Comparing the 2 Best Walk Behind Mowers Ever! TORO Recycler vs Super Recycler - MainStreetMower

In the latest edition of Reviews with Main Street Mower, Chip takes on the most popular debate that every landscaper has had at least once in their lives. The TORO Recycler vs the Super Recycler.

Join us, as we compare these 2 mowers, and talk about their Features, Cut Quality, Warranties, Handles, Wheels and most importantly their relevance in your work.

Products in the Video:

- 22" (56cm) TORO Recycler Mower (21462)
A mower that adjusts to you, with no knobs, no levers, no messing around. Grab the easy-to-steer handle, engage, and go - with Personal Pace Auto-Drive™. The Vortex Technology™ provides an amped airflow that requires less energy to cut more grass into teeny-tiny, clumpless clippings.

- 21” (53 cm) Super Recycler Mower (21386)
This hungry herbivore is a wiz at helping protect the earth, reducing your water and fertilizer use with the Super Recycler®'s Cutting System. Superior mowing comfort with FLEX Handle™ suspension and hassle-free maintenance. Store your Toro practically anywhere in your garage or shed with SmartStow®.

You can buy these products from our online store, here:

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VIDEO CHAPTERS
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00:00 Video Introduction
00:37 22" Recycler Overview
03:31 21" Super Recycler Overview
05:21 Warranty Comparison
06:07 Cut Quality Comparison
07:21 Comparing Other Features
08:30 Final Thoughts/Conclusion
10:00 Thank You for Watching
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[larrycroft]

Excellent job of demonstrating features of those mowers. I have a 2008 Super Recycler with the Briggs engine. It still cranks on 1st or 2nd pull, does not smoke or use oil to speak of. IMO Toro makes the best mower for the homeowner hands down. I have to believe their commercial mowers are also extremely high quality. New subscriber.

[davidwho]

Thank you for this video. I own a 2005 Super Recycler w/ Briggs and Stratton engine that still runs but is being retired this year. I'll never own anything but a Toro!

[xrayalpha]

I've been debating gas vs electric and Honda vs Toro... I'm comfortable with small engine maintenance and my grass gets unruly so I decided on the Toro SR with a 190cc B&S, aluminum deck, updated curved handle and electric start. Coming from an older Honda HRR model, I never knew how good self-propel could be. The cut is excellent and I love the personal pace!

[billdeblaey]

Great I have zero issue with no side discharge. I mulch 100% of the time. Additionally, the deck where the side discharge is cut out weakens the deck. Many instances where the deck cracks in that area causing the deck to flex and making the blade srtike the deck, very unsafe. It can be welded, but it's expensive. Shde discharge??? A solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Too busy to mow every week, have a brush hog standing by, not a "push" mower.

[markstamps]

Thank you so much for this awesome explanation of the differences!

[harryerhart]

Great video Toro has become a great mower company for pro's like me and homeowners 😇👍

[gregoryeditor]

I have a 2007 Toro Super Recycler model 20056 still running fine and i do no maintenance on it. I only changed the oil 1 or 2 times in all these years. But after watching your excellent review I am temped to buy one of the 2023 models . I like the stand up feature and you do not have to change the oil at all. I made a video of my 2007 Toro if you would like to see it. Have a good rest of your week. 684 likes now and a new Sub.

[Priority]

I have a Toro Super Recycler for 22 years and I cannot complain about it. It's the best cut quality mower I've ever owned, and I love the stripe it leaves on the lawn. Now I own the new Toro Recycler Max....and that one is another story I don't care to discuss....Sorry Toro.

[johnnelwhite]

I own a Super recycler with the toro engine I have no complaints at all. The cut quality is very good.

[ericbrandon]

I have that Recycler, absolutely love it!!

[peterchambers]

Excellent review. Just what I was after, a comparison. Will more than lightly go for a Super Recycler here in the UK. Thank you.

[spinningtireproductions]

I have a old toro aluminum deck from the 80s/90’s and personally like being able to shift gears😂

[bradpatti]

I'm not a fan of chute blockers on push mowers. Better off with a mulch plug. Yes it's more money, takes a few seconds more to install and you can lose them, but the cut quality is way better with the plug. I find with the chute block door grass sits on the little ledge in front of it. Each time i turn around it drops a clump of grass on the ground. Don't have that problem with the mulch plug as it is moulded to the curve of the deck.

