After buying a Honda mower, I have never needed another.

Our Ariens mower is over 10 years old and has never needed anything except a new blade. It has been used on two urban yards, and now is cutting about 2 acres of "country" grass. It meets all your requirements except the large rear wheels. Ours has a grate attachment for the bottom that chops leaves up into dime-size pieces--great for mulch or the compost pile. Look at the new Ariens mowers and see if you like them. They are reliable! You might also want to post your message on the "tool shed" site of GardenWeb. There are some really machine-oriented people there!

I have owned Toro, Honda and John Deere. I am totally sold on JD...but that would leave out your last requirement. I get mowers for my birthday too....so that is how I justify the price. To me, John Deere is worth every single penny. I have two......and I mow about every 4 days, so I need one that treats me well...and both of these do (the newer one is awesome...no priming!! and you just look at it and it starts).

Rick...I liked my Honda (cutting heights/bag removal/engine)...but the dang front wheels would not stay tight, the self-propelling mech was touchy (went out three times), it guzzled oil and it was so heavy!! Probably the best engine tho..I think I got a lemon. Never heard of anyone else having those problems with a Honda.

Well....MrsBox, about how much is that new JD that starts if you look at it??? That sounds wonderful!

Marlingardener - where did you buy your Ariens? I can do without the large rear wheels; I've been told they make it easier to manuever...? The mulching action is a big deal - I don't rake!! Except when my live oaks shed...aaaggghhhh!

And the Honda - I didn't know they made mowers! So you can see how much I shop for big mechanical lawn items!!! LOL

I have a huge Craftsman rear-tined tiller that's about 20 years old - it's a "rock"! My DH does the weed-eating, and I'm using his old mower (we've only been married 4 years) which is a Toro that has to be at least 15 years old. I haven't bought/shopped for anything large in quite a while. I am also in the market for a weed-eater I can handle, but is "tough". I can't decide between gas or electric. My wonderful DH does his best, but, I want to do my own weed-eating...if you get my drift... ;-)

Anyhoo....I'm a shopping! Thanks for your advice and expertise!!

Kat

Get a manual reel mower. No gas, no noise, and great exercize. Better for your lawn (cuts like scissors...doesn't tear like a power mower), and you just leave the cuttings to fertilize the lawn. And yes, I can post pictures...

I second Califlower's suggestion. You would love the gentle whirring sound of a manual reel mower...so much more relaxing than that horrid motor sound and the smell of gas fumes polluting the air. Guess I'm just old-fashioned. Unless you have a huge lawn to mow...that would be the ideal choice.

I have been thinking about getting a reel mower, as I hate the gasoline kind because of the pollution and my yard isn't that big. I have heard that the new ones cut much easier than the old ones. Is that true? Can anyone suggest a brand?

We bought a manual powered reel/rotary mower and just love it. It takes just as much physical energy to push one of these as it did our previous self-propelled mower. It is lighter than the self-propelled and as was suggested before - no pollution, no noise and when you see a weed that needs pulling, you just stop, pull it then start pushing the mower again. I take turns mowing with my 13 year old son and he doesn't have any problems with it either. When we're done mowing we make sure to hose it off and spray some WD-40 to keep it lubricated and prevent it from rusting. And, compared to what we were thinking of purchasing in a power mower, it was about $200 cheaper. We paid around $160 for our mower. When you have a small yard, it just doesn't make sense to use a power mower. We got ours at Lowe's, but I can't remember the name right now and after doing a bit of garden clean up, I'm a bit tired to have to walk back outside to look at the label. ;-)

I have two: one bought for me by my wife (Agri-Fab Silent Reel 16) and a European Gardena 6000 I bought at a yard sale. The first one is American made, weighs a bit more and has a firmer hold to the ground. I am a big guy, so this works fine for me. The Gardena is lighter, and so I tend to overpower it a bit and it feels like I have to take a different angle to push down so it doesn't skip. But both are much lighter and better engineered than an older mower you might find at a yard sale. There is a sharpening kit that has a grinding compound and you turn the reel backward I believe, but this is a do-it-yourself kind of thing. As somebody mentioned, a spray lubricant used frequently helps with both rust and ease of use.

Those sound like what I'm looking for. I'll make a trip to Lowe's. Thanks.

My DH has an X Mark and is it ever fast! I think sometimes he mows just b/c he thinks it's fun riding that thing!

JD JX75...alum...self propelled....about $930.00 with tax, new.

Last summer, I bought a rechargeable electric mower from Lowe's. I love it. It is lightweight, easy to start/restart and mulches. I think the brand name is Taskforce. It was around 400.00.