[MtnBikerChk]

First, decide if you are willing to push mow it. An acre is a lot for some people, a breeze for others. If you go with a push mower, do you want self propelled or not? I would say yes, but that's just me.

Second, decide if you want to be able to bag the grass, or just leave the clippings on the lawn. What about mulching? Leaving grass clipping on the lawn is better for the grass (think natural fertilzation), but regular clippings can look bad if you don't mow often enough. Mulching cuts the clippings up much smaller, to the point where you don't see them from the road. Get a mower that bags if you want a bagger, mulches if you want a mulcher.

Third, decide on your budget, and find one that fits in your budget. The more HP the better. More HP will cut through longer/thicker/wetter grass better.

I definitely recommend a Honda. My father is a nut about his lawn (mows 3-4 times a week, brews up his own concotions of fertilizers, does all kinds of crazy stuff, but has an awesome lawn) and has had his honda for 13 years. I've had mine for 4 years, no problems with either of ours. All we do is change the oil every spring. you can spend $400 on a craftsman mower every 5 years or $600 on a honda every 15 years. You do the math.

this is EXACTLY the buying guide I was looking for

I gotta give JOZZ credit for being the first HONDA recommendation. And when you come over next week, we'll let you try it

Thanks all - I think we are going to the Honda dealer to check things out.

 

[douglas]

self propelled's SUCK!!

just more crap to break/makes the mower cost more & heavier


I use to have a 20 year old craftsman....used it till the wheels fell off

 

[I Are Baboon]

Did you look at PO's link. That is a high dollar mower.

And I can get three of them for what I've spent on my mountain bike.

 

[MMcG]

Get a self propelled - walk behind mower with at least a 22" wide cutting blade. DO NOT get a push one.

 

[MMcG]

we are the youngest people on the street - no teenagers. believe me - that was our FIRST thought!

PM Wassobe - he's a teenager and he lives in your town and is looking for money so he can buy a new hardtail.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Fer chrissake, here are all these folks, supposedly oriented at least somewhat towards fitness, and thay propose buying self-propelled mowers for flat plots of an acre or less?

Aarrghhh...

TroyBilt makes a nice 20" rotary, no self propulsion nightmares to get fouled up, simple, cheap, and it'll mow IRB's lawn effortlessly.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Fer chrissake, here are all these folks, supposedly oriented at least somewhat towards fitness, and thay propose buying self-propelled mowers for flat plots of an acre or less?

Aarrghhh...

TroyBilt makes a nice 20" rotary, no self propulsion nightmares to get fouled up, simple, cheap, and it'll mow IRB's lawn effortlessly.

I want to use it too

 

[psycle-on]

Don't forget you will need some sort of weed eater too

 

[RhinofromWA]

Any equipment you neglect will bust down on you....be it JD, Sears, WallMart, etc.

My parents have been rolling the same riding lawn mower for almost 20 years. The engine has never been a problem. The clutch had to be repaired/tinkered with and the blade eventually replaced (I never saw that stump...I swear! : )

Point is I haven't seen many POS lawn mowers lately. I saw a Honda pusher that wouldn't start....culprit? Old gas in the carb. Friends borther got a new/larger mower when they got a new house and after a year of sitting around it wouldn't start. Could happen to any mower.

A decent mower will last as long as a chi-chi mower when mowing a family yard. If I was mowing huge tracks of land and business complex's I might get something more industrial. If your job is not mowing grass than get a decent run of the mill mower.

If you get a rider, get one that has a good turning radious (Stosh's will spin in place and is pretty damn cool ) nothing worse than ripping around the yard and not being able to follow the edge or get around obsticals within reason.

PS-Stosh, my father almost bought a mower like the one you posted that turned in circles....but went with a rear engine Lawn Cheif That other one was pretty cool

 

[Yossarian]

Don't forget you will need some sort of weed eater too

just get a goat and be done with it.

 

[psycle-on]

just get a goat and be done with it.

I vote for 2 goats!

 

[TreeSaw]

Hmmm...I seem to be chiming in a little late here but this is what we've got...

We have a Cub Cadet rider that mows and has a snowblower attachment for the winter. We have about 1.5 acres to mow (11.75 acres total, but most of it is woodland) and our driveway is pretty long. It's great!!! I can mow, snowblow and it can even give the car a jumpstart when someone leaves the trunk open all night and the battery dies in the middle of winter

 

[MMcG]

Lawn Boys are good Mowers. They last and last.

