Hi,

I have a Honda HRC 216 commercial mower which is now 4 years old. I would say this is the Rolls Royce of mowers. It is expensive at about $US 1,300 and is heavy at about 125 lbs. It is rear wheel self propelled. Is a HYDRO so speed is variable to what ever you want. Is mulching and goes at a fair clip. Many professional lawn service guys use it. Sometimes they tweek it. Two known tweeks are on the carb to make the engine spin a little faster, and also to let out the SL cable that controls the HYDRo transmission to speed up the running speed. Note both tweeks void the warranty, but pros do it to increase their speed to get work done.

Mine has been reliable and I have never had an issue. Nice things are the blade brake, which save me once when I fell over on a slope, and the easy controls which desipite the weight makes this mower very easy to control.

Best, Mike.

You need to buy yourself the new Honda powered Husqvarna 7021R 3 in 1 self propelled mower with rear bagger.
With this mower it has a really neat feature called "autowalk" which allows you to decide how fast you wanna walk.This mower also comes with single lever height adjustment and foldable handles for easy transport or storage.The mower is powered by a Honda engine so you know it's gonna last.This model cost $350 us and can easily be ordered through any Husqvarna dealer at no extra cost.
The Husqvarna mowers are very affordable and dependable.
I recently bought the Husqvarna 1021P push mower and I was just amazed at how well built these mowers are.The service from the dealer was 1st rate and when I bought the mower it was assembled free and the salesman even showed me how to operate it and it didn't cost a cent extra!
Before I bought my new mower I checked out Wal-Mart also and about 25 other stores plus I looked at coutless reviews and I decided that with my limited budget I wanted a basic 3 in 1 pushmower that was top of the line and that was very affordable. Only Husqvarna offered such a mower and it surpassed all of my exspectations.I am 100% saticfied with my mower I bought and I know I have the best mower available for the price I paid.

check out: www.husqvarna.com

Thanks for the replies.

Stinkytiger,

I guess I should have mentioned price in my first post. I'm looking to spend no more than $400 or so on this. Anything more than that is out of my budget.

Skane1,

Thanks for the advice. Do you think the Husqvarna 7021R is better than the Toro 20333? I also noticed that they have another model that is the same thing, but it also has a blade control as well (like the 20333).
Also, how fast does the 7021R go on its highest setting? Does it go faster than an able bodied person could push a non propelled mower?

Thanks again, and please keep the comments coming!

Skane,

I was just checking out Lowes.com and noticed that they carry the 7021R and the 7021RB. I think I might go with the RB model, since it has the blade control feature that I like so much.

Please keep the great advice coming!

I run a self-propelled (rear-wheel) Toro Mulching mower for about 15 years without once for repairs. I mow 6 months of the year and once a week about 8,000 sqft, first grass and later leaves. I maintain the mower once a year myself. The mowing is simple and with little effort.

I notice that such a Toro mower now sells at Home Depot for only around $350. So why spend more? This is for yard work, not a luxury item. I notice that my neighbor bought a new Toro mower, possibly that Selfpace model, sounds less noisy than my old one.
Bernd

I have a 17 year old Snapper mower. It has 6 speeds, at its fastest speed it really hauls. Its rear wheel drive and has mulch/side discharge/bag adaptors. I only mulch with this mower, I hate bagging. The wheels are not 'high', but are you sure you need that?

Like I said, mine is 17 years old but I think the modern day version is the RP21675BDV or RP21875BV. Both of these have B&S engines with more power than my 5HP B&S.

Hi Glad you might be buying a Husqvarna mower!I`d stay away from the toro cuz it is not half the mower that the Husqvarna is.You will not be happy with a toro mower and I have already looked at them before I bought my new mower(husqvarna 1021P). AutoWalk variable drive system allows you to mow at your own personal pace by simply squeezing the trigger on the handlebar.
If you do end up getting the Huqvarna you will have an amazing mower!

The Toro for $350.00 is 10 times the mower that the Husq.is.Mine is 10 years old and no problems at all.Traded in a 2 cycle LB that would not start hot.Am getting another Toro next year.

I am on and off shopping for a nice mower also. I want to spent up to $1000 for a commercial. I posted about the Honda and Kawasaki but not too many responds.

I am looking at Ariens and Snapper. I can get one with Kawi FJ180V for about $800. Ariens have LM21SW with front caster for better turn. Deck is 14 gauge steel. Is the front caster better?

Snapper have one with Honda GXV160 for just a little over $1000. Is Honda engine worth paying more?

Wow, looks like we have a new Husqvarna salesman on the board, geesh!

Yungman-If you are not answering mowingman's question then you should start a new thread for your question, taking someone else's thread is frowned upon.

