Toro TimeMaster 30 inch mower review

With a certain class of mowing gear, manufacturers we spoke with at the Green Industry and Equipment Expo (GIE+Expo) mentioned a $999 sweet spot that Home Depot and Lowe's look for when choosing to sell one model versus another. MTD achieved that price point with its Neighborhood Rider, a rear-engine rider that will sell in Lowe's. Toro, however, has taken a different approach with its TimeMaster 30-inch, a walk-behind mower, which it announced along with several mowers of more conventional sizes.

A large non-riding mower generally has two hand controls you use (along with some muscle) to coax the heavy machine where you want it to go. The TimeMaster looks like a 21-inch mower on steroids and has the same overall design. The exception is that it uses two 15-inch blades, whose paths overlap at a 90-degree angle from one another.

What's most striking about the TimeMaster, besides its size, is its maneuverability. How far an engine is situated to the rear of a mower makes an important difference in how heavy the mower feels to tip back when you need to turn it. But when I tried it out at the show, I recalled many smaller mowers—especially ones with large rear wheels—that felt heavier to tip backwards than the TimeMaster.

You can set the handle to two positions to suit user height. More welcome for a machine of this size, storing the unit takes up only 40 inches of length when you remove the bag and either adjust the handle to a vertical position or swing it forward and loosen the joint that allows folding.

Standard Toro features such as blade-brake clutch come standard, but this machine adds to the Personal Pace variable-speed with an extra traction-assist handle that, when you grip it while sliding the Personal Pace bar forward, adds more speed to the self-propulsion—up to 5 ¼ mph in all—for uneven terrain.

The 20199 model, estimated to sell at $999, starts with a pull cord. For about another $100 you get the 20200 model, which adds electric start plus an alternator that charges the electric-starter's battery as you mow. During those first weeks of the season, when it might be still too cold to charge the battery (about 70 degrees F. is optimal), included also is a plug-in electric starter.

—Ed Perratore