I bought one of these little MTD push mowers 20 plus years ago and used it for several years before I moved to a property with a much larger yard and replaced it with a riding mower. I gave it to my father inlaw who used it for over a decade and a half as a trim mower. I recently was given it back as his health now prevents him from doing his own lawn care. It hadn’t been started in several years but a tug on the rope shows the engine is still free and the compression is still good. I am sure with some work and a few replacement parts, it will be ready to work once again! With some basic care and maintenance, these little mowers can run for a very long time. If memory serves, I think I paid $125.00 for it at a big box store. Incidentally, the father inlaw was also gifted one of those MTD riding mowers from Walmart for his birthday back in 1999 or 2000. I believe it cost around $699.00 at the time. It has always been garaged kept, had a yearly oil change and periodic basic service and repairs as needed (nothing major; a few carb kits, replacement belts, blades, flat tires - tubes installed, etc.) I am still using it to mow their lawn and it still looks and performs very well! Moral of the story: you don’t need to spend a ton of cash to buy a long lasting machine. All you need to do it maintain your equipment, store it properly, and not abuse/neglect it and even the most basic equipment can give you good service for a very long time! If your willing to learn how to perform your own maintenance and repairs, your cost of ownership will be even less.
I actually have a manual push reel mower. I use it for seedlings and seeding projects when I need crisp cut and lightweight mower. I guess that is my backup mower? No stale gas or bad plug. It always starts!
I liked the dish pad for a filter😊 To buy a Briggs & Stratton Replacement engine cost more than a mower.😊 I’ve heard those simple $99 Mowers in the USA are now $299😢
I recently bought such a mower for trim work. For mowing a lawn, I CAN see the value of something that requires less time and effort. Bigger, faster, easier-to-use mowers have benefits, like... being able mow with less available time, like after work. Or... having other people in the household do the mowing. Or... not being physically exhausted after mowing. Or... due to all the reasons above, your grass gets mowed more often, making it look better. There's nothing wrong with a mower like this if it's the right tool for the job. I'm loving my trim mower for the trim work I need to do, IMO it's the right tool for that job. There are areas I need to trim that I could mow with the trim mower, or trim with a string trimmer. Compared to a string trimmer, this mower is 4 times faster, produces a better, more even appearance, and discharges everything away from me as opposed to showering me with debris. Again I'm amazed at the mowers you get for free. The mower I bought ran fine, but it needed cleaning, fresh oil, an air filter cover, and a rock guard, which your mower has. I've noticed that about 90% of the cheap simple mowers like this on the market are missing that rock guard. The wheels on your mower look almost new as well. They look better than the wheels on the mower I bought.
That's amazing! Just got one just like this ready for another season like this at my mom's place. Light little mower, pushes real easily, although manually adjusting the wheel height is not a cool trade off. Think this is the 7th season for this one, started on one pull after the oil change.
I have seen some customers cut up a pleated ac filter and rubber band it in the mower ..I guess when you gotta mow like you said anything is better than no filter
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE the worst I've ever seen is Briggs and Stratton engine that was the style of the carburetor is mounted on the gas tank the air cleaner housing and the filter were missing the guy ran it like that dirt in the carburetor throat 😔😭
As you said, the companies have the price difference so close to each other now that most people will spend the extra money since "it doesn't cost that much." Make it more appealing to go for it, since it has more features, better specs, etc. Yes, I do have a simple mower as a backup (or a loaner, one where I'm not too sad if something happens to it). If it does quit running, doesn't matter as much, since I can still do my own lawn with my main mower. Also, free sponge! 🐺🔧
nice choice for a loaner and yes, it's like getting French fries at a fast food place, the prices are so close to each other that, you almost have to get the large otherwise you're getting ripped off, by choosing the small option
Right on about eliminating the cheap stuff. That made sense i guess when shipping was cheaper and more people were buying. Volume is a factor too. But since there were "shortages" 😂 , they can upsell you on a camry instead of a Yaris.
I have a backup mower that looks almost exactly like this one, and it is actually more reliable than my primary. My primary mower is a self-propelled model, so it is easier to use, but don't sleep on these little mowers. A little maintenance and TLC, they will run a long time.
I have the exact mower for well over 10 years now and it still runs great! I do mowing as a side hustle so it gets used hard several days a week over that span.
I love these mowers! I had one for over 8 years and used it at least once a week. I only sold it when we moved out of state. I loved the simplicity of it and actually liked that the wheels bolted strait to the deck. I have since bought a much more expensive self-propelled mower and absolutely hate it lol! Long story short, I’m buying another one of these…… maybe two, as my yard is big and my son can push the second mower to help lol!
