Buying a new lawn mower, electric or gas?

linkus86

I am a home owner with a small yard that takes about 45 minutes to cut. As a home owner cutting grass is the bane of my existence so I am not the neatest neighbor and tend to cut only twice a month. In addition I am very mechanically dis-inclined such that my past cheapo lawn mowers tend to last between a year and a year and a half. Suggestions (besides hiring other to do it).

Answer
With what you have and what your preferences are, I would go with the electric mower.

The advantages:
1- It is virtually maintenance free. It either starts or doesn't. The only thing for you to do is check the power source and the connection. The are numerous things that can make a gas operated mower not operate.

2- One thing I found is that an electric mower tends not to bog down in tall grass like a gas operated mower can.

3- The cost of powering the mower is cheaper than gas. No gas, no oil, no spark plugs, etc.

4- You are buying less extra parts.

5- You don't have to make sure the gas is emptied out of the tank at the end of the season.

6- Less noise.

Yes, you have to be careful not to cut the cord but it becomes second nature with practice. I've done it once in 15 years. They have accessories that can help keep the cord from the blades.

If you had to cut a half acre or run out 250' of cord to mow, gas op would be the way to go.

Riding Lawn Mower or Push Mower?

i am NOT

I have about an acre that I have to push mow every weekend. I'm getting a big bonus next month and plan on using about$300-$400 getting a riding lawn mower. How much of a difference will this make as far as saving time? Thanks for the responses.

Answer
It will cut your time in half if not a little more. The trimming will take up most of the time if you need to do any.

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How to clear out overgrown areas?

best lawn mower half acre image

ashleyb1

My mother's backyard is VERY overgrown in some areas. There's also a pretty messed up koi pond in the backyard that I'm gonna have to trash. Anyway, all I have is a mower, a weed wacker, and my own hands to clean up the overgrown areas. Any tips? She's also giving me a budget to redo the backyard. Which is about half an acre. We live in New England so our weather's a bit unpredictable. Would it be worth it to put a new koi pond in? Also, could anybody help me with some ideas for the backyard redo? Thanks in advance!! :)

Answer
When I built my new house, I had to clear a lot of land. I had to rent a backhoe tractor to level some dirt piles. I then smoothed out some rough areas so I would be able to mow it when it was used as a lawn. Before I could mow the wooded, weedy areas, I had to clear it with a rake, sometimes a bit of shoveling, and a heavy-duty rototiller came in handy. There were rocks of all sizes strewn about. I hauled load after load of rocks in a wheelbarrow, out back where I had a giant rock pile hidden behind some trees. All this took intense labor over a year or so. Looks pretty good now. When you are all done with your clean up, you can decide if you wanna go to all the work of installing a fish pond. Remember, it requires more work to maintain a fish pond. In the meantime, you can get a copy of New Englander Robert Frost's book of poetry. He wrote a lot about such challenging projects.

How much should I charge to mow this lawn?

lafmasta

I am mowing a lawn for a lady who is going away to China for a year. She will be gone from the middle of August to the end of July, so about 50 weeks. I am mowing a 1/2 acre lawn with a push mower. I will mow it once a week. How much should I charge per week?

Answer
for a half acre i usually charge anywhere from 25 to 35 dollars depending on the amount of trimming that has to be done.........i mow, trim, then blow off any walkways

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How to clear out overgrown areas?

best lawn mower half acre image

ashleyb1

My mother's backyard is VERY overgrown in some areas. There's also a pretty messed up koi pond in the backyard that I'm gonna have to trash. Anyway, all I have is a mower, a weed wacker, and my own hands to clean up the overgrown areas. Any tips? She's also giving me a budget to redo the backyard. Which is about half an acre. We live in New England so our weather's a bit unpredictable. Would it be worth it to put a new koi pond in? Also, could anybody help me with some ideas for the backyard redo? Thanks in advance!! :)

Answer
When I built my new house, I had to clear a lot of land. I had to rent a backhoe tractor to level some dirt piles. I then smoothed out some rough areas so I would be able to mow it when it was used as a lawn. Before I could mow the wooded, weedy areas, I had to clear it with a rake, sometimes a bit of shoveling, and a heavy-duty rototiller came in handy. There were rocks of all sizes strewn about. I hauled load after load of rocks in a wheelbarrow, out back where I had a giant rock pile hidden behind some trees. All this took intense labor over a year or so. Looks pretty good now. When you are all done with your clean up, you can decide if you wanna go to all the work of installing a fish pond. Remember, it requires more work to maintain a fish pond. In the meantime, you can get a copy of New Englander Robert Frost's book of poetry. He wrote a lot about such challenging projects.

How much should I charge to mow this lawn?

lafmasta

I am mowing a lawn for a lady who is going away to China for a year. She will be gone from the middle of August to the end of July, so about 50 weeks. I am mowing a 1/2 acre lawn with a push mower. I will mow it once a week. How much should I charge per week?

Answer
for a half acre i usually charge anywhere from 25 to 35 dollars depending on the amount of trimming that has to be done.........i mow, trim, then blow off any walkways

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How often should I have my mower blades sharpened?

best lawn mower half acre image

aquanut

I recently purchased a new zero-turn mower and I was interested in knowing how often I should have my blades sharpened if I am going to be mowing multiple residences all summer long. Probably around 30 yards every 2 weeks or so for about 4 months.

Answer
You need to sharpen the blade ( or blades if you have more than one on the cutting deck) about every 15 times you cut a half acre. So if you were cutting 7.5 acres you should sharpen the blade every time you cut the lawn (since there are 15 half acres in 7.5 acres). This will speed up the rate you cut and reduce the amount of gas you use because you will cut faster and it will require less energy to cut the lawn.

