On Mon, 26 Apr 2021 13:05:21 -0400, Wade Garrett wrote:

On 4/26/21 9:17 AM, TimR wrote:
I bought a Honda. We will see how long it lasts - might outlast me, given my years. grin

The manual says use no more than 10% ethanol. So I'll keep with the ethanol free, even though it's a half hour drive to the only nearby gas station.

It has a gas line cut off so you can run the engine dry without draining the tank. Seems like a good feature that couldn't have added much cost.

The self propelled feature is pretty complicated. If anything goes on this it will be that.

Many years back, I sold the Honda self-propelled mower that I had been
using for at least a dozen years in the South (i.e., lengthy grass
cutting season).

I got just over half of what I had paid the Home Depot for it when it
was new. Sold it on Craigslist to a landscaper who said he had several
and they ran forever.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I did the required annual
maintenance myself so I know it was in fact done- and done right. The
only extra work it ever needed was to clean gunk out of the carburetor
bowl and jets- and replace the tires which had hardened and started to wear.

I had a no-name Briggs & Stratton mower for 18-19 years and never checked,
let alone changed, the oil, nor did I do anything gas-related at the end of
the mowing season. The gas at the end of the season was the gas at the
beginning of the next season. I'd probably still be using it if my wife
hadn't hit a hidden tree stump that bent the crankshaft.

I replaced that with a Husqvarna that has a Honda engine. On that one, I
check if it has oil every spring, but I've never considered changing it,
and I still leave the gas in the tank over the winter. It starts on the
first pull and runs fine.

Someone has to serve as a bad example, so I figured it was my turn.