Time for a New Lawn Mower

[FormerHangie]

So, what I hear is you are wanting to hire Ashely to mow the lawn for you and help her with her figure....

That's an interesting idea, but I don't think I have enough money to pay her to cut my grass. As far as helping her with her figure, I'd say she's doing quite well on her own.

Although pricey, those electric roomba mowers look interesting. Because it can be used to mow the lawn every few days, the lawn doesn't get thick or deep. I believe that it can handle irregular lawns shapes.

I've always wondered if they got stolen often.

Maybe this is because I'm still relatively young and my legs work but for push type mowers I've always preferred it as basic as possible... the less features there are on a push mower the lighter it is. I'd rather push/pull it up and down the rows as quick as possible and be done. Self propelled adds a whole bunch of weight and complication and besides most of them don't go very fast.

I just buy one of the cheapest ones for sale at wal-mart/sams/whatever home improvement store. Better yet would be something old enough not to have the crappy plastic carburetors that you can't take apart and clean but those are getting harder to find.

It was a struggle at age 40 to push the mower up the hill on what was then Bermuda grass, which is thinner. A mower I buy now I hope to be using until age 70, and these hills aren't getting any flatter.

What is a lawnmower? For that matter, what is a lawn? When we relandscaped our yard about 15 years ago what little lawn we had went away, and so did our lawnmower. The lawn we had would fill one catcher bag when I cut the grass. Now I just pull more weeds.

Um, it's a space covered in grass?

This is my preferred model of self-propelled lawnmower:

View attachment 86553


If you have one of these organic power units cluttering up the house and eating your food anyway, might as well get some use out of your investment.

Once I was in fourth grade, my father's grass cutting days were over. I have girls, they don't cut grass.

Just out of curiosity, why do you bag instead of mulch? With a good mulching mower, I have yet to see a yard that you can tell there is cut grass on it. And the compost will allow you to quit or skimp on fertilizer.

Most warm season grasses have a good bit of silica in their leaves and don't compost well. Zoysia, because of its dense growth habit, tends to develop thatch. When I had a fescue lawn to maintain, I did mulch to good effect, but wouldn't do that with a warm season grass.

 

[FormerHangie]

Here's the front yard:

 

[benyflyguy]

A simplicity rider that was given to me a few years ago finally crapped the bed. I have an old walk behind 36” byers that cuts a great lawn but there is a lot of leaking and drivetrain is getting ready to let go. So I’m in the market.

I did look at a cub cadet zero turn today. Does look good. I have about 2 acres to do. Maybe a bit more. I really liked the cub cadet residential ones. I don’t get how the zero turns are so much more money then what is considered a big rider?? But they are.
I going to call tomorrow and ask for the cash hundred dollar bills best price for what it’s worth. Years ago you could get a pretty good deal that way but not so much anymore.

 

[FormerHangie]

Side yard:

 

[FormerHangie]

Oddly shaped backyard:


This just got sod last summer, and it's still filling in.

 

[FastEddieB]

Battery mowers. Have any of you had success with those? The few people I know who have tried them were disappointed. They overheated and shut down before completing even small lots. These were folks using self prop 48V units from Lowe's.

Not specifically. But my neighbor and I went in on both an EGO chainsaw and an EGO string trimmer and are impressed with both. We still have Stihl gas-powered equivalents for big jobs, but it’s so handy to just pick up an electric, not worrying about starting or premix and not needing hearing protection. Maybe consider their mower?

As mentioned 2 years ago, we settled on a John Deere 1025R tractor with a 60” mowing deck. Great decision for our 8 acres total plus the runway, but certainly overkill for you.

 

[FormerHangie]

My neighbor has a self prop battery mower, also from Lowes (maybe HD). Don’t know the battery voltage. It seems to work well. It’s very quiet.

She has a bluegrass/fescue blend

One of my neighbors has one that he's been happy with. I'm thinking of being the lab rat and going for one. The only issue is that the batteries are really expensive. They do come with a three year warranty.

 

[kyleb]

Not specifically. But my neighbor and I went in on both an EGO chainsaw and an EGO string trimmer and are impressed with both. We still have Stihl gas-powered equivalents for big jobs, but it’s so handy to just pick up an electric, not worrying about starting or premix and not needing hearing protection. Maybe consider their mower?

I have a whole wall full of 18V battery powered tools. Trimmers, blowers, chainsaw (!), etc. They are great for my light use/needs. That's why I'd love to find a suitable self-prop battery mower for my backyard. The recip self-prop is still working, but I'd love to replace it with battery powered self-prop when it dies. Our back yard is too convoluted for a rider. But I want one that is capable of mowing 4,000 SF of hilly yard without needing a charge or overheating.

