Looking for a self propelled, wide deck lawn mower

[temery]

Easy maintenance preferred. Looking for a quality mower.

Any suggestion on features to look for, and/or specific models? Do the electric mowers work as well as gas?

There two are available at my local Home Depot.

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Electric Start Walk-Behind Gas Self-Propelled Mower with Spin-Stop 21200 - The Home Depot

Get it done and get on with your weekend. When you have a big yard and a busy schedule, you need Toro's TimeMaster on your side. It cuts a wider path on every pass so you can finish mowing faster. With

www.homedepot.com

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Personal Pace Self-Propelled Walk-Behind Gas Lawn Mower with Spin-Stop 21199 - The Home Depot

Get it done and get on with your weekend. When you have a big yard and a busy schedule, you need Toro's TimeMaster on your side. It cuts a wider path on every pass so you can finish mowing faster. With

www.homedepot.com

 

[Conndog]

Going electric this year with zero turn for 3 acres. Electric ZTRs are expensive, the going green life isn’t cheap, but you vote with your wallet as they say. Best choice for me seems to be Greenworks 48”, which is just under $7000- it mows 2 acres on a charge, I’d have to do the yard in two sessions. If I can spring for it, I’d step up to their 52”, it can mow a lot more on one charge, but now price is up to $13k. Would love to see a head-to-head comparison with Mean Green mowers. No rebates in my state for electric mowers yet (NH). Paying lawn service to do our yard is $125 per mowing, so with costs being $3-4k a year if someone else does it, the mowers pay for themselves in 3-5 years depending on model.

 

[A.M. Radio]

Look at one of the commercial walk behind mowers Exmark, Scags are a few. The commercial mower will last a life time and are made so you can replace parts when needed you will say why didn't I do this before. The mowers hold their value if you ever want to sell it you would get most of your money back. Good Luck, stay away from the big box stores they don't sell the Quality mowers.

 

[Hoophound]

I’d highly recommend a Honda engine for low maintenance and easy start. Worth every extra penny. I have a friend that bought one in 1988 and used it to mow neighbor’s lawns. It is still running.

 

[polycom]

Going electric this year with zero turn for 3 acres. Electric ZTRs are expensive, the going green life isn’t cheap, but you vote with your wallet as they say. Best choice for me seems to be Greenworks 48”, which is just under $7000- it mows 2 acres on a charge, I’d have to do the yard in two sessions. If I can spring for it, I’d step up to their 52”, it can mow a lot more on one charge, but now price is up to $13k. Would love to see a head-to-head comparison with Mean Green mowers. No rebates in my state for electric mowers yet (NH). Paying lawn service to do our yard is $125 per mowing, so with costs being $3-4k a year if someone else does it, the mowers pay for themselves in 3-5 years depending on model.

Looks like they only warrantee their electronics for 2 years... that's less attractive at that price point

 

[TRest]

Easy maintenance preferred. Looking for a quality mower.

Any suggestion on features to look for, and/or specific models? Do the electric mowers work as well as gas?

There two are available at my local Home Depot.

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Electric Start Walk-Behind Gas Self-Propelled Mower with Spin-Stop 21200 - The Home Depot

Get it done and get on with your weekend. When you have a big yard and a busy schedule, you need Toro's TimeMaster on your side. It cuts a wider path on every pass so you can finish mowing faster. With

www.homedepot.com

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Personal Pace Self-Propelled Walk-Behind Gas Lawn Mower with Spin-Stop 21199 - The Home Depot

Get it done and get on with your weekend. When you have a big yard and a busy schedule, you need Toro's TimeMaster on your side. It cuts a wider path on every pass so you can finish mowing faster. With

www.homedepot.com

ive had one of these toros for the past couple of seasons, it took about half the time off of mowing my 2/3 acre. I used a simple push mower for over a decade before that. The Toro has the walk behind pacer, which is basically a little bar your push on to accelerate and decelerate. Just wash out under the deck after spring mowing and you should have no problems if just doing your own lawn. Commercial mowers are much larger, cost a lot more, and create some storage issues for most people I would think.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I purchased the Toro 30" last year for my almost 2 acres. The yard is a giant hill so I was limited to the walk behind due to slope pitch. Awesome purchase, you cannot go wrong with a Toro and the 30" deck makes it a breeze.

 

[temery]

ive had one of these toros for the past couple of seasons, it took about half the time off of mowing my 2/3 acre. I used a simple push mower for over a decade before that. The Toro has the walk behind pacer, which is basically a little bar your push on to accelerate and decelerate. Just wash out under the deck after spring mowing and you should have no problems if just doing your own lawn. Commercial mowers are much larger, cost a lot more, and create some storage issues for most people I would think.

'Any idea what "spin top" means?

 

[ColchVEGAS]

'Any idea what "spin top" means?

There is a shut off to stop the blades from spinning but does not shut the motor off. You can stop the blades but not have to restart the mower everytime you stop.

 

[upstater]

I had a Toro with a Briggs and Stratton engine for 20+ years. Other than changing the filter and a little oil, it only needed high octane gas and it was good to go.

Moving to a new house and so I gave it away. Am currently looking at a new electric battery operated as well.

I ran a new Snow Joe snow remover this winter and people warned it didn't have enough power, and the thing plowed through a foot and tossed it no problem. How much power do you need? It got me through a Buffalo winter just fine (fingers crossed that winter is over up here).

 

[Get a Job]

I had a Toro with a Briggs and Stratton engine for 20+ years. Other than changing the filter and a little oil, it only needed high octane gas and it was good to go.

Moving to a new house and so I gave it away. Am currently looking at a new electric battery operated as well.

I ran a new Snow Joe snow remover this winter and people warned it didn't have enough power, and the thing plowed through a foot and tossed it no problem. How much power do you need? It got me through a Buffalo winter just fine (fingers crossed that winter is over up here).

