Cars and Other Driving Machines

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?
I only paid about $3k more (a friend knows the owner of the dealership) than I would have paid for the CRV. The RDX has a significantly nicer interior. Plus, it has a turbo engine and has similar 0-60 results as the TL. The CRV drove like a lawnmower.

Sounds like it was worth the small premium. Sweet.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Any recs on these? (Seriously). Gas, electric start, mulching, motor drive.

Brands? What to look for?

Note: 5000 sq ft property, house takes up maybe a third, landscaping and driveway takes another third.

Reel push mower. Purchased at Home Depot c. 2002 when I bought the house, about $100 total purchase price.

Upside: Felt much better about my carbon footprint. Didn't have to pull any cords to start motor or pouring and/or mixing gasoline/oil. Noise was minimal.

Downside: Pain in the fucking ass if I didn't cut the lawn every week, because the grass would get too high, and I'd have to push pretty damned hard. Also, I wasn't exactly the most even lawn cutter in the world, and it was pretty noticable.

The Black and Decker 18" electric mower (it was a good $50 cheaper at the time) replaced the reel push mower. Purchased via Amazon.com on July 24, 2004 (Amazon has a nifty "you bought this product" feature if you hit a page you've already done business on) when the push mower handle broke from me pushing too hard.

Upside: Didn't have to pull any cords to start motor or pouring and/or mixing gasoline/oil. Noise was more than push mower, but not that bad. Much quicker process.

Down side: I had to replace the power cord once when I accidently ran over it with the mower. Pain in the ass if I didn't cut the lawn every three weeks in the summer, because the grass would get too high, and it'd accumulate under the lawnmower.

Alfredo Jaimes (and co) replaced the electric mower c. June 2007. $25/every two weeks in the summer, about once a month in the winter.

Upside: Didn't have to pull any cords to start motor or pouring and/or mixing gasoline/oil. Yard is professionally mowed, edged, and raked. Leaf blowers are used on sidewalk, porch and driveway. Same guys do next door yard and about 10 other yards on the street, so they all look good at the same time. Yard looks awesome most of the year.

Down side: A little noisier when they're there. They once forgot to secure the back gate, and my mom's dog got out of the yard.

All in all, I tend to be someone that hates to outsource something that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself, but I happily pay Alfredo (who told me he's voting Obama when he saw the signs in my yard, so I guess I'm not actively thwarting immigration laws as much as I thought I was) $25 if it means I don't have to mow the grass. Gives me time to do the yard work that I actually like instead. And the grass looks a hell of a lot better if someone other than me cuts it.

[John Phoenix]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Any recs on these? (Seriously). Gas, electric start, mulching, motor drive.

Brands? What to look for?

I have a very small yard, so I got something similar to this model - mine's just a few years older.

It's a push mower (not self propelled), gas powered, rear bag. Rear bagging is nice, because the side bag gets in the way. It has a Briggs & Stratton engine, which has been fine. A friend of mine thinks that Honda engines are nice in mowers, but my yard is too small and I was too cheap to step up for that. I usually use it with the bag off and the mulch trap shut.

It's got a pull start. Pull starts have gotten easier than they were when we were kids.

Years ago, my dad got us a self-propelled machine after we had a Toro that lasted over 20 years. I don't remember the brand of the newer one, just that it was orange. Anyway, the self-propelled part was ok, certainly made it easier if you have long rows to mow, but it's much heavier to turn and to lift up.

If you find that you have to walk away from the mower every so often, think about a blade brake/clutch, which allows you to leave the engine running but stops the blade from spinning, so you don't have to restart it every time that you let go of the handle and safety bar.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan

Reel push mower.

Black and Decker 18" electric mower

Alfredo Jaimes (and co)

I've used a reel mower. It would be fine, but the lawn is getting bigger with a move. And one needs a nice, flat lawn for them to work well. They also don't lift and cut, just cut, so the grass tends to be much less even unless one cuts it like a putting green.