I think the only bell that should be included for a simple mower like this is a electric starter. My father is in that category. He’s nearly 80 and has trouble pulling anything to start it. He has a big zero turn for majority of the yard but can’t trim areas with that but mowers with electric start are at the high end of mowers.
Your father sounds like a good candidate for a battery-electric mower. I replaced a Lawn Boy 2-stroke mower that I've used for the past 35 years with a Kobalt 2X 24v electric. My use case is the same as your father's, a big rider for the main mowing and a walk behind for trim work. The electric mower does an adequate job, it's very lightweight, self-propelled if I care to use it, and all I have to do is pull it out of the shed and put the batteries in. I went with Kobalt mainly because it uses the same batteries as my Kobalt power tools, I'm sure that any of the name brand mowers would also be adequate. As far as the Lawn Boy goes, it still runs and mows quite well, but the plastic fuel tank leaks at the seam and it's not practical to repair and a replacement (used) is about the same cost as a brand new mower.
Electric start would increase the price with at least 50%, and in my experience would need a new battery after the first winter. Maybe an electric mower could do it. Or as I did, go directly to a robotic mower. (The problem wasn't that I couldn't start it, but that I got sick from the aerosol from the cut grass).
thanks, typical blow off the machine, clean the tough parts, like the underside with a scrapper and do a rinse. After that use your favorite cleaner, a brush, and rinse well saying away from anything critical Hope that helps
when i use a pusher , it's only for trimming . this type is much lighter and easier to maneuver than the ones with all of the "bells and whistles" , and there are less parts to break or need maintenance . for my purposes , i prefer this type mower .
Yes I got one of these mowers bought mine about 8 years ago when I bought my very 1st house I'm still living in it and STILL got this mower! I wouldn't trade it for anything been a great lil mower! I did however purchase a john deere riding mower in 2020 but still use my mtd push mower from time to time especially when we don't get alot of rain ill use it because it doesn't cut that low and I want the grass to look full oh and it's great if someone has a gate to get through or if you have to mow steep hills these come in handy for these situations I love my john deere but I also love these budget mtd yard machine push mower as well!
I use a 20 inch mow master with a Briggs flathead engine side discharge regularly over my other bigger self propelled bagging mowers. I like how I stay clean with side discharge rather then rear discharge.
I LIKE cheap and free is a lot better. I've inherited free mowers since I was a kid and pushed many a mile till there was a self-propelled job to mess with. Now with the battery job I still have the old 85 Snapper as a standby or backup for the battery job. I just got the battery charged so whenever it's weather fit we'll be off and mowing. Now I'm not looking for anything else BUT if one comes floating by I might grab it and give it to someone that needs one. I sure don't. And if we knew how cheap the big mower and car makers get and sell stuff we'd ALL be on the warpath! Thanks and Blessings.
I bought a similar mower many years ago at WalMart for $99. 3.5 horse Briggs, 20" deck, 3 position bold on wheels. But it was light and was great for trimming along side my rider.
I rebuilt a 3.5 HP Tecumseh Craftsman mower over the winter, mainly because I had put it on the scrap pile and had a change of heart. I decided to take the most POS mower I had and prove I could resurrect it. I was a little bored I guess. My “Status Symbol” is the $200 I still have in my pocket (or was able to add to my retirement account) because I mow with a free mower.
Brought one of these for $100 they only used once and they sold it because it ran like crap. Just changed the oil put new gas and new spark plug and runs like a dream
Some Yard Machines were sold at Lowe's briefly, when the usual cheap Bolens mower wasn't being stocked a couple years ago during shortages. They were barely $100 I think, 79cc engine. The Bolens was always ~$160, and has steadily worked its way up to around $300! Insane. I can't imagine many people choosing it over the Craftsman for a few bucks extra.
Once upon a time, I did have a simple mower like this, it was an old Murray with a Briggs Classic-style engine on it, 22" path and I bought it for $25 from a friend. It was my backup mower but when I had something better, I used it instead. Now that I have a Honda HRC216 with hydro transmission and the blade brake clutch system I have an old HR214SX on standby. It is a bit rough around the edges as it has a few holes in the deck I need to fill as well as the engine smoking on startup but it still seems to hold oil longer than most of the Briggs and Stratton engines I have had at one point or another. I'm hoping to get another Honda commercial or HRX or even an HRN or HRR machine with blade stop and bagging capability as a backup to replace the 35 year old HR214 as it may be getting harder to find parts for it.
