09-23-2007, 11:23 PM
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| Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Wichita, KS
Posts: 8
|  Mower Reviews
Some handy review from the Consumer Reports website. Quote: Mowers & tractors
Faster and friendlier
Regular mowing is as vital to a healthy lawn as watering, fertilizing, and weeding, because slicing off too much at a time harms the grass. A bumper crop of easier-starting mowers and wider-cutting tractors is trimming some of the work from this weekly ritual as manufacturers and retailers pile on more labor-saving features for less.
Most gas-powered mowers we tested now start with just one pull of the rope. Several new models from Sears’ Craftsman brand, Honda, and Yard Machines fire up without a carburetor choke or fuel-primer bulb. You’ll also find more $300 mowers with electric starting, which other models offer for an additional $40 instead of the $100 it once cost.
Tired of fueling and tune-ups? The latest corded and cordless electrics cut more capably. Better batteries also helped cordless models run some 45 minutes per charge--far longer than earlier models. And more mowers now let you raise and lower mowing height with one lever.
More lawn tractors are mowing both wider and better. Craftsman’s new 28724 has the first 46-inch deck that cuts with only two blades to help banish the ridges and missed clumps common with three-bladed decks. Price: $1,600 with a no-shift, automatic hydrostatic drive, and $1,200 for the gear-driven 28713 version.
Some brands are also touting quieter engines, while others are adding style and slicing weight. Cub Cadet is the latest to challenge rear-engine, zero-turn-radius mowers with a tight-turning tractor that steers using a wheel instead of levers. Cleaner gas engines are on the way as well, though they could cost more.
Despite those advances, some new designs and claims came up short in our six weeks of tests over nearly 400,000 square feet of tough annual rye grass. The details:
Noisy, despite the claims. Briggs & Stratton says its new 700-series mower engine is quieter and more pleasant-sounding. While we don’t measure engine noise apart from the rest of the mower, blade whir and other factors can make any model loud, whichever engine it uses. All of our gas mowers and tractors were at or above the 85 dBA at which we recommend hearing protection. The Snapper RP2167519BDV with that engine was noisier than many mowers and even some tractors we tested.
High style for small spaces. An orange-and-silver color scheme helps make the corded-electric Worx WG712, $200, look almost toylike. It also weighs just 40 pounds. But others mowed better and wider than this 16-inch mower and offer side-discharging. Even narrower: the 14-inch, $350 cordless Neuton EM 5.1.
Tight turns with tough competition. Rear wheels that help steer and front wheels that turn far more tightly than a conventional tractor’s let the $3,400 Cub Cadet i1046 spin circles as narrow as a zero-turn-radius mower’s. Two of those mowed better overall for less, however.
An even better option: John Deere’s top-scoring X304 tractor, which is more stable on hills than zero-turn machines, steers nearly as tightly, mows better than the Cub Cadet, and costs only $100 more.
Cleaner engines on the way. Gas-powered mowers built as of January 2007 and tractors as of January 2008 must slash exhaust emissions by 40 percent and evaporative-fuel emissions by 90 percent to be sold in California. Similar federal rules are expected by 2012 for other states.
Honda says its 2007 mower engines meet the new rules, and Briggs & Stratton also offers engines that comply with the standards. While the fixes could add as little as $15 per mower, engine makers claim they could tack on up to $200 for tractors, whose larger engines might require catalytic converters like those on cars. But even if they’re right, tractors will still cost less than they did only a few years ago.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Here’s what else to consider this season as you shop for a mower or tractor:
Choose the right kind. See Types to decide which type--gas or electric mower, lawn tractor, or zero-turn-radius mower--best matches your lawn. Then consider a mower, tractor, or zero-turn model that performed best in the mode you prefer.
Pick your mowing mode. Most push and self-propelled mowers come equipped to mulch, bag, or side-discharge clippings. But tractors and zero-turn mowers often require optional kits to mulch or bag. Our Ratings show which performed best at which mowing modes.
Don’t count horses. Years of testing have shown that higher horsepower doesn’t necessarily mean higher-quality mowing. Some mower manufacturers have swapped horsepower numbers for engine size (in cubic centimeters) and torque specifications (in pounds-feet) that still don’t guarantee better mowing.
Our advice: Skip the engine specs and check our push mower, self-propelled, and lawn tractor Ratings for top performers (all available to
subscribers).
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