When it comes to lawn mower maintenance, it’s a pretty easy job. You probably won’t have to do anything 90% of the time, as lawn mowers are pretty simple machines and can exist happily fairly independently. But Mower Source has discovered there are some areas you should never ignore, so read on.
Hands up if the thought of sitting down while mowing the lawn sounds like an awesome idea. Well, Mower Source has put together a handy guide that’ll tell you if you should be shopping for one right now.
A lot of people forget that a lawn mower is a piece of machinery capable of causing great harm and injury. It doesn’t have to if you just put an ounce of precaution into play, especially if you use Mower Source‘s handy guide of these 24 safety tips that most people overlook.
The lawn mowing season has just begun, but remember, it’s a marathon and not a sprint. You’ve still got many months ahead of you where you’ll have to cut the lawn, and there are going to be days when it feels more like a grind than a fun gig. We here at Mower Source compiled some tips you can use to pace yourself both in the short- and long-term.
Last week, we covered all the awesome aspects of a zero turn mower. They’re remarkably agile in spite of their size, they get the job done incredibly quickly and cut down on extraneous tools, and they’re fun and safe to use. But we here at Mower Source know that there’s one drawback to a zero turn mower: you need a fairly sizeable yard to warrant one. If your grass is more on the foot-friendly side, then a walk-behind mower is probably best for you.
Spring is so close, you can almost taste it. The snow’s slowly beginning to melt, the mercury is creeping up, and in just a couple of days, the clocks will be going ahead to give us more sunlight during the day. We’re not quite there yet, but we will be soon. And to get you started, Mower Source will be starting off the season by taking a look at Zero Turn mowers, which are among the biggest, most efficient and easiest to use of all lawn mowers. So, let’s bring on spring by taking a look at why so many people love them.
Lawn mowers are powered in one of two ways: with a cord, or a supply of gas. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, depending on what your mowing personality is like and what your job consists of. One is great for the lawn mower who likes a bit of freedom when cutting the grass, although environmental friendliness may not be a top priority. The other option, though, may be more environmentally friendly, but it has a limited leash on which it can run. We’ll take a fun and lighthearted look at the pros and cons of each type of lawn mower so you can decide which one’s best for you.
Freedom
Not all of us have a postage stamp-sized lawn or one with electrical outlets every 10 feet, so it’s important to get a lawn mower that can go where it needs to get the job done. This is especially true for larger lawns or oddly-shaped ones where you need a mower that can cut, turn, weave and pretty much just barrel its way to short-shorn success.
Winner: Gas-powered lawn mowers
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Environmental Friendliness
It’s not new news anymore that machines that belch gas and fumes aren’t exactly good for the air we breathe. Although a lawn mower is much smaller than a gas-guzzling SUV, it still has a carbon footprint that’s far bigger than using a pair of scissors to cut grass. There are times when we just can’t avoid using gas machines, but cutting the lawn doesn’t have to be one of them.
Winner: Electric lawn mowers
Toughness and Thoroughness
The debate between gas and electric in terms of power is also nothing new. All you have to do is look at mopeds versus e-bikes, and regular cars versus electric ones, like the Tesla. If you had to pit one against the other in each vehicle size, which one do you think would be able to go further and produce more power? Hands down it’s the gas ones. Where a lawn mower is different is that it’s attached to a continuous power source, but electric is still no match for a gas lawn mower, which can cut through tough grass and just last longer.
Winner: Gas-powered lawn mowers
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Cost
There’s just one variable to consider when it comes to savings here, and that’s the size of your yard. If you have a tiny yard that’s about a tenth of an acre or less, or a big yard (half an acre or more), then gas is the way to go. But if you have a medium-sized lawn that’s about a third of an acre, then your best bet is electric.
Winner: Tie
Noise
Lawn mowing isn’t exactly a silent job, but there are certain aspects you can control. Most of us probably don’t need a Harley-strong engine in our lawn mowers, with the exception being riding mowers (but that’s a different article altogether). For regular push mowers, though, you have three noise settings: sort of loud, loud, and super duper loud. If you can avoid mowing your lawn before the sun gets up, then you may be okay on the volume it produces. But either way, your neighbours may be a little happier if you get a quieter mower.
Winner: Electric lawn mowers
Maintenance
Because a lawn mower is a machine, it’s made up of many parts — and they’ll need to be looked after. It’s an inevitability before something needs to be fixed or replaced, and the only question is when. However, how much work you have to do on your lawn mower differs depending on the kind you got, and there’s a noticeable difference between the two. Electric mowers tend to be the simpler ones, while gas lawn mowers are a little, ahem, fussier.
Winner: Electric lawn mowers
The kind of lawn mower you end up buying really comes down to personal preference and the kind of yard you get. But if you’re looking at our selection, then the worry of getting a good-quality one is gone. Each one of our lawn mowers is a top-notch one that arrives in great condition, and you’ll even get free shipping on each and every one, too.
Lawn mowers, no matter what the details are, essentially come in one of two forms: riding or walk behind. The kind you choose has a lot to do with personal preference, but the factor of necessity comes into play, too. Should you really buy a riding mower if your lawn is smaller than a postage stamp? Conversely, how effective will a walk behind mower be if your yard is almost as big as a baseball field? In this article, we take a look at the pros and cons of getting a walk behind mower so you can see if it’s the right one for you.
