Our most helpful positive review

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Best in Class April 10, 2010

I am pleased with this mower.  $180 is a fair and honest price for such a machine.

• It cuts well even in the thickest grass with out the engine getting bogged down.
• With no side chute or front bumper, it is easy to mow near and up against obstacles.
• The grass bag works well (but like all bags it will need emptying and can get heavy).
• The throttle adjusts automaticly (it isn't what I would have preferred, but it probably saves gas).
• When using the bag, the deck remains surprisingly free of grass clippings (not so with an over full bag or when mulching).
• The engine runs fine (158 cc) and the mower blades were balanced as well as I could expect (the mower vibrates but it does not shake).
• Though the wheels in the picture do not match this years model (they are white without "spokes").  The "tires" seem plenty wide and are as sturdy as you can get in a push mower.

I am not pleased with the quality of push mower wheels in general, and as an engineer I would be ashamed to come up with no better a solution.  I am sure that the wheels work fine on pro-sodded type lawns, but I have yet to see such a wheel set hold up to the rigors of converted cow/corn field type yards.  

The 2 bolts with plastic wing-nuts for attaching the handle at the mower (located inside the plastic bag which contains the manual and oil), aren't listed in the quick setup guide and it took one or two minutes to figure out where they go.

Sears should really consider selling their products with the essential safety gear included (a snazzy pair of safety glasses and some ear-plugs would go much further toward keeping people safe than endless warning messages and stickers).

Tips:

1. Never cut your grass by more than 1/3 the grass height.  If you abide by this principle you will not only find the optimal growth height for your grass, but it will root and fill in better.
2. Water your lawn late in the evening and early in the morning (less water evaporates), not just in the afternoon.
3. 4 weeks before the end of grass season, mow your grass low and over-seed your lawn paying particular attention to troublesome areas (clover patches and the like).

Our most helpful negative review

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craftsman push mower engine surge July 11, 2010

purchased this mower for $169.99 brought home and was set up in about 5 seconds as advertised was already together just had to unfold handle put oil and gas in and attach bag. the first problem noticed was engine surging for about 20 minutes then almost done with yard engine finally mellowed out and ran smooth with 5 minutes left of mowing. the second problem was height adjustment was tuff , wheel adjusters was hard to move to adjust the height. 3rd problem was "dustless bag" which threw grass clippings all over the operator and grass clippings coming up around base of engine onto top of the deck and clippings getting in the way so that bag does not stay connected and also clippings collecting on underside of mower. Last problem was mower gets hard to push as bag gets full.