Weedeater One compact riding mower.

[Michael Weber]

It's about the only small riding mower I can find around here. Online some people say they have no problems on steep slopes while others claim it is unusable on the slightest incline Anyone have personal experience with this particular machine? I see the engine is rated 190cc but no HP rating seems to be available.
Recent bypass has left me unable to use my push mower and would like to find something small (and relatively inexpensive) in the way of a rider. Most of the ones available at the Borgs and Sears are huge tractor kinds with wide cutting swaths. Really a 26 to 30 inch cut is plenty. I have two lots but not a huge amount of grass area. Price for the Weedeater One is around 650 to 800. They may come in different configurations and/or ability. The ads are a little confusing about that. So any personal experience, knowledge or other recommendations for a similar machine would be appreciated.
Thanks, Mike

[Joe Pelonio]

Interesting, that I found that engine for sale at a couple of places as a replacement for push mowers. The HP line states: "Manufacturer no longer rates this engine by HP." I'd bet it's weak on the drive power, making it hard to make it up hills. I'd look for a little bigger one like the 12.5HP 38" deck for $899 at Northern Tool. I don't know that make but Poulan also makes one about the same price and size, the XT.

[Mitchell Andrus]

http://www.amazon.com/Weed-Eater-WE-ONE-26-Inch-Gas-Powered/dp/B00305HF64

$699.00

It looks like a throw-away. I can't see $699.00 buying a whole lot of dependability.

http://www.tool-rank.com/tool-blog/news/weedeater-one-compact-riding-mower-20100219615/

[Bill Leonard]

http://www.amazon.com/Weed-Eater-WE-ONE-26-Inch-Gas-Powered/dp/B00305HF64

$699.00

It looks like a throw-away. I can't see $699.00 buying a whole lot of dependability.

http://www.tool-rank.com/tool-blog/news/weedeater-one-compact-riding-mower-20100219615/
I'm surprised at you Mitchell, for that amount of money I would have expected you to offer up a couple of goats.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I'm surprised at you Mitchell, for that amount of money I would have expected you to offer up a couple of goats.

Ya gotta feed goats.... and you can't ride 'em. Mike wants to ride like the WIND!!!!!! Wheeeeeee! 'cept not up hill so much - you have to get off and push.
.

[Pat Germain]

Ya gotta feed goats.... and you can't ride 'em. Mike wants to ride like the WIND!!!!!! Wheeeeeee! 'cept not up hill so much - you have to get off and push.
.

No kidding. I saw on CNN a Brit set a new land speed record on a riding mower: 89 MPH. He hopes to hit 100 MPH soon. (I doubt he did it on the Weedeater.)

[Scott Shepherd]

.... and you can't ride 'em.

Sure you can....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuRCY3MPWZQ

[Rich Engelhardt]

The HP line states: "Manufacturer no longer rates this engine by HP." I'd bet it's weak on the drive power, making it hard to make it up hills.
You'll probably see more and more of that in the future.
There was a class action suit over the listed HP ratings - I recently got a notice for it.
Since listing nothing at all for HP is better than risking a law suit, I bet you see more and more mfg's go that route.

[Mitchell Andrus]

You'll probably see more and more of that in the future.
There was a class action suit over the listed HP ratings - I recently got a notice for it.
Since listing nothing at all for HP is better than risking a law suit, I bet you see more and more mfg's go that route.

They'll go back to listing the engine's displacement, a measurable specification.
.

[Brian Elfert]

Why not spend the $700 instead on neightbor kid to mow the lawn every week? Long term this will cost more, but you don't spend the time and you don't have to worry about buying an anemic rider.

[Matt Meiser]

Weedeater is not a name I'd associate with quality. I'm with Brian. I believe my parents pay a lawn service $35 each time to mow their 3/4 of an acre. They do a nice job, trim, blow off the walks, etc. That's about your $700, assuming 20x per year which is probably high up here. Plus I know the summer after my wife had heart surgery, she couldn't do the lawn tractor because it bounced her around too much. If you expect this to be a long term thing, consider getting a good, maybe used, rider.

[Pat Germain]

Why not spend the $700 instead on neightbor kid to mow the lawn every week? Long term this will cost more, but you don't spend the time and you don't have to worry about buying an anemic rider.

