Time for a new lawnmower

[FarmerTan]

I got a new mower last year too....
View attachment 1071354

My hat is off to you, friend. That thing will give a person abs like a body builder. Wow!

 

[cleanshaved]

Did you change the motor over yourself Chris?

Yep, not too hard.
I had to buy a puller to get the old blade off but lucky for me supercheap auto had 60% off them today. Disconnect the throttle cable, remove blade and the three bolts holding the engine on and the engines off. Dead simple.
The new one went on the same but in reverse. It has the same bolt pattern. Put the blade driver on the PTO, bolt on the blade carrier, move the throttle cable to the other side of the mower and connect.
Add oil and petrol, one pull to start.

The sale of the old mower and buying the new one cost me nothing. So I upgraded the deck and wheels for free.
The engine was delivered for $460 with the Masport Blade Driver and Crankshaft Key. The engine was on sale with $70 off.
Picked up a new carrier with quick cut blades for $57 today. I could have got it cheaper if I ordered it online from the place I got the engine. They only charge $6 for delivery no mater the size of the order. Just $6 to deliver the engine.
All up, the upgrade was $517 and should last many years with a bit of luck.
A new mower with the same engine would have been around $1000.

 

[FarmerTan]

Yep, not too hard.
I had to buy a puller to get the old blade off but lucky for me supercheap auto had 60% off them today. Disconnect the throttle cable, remove blade and the three bolts holding the engine on and the engines off. Dead simple.
The new one went on the same but in reverse. It has the same bolt pattern. Put the blade driver on the PTO, bolt on the blade carrier, move the throttle cable to the other side of the mower and connect.
Add oil and petrol, one pull to start.

The sale of the old mower and buying the new one cost me nothing. So I upgraded the deck and wheels for free.
The engine was delivered for $460 with the Masport Blade Driver and Crankshaft Key. The engine was on sale with $70 off.
Picked up a new carrier with quick cut blades for $57 today. I could have got it cheaper if I ordered it online from the place I got the engine. They only charge $6 for delivery no mater the size of the order. Just $6 to deliver the engine.
All up the upgrade was $517 and should last many years with a bit of luck.
A new mower with the same engine would have been around $1000.

Excellent.

 

[ajkel64]

Yep, not too hard.
I had to buy a puller to get the old blade off but lucky for me supercheap auto had 60% off them today. Disconnect the throttle cable, remove blade and the three bolts holding the engine on and the engines off. Dead simple.
The new one went on the same but in reverse. It has the same bolt pattern. Put the blade driver on the PTO, bolt on the blade carrier, move the throttle cable to the other side of the mower and connect.
Add oil and petrol, one pull to start.

The sale of the old mower and buying the new one cost me nothing. So I upgraded the deck and wheels for free.
The engine was delivered for $460 with the Masport Blade Driver and Crankshaft Key. The engine was on sale with $70 off.
Picked up a new carrier with quick cut blades for $57 today. I could have got it cheaper if I ordered it online from the place I got the engine. They only charge $6 for delivery no mater the size of the order. Just $6 to deliver the engine.
All up, the upgrade was $517 and should last many years with a bit of luck.
A new mower with the same engine would have been around $1000.

Thanks Chris, I was wondering how hard it might be.

 

[brucered]

Is it one of those ones that the blades sharpen themselves as you mow?

There is a sharpening/lapping kit that you can buy for it. By default, it doesn't sharpen during use.

I used it for all of last year on our lawn without issue. If I had to guess, I'll buy a sharpening kit for it this year and probably end up doing it in the fall before they start loosing sharpness.

My lifestyle and interests was screaming for one of these for years. Old school shaving, slingshots, axe to split wood, canoe to get around lake, handmade hobo reel to fish, record players for music, now flatcaps ....etc. I used to say I'm an old man trapped in a young man's body...but now I'm just an old man in an old man body.

So far I've loved it. I can cut the grass at any hour of the day and not sorry about the noise. It is actually a soothing and enjoyable process for me now and fills the air with a distinctive sound.

Apparently it is better for the lawn and grass because it 'cuts" the grass instead of tearing it. But in the end, I got it for fun and because I was tired of the gas and repairs on my power mower. The health and environmental benefits were all secondary.

If I owned an acreage, I'm guessing I'd be using a ride on.

Spoiler

 

[esswun]

I've got a Honda HRX something, not a commercial model, but only available at Honda dealer and it has been awesome going on 8 years now. As far as I'm concerned Honda makes rock solid small engine products.

 

[Chevyguy]

Called into the place I bought my mower from some years ago to look at their mowers and ask a few questions.
He asked what I've had and when I told him a 25 year old Masport with a Briggs and Stratton quantum 50. He tells me the Briggs & Stratton 150cc OHV Series 625EX is the equivalent of my engine for power. He is also of the view the quantum 50 was their best they made.
It is not normal to find a what you have is good not the hard sell approach to buy new.
He's still using the same mower he bought in 1994 and has no intention in replacing it.

The Briggs 850 commercial series 1 he states was good but they are disappointed with the new Briggs 850 commercial series 2. Things like a plastic carburettor (or was that parts in it??) The auto choke staying on for 5 minutes and with the small plastic jets they clog easy.

I may look a pricing up replacing the tired parts on my current mower.
New throttle cable, handle bars (want not need), rear flap, a carburettor rebuild kit.

If that's all you need to freshen up your mower I'ed go that route. Doesn't sound like you really need a new mower.

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