In the past i have used those dish scrubbers as a makeshift water filter for my goldfish, but I've never thought about using them as an air filter. Pretty ingenious. I personally do agree with your comments, especially these days. MTD has moved away from US built engines and gone with Chinese ones. Briggs engines these days are nothing special either, with the plastic cam shafts, etc. And while i do have a battery trimmer that I really like its small, and i am looking for a gas trimmer for the heavy duty clearing of old tough high weeds, and the prices are ridiculous! I wish you lived closer!
I got that now...... Lil' red done did me a good service for the 4 years I've had her... She's sturdy and gets the job done cheap, ain't got no complaints (side note my oil dipstick does not look like that I don't know what they did but mine still looks clean and fresh I don't know what happened with this un'
I know but it makes sense though, we don't have shop class in school anymore so we've moved away from caring about stuff in todays economy so it makes sense
It’s getting worse because people are broke and oil changes and filters will not be changed at all Even new vehicles are not getting oil changed and filters That means the equipment will be totally junk by the time they get rid of it
Part of the problem for these small mowers is that modern ones can have utterly awful engines, especially now that Briggs is out of business. (We still have the cheapest Mower the company Stiga sold in 1989, and its still running and working just fine because it has a briggs engine) So i think alot of people will end up disliking the cheap mowers because they just cant withstand the abuse anymore without metal hulls and good engines
Briggs is owned by foreign money but isn't out of business I didn't think. Just bought one made in USA. Same number scheme however you could be right because it's made in 22
I suppose it depends on what a person values in life. Form vs Function, goes for most everything in life. Fixing an old mower so it starts and runs seems to be miracle work for 90% of our population. I've wondered why the OHV motors were on some of the cheapest mower. Some of the cheap mowers that came my way came from renters who needed something to keep the yard knocked down.
The primary reason for a small mower like this would be if you have a yard with a zero lot line or a lot of very tight spaces that you have to mow. I have an acre and a half. I have a mower with a 54 inch cutting deck. It is great for the open spaces, but there are a lot of areas in my yard that it can't reach because it is too wide, so I have to have a smaller one to get in those areas. That's where a small mower like this would come in handy.
Had 2 of them. One missing rear flap cleaned carburetors, tanks cleaned up. Sold one for $100 other $75. The second one would you take 60? No the grass just started growing it will sell he bought it 75.
What do you use for engine degreaser and what do you use to wax them or make them shine so nice I do the same stuff for Pearl lawn mowers and I like them to look the best as possible for a reselling
It depends. If l am close to my parents then, probably not. Dad has a rider and a push mower so depending on my yard size l have access to what l could need. In our area, riders are all but a must so l probably wouldnt need a back up mower. But if l had a small yard and didnt have easy access to dads mower(s), then yes l would probably have one as a backup
Seems like my cheap mower needed a carb clean after every winter, combined with self propelled making it much easier on hot days. Went to a honda and it just always starts
Hey I need help, I have a toro briggs and Stratton 190cc personal pace mower. I replaced the carb and for the life of me will not start. It takes so many pulls for it to fire up. Any ideas? Valves maybe? Idk.
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE I would say the same thing. Just takes a million pulls. I replaced the carburetor because the gasket broke and the o ring was gone.
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE it’s auto choke. I think I found the reason why, I checked the compression on the mower it’s reading 50 psi and under. That probably why it’s taking so many pills😭. Thanks man for teaching me how to fix machines, I like this hobby.. :)
A simple mower is handy when you have a rider as you will need to use a smaller push mower to get in places the rider can't. No sense buying an expensive push mower to do the trim when a simple mower will work just fine.
Every free mower I pick up comes with no information, no owners manual, nothing. Nearly every one of these I get have carburetor problems due to ethanol gas.
If you want a good push mower nowadays, then either buy a Toro, or save a couple hundred dollars and get a Honda. My mother had bought the MTD riding mower on layaway at walmart back in 1991, and it was a decent riding mower and thats back in the time when MTD was much better quality products. MTD nowadays is just not the same MTD as it was back in up to the 90s. In fact, MTD is junk nowadays. Even Troy Bilt, Bolens, Yard-Machines, Hyper Tough, Black Max or Craftsman is pure MTD junk nowadays. Same with Briggs and Stratton since they think its made in USA, but USA quality Briggs and Stratton is no more nowadays, since I worked at the rental outdoor power equipment dealer. I now have a John Deere riding mower and a Honda self propelled mower, and Stihl trimmers and blowers and they are easy to start nowadays. I always go for commercial lawn equipment because it is well dependable. I had my STIHL BR430 backpack blower for about 10 years and it still works perfect. It's the concept of whether you buy from Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, or even Rural King, you get what you pay for, and you have to be really careful of buying cheap lawn equipment and look at the reviews because once you buy a cheap mower and it breaks after a couple of years or even less, then youre pretty much screwed. So save your money, and buy a Honda, Toro or Exmark.
