Lawn mower advice please

[Oleg Volk]

I need to mow a 0.2 acre sloped lot. My options are: used 6HP Sears gas mower for $110 or getting an electric mower. I dislike the smell of gas and the engine noise, but I am dubious about the utility of a battery or a corded electric model. Please advise what to get.

[Harold Tuttle]

i have been running the same corded electric black & decker for 12 years

for a small lots its fine & its very quiet

you will learn the zen of drag cord flipping

[charby]

I mowed a 1/4 acre yard one time with a electric mower..  never again damn cord slowed me down.

I use a 2 cycle lawnboy Silver series and love it.

You could check out this mower on your small lot. Its electric and mows by itself. http://www.ie.husqvarna.com/node1533.asp

[mtnbkr]

I mow a postage stamp yard (front is 10ft wide and 30ft long, give or take a few, back is twice as wide) in NoVa with a corded electric mower.  It does the job just fine.  Occasionally, the cord gets in the way, but not often enough to bother me.  I can mow at any time of the day and not disturb my neighbors.

Oh, I use a Black and Decker mower.  I've had it for 3 years now and it's still running strong.

Chris

[client32]

I can't do the acre to sq foot conversion at the moment, but if it is small enough, what about a manual mower (reel mower).

A google search should turn up options.

[mtnbkr]

I tried the reel mower thing myself when I first got my house.  It works fine IF you keep the grass cut.  Get behind schedule with your mowing and you're going to have a time getting it to cut properly.  Also, if your yard isn't smooth, you're going to have problems.  A reel mower would work great on a putting green, but isn't very practical for most yards or schedules.

I used mine for a season and a half and ended up selling it at a yard sale for $20.

Chris

[cfabe]

If you can deal with the cord, electric would be okay, I wouldn't get a battery operated one. Personally I'd get the gas push mower, but I don't mind the fumes. Wear some hearing protection and the sound shouldn't be too bad.

[Tallpine]

For that small a yard, I would get a brand new Briggs & Stratton powered 20" mower.   Much lighter and easier to use than the big one you are looking at, and probably about the same price.  Look for the sales that Ace or other h/w stores run this time of year.

Change the oil every season and it will probably last about 10 years (or more).

Or ... I got one of those high wheel 6hp mowers new for about $200 on sale a few years ago.  Harder to mow around flowers and trees but better if the ground is rough.

I used an electric ONCE ... couldn't stand the dang cord.

Best idea: get one of those little minature horses :-)

[cdma]

I'm not a fan of yard work and, like most tasks, trying to save money in the short run on sub-standard equipment makes the task that much more unpleasant.

I'd start by looking at the Honda Harmony II line of mowers. They start in the high $300s, but last for years. and are excellent mowers. They're also good mulchers if you want that. Depending on how severe your slope is, the additional expense of a powered mower may be well worth it. However, if your lot has many obstacles that you'll need to manuever around, the added weight of a self-powering mechanism will be an impediment.

I never was a fan of electrics; I never could master cord management. They are relatively quiet, though, which is a plus.

[XLMiguel]

Corded electirc mowers are a PITA, and they don't do well when the grass is thick & high.  Still, it's a small lot, so it's up to you on your tolerance for dragging the cord around.  How much manuerving do you have to do around trees, shrubs, beds?  Less/fewer is better if you have to deal with a cord.

If you can get along with gas, a 4 HP 20" would do ya fine, <$150 new.

Plan B - any neighborhood kids around with an entrepanueral bent or work ethic?

[Waitone]

Goats, think goats.

[possenti]

Whatever is the cheapest.  The more money you save is more money for ammo and gun stuff!

[TarpleyG]

Do what I do and pay a lawn service $16 per cut to do it for you.  Hell, for $16, I can't afford NOT to have them do it.  I can't do it that cheap myself.

Greg

[roo_ster]

$110 for a 6HP mower is pretty cheap.

The electrics are nice for the reasons mentioned above...and are a PITA for the reasons mentioned above...