The front yard and cul-de-sac, OTOH, are big spaces and would be a lot of area for a self-prop. That's why I have a gas powered rider.

 

[FastEddieB]

Our 56v EGO tools came with a 5 a/h battery (chainsaw) and 2.5 a/h battery (string trimmer).

The batteries are expensive - about $250 for the 5 a/h model. But there are sometimes deals where you can get a tool plus a battery for just a bit more than the battery itself.

Their mower comes with a 7.5 a/h battery, which they say us good for “up to an hour of mowing”.

 

[Spring Ford]

View attachment 86539
Had geese way back....found they “fertilized” the patio at least as much as the lawn. They one by one disappeared...probably same coyote problem.

I knew someone who had a couple of geese - they disappeared in mid December. Probably a Christmas Dinner solution - someone else's Christmas Dinner.

 

[SoonerAviator]

A simplicity rider that was given to me a few years ago finally crapped the bed. I have an old walk behind 36” byers that cuts a great lawn but there is a lot of leaking and drivetrain is getting ready to let go. So I’m in the market.

I did look at a cub cadet zero turn today. Does look good. I have about 2 acres to do. Maybe a bit more. I really liked the cub cadet residential ones. I don’t get how the zero turns are so much more money then what is considered a big rider?? But they are.
I going to call tomorrow and ask for the cash hundred dollar bills best price for what it’s worth. Years ago you could get a pretty good deal that way but not so much anymore.

Part of it is having to have two hydrostatic drives instead of one like a rider-tractor generally uses. They also often have slightly larger engines in order to power the extra hydrostatic drive and often wider decks. The frames and other components are also generally heavier duty. Not uncommon to have 22HP+ on zero turns with 50"-60" decks.

 

[Zeldman]

What is these words ''lawn'' and ''grass'' that everyone is talking about.??

(not my house, but I wish my yard looked this good)

 

[Half Fast]

We're the pros from Dover.

 

[DaleB]

My old neighbor across the street bought a zero-turn mower. He spend a crazy amount of money on it. Then he moved; the new guy just bought one a couple weeks ago. I dunno... I've been looking at a couple of used Cub Cadets. I need to go measure the gate and see if one will fit through it. We had a bigger gate put on one side of the house, but it was 10 years ago and I don't remember how wide I had them make it.

It's not so much the mowing. My wife usually does that, though when it gets really hot out I do worry about her getting heat exhaustion. Aside from that, though, is the leaves in fall. We have two enormous maples in the back yard, two smaller ones on the side, and the neighbors of course have big trees as well. The fall leaf cleanup takes a couple of days with a leaf blower and bags... lots of bags... and that assumes no inconveniently timed rain or snow, which happens about 2 years out of 3. The thought of using a 46-48" mower with dual bags to speed that process up is very appealing. I would, however, need to figure out where the hell I'd park the thing. Might be time to finally build that tree house for the grandkids, maybe with a little parking pad underneath.

I also might be able to get rid of the snow blower and get a blade for the mower -- though the blades are way wider than the sidewalk, not sure how to deal with that. We've got a LOT of sidewalk, it's a deep corner lot.

 

[SoonerAviator]

My old neighbor across the street bought a zero-turn mower. He spend a crazy amount of money on it. Then he moved; the new guy just bought one a couple weeks ago. I dunno... I've been looking at a couple of used Cub Cadets. I need to go measure the gate and see if one will fit through it. We had a bigger gate put on one side of the house, but it was 10 years ago and I don't remember how wide I had them make it.

It's not so much the mowing. My wife usually does that, though when it gets really hot out I do worry about her getting heat exhaustion. Aside from that, though, is the leaves in fall. We have two enormous maples in the back yard, two smaller ones on the side, and the neighbors of course have big trees as well. The fall leaf cleanup takes a couple of days with a leaf blower and bags... lots of bags... and that assumes no inconveniently timed rain or snow, which happens about 2 years out of 3. The thought of using a 46-48" mower with dual bags to speed that process up is very appealing. I would, however, need to figure out where the hell I'd park the thing. Might be time to finally build that tree house for the grandkids, maybe with a little parking pad underneath.

I also might be able to get rid of the snow blower and get a blade for the mower -- though the blades are way wider than the sidewalk, not sure how to deal with that. We've got a LOT of sidewalk, it's a deep corner lot.

