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Walk Behind Mower

l2alphmacchio

l2alphmacchio

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Jul 10, 2006
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West Des Moines
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My cheap MTD Yard Man (bought 10 years ago) finally crapped out on me to the point of no self repair without buying a new transmission for $200. Looking to upgrade significantly, still walk behind, now that I'm older and have a better income. I'm looking hard at Toro, but also considering Honda or Snapper. Features I need; self-propel (needs to go at least 4mph) and bag/mulch. Features I like; blade stop, personal pace, under 100lbs. Features I don't need; electric start.
I bag once every 5 mows, so great bag capacity is big for me. I'm great with small engines and can fix just about anything on them, so engine manufacturer isn't too big of deal. I like to walk fast, so 4mph or higher is a must for me.
Toro has two sets of models, one is cast aluminum and the other is steel. The steel is their cheaper level of model, can anyone help me out on why this is? Any other opinions CF has is much appreciated.
 
I bought a 10 year old Toro personal pace (2001) that had been refurbished by a guy in our neighborhood (his hobby is apparently fixing and reselling push mowers) for $80 4 years ago. IMO, the personal pace is the only way to go. It's a fantastic mower. Mine is apparently 14 years old, but only looks like it is about 5 years old.

In general, steel is less expensive than aluminum by quite a bit. It's easier to work with in manufacturing. Aluminum has the advantage of being light weight and it won't rust out. Those would be the 3 major reasons the aluminum model is more expensive than the steel.
 
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I just bought a Honda mower. I sprung for the composite deck, and this particular one has the hydrostatic transmission. With blade stop, which I really wanted. I like the mower though. Cuts great, but is kinda a big and heavy machine. But the handle folds up and the whole thing can stand on end, which will be nice in the winter.

I've heard a lot of good about the Toros, but never used one.
 
Two cents of what I've heard/experienced. Husqvarna - I've had one for a couple years. This is my second summer with it and it's already a bit of a pain starting. My brother, who also has one, recently told me they're having a lot of complaints with their new models and bagging. I guess the bag sits lower so it doesn't really ever "fill", but rather clogs the chute area in the mower deck very quickly and easily. End result - you're emptying the thing way too often. I like mine just fine in that respect.

Another complaint I have is (on mine) the rear wheels set outside the cut radius. Not sure what that was about, but it's difficult to get along plant beds or landscape edging. I think the new models may have changed that setup however.

I do love the self propelled, personal pace feature.

For what it cost - I'm not terribly impressed.
 
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I had a Toro Personal Pace that was absolutely awesome. Ran it 10 years, finally got a ZTR last year. Sold it to my neighbor across the street who now loves it. He came over and asked to borrow it because his old mower quit on him. Had sat outside, unused, for well over a year. Started up first pull. After using it once he wanted to keep it.
 
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Love how the personal pace works on the Toro. We ended up selling our Toro that the previous homeowners left because my parents had already given us their old Honda & we felt bad selling that one!

But I would not hesitate to buy either the Toro or Honda. No experience with the other brands.
 
My 5 year old Toro (I think it's the SuperRecycler or something, aluminum deck and PersonalPace) is awesome. Mine doesn't usually start on the first pull, but always on the second. The aluminum deck is nice, but it's still a heavy mower (not that I pick it up that often...). Electric start is an option that I believe you can add on later if you want. They have a great warranty, though it's unlikely you'll use it. They are pricey but it feels like commercial level equipment.

I looked at the Hondas when I was mower shopping and I really disliked their thumb actuated speed control for walking speed. Besides that, they also seemed like high quality mowers.
 
I'm pretty happy with my Husqvarna. I've had it for a season and a half and it works pretty well but then again I don't bag at all so the complaint somebody else had could be valid. I like it a lot better than the troy built I had that decided to throw the connecting rod after about 2 months of use.
 
We've had a Toro Personal Pace RWD for the past 9 years, and it is still going strong. I thought we might have killed it last year when my wife drove on it with the Excursion and dragged it for a couple of feet. But, I replaced the bend up parts, and straightened out the deck as best I could, and it's still chugging along (although it doesn't look so pretty anymore).

Also, one time I washed it down, and must have had the oil filler cap on very loose. The next time I tried to start it, the piston locked up after about 1/2 rotation and yanked the starter rope right out of my hands. I pulled the spark plug and the chamber was full of oil... opened the oil drain plug and water came out. Any way, after changing the oil, it took right off.
 
mramseyISU said:
I'm pretty happy with my Husqvarna. I've had it for a season and a half and it works pretty well but then again I don't bag at all so the complaint somebody else had could be valid. I like it a lot better than the troy built I had that decided to throw the connecting rod after about 2 months of use.
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I bought a Husqvarna 10 years ago with a honda motor on it. Its been awesome.


Will say though, the engine has had no problems but I have had to replace deck parts a few times.
 
besserheimerphat said:
I looked at the Hondas when I was mower shopping and I really disliked their thumb actuated speed control for walking speed. Besides that, they also seemed like high quality mowers.
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That's actually on some of their lower end models. The higher models have a lever with multiple positions to set the speed. Easy to adjust while moving. The thumb-based speed control can get tiring.
 
Mine has a Kohler on it.

I think as long as you avoid the Briggs engines you're good to go. Honda makes a good engine and from what I can tell Kohler does too. I know a guy who worked for Briggs while he as in grad school getting a masters in manufacturing engineering; swears he'll never buy anything with one of their engines on it.
 
mramseyISU said:
Mine has a Kohler on it.

I think as long as you avoid the Briggs engines you're good to go. Honda makes a good engine and from what I can tell Kohler does too. I know a guy who worked for Briggs while he as in grad school getting a masters in manufacturing engineering; swears he'll never buy anything with one of their engines on it.
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That's funny. My previous snowblower and lawn mower both had Briggs and Stratton motors on them and I thought they were rock solid. About everything else around the motor died out first.
 
I have a craftsman that I bought about 12 years ago, haven't replaced anything on it other than blades, still starts first pull. It's not self propelled, but I have a rider for doing most of the yard, push is just for around the swingset, etc. Realize this isn't in the range you're looking at, but if others are looking, it's been a good, cheap mower.
 
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