Exercise
There’s no comparison at all when it comes to riding lawn mowers and walk behind lawn mowers. None at all. With a riding lawn mower, the most exercise you’ll get is turning the wheel or hopping on and off. But with a walk behind mower, you’re giving your body one heck of a good workout.
It takes serious strength and endurance to operate a walk behind mower efficiently and cleanly, and it’s one of the easiest ways to get in shape during the warmer months. Plus, you’re using major muscle groups in your body: your legs, to walk with the mower; your arms, to push it; and your core; to keep a perfect balance between you and the machine.
Con
It’s fun to get a workout with a walk behind mower…until the mercury hits the triple digits. Then, it seems like you’re mowing every blade of grass on this planet with no end in sight. And for people with heart or lung problems, it can be a deadly exercise. If you’re going to use mowing the lawn as a way to get in shape, start slow and talk to your doctor first.
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Efficiency
Walk behind mowers lag behind their riding cousins, but it’s hardly fair to compare the engines. The former has about as much pep as your dishwasher, while the latter are almost motor vehicles. But instead of comparing the two in terms of pound-for-pound power, let’s look at what each is able to do in terms of what it’s got.
In this case, the walk behind mower wins — again. It’s got a relatively tiny engine that needs hardly any maintenance, comes in gas or electric forms (can the riding mower boast of that?), and performs with the heart of a lion. The riding mower, on the other hand, requires a lot more maintenance because of its bigger size, and can’t be plugged in.
Con
The smaller engine does mean more work for you, so when comparing engine size and the time it takes to get the job done, the walk behind mower falls back a bit. This isn’t so noticeable when you’ve just got a decent-sized lawn but move up in property size, and you’ll really notice the difference.
Cost
You can buy walk behind mowers for a couple hundred dollars and start using them right away. With riding mowers, though, you’re looking to spend a lot more, plus learning how to use the controls while mowing the lawn neatly. There’s just about no learning curve on a walk behind mower, making that and their cheap cost what the Apple products of the world should be.
Con
Cheap doesn’t always equal good, and you’ll have to do your homework before you invest in a walk behind mower. You don’t have to read pages and pages of material on lawn mowers, just keep checking back with our blog to get all the best tips and pointers.
If you’re in the market for a walk behind mower, we’re more than happy to supply you. All of our mowers are of the best quality and come with free shipping to the lower 48 states.
Zero-turn lawn mowers are the type of invention that may have taken a little while to get here but once they did in the early ’60s, made you shake your head and wonder what took it so long to arrive. The have great manoeuvrability, can cover a really big space, are fun to ride, and fairly simple to maintain. They’re called “zero turn” because these lawn mowers are able to contour corners so closely, there’s hardly any grass left to trim after. It saves a huge amount of time and work, for if you only need one piece of equipment to do the job instead of two, you’re twice as far ahead. Before you go shopping for a zero-turn lawn mower, though, take a second to read this guide so you know exactly what to look for.
1. What Deck Size Do You Need?
Deck size refers to how wide your zero-turn lawn mower will be, with a general rule of thumb being the bigger the yard, the wider the deck. This is so your mower can efficiently clear your lawn without you having to spend hours and hours at it, with the equivalent being something like using nail clippers to cut an average-sized front year.
But hold on a sec: having a wide deck size doesn’t automatically mean that you should go with the biggest number to get the job done the fastest. You have to keep proportion, balance and curvature in mind. A wider deck size will allow you to cut more in one go, yes, but you won’t be able to corner quite as tightly. But by picking out a smaller deck size, you trade off a bit of stability, which is necessary if your yard is sloped.
Deck Construction
Along with size, you’ll want to check out the guts of the deck. They’re assembled in one of two ways, stamped or welded. Commercial grade mowers have the steel layers of the deck welded together for added toughness, while residential mowers tend to have lighter gauge steel, and stamped together instead of welded. The difference is mainly for the type of terrain you have, as welded can handle roughness a lot more easily than stamped decks.
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2. Get the Right Engine Size for What You Need
Just like deck size, engine size matters only as much as the specs of your lawn. If you’ve got an even, smooth lawn, you’re not going to need something that can blast its way through granite. Conversely, if you’ve got rough, hilly terrain on your property, you’re going to need something with a little more oomph to it.
There are two basic engines you can get with a zero-turn lawn mower, and each is equipped to do a specific job:
3. Finish it Off with Tires and Cutting Height
Until someone invents a lawn mower that can do its job by floating in the air, lawn mowers will have tires. And the tires you pick are going to be holding up the whole weight of the mower, so check out four-ply-rated tires for the best job. And if you can get them, wide tires will help distribute the weight of the mower more evenly, which is always a good idea.
Lastly, cutting height is a feature that you’ll almost always be using. You can adjust the height of the blades either manual — which eats away at productivity and efficiency — or foot assist or hand lever to raise and lower the blades on the go.
As much as a zero-turn lawn mower is something you use for big lawns to make the job easier, they’re also just plain fun to use. But instead of going for the most fun-looking zero-turn lawn mower, get one that’s perfect for your yard for the best job possible. Take a look at our selection to see which would be the best fit for you, and enjoy both free shipping and free rush order processing.
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