Mowingman-the Toro's with the Personal Pace system will go as fast as you can walk. I am 6'4" tall and I can't out walk them. The drive system is very well thought out and quickly becomes second nature. I do not think larger rear wheels will help you unless you have a very bumpy yard.

There is no RWD mower with the big wheels. I highly recommend Toro with Personal Pace or Lawn Boy with Sens a Speed (same thing). As metal said, you cannot out-walk Personal Pace. I'm tired of writing over and over how it works, so you'll just have to take our word for it. In researching Husqvarna, I saw that they are evidently not made by MTD which is a good thing. I assume they have a plant here in the US? The Husky may be okay. I have no idea how fast it goes, but you want to avoid three-speed transmissions like on the Honda - they don't last very long. Personal Pace is the simplest, lightest and most dependable mower drive there is. You can get the same Honda engine on a Lawn-Boy with Sens a Speed for $399 delivered.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn-Boy 10697

Husqvarna's has been in business for nearly 300 years making everything from guns to your mother's sewing machine and everything in between!Who long have the rest been around??50 plus years??The way businesses are going under today I'm sure glad I went with Husqvarna.At least if I need use the warranty I know they will be around.

Husqvarna is a very good company with very good products. So are these companies (in no particular order):

Toro/Lawn-Boy
Snapper
Ariens
Honda
Echo
Stihl
Tanaka
Shindaiwa

Anyone in the market for outdoor power equipment will be well served by the products from all *nine* of these companies---they just need to shop around to see which one makes a product that best meets both their needs and their budget.

All of the "perfect mowers" are extinct.

I bought the Snapper with the Honda comercial engine and I couldnt be happier. Plenty of power easy starting and I love the infinite speed settings on the drive. I had an older toro before with the suzuki engine and it was a great mower. My son is still using it.

Thanks a lot for all of the great replies. I actually called my local Home Depot and had them have a Toro 20333 shipped into their store for me. It should be in by Thursday or Friday at the latest.
My only real concern is that it wouldn't be very fast, but since you guys have confirmed that it can really move, I'm not worried at all.

I'll put up a little review after I use it a few times.

"Who long have the rest been around??50 plus years??The way businesses are going under today I'm sure glad I went with Husqvarna.At least if I need use the warranty I know they will be around."

John Deere has been around since 1837 (172 years)
Sears since 1886 (123 years)
Lawnboy since 1904 (105 years)
Toro since 1914 (95 years)
Ariens since 1933 (76 years)
Honda since 1947 (62 years)

Yeah, I would be pretty worried about my 2 year warranty on any of these brands (plus many more I am too lazy to look up).

What is it with you and Husky?

Hi mowingman011
You see the thing with toro is that unless you are willing to lay down the cash you will not be getting a real toro.The cheaper low end of the toro line is just some cheap mower with the toro name.
Well good luck with your new mower but I fear you will not be happy cuz it's nowhere near the perfect mower.
Best of luck!

The toro 20333 mower's "Personal Pace" drive system has a learning curve and is difficult to operate.The mower body is also very heavy

'The toro 20333 mower's "Personal Pace" drive system has a learning curve and is difficult to operate.The mower body is also very heavy'

Dude: Your inane comments have now entered the fantasy realm. I am sure that a few regulars here could esily get you banned for deliberately making false statements relative to someone's major purchase of a new premium mower. I plan to contact the administrator as soon as I finish this post. Goodbye.

My comments saxman1 are based on facts!The 20333 is a good mower but it's not perfect.
http://www.consumersearch.com/lawn-mower-reviews/toro-recycler-20333

The more expensive the mower, the better it is. Most that cost over $800 can mow over 4mph from the spec. You want perfect mower.....$$$$$$

Thanks for all of the replies (even if they are less than positive).
I realize that the Toro 20333 isn't perfect, but it appears to be the best mower under $400. Even less considering I have a 10% off coupon as well!
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to figure things out rather quickly, and the weight shouldn't be an issue, since the thing runs by itself.

Mowingmano11 enjoy your new mower and updates us on how it performs for you ok?

Go away Husqy spammer!

The Toro personal pace speed control requires you to push against the mower to make it move. I have owned a Toro mower with this feature, and I think expend more energy pushing against this control than I would if I had a regular push mower. I do not think Toro has a good design for this. Others such as Husqvarna, Honda, and Troy-Built have a design which provides the same feature but less work on your part.

Tom3310: If you are pushing the mower forward then the belt isn't engaging the pulley and needs to be tightened. A properly adjusted personal pace works just by the operator holding the handle and walking forward. Just the act of walking forward pushes your hands into the bar and that easy movement engages the drive belt. It's one of the best design improvements to come along in a long time.

I agree with Skane1--the personal pacer Toro IS a heavier lawn mower -for me to use--and more for men and not women!
I'm trying to sell mine ! What's a good light-weight lawn mower-for a woman to push around?