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.

Next you should consider the size of the mower deck and the power of the engine. A wide mower deck means you’ll cut more grass with every pass, and that means fewer trips across and back. If you add on an engine with a little extra torque, then the job is fast and simple. Here’s the key. Match the mower with the yard. If you don’t need a wider deck and more power, don’t pay for it. It would simply be wasting money.

The size of the rear wheels is also an important option. Standard wheels are more than adequate in most cases. However if your yard is rough with lots of slopes and hills, consider large rear wheels to 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.

Those are the basics. Other options include both corded and uncorded electric mowers, solar mowers, and even robotic mowers. But if you answer the basic questions first, then choosing a lawn mower will become much easier when you visit the dealer or look online.