Does a walk-behind mower do a better job than riding mower?

[charby]

Seeker_two, the lawn service is temporary. I try to mow the lawn twice a week to keep it looking really good. No telling when I'll be able to do that, but I will.

I think a smaller zero turn mower might be best for you. Driving a lawn tractor around objects that requires tight turning takes a lot of upper body strength because of no power steering. Zero turn mowers, hydraulics does it for you.

I have a couple of bushes on the hill down to my lake I need to mow around and it sucks cranking the wheel around to get as tight as possible. I got an older 100 series John Deere 170 with a 38" deck. I paid $450 for it in the winter time, but I have had to spend about $200 in stuff for it so far. Stuff like blades, tune up items, oil, battery, etc.

I also had to modify the starting solenoid circuit because of too much voltage drop through all the safety switches (Seat, PTO clutch, transmission and clutch). You'd turn the key and all you would get it click, click, click. Battery was fine, just had 9 volts going to the solenoid. So I took a John Deere fix off the garden tractors and made it work on mine, basically the safety switches if on will trip a relay at start up and the relay sends the full voltage to the solenoid. Wife wants to mow maybe, so that is why I left the safeties on.

I still need to get new tires, figure that is going to be $150 for new ones, also the brakes need new pads, another $15 in parts and a bunch of swear words to install them.

If you can find a used zero turn for the right money, you can probably sell it for the same price when you are strong enough to push mow again. Also you could keep it and make a few $$$ mowing other lawns with it when you are well.

[birdman]

Depending on how much you're willing to spend, you can get zero-turn riding mowers that get the job done so well there's almost no trimming to be done after mowing. They're at least as good as walk-behind mowers in that regard.

I just got a Deere Z355 zero turn...arrives Wednesday, I'll post reviews.

[Hawkmoon]

There's a lot more to quality of cut than just walk-behind or ride-on.

I'm living in the old family house I inherited when my mother died. The lot is about 2.7 acres that was once a cow pasture. None of it was landscaped and replanted as "lawn" -- the grass is whatever was growing there when my parents built the house in 1950. We originally had a farmer come in once of twice a year, mow it, and bail the hay for his farm. As the town shifted to being a suburb, there were no farmers left so we started mowing it.

Mom had an 18 horsepower Wheelhorse mower with a 3-blade, 48" deck. I had a Sears riding mower with a 2-blade, 38" deck that I brought with me when I moved in. The Wheelhorse is a much better machine and it cost at least five times as much as the Sears, but the Sears does a nicer job of cutting the grass.

Of course, the Sears also takes four times as long to get the job done so, when it's running (which it isn't at the moment) I use the Wheelhorse. But I don't expect it to look like a putting green, I just want it to look like it's been cut.

[MillCreek]

I mow 15,000 square feet of hilly lawn using a B&D rechargeable mower.  It takes me two battery packs to mow the lawn.  I could use a riding mower for about half of the lawn, but the rest has too much in the way of steep slopes.

[Monkeyleg]

Hawkmoon, I had my lawn looking beautiful two summers ago. It was the best in the neighborhood. But neglect it for even a few weeks and it looks like a slum.

There's one old (80+) guy in the neighborhood who uses a riding mower. That stigma bothers me.

[bedlamite]

Hawkmoon, I had my lawn looking beautiful two summers ago. It was the best in the neighborhood. But neglect it for even a few weeks and it looks like a slum.

There's one old (80+) guy in the neighborhood who uses a riding mower. That stigma bothers me.

So get a mower like this and you wont have that problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to8wh7LScXI

[roo_ster]

Hawkmoon, I had my lawn looking beautiful two summers ago. It was the best in the neighborhood. But neglect it for even a few weeks and it looks like a slum.

There's one old (80+) guy in the neighborhood who uses a riding mower. That stigma bothers me.

Riding mowers are awesome.  You get to own another vehicle that goes "vroom, vroom" and does useful work.  What's not to like?

Get yourself one postehaste and consider it therapy.  I am partial to the old Snapper rear-engine setup.  Not as nimble as zero-turn, but more nimble than the usual garden tractor sort.  And easier to get on.

[charby]

Riding mowers are awesome.  You get to own another vehicle that goes "vroom, vroom" and does useful work.  What's not to like?

Get yourself one postehaste and consider it therapy.  I am partial to the old Snapper rear-engine setup.  Not as nimble as zero-turn, but more nimble than the usual garden tractor sort.  And easier to get on.

[KD5NRH]

The kid did get an almost-new pickup for his 16th birthday, though.

I got a car for my 16th birthday.

Of course, it looked like something a heavily armed Carrie Fisher would stalk between shifts at the Curl Up And Dye, but it was a car.

[Northwoods]

I got a car for my 16th birthday.

Of course, it looked like something a heavily armed Carrie Fisher would stalk between shifts at the Curl Up And Dye, but it was a car.

That explains so much.

[Perd Hapley]

Are goats an option?

[Brad Johnson]

Whatever you end up getting, make plans for blade maintenance. Either a sturdy vise, an angle grinder (using a light touch), and a set of finishing files, or a good relationship with your local lawn pro shop.

I've seen far too many people spend lots of $$ fighting lawn problems that could have been solved by simply keeping their lawnmower blades properly sharpened. Makes for much easier cutting, too, not to mention the reduced strain on the mower. That, and a decent service regimen, will make even low-priced mowers perform better and last much longer than you would expect.

Brad

[KD5NRH]

That explains so much.

Actually, that was a bit inaccurate; the lighter worked, as did the left turn signal.

[birdman]

Just did my first cut with new mower, Deere z355 zero turn.  Holy crap!
<30min for an acre, and I think I could cut that down now that I know what it likes and doesn't, with hills, complex trimming (even trimmed around the sprinkler heads I have set up), etc....I think I might need the weed trimmer in -maybe- one or two places, but damn, this thing can get anywhere, and blazingly fast.

Way better than normal rider.

[Cliffh]

On leveling the decks - the deck on my 42" Craftsman would measure perfect but when I cut the grass one side would be taller than the other.  Stopped trying to measure at the deck, instead I'd run through a patch of tall grass, then measure the grass at both sides and adjust as necessary.

I sharpen the blades on my 48" Husqvarna and DW's 42" Murray.  I've tried files, bench grinder, 4" grinder, belt sander (both hand-held & bench mount) - none were very satisfactory.  Ran across a grinding stone that mounts in a drill at Tractor Supply that is great.  http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/arnold-high-speed-rotary-blade-sharpener?cm_vc=-10005  It takes about an hour or so to do all 5 blades if they're not too badly dinged.  Right now I've got 3 sets of blades for each mower so I can keep sharp blades on and sharpen when there's time.  I just put a set of Gator blades with carbon (?) inserts on mine and used them for about 6 hours.  Haven't had the time to check them for wear/sharpness since putting them on, but they were still cutting the Dallas grass at the end of the day.  Stock-type blades used to just bend it over after that amount of cutting.

I made a set of ramps to get some clearance under the deck for the blade changes & deck cleaning.  DW's deck doesn't get clogged up much - she doesn't get into the wet areas.  I mow the wet and tall areas, some days I'll have to clean the buildup a couple times.

Four point turns to get around all the trees, bushes & other obstructions on 5 acres can get tiring.  I seem to recall hearing/reading about a ride-on with some kind of steering power assist but can't remember where.

The steering linkage on every ride-on I've seen is some type of ball joint pressed into a recess in the connected linkage.  I used the Husq with the stock setup until the first time the linkage broke.  I cut off the broken parts and welded on Heims joints.  Didn't make any difference in the steering but it hasn't broken since.