[jackt]

Great video. I have a 2013 Toro 22" with the Kohler 6.5. The problem is oil running is out of the casting after the engine gets warmed up on the lower-right-front of the engine block, ~1/2" behind and above the head gasket which has been replaced, and it is dust-dry above that. I don't want to deal with it anymore and will be traveling a lot. I want those at home to have something easy to start and use as this one has been. My issues with the new Toro mowers are:
1. No spin stop on the electric start models. Nobody wants to shut off the mower every time they pick up a stick or empty a bag, electric start or not. What happens in other than online videos is people sew a Velcro loop around the handle to keep the engine running while they pick up sticks and empty bags.
2. The Vortex seems like it would benefit mulching and reduce the effectiveness of bagging.
3. The Super Recycler with its kick-down baffles would seem to benefit mulching at the expense of bagging effectiveness. Bagging and bringing to the city yard waste is our game now after a couple years of seeing what mulching does to our grass.
4. No alternator to keep electric start batteries charged. There is a spinning flywheel with a magnet on it for ignition already. To add a low-output alternator with a controlled bleed circuit to control voltage would be trivial, inexpensive, and trouble-free.
5. Dropping the clean-out port. The alternative is flipping the mower and scraping and gouging up the bottom of the deck. Currently, we conveniently set it to mulch, hook up the the hose to a clean-out port, and let it run with the blade engaged for ~4 minutes after mowing, which removes all of the built up grass in all areas.
*Attempting to find a slightly older Toro in good shape on Craigslist is nearly impossible.

[tempuser]

Nice video... we are looking at [this] same brand lawn mower (big wheels in back, etc).. it's the FWD 160cc... but not sure about fwd or rwd... the terrain is uneven (bumpy) in some parts... other is about 20-degree incline/decline... any suggestion on fwd or rwd? We are *not* using a grass catcher... need more "maneuverability" over speed etc.

We have/had a lawn boy ... has (before it went out) a rwd... but grass always got wrapped around that rear axel (no guard from keeping grass from getting on that axel -- and it would bog down the self-propelled mechanism); also, we were *not* using a bag on that lawn boy as well.

[sprc]

Great review and comparison, I love looking at new mowers for when the day comes . I still run my 2007 SR, Brigss 190cc, been flawless all these years, wish it would quit to give me an excuse to get a new one !!!! LOL The one thing that I have been eyeing on the Honda HRX217 is the ability to do both, mulch and bag at the same time, I wish Toro would have done something like this . If I use my bag, I'm emptying it every 5-6 passes on my lawn, so I full bore mulch now, but wish it was a 50/50 like the Honda . But most likely to get another Toro SR as I am so used to the personal pace .

[paulmoldenschardt]

I bought a 24 inch cub cadette push mower it is one of the best mowers out here it also is self perpelled

[gregboyer]

I’ve been a Honda owner for 20 years and just went to a Toro Super Recycler. I did get the all black Super Recycler with the Honda 160 engine.
My opinion the Super Recycler does a better job cutting than the HRX 217 plus the S.R. Is a much lighter machine and less cumbersome to maneuver.

[jonhansen]

Nice review on the difference between the 2 mowers, Chip. I just bought a new model 21565 Super Recycler last Friday. It replaced my 12 YO Super Recycler with the Kohler engine. I haven't used it yet but plan on mowing on Wednesday for the first time. Quick question for you, Chip. How do you get the stupid mulching plug out? My old mower had a steel locking lever that you turned to release the plug. My new one has two plastic tabs and some type of clip. I've tried push in on the clip to see if that will release the plug. I've tried pulling on the 2 tabs. I've tried reaching in & pulling on the entire plug. Nothing seems to work and I don't want to pull any harder for fear of breaking the plug. The instructions (What a joke...) just say to remove the plug in order to bag. What am I doing wrong?

[mikezeee]

It's unfortunate that the presenter constantly refers to the mowers as push mowers. They are not. These mowers are self-propelled, stand behind mowers. The push mower has no propulsion system other than the person walking behind the bar who must push it. Pushing the mower is the propulsion system. Where as the self-propelled mower has rear wheel or front wheel drive Wheels which propel the mower forward. Personal pace refers to how quickly the drive wheels turn thereby speeding up or slowing down the mower. Other than referring to the mowers incorrectly as push mowers, the reviewer actually did a fairly good job explaining the benefits and the features of the new mowers. I have owned Toro mowers for over 12 years and like the way that they cut the grass in terms of evenness, but the mower itself is filled with plastic parts that break. I like the ergonomics on the toro mowers as well. But Honda clearly has them beat with build quality and parts quality; many less plastic parts to break on a Honda mower.