Honda HRR216VKA

10 years ago

I usually do more reading than posting here, but wanted to talk about my new Honda HRR216VKA I purchased today. I had been using a John Deere JS46, but just grew tired of the 100+ lbs and having to stop every 10 minutes to clean out the deck.

I don't know what it was about the JD, but it must be a deck design issue that causes it to clog up so much. I mow high, 3-4", and no matter if I side discharged or mulched, it would pack up tight. Our home is a new construction in a new subdivision, the lots all drain very nicely, so wet grass isn't the issue.

Anyhow, I finally decided to bite the bullet today and buy the Honda. Got it home this afternoon, got it all set up, and went for a trial run to make sure I had my deck set where I wanted it. All I can say is WOW! The guy at The Home Depot told me if I didn't love the Honda to come tell him why because he wanted to know. Well, that won't be happening. After mowing all my yard this evening, I had my son tilt the mower back so I could look under it, and there was nothing. Literally nothing caked underneath. All there was was grass stain which is to be expected.

I mulched the entire yard with the exception of a couple of rounds of rear discharging (which did well too), and it did a fine job. Makes me wonder why I didn't buy a Honda 20 years ago rather than mess around with the multitudes of pushers I've owned.

I don't work for Honda, just a very satisfied customer right out of the gate, and wanted to share my initial experience with my first Honda mower.

This post was edited by Tom6545 on Thu, May 2, 13 at 20:00

Comments (8)

girlfromthegarden
10 years ago
Congrats on your new mower!

Getting the benefit of that fine-shred mulch/no-clogging feature has been same experience with my old Honda Harmony 215 - one of the reasons I want to keep it going. It's only a 5 hp, but it seems to not be slowed down by lush tall grass.
My brother loaned me his Toro personal-pace 22" mower (~9 years old), with a 6.5 hp engine, so I'd have something to hack down the lawn with, and it gets clogged up every 10 minutes in heavy wet grass as well. Have to stop and unpack all the gunk beneath the deck and jammed into the hole where the bag would seat. It doesn't seem to have as usable of an underside deck clearance height to toss the grass shards up into, compared with my old Honda. Maybe it's better to bag vs. mulch with the Toro when grass gets a certain height, but the HRM215 seemed to manage better in similar conditions with just its twin mulching blade.

Love how Honda mowers mulch, that's for sure!
Tom6545
Original Author
10 years ago
You talked about borrowing a Toro, I went back and forth for a few days whether or not to get a Toro 20332 or this Honda. After getting a good side by side (literally) look at them, I decided to go Honda. If this thing does anywhere near what it did today on its first use, I'm going to be a happy camper.
Related Professionals
Allentown Landscape Contractors · Battle Ground Landscape Contractors · Cliffside Park Landscape Contractors · Conroe Landscape Contractors · Dixon Landscape Contractors · Gallatin Landscape Contractors · Long Beach Landscape Contractors · Rio Linda Landscape Contractors · San Pedro Landscape Contractors · Tustin Landscape Contractors · Waterford Landscape Contractors · Oxon Hill Landscape Contractors · Norridge Landscape Contractors · Hayward Carpenters · Wrentham Carpenters
apprenticegardener
10 years ago
Ours (same model yours, also from HD) has provided flawless service since we bought it last year. Trust you will be as pleased as we are.

Best Wishes--Carl
Atlanta, GA
ITP
Brandon Smith
10 years ago
Congrats, that looks like a well priced mower for the quality it delivers.

One thing ill suggest is testing your fuel with Sta-bil or any treatment you prefer and also getting acquainted with the manual fuel shutoff on your mower. Honda carbs really seem to HATE ethanol and leaving it in there for even a week can lead to maintenance issues during the life of the mower. All you need to do is turn it off when you have a few minutes left of mowing. It will start to surge as it runs out of fuel in the carb then finally stop running. This will keep your carb dry and happy!
1saxman
10 years ago
The Quadracut system under certain conditions can over-mulch, turning the clippings into a green slime that tends to pack in the wheel tracks. If you do not go back and laboriously rake every inch of it loose, it will kill the grass in those tracks. The slime also sticks to the housing and will eventually force you to stop and clean it out. When I was running a Honda a few years ago, I finally removed the upper blade which solved the problem.
Tom6545
Original Author
10 years ago
Saxman, by removing the upper blade, how did that effect the mulching capability of the mower?
apprenticegardener
10 years ago
Our son used our HRR216VKA today, First time it's been used in over four months. Started first time. No fuss, no muss, no bother. Proving to be even better than sliced bread.

Best Wishes--Carl
Atlanta, GA
ITP
Tom6545
Original Author
10 years ago
Now, I did notice when I mowed a few days ago that when mulching it did tend to lay a thick line of grass following the wheel tracks just as Saxman said. However, we had just had 1 1/2" of rain and the grass was pretty "juicy" after the rain. Even though it did leave a trail of grass, it still didn't pack in the deck. Just a very small area of buildup that was easily wiped away with your hand. After I noticed the clippings leaving a trail, I simply converted to rear discharge and that seemed to correct the issue.