Greetings folks:
I am new here, but have frequented the SnowBlower forums for awhile now. I am currently the owner of a Craftsman Eager something or another.. 6.5HP Techumesh powered 10 year old machine that is a big piece of crap but still keeps running. The front drive axle snapped in 2 places rendering both front wheels for drive useless about 5 years ago. The engine started using oil and blowing oil out the air intake about 5 years ago as well, apparently a result of the engine being "old and tired and overheated" from what the technicians indicated, which I found hard to digest as I take decent mechanical care of my equipment but none the less, I've kept running it in that condition since then, however I believe this will be the year it finally craps out on me, so I'll be once again saving up and looking for a good mower which I will use to mulch about 80% of the time and bag 20%. I do have a few little hills so drive wheels is important. Thankfully the Craftsman is light enough that I can "tolerate" pushing it right now but it is not fun. I don't have a very big yard, so it will see about 15-20 min worth of use every week.
Prior to the Craftsman, (which I got for a VERY good deal) I had a John Deere SB14 that I inherited from my Dad. he got it back in the early 90s I believe. The thing was absolutely amazing. VERY dependable, never a complaint other than the fact that the plastic tires wore out every 2-3 years. I have no doubt I would still be using that SB14 today if it wasn't for the misfortune of running over a raised metal valve cover that ended up destroying the blade clutch and bending the shaft. :banghead:
I was very disappointing to learn that JD no longer made anything as sturdy and well built at the SB14. I considered a Honda which is a very difficult thing for me to do as I have had a few negative experiences with Honda vehicles as well as with a Honda Snow blower from a few years back, but given how I wanted something as similar to the SB14 as possible, I considered a Honda, since one of their models had the ability to disengage the blade and continue running, and was also rear wheel drive, like the SB14, however when I saw the price of the thing, I had to say no.
But I am going into things this year with an open mind and will be looking for feedback from everyone out there. While I am familiar with the "big" engines used for snow blowers (Brigs & Stratton seems to be the motor of choice along with the Honda's, as Techumesh are no longer produced) I don't know what is out there for lawn mowers now a days and what their reputations are so I will be relying on you folks for good advice on that.
I look forward to reading and learning on here.
Cheers,
Ryan
I am new here, but have frequented the SnowBlower forums for awhile now. I am currently the owner of a Craftsman Eager something or another.. 6.5HP Techumesh powered 10 year old machine that is a big piece of crap but still keeps running. The front drive axle snapped in 2 places rendering both front wheels for drive useless about 5 years ago. The engine started using oil and blowing oil out the air intake about 5 years ago as well, apparently a result of the engine being "old and tired and overheated" from what the technicians indicated, which I found hard to digest as I take decent mechanical care of my equipment but none the less, I've kept running it in that condition since then, however I believe this will be the year it finally craps out on me, so I'll be once again saving up and looking for a good mower which I will use to mulch about 80% of the time and bag 20%. I do have a few little hills so drive wheels is important. Thankfully the Craftsman is light enough that I can "tolerate" pushing it right now but it is not fun. I don't have a very big yard, so it will see about 15-20 min worth of use every week.
Prior to the Craftsman, (which I got for a VERY good deal) I had a John Deere SB14 that I inherited from my Dad. he got it back in the early 90s I believe. The thing was absolutely amazing. VERY dependable, never a complaint other than the fact that the plastic tires wore out every 2-3 years. I have no doubt I would still be using that SB14 today if it wasn't for the misfortune of running over a raised metal valve cover that ended up destroying the blade clutch and bending the shaft. :banghead:
I was very disappointing to learn that JD no longer made anything as sturdy and well built at the SB14. I considered a Honda which is a very difficult thing for me to do as I have had a few negative experiences with Honda vehicles as well as with a Honda Snow blower from a few years back, but given how I wanted something as similar to the SB14 as possible, I considered a Honda, since one of their models had the ability to disengage the blade and continue running, and was also rear wheel drive, like the SB14, however when I saw the price of the thing, I had to say no.
But I am going into things this year with an open mind and will be looking for feedback from everyone out there. While I am familiar with the "big" engines used for snow blowers (Brigs & Stratton seems to be the motor of choice along with the Honda's, as Techumesh are no longer produced) I don't know what is out there for lawn mowers now a days and what their reputations are so I will be relying on you folks for good advice on that.
I look forward to reading and learning on here.
Cheers,
Ryan