I don't know that the dual hopper on a rider or zero turn would be that helpful with leaf cleanup unless you go out and mow every day or two to clean up what falls. They don't generally do well with wet leaves or grass, and that tends to clog the pickup tube which results in disassembly and frustration. Just something to keep in mind. If you want leaf cleanup, get one of those tow behind leaf cyclone hopper that has its own engine for vacuum. I have 7 oaks, a magnolia, and the neighbors have another 5 or 6 oaks nearby. My leaf cleanup takes two or three days of dragging a 12x12 tarp full of leaves to make a 10x10x5H burn pile a few times per year, lol.

 

[FormerHangie]

I stayed up a little too late last night watching reviews and reading message boards. What I saw and read gave me the impression that my yard would stretch an electric mower to its limit and a little beyond. Most of the video reviews were of flat lawns with scraggly tall grass, not at all what I'm dealing with. For now, I'm looking at a Toro gas model, but I need to go see it in the store.

 

[Matthew]

I stayed up a little too late last night watching reviews and reading message boards. What I saw and read gave me the impression that my yard would stretch an electric mower to its limit and a little beyond. Most of the video reviews were of flat lawns with scraggly tall grass, not at all what I'm dealing with. For now, I'm looking at a Toro gas model, but I need to go see it in the store.

I'll probably be looking at a Toro for my next/last/final mower, too. Before she got the battery, my neihbor had the Toro self-propelled personal pace version. I'm not sure why she got rid of it in favor of rechargeable, but it does seem like a solid choice.

 

[DaleB]

I don't know that the dual hopper on a rider or zero turn would be that helpful with leaf cleanup unless you go out and mow every day or two to clean up what falls. They don't generally do well with wet leaves or grass, and that tends to clog the pickup tube which results in disassembly and frustration. Just something to keep in mind. If you want leaf cleanup, get one of those tow behind leaf cyclone hopper that has its own engine for vacuum. I have 7 oaks, a magnolia, and the neighbors have another 5 or 6 oaks nearby. My leaf cleanup takes two or three days of dragging a 12x12 tarp full of leaves to make a 10x10x5H burn pile a few times per year, lol.

Good to know, thanks. I wouldn't mind running the mower over the yard every couple of days if it would save the massive 2-day effort (which we invariably have to do at least twice). We can't burn them here, unfortunately... I love the smell of burning leaves in Fall, as do most of my neighbors.

I did measure the gate. There are two Cadets for sale locally, a 46" RZTS (steering wheel) and a 48" ZF. Either one will fit through the gate, but the 48" deck would only have about 1/8" to spare so I'd say it's "iffy". The RZTS is 4 years older, but has the bagger (I'd need to buy the mulch kit) and his asking price is $750 less than the other one which also doesn't have the bagger. So, I'll probably see if I can make a deal on the slightly smaller one. Just got done trimming and mowing the yard -- even my wife is on board with the idea.

 

[JOhnH]

[QUOTE="DaleB, post: 2930552, member: 9966"

It's not so much the mowing. My wife usually does that, [/QUOTE]


Even without pics, You Da Man!

 

[DaleB]

It's not so much the mowing. My wife usually does that,

Even without pics, You Da Man!

Ha. It gets worse. I work from home, have been a full time telecommuter for over 15 years now. She does it for the exercise. So she'll be out there cutting grass in 95-100 degree heat while I watch from my office window. I feel like a complete a-hole, but it's not very often I can sneak out during the day and do it myself.

Probably going to play Let's Make a Deal this weekend on a used zero-turn.

 

[wilkersk]

So glad the OP's pic was not of an old dilapidated mower. Thanks for that!

OTOH, my 14 year old big box special with a Briggs&Stratton engine and self-propelled 21" deck has rusted through to the point I'm beginning to worry that the motor will torque-roll itself right off the deck and slice me up like week old baloney.

Haven't told the wife yet. But, I'm fixin to take it in to the local lawnmower shop and see if they do trades (or more likely disposals, like they do with old water heaters). ----That's the mower, not the wife. Though, I suspect I'm in trouble anyway.

 

[GeorgeC]

I just schlepped my 80V greenworks pro to the airport for tiedown duty. It did really well on the tough grass there, even with a tired old battery. A 40V sun joe brushless is on the way for home duty.

 

[FormerHangie]

View attachment 86544


My excuse for not being rich.

In that picture, your wife appears to look at that horse with great fondness. Does she ever look at you the same way?

 

[Half Fast]

In that picture, your wife appears to look at that horse with great fondness. Does she ever look at you the same way?

Lord no. I am low on her priority list. My only purpose in life is equine sponsor.

