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I have a 60V rechargeable model from lowes and it has no issues with our .25 acre fescue lot. Cutting the entire yard uses about half a charge. We cut weekly during mowing season and it hasnt had issues with long grass. Previously had a Troybuilt from lowes which lasted 11 seasons before dying. Love not having to deal with smelly gas, etc. Previously had an electric corded mower and that was a waste of time dealing with cords.
Adding my recommendation for the Honda HRX217HYA. It's expensive but worth it if you are mulching or bagging. It's not a good choice for rear discharge mode.
I have had my Honda HRX217VKA for going on 4 seasons now, I believe. I bought it specifically because my previous mowers (inc. a Troybilt and a Toro) were not very durable, were not easy to start, and couldn’t handle grass that was even a little bit wet. I’ve got a mostly Fescue yard (and a current truce with the wire grass) and just under a half acre. I can not recommend the Honda more. I’ve had ZERO issues with it. It is easy to clean, easy to start (always first pull), and perfectly and effortlessly cuts through my grass, both bag and mulch settings, even with wet grass...and you know how that’s been the past several years.
You say your yard is small. Assuming your husband is under the age of 85 and can walk a half a mile under his own power, may I humbly suggest a push reel mower? It's not the bulky heavy steel monstrosity your grandparents used. I own a Scott's 20" classic push reel mower. You can buy one brand new right now for under $100. I bought mine over 10 years ago and it's still as good as new. We have somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 an acre and it takes no time at all to mow the grass. No gas or cables, no maintenance, light as a feather, eco-friendly, takes up no room at all when not in use, and no noise (I can easily listen to baseball games while mowing the grass, or I can mow the grass at 6AM before it gets hot without waking up the neighbors). When we first moved in to our house over 10 years ago I got some funny looks, but now the entire neighborhood has one.
Thanks all! My gut is telling me Honda because he loved it and we got a good dozen years out of it. However, I appreciate all the suggestions and will look into all of them.
I’m on my second Honda push mower. The first gave me 10 yrs of trouble-free service. I sold it to my friend when we moved last summer and it’s still running like new he says. On my second now and it’s fantastic. Honda knows how to make reliable small engines.
One thing about Toro - it used to be that the Toro's you bought at HD or Lowes were not the same as what you would buy at a Toro dealer. Not sure if that's still the case.
If going gas the one feature I'd want is a blade clutch - that's really handy to have.
That's correct. Same thing with John Deere - the Deere's you buy at big box stores are not the same as the ones from the dealer. It's all very confusing for the regular consumer.
Just to repeat - Honda knows how to make small engines are extremely good at it.
I can't speak about electric mowers having never owned/used one. I have a walk-behind self propelled Honda (don't know the model #) that's about 15 years old and still working perfectly. There are three keys to good service and reliability with ANY gas powered mower. 1. Use a gas stabilizer in the gas. Makes a huge difference in keeping the gas from going bad. 2. Keep the blade sharp. 3. After each use, run the gas out of the carburetor. On Hondas, there is a fuel shutoff valve. I close it and run the mower until it stops, usually 30-45 seconds. Other brands may have the same valve.
I'm hearing some suggest an electric. Don't do that to him.
Make him feel like a real man and buy a gas-powered mower. The louder, the better. Nothing will prove his masculinity more than the loud sound of a Briggs motor 8AM on a Sunday morning. Mowing just ain't mowing without the defening sound of internal combustion.
It's easy to throw out a recommendation for a battery powered mower or even for a manual mower on a smaller lot. The problem with those choices is that they depend on conditions that you can't control.
They can't handle wet grass. They can't handle overly long grass. They force you to stop and clean the mower unless everything lines up perfectly. I don't have time to mess around with that nonsense.
I mow my own grass. I fit it into my schedule whenever I can. In the heat of summer I prefer to do it earlier in the day, but the grass can be wet at that time. I can't always mow with the same frequency. If I go away for a week in July I come home to a lawn most mowers cannot handle.
I'm on my second Honda (HRX217). The first one, bought for $399, served me for 10 years until we moved and I needed a stronger self propel mechanism. I sold that one for $150 in about 45 seconds on Craigslist.
My neighbor across the street, who works for John Deere, also uses a Honda HRX217.
Just get the Honda and be done with it.
I looked into the small lawn mower thing last year. I have a John Deere ride on D110 for my acre but the wife has a small plot inside a raised bed garden. I had kept our push mower gas put-put running for 30 years, I just wanted something for her to plug and go at a whim.
I wanted to look at electric corded vs. battery. I found the battery ones in the $350.00 range really struggled to get the job done. They work most of the time. The ones in the $550.00 48V units have come a long way and are advisable. The $300.00 ones you will find used on Craig's list that need a "new battery". Sort of like the guy that drives home in his POS car and says "Honey, I totaled the car". What's wrong with it? It needs a set of tires.
I settled on an electric corded Green machine from Amazon. Cash layout was $135.00 plus a $25.00 oversized 100' cord. The cord is a real PIA to deal with but more than once she said in the long thick wet stuff she was glad to have the power.
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