"Bishoop" wrote in message
...
I live in central Florida and have to mow our very tuff St. Augustine
grass(?). Up North we called it "weeds".

All that aside I'm looking for brand recommendations for a mower that will
do the job. I tried a Troy-Bilt from Lowes and it just don't hack it. I
had to do more pushing than being self propelled.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

I like my Sear's Craftsman rear wheel drive mower with a 6.5 horsepower
engine. I can't compare it with others but it seems fairly trouble free
based on two years use, and the price (bought for less than $300) was the
best I could find. I don't mow St. Augustine, mostly patches of hybrid
bermuda, zoysia and fescue. Parts of the yard have a moderate slope. If
the lawn is still damp after night time watering, the traction weakens a bit
on the uphill runs. That seems due entirely to wheel slippage on the grass
and I expect this would vary little with another brand. I mulch and in some
areas the grass is very dense. In those places, I use the standard
technique of slowing the advance so that the cutting blade doesn't need to
take such a large bite on each rotation. It is also recommended to cut a
narrower swath to reduce the load on the engine. I haven't needed to do
that.

Incidentally, if you bag the clippings, Consumer Reports suggests that the
rear wheel drive units have better traction when the bag gets loaded. Makes
sense.

SJF