 

[jimhorner]

Saw the city workers using one of these today. Never seen a radio controlled mower before.

https://www.powerproequipment.com/products/mowers/spider/ild02

Gotta wonder about this though. Four guys, 2 trucks, took them a probably 15 minutes to get it unloaded. In the google map picture below, I’ve circled in red what I saw them mowing. Actual vegetation area was approx 2’ x 4’. Now maybe they were planning to also mow the area I circled in blue also, but really, A robotic mower with 4 guys is a better choice here than a push mower? Wow. Our tax dollars at work.

Here’s a closeup of what they were mowing:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Brad W]

another thing to consider is the spring scalping for that zoysia. Some mowers don't cut low enough.
and for zoysia you need a whole lotta HP...especially for that scalping.

I have a zoyzia lawn. Into the first season with it my little standard mower dies so I went to Lowes and bout the walk behind with the biggest engine they sold. It's a troy built self propelled 21 inch with a 175cc briggs (I hate they don't list HP on teh engine any more). It works but not enough power. Just last night I was mowing after having been out of town for a week. Rained everyday we were gone, and it was THICK, as you said... Mower stalled probably 30 times. Thankfully one pull starts it up.

Anyway, like someone had said in an earlier post... several years back I hired out the chemicals finding that the cost was just about a wash. Then later found a guy that would mow and do the chemicals.... for just a bit more. It was great having that chore off my shoulders for several years, even though I enjoy the chore. It's about the time. BUT, I found over the years they let the weeds slowly take over. Last year my lawn guy up and quit on me. Well my son is 14 going on 15, so I'm breaking him in mowing while I address weeds and other stuff. Last night in fact was the first time I'd done the actual mowing all season I think. It's been fun getting back into it and I'm slowly winning against the weeds, I think....

I've been thinking about looking at commercial mowers but I'm on the fence about spending the money or just hiring it out again.

And on the electric...they guy cutting for our HOA is using an electric version of those commercial deck mowers they stand on, except its electric. It sounds like a drone. much quieter than a traditional mower. I think each blade has it's own motor, and there are several very small blades under the deck.
I'm not sure of the brand, but think it might be this
https://meangreenproducts.com/sk48-stalker/
whatever his is, it makes short work of large areas and seems to have a huge range.

 

[GaryM]

I've been thinking about looking at commercial mowers but I'm on the fence about spending the money or just hiring it out again.

I've had great luck buying used commercial walk-behind mowers from landscapers who are upgrading or getting out of the business. CraigsList is a good source. I've got a 52" Bobcat now, which replaced an old 48" Bobcat for which I couldn't get a new gearbox when the old one failed after 20 years or so.

They're faster than mowing with a tractor, are built like tanks (designed to run 50 hours a week in season, which is more hours than I put on mine in a year, they cut great, and they're very easy to work on.

 

[FormerHangie]

I bought a mower on Friday. It's a Toro Personal Pace with a Briggs engine, the $400 one that @YooperMooney called out in post #11. I got to use it last night, and it works well. The Personal Pace system works very well. This one also has the feature that if you fold the handlebars, you can stand the mower up on its end, which is convenient for blade maintenance. You can also store it that way.

another thing to consider is the spring scalping for that zoysia. Some mowers don't cut low enough.
and for zoysia you need a whole lotta HP...especially for that scalping.

I have a zoyzia lawn. Into the first season with it my little standard mower dies so I went to Lowes and bout the walk behind with the biggest engine they sold. It's a troy built self propelled 21 inch with a 175cc briggs (I hate they don't list HP on teh engine any more). It works but not enough power. Just last night I was mowing after having been out of town for a week. Rained everyday we were gone, and it was THICK, as you said... Mower stalled probably 30 times. Thankfully one pull starts it up.

Anyway, like someone had said in an earlier post... several years back I hired out the chemicals finding that the cost was just about a wash. Then later found a guy that would mow and do the chemicals.... for just a bit more. It was great having that chore off my shoulders for several years, even though I enjoy the chore. It's about the time. BUT, I found over the years they let the weeds slowly take over. Last year my lawn guy up and quit on me. Well my son is 14 going on 15, so I'm breaking him in mowing while I address weeds and other stuff. Last night in fact was the first time I'd done the actual mowing all season I think. It's been fun getting back into it and I'm slowly winning against the weeds, I think....

I've been thinking about looking at commercial mowers but I'm on the fence about spending the money or just hiring it out again.

And on the electric...they guy cutting for our HOA is using an electric version of those commercial deck mowers they stand on, except its electric. It sounds like a drone. much quieter than a traditional mower. I think each blade has it's own motor, and there are several very small blades under the deck.
I'm not sure of the brand, but think it might be this
https://meangreenproducts.com/sk48-stalker/
whatever his is, it makes short work of large areas and seems to have a huge range.

