When we bought this house, it came with this mower:
It’s a Snapper Quantum XM and it’s a mystery how old it is! We both recall the owner saying something about it being old and almost dead when he passed it onto us, and I thought he may have said something about it being as old as this house. I’ve done a bit of research and determined that’s unlikely, but it’s at least pre 1998 and possible dates to around 1988-1990. Snapper seems to have a rabid following due to the reliability of the (old) models, but it’s much harder to find info on the push mowers (as opposed to the ride-ons) and identifying the age of this particular one was complicated by the fact it was manufactured up to 2006. My guess is 20-25 years though, which is a good long life for a mower!
Because it’s now dead!
To be honest it probably could live on for a while, possibly a good while. The engine starter string snapped at the base so I can’t start it, but for the past two years it’s been a tricky beast to get working anyway and given that it’s almost to the point of shaking itself to death I figured it was time to let it retire. So the very day it broke, indeed the very hour, I drove to the shop and bought this:
The curse of home-ownership is of course yard work, but I consider it a sacred duty and will do it myself until I can’t. I may as well therefore have good tools. This guy wasn’t cheap ($400 + tax) but is very highly reviewed and will – I hope – last at least several years!
Unlike the old Snapper it’s self-propelled, which means less effort mowing. I haven’t used a self-propelled for over a decade though, and was surprised by how quickly they move now!
It’s so clean and new!
And it has two blades! (Although I didn’t know this when I bought it…)
It didn’t take long to get it ready and started easily first go. And…. it perfoemed it’s only task and cut the grass well!
Next time you visit if you want to mow our lawn just say the word and I’ll let you take it out for a spin 🙂
And what about the old Snapper? I was going to bring it to the tip for destruction but now I feel I need to pass it onto a new home and someone who will repair it and maybe keep it going for another 20 years? So out to the curb it’s going to go, in the hope someone may see it and drive away with it!
