If it’s been years since you purchased a lawn mower, you might be surprised by the variety of mowers you can get and the features they come with. But what can be an overwhelming process can be narrowed down by doing some research and asking yourself some questions before buying.
Selecting a lawn mower comes down to several factors, including how much lawn you have, the roughness of your terrain and how much work you want the mower to do.
“You have to have a grand conversation with yourself,” says Lou Manfredini, Ace Hardware’s Helpful Hardware Man. “Technology has changed quite a bit.”
Push and self-propel
Lawn mowers come in two basic styles: ones that you push and ones that are self-propelled. The main difference between the two?
A self-propelled mower “pulls the mower along, and you guide it with the handle bars,” says Peter Sawchuk, a program leader for home improvement at Consumer Reports, which has an overview of lawn mowers and tractors in this month’s edition.
“If you get a push [mower], you’ll have to push it with your legs and arms,” he says. “Since the self-propelled are generally more expensive, they tend to have more features. Push lawn mowers are for people with small, relatively flat lawns.”
If you have some hills or want less stress, self-propelled may be the way to go. “Self-propelled, for the extra money, it’s so much easier,” says Bob Mackey, a buyer for Sears Holding Corp. “You also can control the speed of the walk. What we’re trying to do is make life easier for the customer.”
Self-propelled mowers can be front- or rear-wheel drive. Front-wheel drives are suitable if you don’t want to use a bag to collect cut grass and you have a fairly flat yard, says Rob Little, marketing manager for Toro Walk Power Mowers in Bloomington, Minn. “Rear-wheel-drive mowers have better traction for hilly yards and better bagging” qualities, he says.
Push mowers can start in the $150 range, while self-propelled models can start at $200, according to Consumer Reports.
Gas versus electric
If you have a small, flat yard, you might consider a corded or cordless electric lawn mower. “The cord is going to limit the amount of space you’re going to use it on,” Sawchuk says.
As for cordless ones, “The battery is roughly 40 to 45 minutes of cutting time,” he says. Just be aware that recharge times can vary between eight and 24 hours.
“You’re looking at overnight” charging, he says.
Electric mowers also tend to be less expensive, Little says. “If you have a small yard, they’re a little more economical. They’re lighter in weight. If you’re cutting your grass once a week, the electric mower can do a good job. But if you let your grass go … you don’t get quite the power to cut the grass.”
Hence, many people turn to gas mowers. “Most lawn mowers are gas,” Little says.
“It’s the most common and versatile,” Manfredini explains. “You can do a large yard. It doesn’t hold a ton of fuel, and it can at least go for over an hour.”
Push gas mowers start at $219.99 online at Sears. Black & Decker’s electric mower costs $159.99 online at Ace Hardware.
While most lawn mowers are gas or electric, there are some that aren’t. Reel-type mowers, which you may remember your grandparents using, have four or five blades that turn like a rolling pin over grass while you push it. Although some do come with gas-powered engines, many rely on you and your back to do the pushing.
If you have Bermuda grass or a hybrid lawn, reel-type mowers are ideal, says Tim Wilson, the store manager of Orchard Supply Hardware in Fresno, Calif. “This is the best way to [mow] it,” he says. “It cuts low. But the drawback is if you go on vacation, you’re doing several passes.”
Reel-type mowers start at $69.99 for a 14-inch wide deck at OSH in Fresno. E.G. Babcock in Fresno has gas-powered, self-propelled ones starting at around $1,200. Many of the models at Babcock have commercial-grade components and “will last you a real long time,” says Phil Babcock, who owns the Fresno business, which sells and services gas-powered lawn equipment.
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Tractors
When should you start eyeing tractors that you can ride on? When “you have a bigger yard, can’t walk behind a mower or don’t have as much time,” Manfredini says. Oh, also when you have extra cash, because they can get expensive.
A tractor “is a whole different ball game,” he says.
Lawn tractors can have rear-wheel drive with the rider sitting on top of the cutting deck, or rear-engine tractors, where “the rear wheels provide the power and the steering. It allows you to do more of the trimming and going around trees,” Little says.
Another option is zero-turn-radius mowers, “where the deck is in front of the mower, the rider is riding above but behind the cutting deck,” he says.
These mowers, which have two hand levers and independent hydraulics with each wheel, “if you do it right … it will actually spin in a circle,” Sawchuk says. “They also have faster ground speed. They can go up to 7 mph. Regular ones go about 5 mph. The most common cutting speeds are 3 to 4 mph.”
Despite the steep price of these zero-turn-radius mowers, which start at $3,000, some homeowners are drawn to them, he says. It’s the “fun factor. It’s like a sports car,” Sawchuk says. “It’s been around for about 20 years [on the commercial end], but in the last five years, the consumer end has increased.”
Lawn tractors range from $1,000 to $3,500, he says.
Commercial mowers
But should you also use commercial mowers, the ones typically used by landscape maintenance crews?
“There are differences, and in general, the commercial mowers are designed with two thoughts in mind,” Sawchuk says. “They’re going to be running a lot more hours, so the engines are more durable. Also, the body is also more durable.” The handlebars, wheels and other parts also are higher grade than consumer models. Commercial lawn tractors also have similar characteristics.
Little of Toro agrees. “The biggest difference is durability,” he says. “The quality cut and performance aren’t all that different. But if you’re going to be using it a lot and have it last 12 or 15 years, those would be the key differences.”
But commercial ones also come at a price. For example, “Most of our consumer walk mowers sell between $300 to $400,” Little says. “Most of our commercial ones will be between $600 and $700.”
Power ratings
As you browse around looking at labels on mowers, one thing you may notice on some is that the power ratings have changed. In one instance, at least, mowers with Briggs & Stratton engines have changed from horsepower to torque this year. But customers haven’t seemed to notice, says Wilson at OSH. “It hasn’t been too much of a hitch, at least to what we thought it would be,” he says.
Besides torque and horsepower, you also may see cubic centimeters, which measures the engine size.
But when it comes to these various power ratings, don’t let them bog you down, Sawchuk says. “Our position is, ignore them,” he says. Instead, focus on what you want the mower to do for you and the features it includes.
Features such as whether you want the mower to cut the grass and deposited into a bag, tossed out the side, mulched back onto the lawn or do all three. Also, some mowers can start with a simple turnkey instead of having to pull a rope.
“What do you want it to do?” Babcock says, adding that you should also think about whether you can get parts and services for the mower you want.
One other piece of advice? “You get what you pay for,” he says. “You can buy them for $139 or $140, but don’t expect them to be really well-built or have many features.”
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More green for the lawn
After several years of declines, household spending on lawns and gardens inched back up in 2006.
Year Avg. spending
2002 $466
2003 $457
2004 $449
2005 $387
2006 $401
The Washington Post
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Source: National Gardening Association