# In need of lawn mower advice



## Shady (Oct 14, 2021)

I have the Toro Timemaster 30" ($1,000). It has clogging issues, and doesn't do a good job of lifting the grass for cutting, so it tends to mat my lawn. I even installed some high lift blade baffle kit a few years back; it was an improvement, but not good enough. I borrowed my neighbor's mower for a comparison; It's a 21" Honda HRX ($800). The Honda performed much better; it did a better job of lifting the grass, and it actually filled the bag instead of clogging. I prefer the look of a wider cut, which is why I opted for the 30" Timemaster, but if I have to choose, I'll take a better cut over a wider strip any day. Anyone have any advice, or even a recommendation for a powerful mower with excellent grass lifting capacity, that doesn't clog. I saw some posts about a 30" Scag. I had never heard of a Scag before; I looked it up and it's quite expensive, $2,600. There are very few options in the 30" deck space, which is ideally the size I'm looking for. It would be great if I could trade my Timemaster in; perhaps it's the right mower for someone else, but definitely not for me. Not sure if any power equipment supply places do trade-ins. I have about 5,000 square feet of lawn.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Have you made sure the rpm is set correctly at full throttle?


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## Shady (Oct 14, 2021)

Thank you ABC! I'll bring the mower to the local power equipment shop to verify, but I feel like I've had the issues since day 1.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

I think I'm in a decent position to comment on this. I have a timemaster 2019 with the upgraded 220cc motor and a honda HRR with the GCV 160 engine. I unfortunately do not have a bagger for the TM so I cant comment on the exact outcome but I mulch with the TM which j always had a problem with my honda. The Honda bags beautifully no doubt.

You could check your RPM at home. A service check to a local dealer is usually a $100.


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## PodScot (Mar 18, 2021)

Commercial mower for 5k sq feet seems like a waste to me. Ever thought of doing double wide stripes with a Honda?


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## vancwa (Oct 28, 2021)

I know Im late responding to this thread, but yeah I agree that 5000 ft is fine with just a 21" mower.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

I have more questions than answers at this point, but I'll spitball the issues anyway.

What year is your Timemaster? Engine size? 190cc?

When you say clogging the deck, is grass building up under the deck itself or plugging the bag chute? Both?

About your lawn - how often are you mowing in peak growing season? At what height? For fescue I imagine you're mowing fairly tall. How much grass is getting removed at each cut?

From what you describe - I'm not sure moving up to the baby Scag or it's competition from Ferris is the right answer either. Especially if you prefer to bag clippings as you'll be adding an accessory to an already pricey machine. Caveat being that machine will likely last decades just cutting your 5,000 sq ft.

I still like my Toro mowers, I currently use a 21" Super Bagger unit (Model 20197, long discontinued) to cut 20,000 sq ft of Perennial Ryegrass. If we can't come up with some better results, either by adjusting the machine or adjusting the turf, perhaps stepping back into a 21/22" walk-behind is the right path. Of course, there's always 26" reel mowers.... :mrgreen:


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