Self propelled is often times, too damn fast. And too heavy. And in the case of some hondas, they don't want to go in reverse and cause tendonitis. I like chuckable lightweight 20"s or toro 22" self propelled.
Its a shame they force you to spend more $$ on electric mowers since on the long run, they create more polution (batteries) and unless batteries become really cheap it will cost you fortune down the road.
What choice do I have? I won't buy a new car at all. I'll buy an older one and fix it. My current daily driver is an 08 model, and it will be the newest car I will ever own. I don't want sensors that can steer my car. What happens in ten years when it malfunctions? My mother has a new car. I have no desire to drive it. I won't even move it around in her driveway. I would pay extra to not have 99.9% of the features they put on modern cars. I want a car, not a computer on wheels.
I've got a couple of old mastercraft 18in mowers first one i got for 20 bucks about 35 years ago and the second one for free about 30 years ago and they are identical twins lol . I love these mowers for getting in to tight places i like the way they discharge work great for heavy cutting extremely light and easy to push. Considering I got both after they have been well used I've had to do work on them over the years but the decks are still in good shape while my newer ones the decks are pretty much destroyed they don't make much of anything to last any more. Yeh sure i have garden tractors but for doing the pushing i prefer these old reliable relics for going around the edges i don't have any reason to keep up with the Jones lol being on a farm.💭🗯💨💨💨💨💨💨🚜🚜🙃🙃
Brought one of these for $100 they only used once and they sold it because it ran like crap. Just changed the oil put new gas and new spark plug and runs like a dream
I could care less about what some people would think of me having a cheap mower. They still cut my grass and never had many issues with them
yes you are correct!
I agree sometime less is more when it comes to lawn mowers.
nice, it makes sense sometimes
Just bought this same exact model on marketplace today! It was literally used one time. Got it for $80. I’m using it for around my young spruce trees
wow you got a great deal!
I bought one of these little MTD push mowers 20 plus years ago and used it for several years before I moved to a property with a much larger yard and replaced it with a riding mower. I gave it to my father inlaw who used it for over a decade and a half as a trim mower. I recently was given it back as his health now prevents him from doing his own lawn care. It hadn’t been started in several years but a tug on the rope shows the engine is still free and the compression is still good. I am sure with some work and a few replacement parts, it will be ready to work once again! With some basic care and maintenance, these little mowers can run for a very long time. If memory serves, I think I paid $125.00 for it at a big box store. Incidentally, the father inlaw was also gifted one of those MTD riding mowers from Walmart for his birthday back in 1999 or 2000. I believe it cost around $699.00 at the time. It has always been garaged kept, had a yearly oil change and periodic basic service and repairs as needed (nothing major; a few carb kits, replacement belts, blades, flat tires - tubes installed, etc.) I am still using it to mow their lawn and it still looks and performs very well! Moral of the story: you don’t need to spend a ton of cash to buy a long lasting machine. All you need to do it maintain your equipment, store it properly, and not abuse/neglect it and even the most basic equipment can give you good service for a very long time! If your willing to learn how to perform your own maintenance and repairs, your cost of ownership will be even less.
thank you Brian Andrews I like this comment!
I like the Murray for how lightweight it is. Can throw it in the back of the truck with little effort.
yes I agree, picking this up, won't hurt your back.
I wish Murray were back at Walmart
me too.
I actually have a manual push reel mower. I use it for seedlings and seeding projects when I need crisp cut and lightweight mower. I guess that is my backup mower? No stale gas or bad plug. It always starts!
nice!
I just found one of those on the side of the road yesterday! Lol just had a bad brake cable. These are so simple that they are great mowers!
you are absolutely correct!
I will get it on a heart beat as a back up mower for sure. 👍🙏👍🙏
you're right about that. These are such a great investment. Thank you RayFpv!
I liked the dish pad for a filter😊
To buy a Briggs & Stratton Replacement engine cost more than a mower.😊
I’ve heard those simple $99 Mowers in the USA are now $299😢
it's a real shame how expensive they are now
I recently bought such a mower for trim work. For mowing a lawn, I CAN see the value of something that requires less time and effort. Bigger, faster, easier-to-use mowers have benefits, like... being able mow with less available time, like after work. Or... having other people in the household do the mowing. Or... not being physically exhausted after mowing. Or... due to all the reasons above, your grass gets mowed more often, making it look better.
There's nothing wrong with a mower like this if it's the right tool for the job.
