Sears Craftsman model # 37645

by Theresia
(Lenoir City, TN)


We purchased this lawn mower to be a convenience for me to assist my husband with the parts of the yard that I could easily mow in order to get some fresh air and exercise.


The starting system and the horsepower of the engine were great selling points. The $350 price tag was a bit steep so we watched for it to go on sale and went to pick it up. Right off of the bat we had difficulty getting it into the car.

The box was enormous so we had to take it out and leave the box behind hoping everything was in working order and we would not have to return the product. Starting the mower was a piece of cake. The engine was great and I easily made my first rounds around the perimeter of our lawn. The bagger was alright, it served its purpose but had to be emptied often. So far, so good.
My first bit of difficulty came with the self-propelled system.

After letting go of the bar to pull the mower back to realign where I would mow next I had difficulty getting the self-propelled system to engage. This mower weighs A TON and without this feature it is virtually impossible to move it. Next I had trouble with the small wheels causing difficulty in adjusting my mowing path.

After hitting a few of the "pot holes" in my front yard, the wheels would not stay at the height my husband
had set them and they would fall down whenever I hit a bump. This was frustrating. I don't think the grooves where deep enough where you raised and lowered the wheels. I thought maybe I was not operating the equipment properly so we re-read the manual and my husband gave it a whirl to see if he would have any problems.

He really liked the way the rear bagger caught the debris and didn't blow up clippings or dust in his face. He seemed impressed with the power of the mower also. After mowing the level side to the left of the house, he went over to the right side which has a slope to it.

Soon he was as frustrated as I with the difficulty in maneuvering the mower to go in the direction he wanted. When the wheels began to fall he quickly decided that this mower had a glitch or two that needed to be worked out. We were concerned that we would have difficulty returning the mower (since we had no box) but when we called our local Sears retailer and explained the problems we were having they told us to simply bring it back along with our sales receipt for a refund. Sure enough, the return was that easy.

We are waiting for the glitches to get worked out and we will probably try another mower like this again in the future because the overall concept and features are what we are looking for.

Comments for Sears Craftsman model # 37645

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Feb 06, 2009
Rating
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Bag is too small
by: Al

I bought this mower towards the end of the summer last year. It has done a good job for me so far. I use it on the front and back lawn - about 1/2 an acre or so. I do not use it on the rest of our acreage. For that we use a riding lawn mower. We just needed this to make the yard up close to the house look extra good. We like to keep things trimmed up and freshly cut.

This mower does a pretty decent job for how we use it. I know it works fairly even and the adjustments are just right for us. The rear bag is just okay. I think the bag is small for this size of lawn mower because it always fills faster than I expect it to. It also seems to spill a bit when it gets too full, but that could be more my fault for not emptying it sooner.

I like the way the bag attaches, it is much simpler than the last mower we had and it is secure - which that one wasn't. The bag does it's job for the most part. I usually do not use the mulcher, but I think it works fine for that sort of thing. We just prefer the clean surface of our lawn so we aren’t tracking grass into the house.

This lawn mower starts the first time nearly every time. I like that feature, because I often have our teenagers mowing and they can start it on their own, if need be. That really helps us get our yard done quickly.

Jan 05, 2009
Rating
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Powerful and very easy unit to use
by: Anonymous

I recently bought a new house which meant I also needed to invest in a lawn mower. The previous owners left me their old mower (a Toro), but the engine died after a few weeks. The estimate to have it fixed was almost as much as buying a new mower, so I decided to go to Sears and buy a Craftsman model.

I have a great deal of confidence in Craftsman products. At the time, they were having some good sales, so I settled on the Model 37645 Craftsman 6.75 Torque 22 in. Deck Rear Bag Front Propelled model. This was a mid-range push mower that retailed at $349, but I was able to get it for $219, which I think was a good deal and well within my budget.

Not knowing too much about lawn equipment, I liked that it started up immediately with just one pull. That was very impressive and gratifying. This is also a very powerful mower. Although I have a fairly large lot, it’s also flat. I was able to get back, front and sides done in a little over an hour, which is about 50% less time than the Toro that I owned, so the self-propel feature works nicely.

The mulching feature also works great, although sometimes the blade gets a bit clogged up. I attribute that to “user error,” since I probably should have waited until the sun dried off the grass more before going out to cut. I love the grass catching feature.

The bag is quite roomy, although you probably will have to empty it once or twice. There are four cutting positions and adjusting the height of the mower is very simple. I was surprised to find that the fuel capacity is only 1.6 quarts. That doesn’t seem like a lot of fuel, but I’ve never run out of gas while I was mowing. I make sure to refill the tank before I store it, so it’s ready to go the next time I take it out.

There’s an “Easy Deck” water wash feature which works OK – it helps remove any grass, leaves, twigs or other debris that may have accumulated under the mower. But frankly, the mower has stayed clean so I don’t see any need for me to hook this up. Overall, I am very satisfied with this Craftsman mower.

This is a powerful and very easy unit to use and maintain. If you keep your eye on the sales, you can get it for a really good price.

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