nutty I am about the old red and white snappers and 3) any work I need done I take straight to them. The mowers I've gotten for free from there include my: 1986 21R00PC, 1987 214X1PR-2, 1985 21401P and 1987 21351PD. All free and all but the last run great, just left behind. Now cleaned up in my garage. And I use only Amsoil synthetic 2cycle oil, 100:1 mix. Virtually no smoke, not that I care, but I always use synthetic when possible.

I obtained so many Lawn-Boys I couldn't keep up with them. Something like 24 I think. That's not to mention my Sunbeam electric, Echo self propelled, several Toros, a couple Snappers, a Jacobsen fairway mower, a Toro greens mower, a Noma 4 wheel steer rider, a Kubota rider, a Kubota ZD21 zero turn and last but not least a Ransomes AR250 5 deck golf course mower. Time and sunlight has degraded my fleet quite a bit. I refurbished two Lawn-Boys recently for a friend and it was a massive effort. This spring I'll be thinning out the junkers for sure.