I'm loving my trim mower for the trim work I need to do, IMO it's the right tool for that job. There are areas I need to trim that I could mow with the trim mower, or trim with a string trimmer. Compared to a string trimmer, this mower is 4 times faster, produces a better, more even appearance, and discharges everything away from me as opposed to showering me with debris.
Again I'm amazed at the mowers you get for free. The mower I bought ran fine, but it needed cleaning, fresh oil, an air filter cover, and a rock guard, which your mower has. I've noticed that about 90% of the cheap simple mowers like this on the market are missing that rock guard. The wheels on your mower look almost new as well. They look better than the wheels on the mower I bought.
right tool, right job, well said and couldn't agree more!
This is a good reliability mower!! This one and the old flatheads
Also remember the days of 14k for a brand new car. Base cavalier with manual everything but the auto trans.
very true, those days are long gone.
That's amazing! Just got one just like this ready for another season like this at my mom's place. Light little mower, pushes real easily, although manually adjusting the wheel height is not a cool trade off. Think this is the 7th season for this one, started on one pull after the oil change.
very nice! and yes wheels are a pain but it could be worse
I have seen some customers cut up a pleated ac filter and rubber band it in the mower ..I guess when you gotta mow like you said anything is better than no filter
hey what idea just might work.
Usually the adjustment bolts are very rusted and you have to get the angle grinder out
yes depending on your location,
they are a nightmare to change
The Air cleaner was fixed in the shade tree mechanic style of repair 😂
yes it was!
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE the worst I've ever seen is Briggs and Stratton engine that was the style of the carburetor is mounted on the gas tank the air cleaner housing and the filter were missing the guy ran it like that dirt in the carburetor throat 😔😭
As you said, the companies have the price difference so close to each other now that most people will spend the extra money since "it doesn't cost that much." Make it more appealing to go for it, since it has more features, better specs, etc.
Yes, I do have a simple mower as a backup (or a loaner, one where I'm not too sad if something happens to it). If it does quit running, doesn't matter as much, since I can still do my own lawn with my main mower.
Also, free sponge! 🐺🔧
nice choice for a loaner and yes, it's like getting French fries at a fast food place, the prices are so close to each other that, you almost have to get the large otherwise you're getting ripped off, by choosing the small option
Right on about eliminating the cheap stuff. That made sense i guess when shipping was cheaper and more people were buying. Volume is a factor too. But since there were "shortages" 😂 , they can upsell you on a camry instead of a Yaris.
I know right, best thing that ever happened to revenue was "shortages"
I have a backup mower that looks almost exactly like this one, and it is actually more reliable than my primary. My primary mower is a self-propelled model, so it is easier to use, but don't sleep on these little mowers. A little maintenance and TLC, they will run a long time.
yes are you completely correct!
I have the exact mower for well over 10 years now and it still runs great! I do mowing as a side hustle so it gets used hard several days a week over that span.
nice!
In a surprising turn of events, the dog somehow revealed it worked for MTD in a past life.😂
LOL that's a good one
I love these mowers! I had one for over 8 years and used it at least once a week. I only sold it when we moved out of state. I loved the simplicity of it and actually liked that the wheels bolted strait to the deck. I have since bought a much more expensive self-propelled mower and absolutely hate it lol! Long story short, I’m buying another one of these…… maybe two, as my yard is big and my son can push the second mower to help lol!
you and me both!
I think the only bell that should be included for a simple mower like this is a electric starter. My father is in that category. He’s nearly 80 and has trouble pulling anything to start it. He has a big zero turn for majority of the yard but can’t trim areas with that but mowers with electric start are at the high end of mowers.
yes I can agree with that.
Your father sounds like a good candidate for a battery-electric mower. I replaced a Lawn Boy 2-stroke mower that I've used for the past 35 years with a Kobalt 2X 24v electric. My use case is the same as your father's, a big rider for the main mowing and a walk behind for trim work.
The electric mower does an adequate job, it's very lightweight, self-propelled if I care to use it, and all I have to do is pull it out of the shed and put the batteries in. I went with Kobalt mainly because it uses the same batteries as my Kobalt power tools, I'm sure that any of the name brand mowers would also be adequate.
As far as the Lawn Boy goes, it still runs and mows quite well, but the plastic fuel tank leaks at the seam and it's not practical to repair and a replacement (used) is about the same cost as a brand new mower.
Shame on you for not cutting his grass.
Electric start would increase the price with at least 50%, and in my experience would need a new battery after the first winter. Maybe an electric mower could do it.
Or as I did, go directly to a robotic mower. (The problem wasn't that I couldn't start it, but that I got sick from the aerosol from the cut grass).
