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Old 04-23-2015, 11:34 AM
 
216 posts, read 752,114 times
Reputation: 88

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I have been using a lawn mowing company to do the work from May to end of Oct. The lot is about 1 acre, and the grass area is about 0.4 acre, and each cut is $50, so the yearly lawn cutting cost is around $1250.

Summer is not that crazy in NE, so I am thinking mowing the lawn myself this year, and I did find some low end mow tractors selling for around $1500 (with great reviews though). It seems I can recover all the mow tractor cost in less than two years. However, I have no experience with maintenance and repairs of mow tractor. Is it easy to do the maintenance, such as oil / filter change, sharpen the blade etc. ? Where do you go for maintenance and repair? and What is the typical yearly cost?

Any great mow tractors you can recommend for less than $2,000?

Thanks.

Last edited by artking09; 04-23-2015 at 12:17 PM..
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Old 04-23-2015, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
6,782 posts, read 9,545,521 times
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That's not a very big lot. Just get a self-propelled push mower.
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Old 04-23-2015, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Texas
1,387 posts, read 985,757 times
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You will also need a weedeater, edger, and maybe a push mower for small areas. I usually change my oil every year. You're only talking about a few quarts so it's cheap. The filters are cheap also. Not sure how often you should sharpen blades. Mines have been on for over 5 yrs. I usually do my own repairs but I work on my own vehicles also so I have experience. I'm not sure what experience you have working on gas motors. When I was younger, my dad used a small local repair guy. Ask around for one. They are usually very reasonable.
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Old 04-23-2015, 11:47 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
6,782 posts, read 9,545,521 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tewest86 View Post
You will also need a weedeater, edger, and maybe a push mower for small areas.
We never used to edge anything. I blame society. It's really pointless.
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Old 04-23-2015, 12:03 PM
 
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I mow my lawn, my parents and my mother in laws, its good exercise.

I wouldn't pay anyone to do this.
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Old 04-23-2015, 12:08 PM
 
928 posts, read 3,434,094 times
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If you have time, I think its definitely cheaper to do it yourself. For me, time is an issue since I work a lot of hours and have all the gardens to care for, plus the house myself. I found a guy to mow the front for $10/wk and I'll do the back every 2 weeks.
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Old 04-23-2015, 12:08 PM
 
216 posts, read 752,114 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moby Hick View Post
That's not a very big lot. Just get a self-propelled push mower.
My lot is about 1 acre, the yard has many trees and has some slope. 0.4 acre is for grass only. Push mower seems not adequate for the work to me.
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Old 04-23-2015, 12:12 PM
 
Location: Poshawa, Ontario
2,982 posts, read 4,083,199 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moby Hick View Post
That's not a very big lot. Just get a self-propelled push mower.
Exactly what I thought. The OPs lot is about the same size as mine and I have used a $130 push mower I bought brand-new to cut our grass since we moved in 4 years ago.
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Old 04-23-2015, 12:12 PM
 
Location: SC
2,966 posts, read 5,194,738 times
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I am a female who used a large Mahindra tractor pulling a detached 6 foot finish deck to mow 10 acres, for years, up until a year ago when I moved. I also finished off the small spots with a non-self-propelled push mower and weed eater.

I think you can manage.
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Old 04-23-2015, 12:22 PM
 
813 posts, read 597,077 times
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I have a guy who mows and weed-eats 2 acres for me. He has equipment that will allow him to do in 1 hour what I used to spend 4 hours doing myself. I rarely ever mow anymore, it is too time consuming. I do still bush-hog the back acreage. The typical tractor isn't going to be as speedy as a zero-turn radius mower. There is maintenance involved and if you aren't mechanically inclined it can cost a bit to have someone else maintain. You also should store a tractor inside, nothing brings a mower down quicker than sitting in the weather.

All in all it depends on how much you value your time. If you don't have anything better to do, mow it yourself.
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