Know What You Need Before Choosing A Lawn Mower

For many, the frustration happens every year. It’s time to mow the grass, but your old lawn mower won’t start, shuts down, or just makes it a miserable chore. So finally you decide it’s time to get a new one. But choosing a lawn mower is not as easy as it seems.

While there are many factors involved in the decision, start by looking at the big three. Look at the size of your yard, what features you want or need, and the quality of engine you require.

Start by figuring out if a walk behind mower will do, or if you need a riding mower. A general rule of thumb would be if your yard is less than 0.75 acres, a walk behind will do just fine. These are the most popular mowers. If your yard is flat and small, there won’t be much need for extra features. However if your yard has lots of rough terrain and is over 0.5 acres, look seriously at a self propelled mower. These mowers essentially do much of the work for you. They more forward on their own. You simply stand behind the mower and guide it on it’s path.

Now you need to look at the mower deck and the engine power. A wider deck means you cut more grass at one time. The result is fewer trips across the yard. If you add a powerful motor into the mix, mowing will become even faster and easier. But don’t get too caught up in getting more power and a wider deck then you need. You’ll basically be spending more money for nothing if you don’t match the mower with the yard.

The terrain and slope of the yard should also determine what size your rear wheels should be. Generally standard size wheels are OK. But on a hilly yard, getting a mower with larger wheels will make mowing easier.

Now if your yard is over 0.75 acres, then a riding mower might be a better choice for you. Again, use the same rules to determine what size deck and how powerful an engine you need. If you’re mowing several acres, get a larger engine and a wider deck. But again, don’t waste your cash by over doing it.

A great feature to have is a mower with a zero turn radius. These are great if your landscape includes lots of trees and shrubs. You can use a zero turn radium to cut a complete circle without leaving any space in the middle. This make going around trees much easier. But if you don’t have a lot of landscape features, this option is not necessary.

The final big decision you need to make, and this applies to both riding and walk behind mowers, is if you want the mower to mulch. These mowers have special blades that will chop your grass clipping into small particles before returning them to the soil. The clipping decompose and act as a natural fertilizer. If you don’t get a mulching mower, then you’ll need to catch the clipping in a bag to throw them out. Or even worse, rake them up, bag them, then dispose of them.

Choosing a lawn mower becomes much easier when you answer the basic questions first. Sure there will be other decisions and options. Electric mowers, solar mowers and even robotic mowers are available. But in almost every case it’s a good idea to know and understand what you need before you begin your search.

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