I have watched a lot of your videos and I have noticed how clean you get your equipment. What steps and products do you use for cleaning?
thanks, typical blow off the machine, clean the tough parts, like the underside with a scrapper and do a rinse. After that use your favorite cleaner, a brush, and rinse well saying away from anything critical Hope that helps
when i use a pusher , it's only for trimming . this type is much lighter and easier to maneuver than the ones with all of the "bells and whistles" , and there are less parts to break or need maintenance . for my purposes , i prefer this type mower .
agreed!
Nice mower, amigo! I'm surprised the wheels haven't fallen off yet.
I know right. It must have very low hours on it.
Yes I got one of these mowers bought mine about 8 years ago when I bought my very 1st house I'm still living in it and STILL got this mower! I wouldn't trade it for anything been a great lil mower! I did however purchase a john deere riding mower in 2020 but still use my mtd push mower from time to time especially when we don't get alot of rain ill use it because it doesn't cut that low and I want the grass to look full oh and it's great if someone has a gate to get through or if you have to mow steep hills these come in handy for these situations I love my john deere but I also love these budget mtd yard machine push mower as well!
you are correct these are great little mowers. Never realized it until now.
My neighbor gave me a mower like that, but mine has the flat head engine on it
nice!
I use a 20 inch mow master with a Briggs flathead engine side discharge regularly over my other bigger self propelled bagging mowers. I like how I stay clean with side discharge rather then rear discharge.
yes you are correct, having an exit for the clippings keep the decks cleaner than a mulching deck.
I LIKE cheap and free is a lot better. I've inherited free mowers since I was a kid and pushed many a mile till there was a self-propelled job to mess with. Now with the battery job I still have the old 85 Snapper as a standby or backup for the battery job. I just got the battery charged so whenever it's weather fit we'll be off and mowing. Now I'm not looking for anything else BUT if one comes floating by I might grab it and give it to someone that needs one. I sure don't. And if we knew how cheap the big mower and car makers get and sell stuff we'd ALL be on the warpath! Thanks and Blessings.
you and me both! thank you Lewie McNeely!
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE UI 2, Palley!
I like these mowers they price just write thumb 👍/ I mow a half acre with it & get it done 👍/I have more time then 💵/ nice video 👍/ have good one
thank you Chris Rhoads
I bought a similar mower many years ago at WalMart for $99. 3.5 horse Briggs, 20" deck, 3 position bold on wheels. But it was light and was great for trimming along side my rider.
yes nothing wrong with simple
I just got one for $10. Cleaned out fuel system and have it listed for $100. They are easy to push and maneuverable.
nice!
I rebuilt a 3.5 HP Tecumseh Craftsman mower over the winter, mainly because I had put it on the scrap pile and had a change of heart. I decided to take the most POS mower I had and prove I could resurrect it. I was a little bored I guess. My “Status Symbol” is the $200 I still have in my pocket (or was able to add to my retirement account) because I mow with a free mower.
hey nice work! And your reasoning is perfect
Got mine for $30 and it runs great!
nice!
Brought one of these for $100 they only used once and they sold it because it ran like crap. Just changed the oil put new gas and new spark plug and runs like a dream
Great - True commentary sir.
thank you me toon
Some Yard Machines were sold at Lowe's briefly, when the usual cheap Bolens mower wasn't being stocked a couple years ago during shortages. They were barely $100 I think, 79cc engine.
The Bolens was always ~$160, and has steadily worked its way up to around $300! Insane. I can't imagine many people choosing it over the Craftsman for a few bucks extra.
I know right!
Once upon a time, I did have a simple mower like this, it was an old Murray with a Briggs Classic-style engine on it, 22" path and I bought it for $25 from a friend. It was my backup mower but when I had something better, I used it instead. Now that I have a Honda HRC216 with hydro transmission and the blade brake clutch system I have an old HR214SX on standby. It is a bit rough around the edges as it has a few holes in the deck I need to fill as well as the engine smoking on startup but it still seems to hold oil longer than most of the Briggs and Stratton engines I have had at one point or another. I'm hoping to get another Honda commercial or HRX or even an HRN or HRR machine with blade stop and bagging capability as a backup to replace the 35 year old HR214 as it may be getting harder to find parts for it.
nice, your collection of Hondas is quite impressive because it spans different models
In the past i have used those dish scrubbers as a makeshift water filter for my goldfish, but I've never thought about using them as an air filter. Pretty ingenious.
