[Jimmy Valentine]

Start with any mower that uses a Briggs & Stratton engine.

In my opinion they are the very best small engine builder in the U.S. Everything else is just a feature.

Cautionary note. When you are done for the season, run the engine dry of gas. With the ethanol crap they are using even a fuel stabilizer won't stop varnish from clogging the carburator.I have a Craftsman riding mower which I like but had to have a new carb just for that reason.

[tacticalogic]

I like the Briggs Vanguard engines. They're pressure (not splash) lubed, and seem to last.

If you empty the the fuel tank for the winter, put some a bag of some kind of dessicant in the fuel tank, or it will collect water over the winter.

[tacticalogic]

And if you do run it dry, and it’s cranky about wanting to start drawing fuel the next spring (those little vacuum drive fuel pumps they use now are bad for that), screw the tip off a propane torch (mind that little pill in the end), open it all the way up, point it down the carb throat and crank it over. Let it run on the propane for a minute or so, until the fuel system gets itself primed.