[kaptain_zero]

Well, I purchased a Lowes Kobalt 80v mower after watching vids and reading reviews about a month ago. That turned out to be a poor decision on my part... I just didn't care for it, too fragile for my tastes and not enough vacuum power. My previous mower lasted 30 years and still starts on the first or second pull, but it's hard if not impossible to get parts for, so I thought I'd retire it and get myself an electric as they seemed to be getting close to the gas ones now. I sure don't have a problem with my Makita 36V trimmer and blower.

Well, today I had enough and wandered down to the local Toro dealer..... I brought home a Super Recycler with the power assist thing. I hemmed and hawed for a while about the bells and whistles you could add, but in the end I figured the base model offered everything I needed.

When I pulled the start cord on the Toro, I was shocked.... I have never had that easy a time starting a mower.... the old Jacobsen Superbagger 21" with it's B&S Quantum engine starts fine with a firm tug on the cord, but this Toro only needs a limp wrist and a second thought to get it going. :shock:

I have not used it yet, but will likely be doing so tomorrow. In the meantime, if you are wondering about the Kobalt 80v, it's a capable mower, but still not in the same league as a good gas model.

 

[zinger565]

Have fun with the super recycler! I inherited mine from my grandma, it was 7 years old at the time, turning 10 this year. Love that machine!

 

[Sam23]

Congrats @kaptain_zero ! Enjoy the Mow!

 

[DetroitRockCity]

Congrats on the Super Recycler. Its an awesome machine and, at least with me, eliminated disposing of bagged grass. A couple of tips to keep it in tip top operating shape. Make sure you clean the underside of the deck every mow. Washout port is your friend. Change the oil after 5 hours. Grease zerks on the back wheels need a couple of squirts once a year. Enjoy the mow!

 

[kaptain_zero]

Thanks everyone!

@DetroitRockCity I'll have to give that washout port a good workout.... I"ve never had one of those before!

I just finished listing my old mower in the local buy/sell. If that goes quickly, I'll be listing the Kobalt next. Hopefully I can get some of the money I spent on it back.

I don't know if I'll venture out to mow the lawn in the morning... We're getting some serious heat and humidity tomorrow, so I might just wait one more day. Besides, sudden humid heat with a quick return to cooler temps usually gives rise to nasty thunderstorms and the occasional a tornado or baseball size hail (I won't mention the flash floods).

Regards

Christian

 

[massgrass]

Congrats on the Super Recycler. Its an awesome machine and, at least with me, eliminated disposing of bagged grass. A couple of tips to keep it in tip top operating shape. Make sure you clean the underside of the deck every mow. Washout port is your friend. Change the oil after 5 hours. Grease zerks on the back wheels need a couple of squirts once a year. Enjoy the mow!

Interesting, I tried the washout port on my new TimeMaster and was pretty disappointed since it pretty much made a mess that had to be scraped by hand anyway. Am I missing something? Do you scrape and then use the washout port? I'm willing to give it another go if I'll have better success with the thing.

 

[MasterMech]

I'm not much of a believer in washout ports. They work better on some machines and grasses than others. And they only work if you use them every time you mow.

A notched piece of 2x4 or a floor jack (larger equip) gives visual access and you can directly hose off the grass, which only works if you do it every time you mow anyways. Small 21" machines, just flip 'em and hose/scrape 'em.

 

[tlfal]

Super recycler is great. I had it for a month. Ended up getting Ego 21". Super recycler did a better job at cutting the grass and mulching but Ego has its pluses for me. Vertical Storage, battery that works with other tools, no gas. If Toro makes smartstow super recycler I might go for it.

 

[kaptain_zero]

I expected a reduction in quality over a gas mower when I went to the Kobalt 80v, the battery issue was a none starter for me as all my other gear runs on Makita packs. 80v is pretty high for direct current and getting wet while operating it might not be the best idea..... I don't think it would kill me, but anything over 50v in DC current *can* be a problem. Even a 12v car battery, if carried by a sweat laden individual, allowing the terminals to touch the skin on each side of the heart *can* be dangerous.

But honestly, it was the low vaccuum when mulching and cutting I found frustrating..... lots of stragglers popped back up after mowing and the tree seeds I get every spring (almost a foot deep in spots) woudn't even move when I ran the electric mower over it. The old gas unit would bag about 1/2 the seeds and while I have yet to do a full mow with the Super Recycler, I noted that the seeds were being blown around when in mulch mode.

The steady decline of Lithium Ion cells, the lack of power over a gas model and the high cost of ownership (those batteries will cost about $200 each when they fail and $400 buys a lot of gas) were some the reasons why I tossed in the towel on electric this time around. In the fall I'll have to deal with LOTS of leaves and again, that's something I was getting concerned about with the lack of power. Add to that, the instruction manual warns against mowing in the rain or even dew wet grass. Sometimes, I just can't wait until things dry out.... It's not good for the lawn, but neither is cutting over 1/2 the blade off because you waited too long.

The wife thinks I'm nuts..... so I probably am.... but I'm happy!

 

[DetroitRockCity]

Congrats on the Super Recycler. Its an awesome machine and, at least with me, eliminated disposing of bagged grass. A couple of tips to keep it in tip top operating shape. Make sure you clean the underside of the deck every mow. Washout port is your friend. Change the oil after 5 hours. Grease zerks on the back wheels need a couple of squirts once a year. Enjoy the mow!

Interesting, I tried the washout port on my new TimeMaster and was pretty disappointed since it pretty much made a mess that had to be scraped by hand anyway. Am I missing something? Do you scrape and then use the washout port? I'm willing to give it another go if I'll have better success with the thing.

I would say turning the water on high, and letting the blades run fot a good minute cleaned it up pretty nicely. It does make a mess so i use it at the end of my driveway where the car will grind it up when dry. You can easily prop it up and just hose it out too. The key is using it every time and letting the blades run long enough with the water on high.

 

[kaptain_zero]

Just a quick update. Loving the mower after 3 mows and I'm getting used to the personal pace feature.

Water cleanout port: I leave the mower set to my normal mowing height, hook up the water and run it for about 1 minute. It seems to clean out just fine except for grass caught in and around the mulching plug. Considering how much we have to pay for water, I'm not letting it run down the driveway, so I leave the mower on the lawn to what appears to be no ill effect.