Had an electric as a kid. The happiest day was when my parents finally stepped up to a gas mower. No more adjusting the cord to get around trees and to move over a row. If they didn't have trees everywhere, electric would have been fine, but I spent more time cord moving that mowing.

Alfredo doesn't work in my community. Although perhaps someone else with similar competency does.

The blade brake is definitely the way to go. Fortunately my parents knew to get one of those when they moved to gas.

I think the engines are all four stroke now, so the pollution is greatly reduced from the older two-stroke versions.

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
I've used a reel mower. It would be fine, but the lawn is getting bigger with a move. And one needs a nice, flat lawn for them to work well. They also don't lift and cut, just cut, so the grass tends to be much less even unless one cuts it like a putting green.

Had an electric as a kid. The happiest day was when my parents finally stepped up to a gas mower. No more adjusting the cord to get around trees and to move over a row. If they didn't have trees everywhere, electric would have been fine, but I spent more time cord moving that mowing.

Alfredo doesn't work in my community. Although perhaps someone else with similar competency does.

The blade brake is definitely the way to go. Fortunately my parents knew to get one of those when they moved to gas.

I think the engines are all four stroke now, so the pollution is greatly reduced from the older two-stroke versions.

If it has a Briggs and Stratton engine, don't touch it with a 10 ft pole. Back in the day, when there was 1/4 ac. front and 1/4 ac. backyard, the Honda was a godsend. Self propelled. Now that there's 15' of backyard and 15' of front, the Honda just does a nice job, cuts evenly and starts every time. Minimal maintenance.
Yes, it runs on gas, but we aren't going to trade it in for a push mower at this time.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
If it has a Briggs and Stratton engine, don't touch it with a 10 ft pole. Back in the day, when there was 1/4 ac. front and 1/4 ac. backyard, the Honda was a godsend. Self propelled. Now that there's 15' of backyard and 15' of front, the Honda just does a nice job, cuts evenly and starts every time. Minimal maintenance.
Yes, it runs on gas, but we aren't going to trade it in for a push mower at this time.

It seems like, given the forum, only riding mowers should be under discussion.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
It seems like, given the forum, only riding mowers should be under discussion.

Self-propelled qualifies. You can appeal to the board mod if you want.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by NotFromHere

Yes, it runs on gas,

What do the electrics run on? Nuclear? Coal?

Maybe in Wash. you could claim that since it's hydro, it's environmentally sensitive. But the salmon would beg to differ.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
What do the electrics run on? Nuclear? Coal?

Maybe in Wash. you could claim that since it's hydro, it's environmentally sensitive. But the salmon would beg to differ.

Wind!

I totally agree with you re: hydroelectric power not being all that enviromentally sensitive.

What are your feelings on the legal underpinnings of zoning for lot size/multi-family housing?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
Wind!

The birds and Ted Kennedy would disagree with you about that.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
The birds and Ted Kennedy would disagree with you about that.

Fuck the birds.

Uh, I mean, I think that anything is going to change stuff, so all we can do is figure out the method with the least impact.

Hydro doesn't just impact salmon, it changes the entire whatever-ology (hydrology/biology/etymology/physiognomy) of the rivers on which there are dams. I think the dams are not only for power, though -- also used to let big-ass ships go way far inland.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I think the dams are not only for power, though -- also used to let big-ass ships go way far inland.

That's more the south. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System to be specific.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
That's more the south. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System to be specific.

I thought they went to Idaho, more or less? I wrote a big-ass paper on the various non-symmetrically overlapping federal and state agencies that have varying types of authority over water use in the Pac-NW, but even so, I may be misremembering.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I thought they went to Idaho, more or less? .

Well, both Lewiston, Idaho, and Tulsa Oklahoma, purport to be seaports.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Well, both Lewiston, Idaho, and Tulsa Oklahoma, purport to be seaports.

Crazy.