I have noticed that people are irrationally averse to electric versions of traditionally gas-powered machinery. It seems that many people with critiques are not giving an informed opinion, but rather parroting something they've heard.

 

[87Xfer]

I looked at the commercial mowers 2 years ago, but couldn't justify the expense. So I got the 30" Toro TimeMaster. I'm happy with it. It feels a little under-powered for the 2-blade, 30 in cut swath, but I'm pretty sure it's largely because the engine can't be tuned to operate at 7,000 ft above sea level.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Looks like they only warrantee their electronics for 2 years... that's less attractive at that price point

The electric EGO ZTR warranties the battery for 3 years and the mower for 5 years. It’s by far the best one on the market but it is expensive at $5000 plus, depending on how many 56v batteries your model will hold. A single 56 volt battery is very powerful. That being said , if I was spending several grand I would go gas, not electric for a tractor and mower deck or a ZTR. I have a John Deere 180E tractor that does a great job on my four acres, but if I was buying new I would get the Ariens top of the line ZTR with the Kawasaki 24hp engine. Their line of Apex or Zenith ZTR’s are made top notch. I do work in the lawn and garden industry and can tell you what’s crap and what isn’t. Make sure you get the professional grade Kawasaki engine if you want it to last for many years. On engine quality nowadays I would rank them Kawasaki, Honda, Kohler, B&S. I would not buy a mower if it did not have one of these four brands. Ariens equipment btw is 100% made in Wisconsin, can’t say the same anymore for Deere, TroyBilt, or Craftsman. Ariens has pro lines and consumer lines, with big differences in cost of course.

 

[Conndog]

Regarding the Greenworks 48” RZ48R, the warranty info is confusing, and I’ve emailed them to learn more. On their general warranty info page, it says the mowers have 2 year power train warranty ( motor, PCB boards, gear box) and 2 year battery warranty. Yet on specific RZ48R product page, it lists 2 years/500 hours electronics & motors, 4 years/500 hours frame & build, and 8 years/500 hours deck & battery. So, I don’t know. I still hope to see the Greenworks 52” GZ52R compared to Mean Green 52” NXR/Nemesis which has similar cost.

 

[upstater]

Just read up on Consumer Reports, and for the electric push mowers, they really like the EGO 21 and the Stihl.

 

[Hoophound]

I have been a proponent of Greenworks but I'm losing faith. My chainsaw and pole saw are both a bit too light duty for the basics. Chains fall off a lot and there is too much plastic where there should be metal. I think they may have a "Professional" line, I'd opt for that if so. I just do some light tree trimming and occasionally cut up a small tree that blows over in a storm. Nothing a decent quality tool shouldn't be able to easily handle.

 

[87Xfer]

I have been a proponent of Greenworks but I'm losing faith. My chainsaw and pole saw are both a bit too light duty for the basics. Chains fall off a lot and there is too much plastic where there should be metal.

same experience with their saw here.

 

[formerlurker]

Self propelled, check.
Wide Deck, check.
Low-maintenance, check.

 

[UConnMike04]

I have about 2 acres and use a lawn service, but have been thinking about the Toro 30” Timesaver. I don’t like riding mowers (have a few smaller spaces the 42” won’t fit) and storage is a problem for me. About how long does it take to do just under 2 acres with a the 30”??

 

[TRest]

I have about 2 acres and use a lawn service, but have been thinking about the Toro 30” Timesaver. I don’t like riding mowers (have a few smaller spaces the 42” won’t fit) and storage is a problem for me. About how long does it take to do just under 2 acres with a the 30”??

it takes me about 45 minutes to do 1/3 acre, have to stop to refill gas which is one design flaw (smaller tank). It will go as fast as your walking pace behind it, but obviously with taller, thicker grass in the spring you don't want to rush through it.

 

[87Xfer]

it takes me about 45 minutes to do 1/3 acre, have to stop to refill gas which is one design flaw (smaller tank). It will go as fast as your walking pace behind it, but obviously with taller, thicker grass in the spring you don't want to rush through it.

i can do our 1/2 acre in under 45 minutes, but it would go a lot faster if our lawn was a larger open space. We have lots of trees, little nooks and landscaping that i have to work around that slows things down.

If my math is right, with the 30 inch deck, if you could maintain 3 mph (which the Toro can do) you'd be mowing ~.9 acres per hour not counting stopping, spinning around etc.

 

[TRest]

I will add that i use the mulching instead of bagging, and it does a really nice job and the lawn itself looked healthier than hell before the summer dry spell hits

 

[ucp990411]

I have more important things to think about than my lawn. It's MARCH we are looking good.

 

[HooperScooper]

Easy maintenance preferred. Looking for a quality mower.

Any suggestion on features to look for, and/or specific models? Do the electric mowers work as well as gas?

There two are available at my local Home Depot.

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Electric Start Walk-Behind Gas Self-Propelled Mower with Spin-Stop 21200 - The Home Depot

Get it done and get on with your weekend. When you have a big yard and a busy schedule, you need Toro's TimeMaster on your side. It cuts a wider path on every pass so you can finish mowing faster. With

www.homedepot.com

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Personal Pace Self-Propelled Walk-Behind Gas Lawn Mower with Spin-Stop 21199 - The Home Depot

Get it done and get on with your weekend. When you have a big yard and a busy schedule, you need Toro's TimeMaster on your side. It cuts a wider path on every pass so you can finish mowing faster. With

www.homedepot.com

Are these the kind of things that keep you up worrying at 3:00 am? ? Get some rest, will you.

 

[temery]

Are these the kind of things that keep you up worrying at 3:00 am? ? Get some rest, will you.

I sleep about three hours a night.