Yeah, last night I had set the height down a little lower than on the previous mower, and I did stall it a few times. The grass was still damp from Sunday's rain, and the grass is crazy thick, so on the uphill passes I was only takin g about a third of the deck's width worth of uncut grass. Even then, the grass bag filled up quickly.

The grass is about two inches tall, and will stay that height all summer unless we get a bad drought. In late winter I'll cut it back about a half inch, and then back to one inch once it starts greening up. If I tried to take it down a full inch all at once I'd be out there all day. Better to take a little off, then let it dry a little, and then cut it again. Last time I tried to cut it back all at once I think I filled 15 of the paper yard waste bags, and that was just the front and side yards.

If you need a more powerful 21 inch mower, Honda does make them with their 200 cc engine.

 

[FormerHangie]

I cut the grass twice with the Toro and then took it back. It just doesn't have enough power to deal with the thick grass and the hills. It would be fine for most yards, but not mine.

I got a Honda HRX217VKA with the 200 cc engine. It's not as convenient as the Toro was. The self propulsion control is a lever that you push in to get self propulsion and let out to get less self propulsion. it's not as nimble or maneuverable as the Toro is, and you have to turn it on its side to access the blade, but it does have enough power to cut the grass without strain.

Here's a picture:



Driver name sticker optional at extra cost.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I'm thinking about picking up one of the Ryobi electric ones at Home Depot to handle some of the spots that are tough to maneuver through with the tractor, and under/around the play set we recently got.

I'm kinda hoping I never have to buy another engine... And if I do have to, I hope it's attached to an airplane.

 

[FastEddieB]

I'm thinking about picking up one of the Ryobi electric ones at Home Depot to handle some of the spots that are tough to maneuver through with the tractor, and under/around the play set we recently got.

I'm kinda hoping I never have to buy another engine... And if I do have to, I hope it's attached to an airplane.

A string trimmer is not horrible for smaller, hard-to-reach areas. We recently supplemented our Stihl gas-powered one with an EGO, and are very happy with it so far.

 

[Getonit]

All of you guys complaining about hills, why don’t you just start at the top of the hill........I will leave now.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I cut the grass twice with the Toro and then took it back. It just doesn't have enough power to deal with the thick grass and the hills. It would be fine for most yards, but not mine.

I got a Honda HRX217VKA with the 200 cc engine. It's not as convenient as the Toro was. The self propulsion control is a lever that you push in to get self propulsion and let out to get less self propulsion. it's not as nimble or maneuverable as the Toro is, and you have to turn it on its side to access the blade, but it does have enough power to cut the grass without strain.

Here's a picture:

View attachment 87216

Driver name sticker optional at extra cost.

I have an older Honda like that. I don't have 'grass' per se, as the front lawn has been replaced with rock, and the back yard is weeds only. It's been pretty reliable. I don't remember when I bought it. It's probably pushing twenty years.

 

[Zeldman]

All of you guys complaining about hills, why don’t you just start at the top of the hill........I will leave now.

Because you still have to start at the bottom and crawl up to the top to get started.....

 

[Getonit]

Because you still have to start at the bottom and crawl up to the top to get started.....

could you not tell I used my sarcasm font?

 

[MyDimeIsUp]

 

[danhagan]

What is these words ''lawn'' and ''grass'' that everyone is talking about.??

(not my house, but I wish my yard looked this good)

I grew up in a house like this ... grass only in the back. Not fun when your dad gets you and your brothers together every other year to "sift" the rocks due to the excessive sand storms (sift is a heavy screen in a frame at 45* takes a few weekends of non-stop to do a yard

 

[kyleb]

I grew up in a house like this ... grass only in the back. Not fun when your dad gets you and your brothers together every other year to "sift" the rocks due to the excessive sand storms (sift is a heavy screen in a frame at 45* takes a few weekends of non-stop to do a yard

Um, why would you...

 

[danhagan]

Um, why would you...

It only takes a sand storm or two to completely cover that nice rock yard so it looks equivalent to the desert to the left in the image. Rock landscaping is expensive in west Texas ... grass is cheap, except the water and maintenance

 

[GeorgeC]

I just schlepped my 80V greenworks pro to the airport for tiedown duty. It did really well on the tough grass there, even with a tired old battery. A 40V sun joe brushless is on the way for home duty.

The sun joe definitely doesn't have the oomph of the greenworks, but it does fine. It' is way way way lighter, though, which was the main selling point for me.