Because this is the 21st century. Most kids aren't interested in mowing lawns or they don't know how. Even if they wanted to and knew how, it's technically illegal to hire a kid to operate a power tool. Then, if he should get hurt while mowing your lawn, his family can sue you blind. Of course, I'm not one to let lawyers tell me how to live. But it is something to consider.

[John M Bailey]

Because this is the 21st century. Most kids aren't interested in mowing lawns or they don't know how. Even if they wanted to and knew how, it's technically illegal to hire a kid to operate a power tool. Then, if he should get hurt while mowing your lawn, his family can sue you blind. Of course, I'm not one to let lawyers tell me how to live. But it is something to consider.

Perhaps he will sue you for not buying a safe mower, or he can sue the maker of the lawn mower for not including a 'blade stopping safety device'. I mean, the only reason that the mowers do not come with this new device is the greed of the land owner not wanting to pay a little more for a safer mower

[Michael Weber]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to hire kids because of the liability and I agree the Weedeater One sounds underpowered and of questionable quality although many reviewers were happy with it, many were not. Guess it just depends on what you expect in a mower like that. It is/was going to be a short term need until I recover from my bypass surgery. Just can't justify a larger riding mower for the amount of grass I have. I have a nice Toro personal pace mower I intend to return to using after this year or when the rider finally gave out. Of course, best intentions aside, I might grow to like a rider that I might not want to use a push mower again. Perhaps a one year lawn service is my best option. But then again, there is a danger of being spoiled by the ease. Kind of always figured, if I couldn't take care of myself and my possessions, what good am I. I also received the invitation for the class action suit information about HP overratings Pitched it but made me wonder what my 6.75 HP Toro's HP really is. Thanks to all that provided information and opinions about various options.

[Pat Germain]

Perhaps he will sue you for not buying a safe mower, or he can sue the maker of the lawn mower for not including a 'blade stopping safety device'. I mean, the only reason that the mowers do not come with this new device is the greed of the land owner not wanting to pay a little more for a safer mower

The funny thing is, moder mower do have a blade stopping device. Of course, you do have to let go of the handle to activate it. Surely lawyers could argue that's not good enough.

I hope you find a good solution, Michael.

[Brian Elfert]

I mowed so many lawns when I was a young teenager in the mid 80s that it was almost like having a real job. I got a summer job doing grounds work full time at 16 so I gave some of lawn jobs to my younger brothers.

Nobody 25 years ago ever mentioned libability as a reason not to hire me. As others have mentioned, get a lawn service company instead if you want someone with insurance, but it will cost more most likely.

Somewaht off topic, but the blade stoppage devices cames out in the early to mid 80s. My employer in the late 80s still had a mix of mowers with and without the blade stoppage devices. The 1970s era Lawnboys were extremely lightweight and easy to push so I liked to use those. I ended up with a ER visit and a sprained thumb due to pulling something out of the grass that I didn't realize was under the running mower. The next summer all of the old mowers were gone for safety reasons.

[Dave Lehnert]

I use to buy mowers for a retail store. Weed Eater was a brand we sold. At the time they were made by American Yard Products. A company that made mowers under many brand names for the big box retailers.
we never had any major problems with them and warranty work was always done with no problems. They were well built for the price.

[Brian Elfert]

Weed Eater is part of the Poulan company now days. Not impressed with the Weed Eater or Poulan Pro string trimmers. I bought my dad a Weed Eater gas string trimmer, but it didn't last. He has a $150 Stihl now and it has been around for a decade or so.

My employer in high school and college used Poulan Pro string trimmers. They didn't last, but probably not designed for commercial use. They would buy 20 or 25 of them in the spring to make it through the season. We only needed to use at most 6 on a given day, but most days we took out about 10 because we knew half of them wouldn't work. The mechanic had an endless pile of ones that needed repair and he also had a pile of junk ones that grew by the week. They finally started buying Stihl after about a decade of buying junk.

[Joe Leigh]

Here is the best (and one of the few) small riding mowers. Available in 28" and 30". Got my 28" rider last year with the bag option. Nice machine.

http://www.snapper.com/products/riding-lawn-mower/rear-engine/