Honda--Even the cheapest model is good for 10 years

Toronto makes a good product

I bought a 22" Toro two years ago and love it.

Thanks. I'm going to stay away from Troy-Bilt branded mowers and also Briggs-Stratton engines.

Sounds like I need to find a Toro mower with a Honda engine.

what is this robot that you speak of Morpheus?

I use a Robomower RL850 on most of the lawn--it cuts a bit out of the schedule that I can devote to other things, plus I both hate mowing the lawn and have a vicious allergy to cut grass.

I bought a honda push mower for my new lawn but will eventually just use the JD on it once it settles in. From my research, Honda's don't break!

My father bought an aluminum deck Toro back in 1965, and I used it until 2005 when I converted to a B&D battery operated. The Toro started on the first pull every time for 40 years. Of course there were fewer options back in 65.

I bought the Troy Bilt TB360 from Lowes and have had no issues. I love it. It starts every time on the first pull.

One thing that could be an issue is that with the Troy Bilt mowers you need to change the oil after 5 hours of operation. If not it can run into problems. It states it in the instruction manual. I was lucky that the gentleman helping me at Lowes told me this or I would have probably never seen it.

Look for something with a Honda engine, the GX160 is very common and it's a solid engine. The engine is 90% of the mower, other than that there's not much else to break, just a metal housing and a blade that connects to the engine shaft.

Do some shopping around, a lot of the mowers are made by the same factories. I purchased a Craftsman self propelled mower 2 years ago, and Lowe's was selling a Husqvarna which was identical for about twice the price. When I say identical, I mean that literally, only difference was the Husqvarna was painted orange.

The Husqvarna HU700H found at Lowe's looks like a good choice to me.

Sometimes there are returned/damaged Honda mowers at home depot that make it back to the store fully repaired around this time of year. They sell them as refurbished models - usually I see one or two. I offered them 300 for an HRX217 in December and they let me have it... No complaints here!

Going to have to chime in on this one and the bashing the Briggs engines are getting! I have always used Briggs engines....matter of fact I refuse to buy anything else. Some examples why.....I used a Husqvarna push mower with Briggs engine, bought off the floor of Lowes, for a small landscape business that I had during college. About 20 yards, some over 2 acres, pushing all the way! I used this mower doing this for over 6 years, and continued using on my own lawn and MIL, FIL yard for another 3 years....with no problems. My current mower (Toro) with a Briggs engine mows mine and two rental properties that I own.....been using this for 8+ years.

The problem I have is that the Briggs engine on my Troy Bilt TB110 is constantly needing service. From the top of my memory, I think the engine model is 550ex.

I have removed & cleaned the carb out in this thing at least 4-5 times in less than two years. Do your Briggs engines require that level of maintenance?

The only good B&S engines are the ones they don't actually manufacture- the Vanguard engines which Daihatsu makes for them. You may run into some B&S small engines that work as expected, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Nope no problems with my carbs......Sea Foam is amazing stuff that I use in everything including my mowers, chainsaws, power washer (with a Briggs engine), 1973 MGB, etc.... That much trouble with your carbs is a gas issue not an engine issue.

Maybe it is. But I have an ancient craftsman mower that the previous owner of my home left. It runs the gas just fine. Also have an ancient Lazy Boy lawn vac / blower / chipper that runs the same gas no issue.

I get that you get what you pay for; i wasn't expecting my $199 base model mower to perform miracles.

The fact is, I don't like, need, or want all the "features" that the more expensive mowers have; the idea of a self-propelled mower is a turnoff to me because I like the control and also the exercise, for example.

I just want reliability. It looks like the only way to get that is to pay more for features that I won't use.

Too bad reel mowers don't cut high enough to maintain a 4 inch lawn. :-P

Well now is the time for a great deal on a mower! I was in a local neighborhood ACE the other day....a small non big box store and they had a nice husqvarna with Briggs engine for $250. That mower with about 4 doses of sea foam a year ($9) will last you a long time!

A Fiskars reel mower can cut at 4 inches. Check it out. It's fun to use and not hard to push. One drawback is that it will not mulch leaves.

I have had a Toro 22" Personal Pace Recycler for years.

Starts first pull, does a good job mulching leaves. Nice part about it is the personal pace feature. No pushing, you're not pulled it goes at your walking pace.