I personally do agree with your comments, especially these days. MTD has moved away from US built engines and gone with Chinese ones. Briggs engines these days are nothing special either, with the plastic cam shafts, etc. And while i do have a battery trimmer that I really like its small, and i am looking for a gas trimmer for the heavy duty clearing of old tough high weeds, and the prices are ridiculous! I wish you lived closer!
Briggs has used plastic inside of engines for decades
yes I wish I could help out more viewers as well, thank you covishen
I got that now...... Lil' red done did me a good service for the 4 years I've had her... She's sturdy and gets the job done cheap, ain't got no complaints (side note my oil dipstick does not look like that I don't know what they did but mine still looks clean and fresh I don't know what happened with this un'
thanks for sharing that. These are great machines
It's sad how people treat lawn equipment.
I know but it makes sense though, we don't have shop class in school anymore so we've moved away from caring about stuff in todays economy so it makes sense
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE true.
nice, you might like being an engineer, or a technician
It’s getting worse because people are broke and oil changes and filters will not be changed at all
Even new vehicles are not getting oil changed and filters
That means the equipment will be totally junk by the time they get rid of it
Part of the problem for these small mowers is that modern ones can have utterly awful engines, especially now that Briggs is out of business. (We still have the cheapest Mower the company Stiga sold in 1989, and its still running and working just fine because it has a briggs engine) So i think alot of people will end up disliking the cheap mowers because they just cant withstand the abuse anymore without metal hulls and good engines
you make a good point.
Briggs is owned by foreign money but isn't out of business I didn't think. Just bought one made in USA. Same number scheme however you could be right because it's made in 22
i just got one and it cut good but i have two mowers that got bags on there and i mustang zero turn but this mower works good
these are pretty good mowers
I suppose it depends on what a person values in life. Form vs Function, goes for most everything in life. Fixing an old mower so it starts and runs seems to be miracle work for 90% of our population. I've wondered why the OHV motors were on some of the cheapest mower. Some of the cheap mowers that came my way came from renters who needed something to keep the yard knocked down.
yes it makes me wonder, but to be honest, they couldn't have gone back to the flathead anyway.
The primary reason for a small mower like this would be if you have a yard with a zero lot line or a lot of very tight spaces that you have to mow. I have an acre and a half. I have a mower with a 54 inch cutting deck. It is great for the open spaces, but there are a lot of areas in my yard that it can't reach because it is too wide, so I have to have a smaller one to get in those areas. That's where a small mower like this would come in handy.
you are absolutely correct, There's a right tool for the job.
Had 2 of them. One missing rear flap cleaned carburetors, tanks cleaned up. Sold one for $100 other $75. The second one would you take 60? No the grass just started growing it will sell he bought it 75.
you are correct about that, no reason to lower the price yet.
Please can you tell me, whar kind of cleaner/cleaning spray you use? Thank you!
sure, it's the only Degreaser harbor Freight sells, It comes in a gallon jug.
well for me yep maybe depending on the grass situation but yes better than nothing i say.
you make a good point, the grass would be a consideration. Thank you Patrick Stapleton
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE my pleasure mate.
What do you use for engine degreaser and what do you use to wax them or make them shine so nice I do the same stuff for Pearl lawn mowers and I like them to look the best as possible for a reselling
I use a degreaser from Harbor Freight. But as for the paint I won't say
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE lol I'll buy them all until I find it lol I understand I appreciate you letting me know thank you
It depends. If l am close to my parents then, probably not. Dad has a rider and a push mower so depending on my yard size l have access to what l could need. In our area, riders are all but a must so l probably wouldnt need a back up mower. But if l had a small yard and didnt have easy access to dads mower(s), then yes l would probably have one as a backup
ah you make a good point
👍
thanks
Sorry man got a personal speed craftsman last fall. Not having self propelled with my hilly hard sucked.
I can understand
Im sure this has been asked and i apologize, but, what is the cleaning spray that you use?
sure, I use "Super heavy duty degreaser" from Harbor Freight
Got same mower from home depot
Nice!
Seems like my cheap mower needed a carb clean after every winter, combined with self propelled making it much easier on hot days. Went to a honda and it just always starts
nice choice
the link for the repair never showed up in the video or annotations. Coud you post it please?
that's because I haven't made it yet. I say that, so I can put the link in, when I do get it done. Don't worry it will be out shortly
I forget what video you said, but what do you use to clean off the equipment?
thank you Steve Halsey, I use the only degreaser Harbor Freight sells. It really doesn't even a cool name.
What do you use as a cleaner?
Harbor Freight has a degreaser and that's the one I use.
Hey I need help, I have a toro briggs and Stratton 190cc personal pace mower. I replaced the carb and for the life of me will not start. It takes so many pulls for it to fire up. Any ideas? Valves maybe? Idk.
how did it start and run before you changed the carb?
