Sears Craftsman 550 Series Push Lawnmower
You have to prime it a couple of times to start, but it does start easily with the first pull and then after it has warmed up. I have had good service from other Sears craftsman lawn mowers in the past, as my last one lasted for 20 years. I bought a new Sears Craftsman 550 series push lawn mower with the rear bagger and mulcher in March 2009. NOT to mention the great weld job with the quality steel they use to hold the rear bagger in place, the weld broke & you can't buy a replacement part for it(it got lost somewhere in the yard, don't ask me, I wasn't mowing the lawn, the lawn... I find the lawn mower very light weight and easy to push even through it is not a self propelled. Only buy the Craftsman mower if you're only going to need it for a year. I see alot of mowers from the repair side of things. With a well manicured lawn, one shouldn't have to empty the grass catcher much at all, as this lawnmower also mulches grass very well, too. The grass catcher is made from a soft, tightly woven material that should cut down on the dust let through it. It has a metal wire frame around the edges of the grass catcher bag to hold its shape. It worked fairly well for the '09 mowing season, except that the rubber flap behind the rear tires kept falling off and I eventually mowed over it and tore it up. Then the clips on the wire frame for the bag broke, so I had to order a new bag. I just brought a Sears Craftsman 550 Series push lawnmower. We bought a 550 158cc Sears Craftsman lawnmower two years ago. It has the ability to bag grass from behind it, thus letting you get into tight spaces or throw it out the side if you don't want to bag your yard. Like everyone else has said, once it does start after priming 3 times (manufacturer recommendation) It'll run smooth till it heats up then starts to spit & sputter, erratic idle, blows some black smoke. The 550 model is one of the best engines Briggs has ever made. It has a 158 cc size engine, and while it cuts through the tallest grass, it doesn't seem to use a lot of gas. You can also close both doors and on a yard with not too tall of grass, mulch the yard. Hard starting and rough running are usually an indication that there is a crack in the intake manifold. I can easily mow a normal front and back yard on one tank, which is a quart of gas. While this does have the possibility of being torn, I prefer the ability to collapse it, as opposed to the hard plastic grass catcher variety that does not store well. Hope this helps some of you with your hard starting and rough running problems. Gone is the choke and in its place is a primer that sprays fuel straight into the intake for a fast start. The carb is the same simple above tank side draft diaphragm type that has been in use since the early 1960's. Should the intake manifold crack it is an easy repair and the part costs around $10. Since we always use the side discharge, I can't comment on the back-bagging attachment....