Probably the best reason for sharpening that frequently is a dull blade will result in the grass drying out quicker and therefor a browning lawn. A sharp blade helps keep the lawn green and even.

I recommend having at least one or two extra blades so while you are using the blade on the mower the other blade can be sharpened at your leisure and installed readily when you are ready to change the blade.

Of course if you hit some large objects such as small rocks or sticks you may need to change the blade sooner than that.

How to clear out overgrown areas?

ashleyb1

My mother's backyard is VERY overgrown in some areas. There's also a pretty messed up koi pond in the backyard that I'm gonna have to trash. Anyway, all I have is a mower, a weed wacker, and my own hands to clean up the overgrown areas. Any tips? She's also giving me a budget to redo the backyard. Which is about half an acre. We live in New England so our weather's a bit unpredictable. Would it be worth it to put a new koi pond in? Also, could anybody help me with some ideas for the backyard redo? Thanks in advance!! :)

Answer
When I built my new house, I had to clear a lot of land. I had to rent a backhoe tractor to level some dirt piles. I then smoothed out some rough areas so I would be able to mow it when it was used as a lawn. Before I could mow the wooded, weedy areas, I had to clear it with a rake, sometimes a bit of shoveling, and a heavy-duty rototiller came in handy. There were rocks of all sizes strewn about. I hauled load after load of rocks in a wheelbarrow, out back where I had a giant rock pile hidden behind some trees. All this took intense labor over a year or so. Looks pretty good now. When you are all done with your clean up, you can decide if you wanna go to all the work of installing a fish pond. Remember, it requires more work to maintain a fish pond. In the meantime, you can get a copy of New Englander Robert Frost's book of poetry. He wrote a lot about such challenging projects.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How often should I have my mower blades sharpened?

best lawn mower half acre image

aquanut

I recently purchased a new zero-turn mower and I was interested in knowing how often I should have my blades sharpened if I am going to be mowing multiple residences all summer long. Probably around 30 yards every 2 weeks or so for about 4 months.

Answer
You need to sharpen the blade ( or blades if you have more than one on the cutting deck) about every 15 times you cut a half acre. So if you were cutting 7.5 acres you should sharpen the blade every time you cut the lawn (since there are 15 half acres in 7.5 acres). This will speed up the rate you cut and reduce the amount of gas you use because you will cut faster and it will require less energy to cut the lawn.

Probably the best reason for sharpening that frequently is a dull blade will result in the grass drying out quicker and therefor a browning lawn. A sharp blade helps keep the lawn green and even.

I recommend having at least one or two extra blades so while you are using the blade on the mower the other blade can be sharpened at your leisure and installed readily when you are ready to change the blade.

Of course if you hit some large objects such as small rocks or sticks you may need to change the blade sooner than that.

How to clear out overgrown areas?

ashleyb1

My mother's backyard is VERY overgrown in some areas. There's also a pretty messed up koi pond in the backyard that I'm gonna have to trash. Anyway, all I have is a mower, a weed wacker, and my own hands to clean up the overgrown areas. Any tips? She's also giving me a budget to redo the backyard. Which is about half an acre. We live in New England so our weather's a bit unpredictable. Would it be worth it to put a new koi pond in? Also, could anybody help me with some ideas for the backyard redo? Thanks in advance!! :)

Answer
When I built my new house, I had to clear a lot of land. I had to rent a backhoe tractor to level some dirt piles. I then smoothed out some rough areas so I would be able to mow it when it was used as a lawn. Before I could mow the wooded, weedy areas, I had to clear it with a rake, sometimes a bit of shoveling, and a heavy-duty rototiller came in handy. There were rocks of all sizes strewn about. I hauled load after load of rocks in a wheelbarrow, out back where I had a giant rock pile hidden behind some trees. All this took intense labor over a year or so. Looks pretty good now. When you are all done with your clean up, you can decide if you wanna go to all the work of installing a fish pond. Remember, it requires more work to maintain a fish pond. In the meantime, you can get a copy of New Englander Robert Frost's book of poetry. He wrote a lot about such challenging projects.

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How much should I charge for mowing half an acre?

best lawn mower half acre image

anuchetan@

I am mowing a pretty big lawn with a walking mower. The yard is about .45 acres.
I was thinking of 30. It takes me approx. I have these peoples lawn with a riding one before and with front and back it took me approx. 1 hour, 20 mins. But the riding has a wider base so it cuts more at a time.

Answer
Hello my friend-
I would call a couple professional lawncare providers and get a quote, as if it was your yard. Depending on the time you invest (edging, pruning, weeding, etc.) deduct 10-20 dollars from their (sometimes exorbitant) fee. I charge 40 dollars for about that size; I use their gas and edger. Hope this helps.

How often should I have my mower blades sharpened?

Q. I recently purchased a new zero-turn mower and I was interested in knowing how often I should have my blades sharpened if I am going to be mowing multiple residences all summer long. Probably around 30 yards every 2 weeks or so for about 4 months.

Answer
You need to sharpen the blade ( or blades if you have more than one on the cutting deck) about every 15 times you cut a half acre. So if you were cutting 7.5 acres you should sharpen the blade every time you cut the lawn (since there are 15 half acres in 7.5 acres). This will speed up the rate you cut and reduce the amount of gas you use because you will cut faster and it will require less energy to cut the lawn.

Probably the best reason for sharpening that frequently is a dull blade will result in the grass drying out quicker and therefor a browning lawn. A sharp blade helps keep the lawn green and even.

I recommend having at least one or two extra blades so while you are using the blade on the mower the other blade can be sharpened at your leisure and installed readily when you are ready to change the blade.

Of course if you hit some large objects such as small rocks or sticks you may need to change the blade sooner than that.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers