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I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

Old 07-10-2010, 10:51 PM
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SAVAGEJIM
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Default I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I am fed up with the cheap lawn mowers. I bought one from WalMart, last year I think, and it crapped out on me recently. I gave it a tune up (new plug, new plug wire, etc.). Once done, and I pull the cord? No dice.

This was a cheap mower, I paid only $170 USD for it.

I asked 4 other neighbors up and down my street if I could borrow their mowers, offering even to top off their tanks & clean their mowers after I use them.
To my utter surprise, they all have non-functional mowers. One neighbor paid $99 for theirs and its been broken for over a year.
Another neighbor had two cheap mowers, both are broken.
The other two have similar cheap-o Wallyworld mowers like mine, and they didnt work too.

This is too much of a coincidence. These substandard cheap-o mowers are everywhere. I know some of you guys will say "Well I have had my Wallyworld mower for over 5 years and had no problems!" But your good cheap-o does not erase the fact that 5 of us in one neighborhood have bad cheap-o mowers.

Walmart will not lift a finger to fix my mower. They want me to by ANOTHER mower! The saying is true, buy cheap, you have to buy again, and you wind up spending almost as much as if you bought a decent product in the first place. And worse, if the 2nd one breaks too, you spend MORE than if you just bought a proper product to begin with.

I just went and bought a good mower, a JS36 (I read up on it form mower testers in several magazines and also on-line) and I opted to buy this one, it cost me about $400 USD, but it comes with a 2yr warranty where the Wallyworld one does not. Walmart just had a 90day return policy. So, after trying to fix that PSO, I donated it as is.

The JS36 has more perks: self propelled, choice of bag catcher or side exhaust mulcher, one lever to control deck height for all four wheels, and most of all, 7ft-lbf torque!
http://www.lawn-moweronline.com/john...wn-mower-js36/

I'm gonna fire up that puppy tomorrow, I have complete faith in it. I have owned and used JD riding tractor mowers for over 10yrs, and those are the best. Husky make some decent ones, but I find the JDs more durable.

Also, I did the math in my head: 2 cheap-o Wallyworld mowers @ $170 a pop = $340, only $60 less than my new JS36. And having a feel for the sorry products sold in Wallyworld, if the 2nd cheap-o mower broke too, 3x cheap-o Wallyworld mowers - $510 USD!
It was clear to me, so I cut my losses after my own cheap-o broke and seeing 4 others with broken cheap-o turds also.


Old 07-10-2010, 11:18 PM
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DarkFire989
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I have owned a Honda push mower for years and it starts up every year, no problem, the thing works fantastic.
Old 07-10-2010, 11:27 PM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I seriously considered buying a Honda; I had one from over 10yrs ago too. I used to mow the lawn as a kid at at my parent's house.
I would have chosen to buy the Honda instead, but I was at a $500 budget.
Later on down the line, I might buy the Honda as a replacement to my JS I just got.
Old 07-10-2010, 11:28 PM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


ORIGINAL: DarkFire989

I have owned a Honda push mower for years and it starts up every year, no problem, the thing works fantastic.
100% agree. I bought my Honda in 2000 for $650. It's self propelled, bag, mulch or side discharge. Put it away in the fall w/o any prep and it fires every spring on the 2nd-3rd pull. I've also got a Scotts rider (made by John Deere) that I've had since 2001. Hydro static tranny, 42" cut and all I've had to do is replace blades, one drive belt and clean/rebuild the carb once. I've also got a Stihl chain saw that I've had since the mid 90's that still starts, runs and cuts great.

In short, it's well worth spending more than the minimum on lawn equipment. Lots fewer headachs in the long run.
Old 07-11-2010, 01:03 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I have a Troy Built that has never let me down. It starts with 2 pulls after storage or 1 if in season. Sometimes I run mix gas in it for a little extra smoke to make up for my neighbors electric mower carbon offset.
Old 07-11-2010, 01:04 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I've had a Yardman from Walmart for a couple years now. Has a Honda motor, was $99, and has started on the first pull everytime since the day we bought it. Only ever problem was a clogged air filter, you should try checking them. All the grass trimmings build up after awhile.
Old 07-11-2010, 01:15 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

NEVER had any problems with this one....

Just a bit of oil and a good file does the trick for me.

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Old 07-11-2010, 05:07 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I have a honda, I cut my grass all summer on less the 2 gallons of gas and I have a large yard.
Old 07-11-2010, 08:06 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


ORIGINAL: tommygun32

NEVER had any problems with this one....

Just a bit of oil and a good file does the trick for me.

LOL, a reel mower!
I have one of those too! When I could not get my cheap-o wallyworld mower fixed and running again, I bought one of those so I can cut my grass. I paid about $100 USD, and so far so good. Now that I have my new JS36 (its been a couple of weeks before I scrounged up enough money to buy the JS), I wn't have to rely on my reel mower anymore!

I don't pt any faith in that reel mower, again due to its extremely way-too-cheap price. The steel feels way too soft, and because of that, I'm afraid the reel blades will wear out way too quickly. Sharpening those, I don't even have a clue how too. On a lawn mower blade, at least I can sharpen that myself easily with some files.
Old 07-11-2010, 09:09 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I have a Walmart mower too, I think it was like $99, bought it last year. I've had the blade fall off two times while it was running, two more times than I would've liked. Granted, it starts up every time despite never having the oil changed, never cleaned,air filter cleaned once. As of now it starts up fine, but i wouldn't be surprised if one day it doesn't. But the design of it is stupid in my opinion. Why would the spark plug be in the front? Every time I try to cut underneath or around a bush it just pops off. Then again, what would you expect.

It seems like this for anything nowadays. We have gone through a few Walmart-grade weed-eaters, while my grandmother bought a $400 Stihl 10 years ago and it still works flawlessly. It's just a shame quality is optional.
Old 07-11-2010, 09:19 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

Yeah, that is Walmart. Their motto is a farce: "Pay less, live better"... what a joke!
Their motto should be "buy cheap, buy again" because Walmart refused to do anything for me, even with maintenance measures I took to get it running again (cleaning, replacing air filter, the tune up I did, etc.) I took care of the mower even when it was running such as taking the gas out of it over the winter, Changing the oil in the spring, inspecting the air filter to keep it clean (just like one does to his RC after each run).
Yet I got the impression that the CS manager was trying to make it MY fault why the mower quit working.

Furthermore, Walmart sucks for DUMPING sorry cheap products on the market. How is putting these cheap mowers making life better if they do not last?
All that is happening is Walmart is DEPRESSING product quality by driving down minimum industry standard product quality.

Pay less, yes, I did pay less for my mower. But I sure am not living any better than if I just manned up and bought a proper lawn mower in the first place.
Old 07-11-2010, 09:35 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


ORIGINAL: SAVAGEJIM

Yeah, that is Walmart. Their motto is a farce: ''Pay less, live better''... what a joke!
Their motto should be ''buy cheap, buy again'' because Walmart refused to do anything for me, even with maintenance measures I took to get it running again (cleaning, replacing air filter, the tune up I did, etc.) I took care of the mower even when it was running such as taking the gas out of it over the winter, Changing the oil in the spring, inspecting the air filter to keep it clean (just like one does to his RC after each run).
Yet I got the impression that the CS manager was trying to make it MY fault why the mower quit working.

Furthermore, Walmart sucks for DUMPING sorry cheap products on the market. How is putting these cheap mowers making life better if they do not last?
All that is happening is Walmart is DEPRESSING product quality by driving down minimum industry standard product quality.

Pay less, yes, I did pay less for my mower. But I sure am not living any better than if I just manned up and bought a proper lawn mower in the first place.

But really who's to blame for that?????
As consumers we mostly seem to value price over anything else. It's been lost on most people that spending some extra $$$ up front will mean far less replacement and problems down the road. All WalMart has done is to cater to what "we" seem to want. IMHO, it's our own fault. We want the convience of everything in one place and low cost items. Well, that's what we have gotten and now we get to sleep in that bed - even as it collapses to the floor
Old 07-11-2010, 09:36 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

This has nothing to do with Modeling. Close the thread and keep on the subject of modeling. (Happy Now)
Old 07-11-2010, 09:38 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

ORIGINAL: THERCAV8R

This has nothing to do with Monel Airplanes. Close the thread and keep on the subject of modeling.
Ahhhhhhh, another plane guy that has no idea of where he's at.....

For the record, you're in the car/truck section in the OFF TOPIC forum...

So, it's really you who are off subject
Old 07-11-2010, 09:43 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

This has nothing to do with Monel Airplanes
Then why are you looking?
Old 07-11-2010, 10:04 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

ORIGINAL: THERCAV8R

This has nothing to do with Monel Airplanes. Close the thread and keep on the subject of modeling.
What's a Monel Airplane?

This is an Off-Topic Forum, and since this is for Cars and Trucks, Airplanes, be they Monel, Jet, or Prop, would be posted in the wrong forum.


Edit: I think I just figured out what you meant by "Monel." Did you mean "Model"?
Old 07-11-2010, 10:10 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

Who cares, spend $99 and if it does not start the next year throw it away and buy a new one. I can buy a lot of mowers for what$650.00 Honda cost. IMO
Old 07-11-2010, 10:17 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


ORIGINAL: JT

Who cares, spend $99 and if it does not start the next year throw it away and buy a new one. I can buy a lot of mowers for what$650.00 Honda cost. IMO
Waste not want not...
Old 07-11-2010, 10:27 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


ORIGINAL: JT

Who cares, spend $99 and if it does not start the next year throw it away and buy a new one. I can buy a lot of mowers for what$650.00 Honda cost. IMO
It adds up. The honda I had from years ago whe I was a kid is over 10yrs old. We donated it before we bought riding mowers, and it still ran even on the day we gave it away.

The cost is not cheaper for the $99 USD mower.
At 10 years, you will have spent $990. Over the 10yr life span of a Honda, the $650 Honda will have saved you $340 plus the headaches of having to go to the store each year and take home a new cheap-o mower. The time you spend going to the store again, the gas you burn to drive there, and so forth will add on to this price too.

Our consumer society sucks: buy & throw away. We waste so much more money, we fill up our land fills, and contribute to pollution (It costs fuel to truck in cheap-o mowers to wallyworld, you have to burn oil on the ships to get them from china, it costs energy to make these mowers, and the factories in china have to burn coal to make electricity to run these factories).

Even if you could care less about the global impact of the practice of buy cheap & throw away, at the very least, think about yourself: Think about the money you will spend over the years.
Old 07-11-2010, 10:45 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


ORIGINAL: 1320Fastback

I have a Troy Built that has never let me down. It starts with 2 pulls after storage or 1 if in season. Sometimes I run mix gas in it for a little extra smoke to make up for my neighbors electric mower carbon offset.
I considered a Troybuilt too. Several of the magazines I read tested those too side by side with the Hondas and John Deeres.
The one I say in these articles was the TB230
Old 07-11-2010, 11:11 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

Good luck with the JD lawnmower if it has a bunch of MTD parts on it like my Troybilt rider and the smaller JD riders. And this subject is actually on topic a bit since someone has to mow the runways at the field with something. Ok, this is a car forum but I'm sure some of you guys fly planes too.[X(]
Old 07-11-2010, 11:35 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers


Had a Toro self-propelled years ago. Took it in for service, was getting hard to start. Service guy looked up the serial no., found I'd owned it 17 years! Just oil changes in the spring, clean the air filter, never changed the plug. Gave it away 4 yrs later. Have my second Toro now. Two mowers in 32 years. Don't be short-sighted, quality may be the cheapest way to go.
Old 07-11-2010, 11:38 AM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

i have a craftsman 7HP mower i got about 7 years ago. i used it for our lawn and other people's lawns every week. really it has about 10-13 years of use in it. through the corse of time i gave it two plugs, three air filters and a wheel. i give it a oil change every season. i also run it dry before winter.

shes getting old now, the carb system is broken so now the only speed is too fast. im sure it will last another 2years before it goes kaput.

i dont go to walmart for any appliance/yard equipment or anything. all i get over there is oil, zip ties and tape. walmart buys crap and sells it at low low prices[sm=thumbs_up.gif]

know now that all lawn mowers need to pass emissions (or is it only ride on?) so expect crappy performance on many engines.
Old 07-11-2010, 12:46 PM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

Waddaymean this thread has nothing to do with model airplanes? No flying allowed around here until the lawn gets mowed!

BTW, having owned a Outdoor Power shop for years, I can tell you contaminated fuel in lawnmowers bought me many many airplanes over the years... (hint....check the gas in the lawnmower and your gas can for water)
Old 07-11-2010, 12:56 PM
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Default RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers

I had a John Deere JS60 for 8 years. Best mulching mower on the market. and my yard is 100x200 feet.. Briggs and Stratton Engine, just remember to do the maintenance on it. The self propelled version would be helpful, since the mower weighs 75 lbs. and it does get tiring to push it after a few hours. Even though Ihave heard of some problems with the self propelled models.

Jim

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