Scott, I hear you. I live NF and have used the 214 for more than 15 years. It's been bullet proof. The only problem I have is the cutting height limited to 3". Too low now. My St. Augustine has become very thick and just walking across can become tiring. Somewhat like walking in the sand dunes. The mower just sinks in the thick grass, reducing the 3" cutting height and leaves the grass looking stressed for a few days after mowing. The Honda has been great over many years, but I'm looking at the lawnboy 10685 with a 4" cutting height. Maybe a LT or GT. It's getting harder to mow twice a week these days. I guess old age is catching up. Best to you, Bud

Thanks for the replies. One of the drivers of the self-propelled walk behind mower search was my wife's willingness to try it. We have a 22 year old White lawn tractor that's been having serious problems over the last couple of years. Background - our level lot is about 1/3 acre but we have lots of trees, etc, not a big, plain yard. Anyway, we checked out Honda's and Toro's and they were simply too big for my wife (petite) even if they are self-propelled. So, I was driven to repair the White as best I could. It hasn't run worth a nickel lately and I knew the governor wasn't working right but didn't really understand what could be wrong. The deck had a huge hole in the front that I patched with round, galvanized hvac duct a few years ago but had worn through. A buddy at work (and the thought of spending $700 for a walk behind) encouraged me through the governor troubleshooting. I pulled the engine and removed the sump and found the slinger was missing the "top hat" the fits over the shaft and pushes against the governor shaft at high rpm. Replaced the slinger and patched the deck the best I could with some metal signage and a mig welder and I'm back in business. I'm at the point where I wish there was some sort of internet-based vintage White tractor appreciation society that I could now take part in!

Here is a follow up to my June 28, 09 post: It has been two years since the purchase of my HS724WA. Powerful, quite, smooth, maneuverable, fuel efficient - but not reliable. Back in December I took out the Honda to prep for the coming snow. Filled the tank with fresh gas newly treated with stabilizer. Couldn't start the machine with the choke on. It would start with the choke off after many pulls, but wouldn't run for more than about 30 seconds. The local repair shop suggested it was a dirty carburetor. I doubted that since it is only 2 years old, I use stabilizer, and drain the tank at the end of each season. After forking over the $50 pickup-delivery charge, the shop tried cleaning the carburetor three times to no avail. They offered to tear apart the carburetor to determine the cause, but suggested a new carburetor ($47) plus labor ($50) would be a cheaper and safer route. Furthermore I was infomed that I overfilled the tires, causing the back end to ride high, causing the auger to scrape. Apparently the Honda tires "don't have memory", so once overfilled, they remain enlarged even after letting air out. $200 to replace the tires. So 2 years after spending $2000 on an HS724WA, I have to drop an additional $350 in repairs. Obviously I am a little disillusioned by the whole experience. I'll take the blame for the tires, though I wish Honda was a little more vocal on how finicky they are. I am aware they require 8psi and religiously check the pressure throughout the season, using my bicycle pump to make adjustments. I have an analog VDO pressure gauge that works well for my automobile (32psi) and will register 8-60psi. Apparently it is not accurate at 8psi. I recently purchased a low pressure (0-15psi) gauge for $28. Ironically the Honda receives better care than I ever gave my Yard Machines/MTD blower, which ran reliably without problems for 10 years. I like the machine otherwise, but will no longer be able to speak enthusiastically about "Honda reliability".

Thanks Weed Cutter I have download the file and going to read it later tonight. That ok about the model airplane, this is more fun and useful. I can play with the motor and get something done. Believe it or not, this is cheaper than the model plane engine stuff if you get into the real fancy brand. I bought some used glow engine on ebay cheap and open it up, I know what you mean about gum. The ring stuck in the grove, ball bearing balls don't run at all!!! Yes I actually went on Navada Walrus (Bob's) page and look at his history, very interesting. How about you, are you very involve in this field also. I am surprised that people in this business like Bob, Canguy, they been in this field for so many years and still have the interest to get on this kind of forum and help people ( newbys) like me. I am an electronic engineer by trade, into gas engine as hobby( model planes cars and now lawn equipments) Anything smell gas, I like it!! I gave my wife all the excuses to buy the best toy for a tiny little 5000sqft yard!!!! BTW, to everyone: I start to do the experiment of putting 30:1 ratio in both my Echo HC150 hedge trimmer and my Shindaiwa EB3410 4 cycle blower. I pull out the plugs and inspect it. I'll do it again after 2 months and see whether it foul up or not and I'll post the result. I am using Shindaiwa One with Sta-Bil in 91 Octane Gas from Chevron. We'll see. I heard about too lean a mixture on 2 cycle or hybrid 4 cycle will hurt the engine because of high temperature and lack of oil in lean mixture. Then the ones with separate oil like Honda trimmer will fare a lot better if the mixture is too lean because the oil supply remain the same and oil will carry heat out even the mixture is too lean. Is this true from your experience? Have a nice evening