Have had this mower model for three years and it has never failed to start. Mow about 5,000 sqft once a week in season. HOWEVER, the rear wheels are made of cheap, cheap, cheap and flimsy plastic and have broken one per year and the cost is now ~$35 incl. shipping. So, factor in another $100 to your cost of ownership over 3 or 4 years. Toro Recycler (22") 190cc High Wheel Self-Propelled Lawn Mower - 20331T
This is the best lawn mower that I have ever owned. I opened the box, easily put it together in minutes, topped it off with oil (which it came with), loaded it with fresh gas and she fired up after just one pull. This thing mowed through my lawn that was over 8 inches tall in one pass like it was nothing. It even chopped up some pretty big tree limbs with ease. The Toro 20331 is easy to use and the "Self Propel" feature works great! It has an adjustable speed, at full speed you almost have to power walk to keep up with this thing. ... I had so much fun mowing my lawn I went next door with it. My neighbors are out of town and their yard is almost at 3 feet near the road (I just wanted to see what this thing would do) It barely bogged down as it cut their grass and weeds down to a perfect 2 1/2 inches. This thing is a Work Horse!
Let me start by saying I have previously owned nothing but Sears Crafstman lawn mowers. Loved them until they started to "improve" them and then they went steadily downhill. So I decided to buy a Toro instead. I'm sorry I did. Compared to a Craftsman (even though they've gone down in quality) these mowers are far more inferior than the Craftsman!
First, the bag is flimsy nylon that won't hold up and a thin bottom to the bag. Craftsman have a "dust blocker" feature and the dust doesn't blow up in your face if you mow into dirt under a tree for example. The Toro spews dust everywhere. Craftsman bags are heavy canvas and last forever!
Second, it has an odd way of setting height! My previous mowers could all be set on medium height and would easily clear my grass and not cut too short or leave too long. Not so with a Toro. Setting the wheel height on the HIGHEST setting, it barely keeps from skinning my lawn. When I first had it set to medium, it took the grass off to nothing!
Next, it has this funky thing inside the grass catcher door made of plastic with slots in it. I have no idea what it's for, but it fills up with grass when you mow and then "dumps" all over the sidewalk when emptying the mower. And Yes, I've been mowing my lawn for years and know how to handle a mower!
Further, I have a nice but a bit bumpy lawn due to worms. My Craftman was never affected by this and continued on a steady line, but this Toro will bog down and grind the grass if you don't really push to keep it moving over the low spots! Works me to death!
My Craftsman mower would let me walk easily behind the mower. Both are the 6.75 Torque and same width, but this one pulls me along when the self-propelled is only half engaged. If I have it fully engaged, it is much harder than a Craftsman to control.
For some reason this mower doesn't fully pick up the grass either, even when the setting is done properly for rear bagging. I can go over an area and it won't give it that nice clean look. When Fall arrives and I use it to pick up leaves like I've always done with my old mower, it won't do a good job I can tell! I have a Honey Locust tree with the very small leaves, and this won't pick them up. I have a few that fall now and they are not being picked up.
Overall, I think it's a crummy mower compared to Craftsman and I'm not too happy how they've gone downhill over time either! So save yourself some money and buy another brand. These are NOT a quality mower like they say they are!
[Please note: I did not buy this mower from Amazon or one of its affiliates. I bought it from Home Depot for $299 and free shipping. I am publishing this review here solely as a courtesy to Amazon shoppers who might be interested in this product.]
This unit weighs 94 pounds in its shipping carton. You may need help moving the carton around before you slide the mower out of the carton. Follow directions on the carton to remove the mower.
Setup was quick and easy, and no tools were required. Toro includes a 20-ounce bottle of 30W motor oil in the shipping carton. Do not forget to fill the engine with oil. Follow all setup instructions.
The mower started on the first pull of the starter cord. This is the so-called Easy Start system, which is actually a thermostatically controlled choke mechanism. So no manual choking or priming is need.
I cut about a half acre of grass on my first use of this mower. Note that I did not say "lawn." The area was actually an old irrigated hayfield, flat but very bumpy, and with tuffs of grass every few inches rather than a smooth, continuous cover of grass. The grass was about 8 to 10 inches tall, so I set the mower to its maximum height of 4 inches and used the side discharge chute. This height was also used to avoid hitting embedded rocks.
I must say that I was greatly impressed with the performance. [Note: I live at over 6000 feet above sea level and did not have the high altitude package installed as recommended by Briggs and Stratton.] The front wheel drive is quite powerful and will keep you walking at a brisk pace. It is very easy to engage and disengage when maneuvering the machine. The high rear wheels are very good on rough ground and allow the user to easily tilt the front of the unit upward to make sharp turns.
Clean up using the "Quick Wash" system was pretty good. Simply attach a garden hose to a fitting on the top of the deck, turn on the water, and start the mower. All the heavy grass clippings are washed out in a minute or so, leaving behind only a thin green slick around the underside of the machine.
Toro put a lot of thinking into the design of this machine. It is extremely easy to operate. The only thing I did not like about the design was the auto-shutoff mechanism. The operator must continuously hold down the "blade control bar" to keep the engine running. So this is actually a kill switch rather than a blade control (it does not disengage the blade, but instead shuts off the engine ignition.) This is apparently a safety device that makes it nearly impossible for the operator to come into contact with the moving blade. However, it also means that you cannot leave the machine unattended for a moment. If you need both hands to do something, of if you need to move something out of your way, you must release the blade control bar and then restart the engine.
[Update, June 25, 2011: This machine is susceptible to sparkplug fouling (sparkplug becomes wet with raw fuel and stops firing). Once the sparkplug is fouled, the machine cannot be restarted without removing the sparkplug and drying and cleaning it or replacing it with a new sparkplug.
Sparkplugs can foul for many reasons: Sometimes it is the sparkplug itself (wrong heat range, wrong gap, worn out electrodes, etc.). Sometimes the problem is in the engine (bad sparkplug wire, plugged air filter, faulty carburetor settings, weak or failed magneto, worn out engine causing low compression and oil blow-by).
Whatever the reason, a sparkplug should not foul in a brand new Toro lawn mower. Worse, the so-called Easy Start System makes it nearly impossible for the operator to overcome the fouled condition. Usually, the operator can open the choke, hold the throttle wide open, and pull the starter cord rapidly to clear the excess fuel in the combustion chamber. But with the Easy Start System, the operator has no way to adjust these settings. Thus, the sparkplug must be removed, cleaned, and dried.
Until Toro fixes this problem, be sure to have an extra sparkplug ready to replace the wet one.
I have encountered this fouled sparkplug condition three times in about five hours of lawn mowing. Therefore, I have lowered my rating from Five Stars to Two Stars.] - Self-propelled - Lawn Mower - Mulch - Gas-powered'
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