Made in America Push mowers!

[Lee1977 6,343]

Best of my understanding there are no small HP engine made in America. I read that they are making the 20 + HP big block engine here. My I believe 18 HP Vanguard was built in Japan .

[Achto 26,886]

In my opinion most small single cylinder over head valve engines made now are basically Honda clones anyway.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Achto

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Your thread is still active which made me think about your question again. My further thoughts are that the best mower-style in use today is a commercial marketed mower. They are probably the closest to what was sold as a homeowner mower 20-30 years ago. If you are still considering new you might consider the Exmark commercial push mowers. Exmark is part of Toro but only commercial-style units.

 

I remember shopping for tractors when I was moving to Maryland in 2009. It was a Snapper dealer that had the 30" Exmark mower on the floor. What caught my interest was that it was using the Kawasaki FJ180V engine which was the same model as my then 17 year old (problem free!) John Deere Silver mower. That engine has a geared oil pump instead of splash lubrication. One of the options (that I installed on mine) was a spin-on oil filter adapter. An advantage is being able to cut slopes without burning up the engine. Pricey but made in the USA.

 

My JD 14SB was traded for a MacKissic 12PT Chipper while we were in MD, and when we moved to VA I bought a Husqvarna AWD mower with the Honda engine. It is a good unit but the steel deck "sings" when it gets overloaded. That is because there isn't enough deck height in the design.

[wh500special 2,092]

4 hours ago, shallowwatersailor said:

...

My JD 14SB .....

now THAT’s a mower!

 

Even as old as they are getting, those Deere mowers still command a premium and are much sought after.  
 

I don’t know the whole story, but Deere made a deal with Honda to sell their mowers thru the Big Green dealerships instead of messing with their own product line.  
 

Even at the price they sold for, the Deere walk behinds weren’t big profit centers since the Kawasaki engine was expensive and the whole mower was built in house. So they let Honda take over the showroom space as a semi-partnership.  
 

enjoy that snapper!
 

Steve 

[Razorback 1,032]

I had a JD 14SE that I REALLY liked. The only aggravation I can remember was a light little spring that provided a return force on the drive mechanism...... it broke several times on one end loop of the spring. A 10-cent spring would make a $600 mower unusable..... otherwise, that was THE best push mower I have ever had. Really liked the pressurized oil system and the spin-on oil filter capability.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Razorback

[bottjernat1 2,189]

13 hours ago, shallowwatersailor said:

My JD 14SB

Id love to get my hands on an old deere or wheelhorse push mower i had a guy i have become friends with on facebook came down from michigan and brought me a jd old weed eater. It doesnt run at this time and the rope was broke but i was still excited to get it. I gave him a chainsaw in return even tho he didnt ask or want it. He collects chain saws and i tor it apart and didnt have the time to fix it.

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by bottjernat1

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

19 hours ago, wh500special said:

now THAT’s a mower!

 

Even as old as they are getting, those Deere mowers still command a premium and are much sought after.  
 

Steve 

 

After we moved to MD, I was able to mow with just the 518xi. But I still had about a 80 foot embankment to mow. It took a long time to cut with a trimmer and the JD 14SB would slide down as I moved forward. The solution was a Gravely - but that is another story!

 

The JD just sat most of the time when I found a guy with a small engine repair in PA selling the MacKissic. He took the JD in trade and was fairly generous. Our house in VA has a walkout basement with one side of the yard that is too crowded for the tractor. I needed a push mower but it is pretty steep so I bought the Husky AWD. It will literally pull me up the hill. This will be its 3rd season so hopefully continues without problems.  Sure do miss that 14SB though!