Need a New Lawnmower Recommendation (Austin, Buffalo: home, water bill, design)

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Maybe we'll look at a mower that doesn't take gas...would be nice but does it tackle a lawn full of weeds?

6 inches and lower it isn't bad. Above that the electric I use doesn't actually stall out but the blade speed goes way down until you either go slower or pull it out of the tall area.

[CptnRn]

The Ryobi electric mower I had was one of the first ones they made, it had only a 24 volt battery. It did the job but would bog down if you did not mow every week and let the grass get too tall. You would either have to mow it at a higher setting, then mow it again. Or just go very slow when it bogged down in the deeper grass. The newer ones with 48 volts should be much more powerful. I would expect them to do really well.

[calel]

My 3 year old electric can tackle weeds just fine. It does slow down or stall out if the weeds are especially high or wet. I usually just slow down while going over a particularly overgrown spot.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Maybe we'll look at a mower that doesn't take gas...would be nice but does it tackle a lawn full of weeds?

A corded mower such as those mentioned will have plenty of juice for weeds. I used to cut monkey grass and jasmine with ours. The battery models will need to be fully charged and even then wet grass/weeds are a challenge. The key is to mow with the 'appropriate' frequency(and keep the blades sharp). Also, mowing when the grass is dry makes for easier work(grass was almost ALWAYS dry the past three years! ).

You might check the Dewalt/Black & Decker service center on Braker for any re-furb 24v or 36v mowers. Not sure if they actually retail any models but they are the local repair facility for B&D.

The Ryobi that CaptRn mentioned is interesting. If you have a larger lot, an extra battery would let you mow and mow and mow...
IF I had to start all over, I'd consider that Ryobi for the 48v(even though I don't care for SP) and removable battery(used to have Neuton with two batteries to keep running on our 2/3 acres.) Toss down the HD credit card(after finding a 10% coupon somewhere) and take the year to pay it off(no interest).
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/cata...&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1

[mark311]

I bought my Craftsman gas self-propelled mower at the Sears Grand off I-35 almost 6 years ago. I take good care of my cars, but I've done nothing to this thing other than just put gas in it and it has performed perfectly. It was on sale for just under $300. I was really surprised at how knowledgeable the salesman at Sears Grand was. I couldn't live without my self-propelled mower because part of my yard is on an incline and it makes going up that no problem at all. My St. Augustine gets so thick in that part of the yard where the incline starts that even with the self-propelled wheels, it has to work to get through it.

I'm curious if the others that had problems maneuvering self-propelled mowers had the larger wheels on the back of the mower. I paid the extra $20 to get the upgraded oversized wheels on the back of the self-propelled mower as that improves maneuverability quite a bit from what I understand. Also, would a self-propelled be better for St. Augustine for example, but not another type of grass?

[Trainwreck20]

We have/had the larger wheels, and I am sure it helped, but the increase in weight was very noticeable in our yard. We have many trees and multiple curved beds, so we are hardly ever going straight and almost always doing slight adjustments in course (such as along our fence posts). The SP feature actually reduces power to the blades (all other things being equal), but that was not really the issue for us.

OTOH, if you did have lots of inclines, I definitely could see the benefit of a SP mower.

[atxcio]

Mine had the large wheels in the back, and those do help. My new mower has them too; helps navigate the stairs/levels in my backyard. I have a very inclined yard, and the extra weight of the self propelled mower was just not worth it to me. It's really not that hard to push a mower if it's light. Easier overall (for me anyway) than having to deal with the times the heavier mower couldn't provide much (if any) assistance moving itself.

[tourbound129]

I don't know if the brand matters but I would recommend you look for one with a Briggs and Stratton or a Honda motor. Its nice knowing I can go out after 3 months of not mowing the yard and all I have to do is prime the fuel line a little extra and it still starts on the first pull.

[scm53]

It all depends on what you want. If all you want is to keep the weeds low enough to not be cited, then anything will do. It you have a hybrid Bermuda yard (Tifway, Tifgreen, Celebration), and you want it to be healthy, you need to be able to cut it at a half an inch. Don't listen to the 1.5 in advocates - shaggy, and requires more water than .5 in.

To get that, you will need either a Honda mower (available at H Depot) or a manual reel type. I have both, and have never had a problem maneuvering the Honda. The variable speed control keeps it at a pace you like. The reel is a good workout - but too hard after about June 1.

If you can afford a Honda, you will never regret it.

[tstone]

I personally go with the cheapest self-driven mower from the big box store, typically has a Briggs & Stratton Quattro motor with auto throttle for under $150. Put Mobil1 10W30 oil in it, wash out the air filter and oil it whenever it starts sputtering, check the oil level every blue moon, and it will last about 5 years. About halfway through its life you'll want to change the spark plug and air filter. After 5 years everything will crap out all at once. On mine all in about 1 month, the muffler went out, blade got dull, spark plug blew out of its hole (had to use perma-threadlocker), honeycomb air cooler disintegrated and then the connecting rod blew a hole in the motor. Sent it to the recycler and started over. I spend about $30/yr this way. I'd like a Honda but spending $400 on it means it'd have to last me 13.3 years to run as cheaply. Not sure I'd like to keep a mower around that long anyway.