Mow Me Down, A Look At The Troy-Built 556
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Now, it’s not dead mind you. Not totally at least. It
runs just fine and dandy until you attempt to actually cut anything. It’s at
that point that it looses all power and proceeds to choke to death.
It’s been a good mower though. A Craftsman High wheel
mulching push mower of some kind or another. Really I could have just dropped
$50 on it and got the parts I’d need to rebuild the engine and carb, but I
really don’t have the time. With all the stuff going on with trying to get the
house ready for sale and find another, the last thing I want to think about is
doing a total break down and overhaul.
So off to Lowes I go, just as many other days that I’ve
gone to Lowes lately, setting off to spend what little cash I have on something
I need. Growing tired of spending cash, but I’m sure everyone feels that way.
I looked over several that were on display, browsing
through the plain old push mowers, considering the pros and cons of each one
within the $300< range. I’d decided well before I went that I was going to
go ahead and splurge, buying a self-propelled unit. I’m glad I did, as the
front yard is this awful golf grass. It looks great, is wicked think, but is a
pain to mow.
My end choice was the Model 556, Troy-Built self-propelled
mulching mower with variable speed front drive and rear bag. Away to the
checkout I ran, eager to spend my hard earned dollar. Ok, I wasn’t that
excited but away I went anyway. After
checking out I took it out to the car and proceeded to shove it into the back
seat, sideways, and cocked at an angle to allow it to squeeze in. Homeward
bound.
After taking the mower out of the box, mind you it was in
all one piece I added the prescribed amount of oil and gas to it. Happily I
jerked the pull start almost expecting it to gag and need several hard,
backbreaking yanks. Surprisingly it started up right away without even a full or
quick pull. A slow steady tug was all it took.
I wanted to play a bit so I went through the motions of
engaging the drive clutch and scooting it around the driveway. It was a blast,
rolled very smooth and was easy to control. Turning it was a bit harder though
but I expected that because of the extra width of the front wheels. All in all
though it did really well.
After my playtime was up I decided to mow the yard. First the rear yard was taken care of. It didn’t take long at all to get it in shape though admittedly the grass in the rear is not as full as the front however it still did a lot better than my old mower and made short work of it. From my guess it was about half the time spent before.
The front yard however is another story. You see, my
wife’s ex husband had one of those Jones issues, always having to better
everyone else around him. So the grass is this thick, wonderful, golf coarse
rough that belongs in golf courses. It feels great, but again, mowing it is a
real drag.
I was pleasantly surprised that the drive system was able,
with some help, to get up to steam and guide the mower through this think yard
with only a modest effort. The only thing that I did not like about it was the
front drive wheels. I thought that they could have more tread to them so that I
could get better traction. Overall though I must say that I love the mower and
feel that it’s been a great investment.
Details
TB 556 21" Rear Bag High Wheel Self-Propelled Mower
Product Details
- 21" steel mulching deck
- Single-speed front wheel drive transmission eliminates pushing
- 2-in-1 convertible - mulch and rear bag
- 12" EasyRoll rear high wheels
- Standard 2.3 bushel grassbag
- 9-position height adjusters
- Standard deluxe bail
- Fully assembled with oil included in carton
- 2-year limited warranty
- 6.75HP* Briggs & Stratton engine