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE I would say the same thing. Just takes a million pulls. I replaced the carburetor because the gasket broke and the o ring was gone.
oh see, does it have an auto choke or do you have to press a primer?
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE it’s auto choke. I think I found the reason why, I checked the compression on the mower it’s reading 50 psi and under. That probably why it’s taking so many pills😭. Thanks man for teaching me how to fix machines, I like this hobby.. :)
no problem
How do you change the height? I can’t figure it out?
Unbolt the wheels from the deck and you'll see different hole locations to change the height
These units are jetted down to where they have very little torque for cutting tall grass..but for light use they're ok..those plastic junky carbs
thank you Lucy Zamb.
yes
What cleaner do you use?
Harbor Freight sells a gallon jug of a degreaser. It really doesn't have a proper name on it.
@@INSIDEHOUSEGARAGE Thks. Bro,thats a big 10-4.
anytime
A simple mower is handy when you have a rider as you will need to use a smaller push mower to get in places the rider can't. No sense buying an expensive push mower to do the trim when a simple mower will work just fine.
you make a good point about the trimmer mower
Every free mower I pick up comes with no information, no owners manual, nothing. Nearly every one of these I get have carburetor problems due to ethanol gas.
same, only a small majority is something else
If you want a good push mower nowadays, then either buy a Toro, or save a couple hundred dollars and get a Honda. My mother had bought the MTD riding mower on layaway at walmart back in 1991, and it was a decent riding mower and thats back in the time when MTD was much better quality products. MTD nowadays is just not the same MTD as it was back in up to the 90s. In fact, MTD is junk nowadays. Even Troy Bilt, Bolens, Yard-Machines, Hyper Tough, Black Max or Craftsman is pure MTD junk nowadays. Same with Briggs and Stratton since they think its made in USA, but USA quality Briggs and Stratton is no more nowadays, since I worked at the rental outdoor power equipment dealer. I now have a John Deere riding mower and a Honda self propelled mower, and Stihl trimmers and blowers and they are easy to start nowadays. I always go for commercial lawn equipment because it is well dependable. I had my STIHL BR430 backpack blower for about 10 years and it still works perfect. It's the concept of whether you buy from Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, or even Rural King, you get what you pay for, and you have to be really careful of buying cheap lawn equipment and look at the reviews because once you buy a cheap mower and it breaks after a couple of years or even less, then youre pretty much screwed. So save your money, and buy a Honda, Toro or Exmark.
thanks for the information
Self propelled is often times, too damn fast. And too heavy. And in the case of some hondas, they don't want to go in reverse and cause tendonitis. I like chuckable lightweight 20"s or toro 22" self propelled.
yes I agree with this statement
They are easy to repair. For a small yard there perfect. Pull the dog's teeth out, HahaHa
yes I completely agree with you!
Nadda thing wrong with having a back up.
Agreed!
The same way that I would get rid of it You can't adjust the wheels.
yes you can adjust them, you only have 3 levels and you have to unbolt the wheels and put it into one of the 3 openings
That isn't even filtering the air, it kinda looks like a kitchen sponge
completely agree
Its a shame they force you to spend more $$ on electric mowers since on the long run, they create more polution (batteries) and unless batteries become really cheap it will cost you fortune down the road.
you already know the game
What choice do I have? I won't buy a new car at all. I'll buy an older one and fix it. My current daily driver is an 08 model, and it will be the newest car I will ever own. I don't want sensors that can steer my car. What happens in ten years when it malfunctions? My mother has a new car. I have no desire to drive it. I won't even move it around in her driveway. I would pay extra to not have 99.9% of the features they put on modern cars. I want a car, not a computer on wheels.
nice, I feel the same way. The newest one we have is about the same year.
I've got a couple of old mastercraft 18in mowers first one i got for 20 bucks about 35 years ago and the second one for free about 30 years ago and they are identical twins lol . I love these mowers for getting in to tight places i like the way they discharge work great for heavy cutting extremely light and easy to push. Considering I got both after they have been well used I've had to do work on them over the years but the decks are still in good shape while my newer ones the decks are pretty much destroyed they don't make much of anything to last any more. Yeh sure i have garden tractors but for doing the pushing i prefer these old reliable relics for going around the edges i don't have any reason to keep up with the Jones lol being on a farm.💭🗯💨💨💨💨💨💨🚜🚜🙃🙃
nice, a good riding mower is a must for certain areas.
Brought one of these for $100 they only used once and they sold it because it ran like crap. Just changed the oil put new gas and new spark plug and runs like a dream
thank you