Here's a possible solution:  buy the 6HP gas mower AND a reel mower, as they are really cheap, too.  If you stay on top of it, you don't break out ol' smelly & noisy that often.  If you let it go two weeks, you'll thank yourself for having a gas-powered mower.

What did I do?  I have a smaller than .2 acre lawn & bought a 21" 6HP self-propelled mower at Costco.  The cool thing is that the motor is a Honda, but I did not pay a Honda price, as it was produced by MTD.

Welcome to yard work.  At first I dreaded it, but now I see the parodies of suburban guys on their mowers or doing landscaping and feel a tinge of solidarity and (I seem to have a mote in my eye, sniff, sniff) a little pride.

[kudu]

1/5 of an acre is not a small lot in my opinion, it's not big, but a decent size.  A corded mower is quiet, but is it worth the hassle of the cord dragging up and down a hill.  Get a decent gas mower, maybe self propelled, some of the better ones run pretty quiet and don't have as bad fumes.

[Standing Wolf]

I bought an electric mower and a very long cord shortly after I bought my house.

As trusted, it was easier on the ears than a gas model. The cord was something of a bother; once I learned to mow away from rather than toward the house, however, it wasn't so bad. A year after I bought it, I discovered "mulching" the cut grass was altogether the wrong thing to do in Colorado: it's so dry here, the clippings don't decompose, but clog up the lawn.

I bought a Honda gas-powered motor. I never run it without first putting on a pair of shooting muffs. All my neighbors know I'm a gun nut, and anyway, I carry openly about half the time when I'm in the yard. It's self-propelled, so it handles the inclined back yard better than the electric model. Dumping the bag is a bother, but the lawn is healthier now. Changing the oil is another bother, as is remembering to fill the gas can at the station. Other than the hassles, the mower is a champion.

[grampster]

Get a Honda, 4stroke, self propelled.  End of Story.

[nico]

I cut my yard with a 6hp self propelled Troy bilt mulching/bagging/side eject mower and it works pretty well.  If you don't cut it once a week during the summer, you have to use a bag, but it's still not bad.  

I also cut my grandmother's lawn with a Craftsman electric mower and I absolutely hate it.  She has a few small trees in her yard and a deck and I have to screw with the cord every couple of minutes.  If you're cutting a clear patch of land, I think it'd work fine though.

[Guest]

Get a Honda, 4stroke, self propelled.  End of Story.

Yes.

[DustinD]

I use a self propelled gas mower with hearing protection. I wear hearing protection for shooting and riding my motorcycle (noisy winds whipping through ear canals cause hearing damage) so it is no biggy for me to wear protection for mowing.

[Peter Ratner]

Waitone said "Goats, think goats."

If you're gonna go with critters use sheep - goats will et everything they can reach (even getting up on their hind legs), and don't particularly like grass. Sheep are much better at mowing grass, and tastier too.

[Leatherneck]

I've repaired mowers for about 20 years as a hobby for friends and neighbors. Probably about 15-20 per year on average. In all that time, I've never had a single electric mower in the shop.

Two problems account for 90% + in the gas mowers:
1. Low/no oil,
2. Bad gas in the springtime.

So if you're fond of changing oil, storing gasoline, noise, smell, etc go with the gas mower.

TC

[BryanP]

For a lot that small, I would second the earlier recommendations for a push reel mower. They work surprisingly well.
 You can get them for about $100 at Lowes.



The only problem with the battery powered models is runtime, but again with a .2 acre lot I don't think that will be an issue.

[mtnbkr]

Bryanp, the model you show in your picture is the exact one I had.  It's not worth the hassle, especially with a sloping yard.  They're a PITA unless your yard is a putting green.

I really wanted mine to work out, but it just wasn't happening.  Roots, ruts, too tall grass, etc all make it difficult to use.  When conditions were right, it worked very well, but that was seldom.

Chris

[Wildalaska]

Get one of those 12HP Sears tractors, paint it desert camo, put some knobby tires and a roll bar on it, Mount a GE Mini Gun on the front, park it in the driveway and get yer neighbors to cut the grass

WildittakesavillageAlaska