 

[I Are Baboon]

The problem with a push mower over a rider is that the push mower doesn't come with a cup holder.

 

[llkoolkeg]

FYI...Honda makes the Craftsmans for Sears now and their warranty is no problem at all if you have a forceful personality. I returned a mower to them that I had used for a year because it's cut quality sucked. The thing was even getting surface rust in spots. Yeah, I had to chew my way through the polyester pants of two "managers", but I ended up with a store credit for the purchase price and bought another mower of higher quality. I now have a 7.0 horsepower Craftsman pusher w/self-propel. I never really use the self-propel feature, though, because my lot is level and I need all the power to make up for my somewhat infrequent mowings. I only mow once a week while you could actually putt on several of my neighbors' lawns who mow two or three times a week. The other problem w/self-propel besides power-loss and mechanical complexity is that it makes you walk too fast. I end up looking like one of those speedwalkers hustling after the damn thing in full XXL swivel. I'd rather glide across the lawn in shades with my regular jazzy smooooooth stride.

 

[dan-o]

The problem with a push mower over a rider is that the push mower doesn't come with a cup holder.

You'll have to find a better excuse than that: www.beerneck.com

 

[dh girlie]

I vote for 2 goats!

Goats are very effective! The city I work for hired 600 goats to eat the lawn at the recycle center and dump...they are a little unruly though...sometimes they escape...

 

[MtnBikerChk]

FYI...Honda makes the Craftsmans for Sears now and their warranty is no problem at all if you have a forceful personality.

lmao - not a problem!

 

[Acadian]

Honda!

ya...my dad has a Honda tractor lanwmower - going on for years (over 15 years) and still going strong.

 

[mrbigisbudgood]

http://www.woodsequipment.com/turf_grounds/commercial/mown_machine/F-Series.asp

In the good/better/best scheme of product description, Woods is in the "best" level.

 

[Acadian]

BTW...your home is gorgeous MBC I'm envious.

 

[I Are Baboon]

FYI...Honda makes the Craftsmans for Sears now and their warranty is no problem at all if you have a forceful personality. I returned a mower to them that I had used for a year because it's cut quality sucked. The thing was even getting surface rust in spots. Yeah, I had to chew my way through the polyester pants of two "managers", but I ended up with a store credit for the purchase price and bought another mower of higher quality. I now have a 7.0 horsepower Craftsman pusher w/self-propel. I never really use the self-propel feature, though, because my lot is level and I need all the power to make up for my somewhat infrequent mowings. I only mow once a week while you could actually putt on several of my neighbors' lawns who mow two or three times a week. The other problem w/self-propel besides power-loss and mechanical complexity is that it makes you walk too fast. I end up looking like one of those speedwalkers hustling after the damn thing in full XXL swivel. I'd rather glide across the lawn in shades with my regular jazzy smooooooth stride.

Cool, so you can turn off the self-propel feature? I don't need it, but MBC isn't quite as strong as me and the self-propel would be helpful for her. And she has a plenty forceful personality.

 

[llkoolkeg]

Cool, so you can turn off the self-propel feature? I don't need it, but MBC isn't quite as strong as me and the self-propel would be helpful for her. And she has a plenty forceful personality.

On mine, it is clutch controlled via a squeeze bar on the bottom of the handle. The squeezebar on the top is the emergency shut-off and the one on the bottom controls the propulsion. Once you have a hold of the thing and are pushing it, it's easy to forget the propel is there, but if you need it, you just squeeze and release it as required. I have seen people ghettorig a bungee cord around it so they don't have to hold the bars down, but this is dangerous as it prevents auto shut-off should you trip and fall down or lop off a foot.

This discussion reminds me of that funny old German workplace safety video someone posted here a while ago.

 

[jacksonpt]

A mower isn't exactly a big ticket item, so we'll spend whatever we have to spend for a good mower.

I would definitely look at a Honda then. I absolutely love mine. My father bought it for us as a house-warming gift, so I'm not sure about the cost. I'm thinking it was around $700. It's a 3-in-1 (side discharge, mulcher, bagger) and self propelled. One really nice thing about the Hondas is that they are very easy to start - i.e. you don't have to really yank on the pull cord. This is especially nice if you have to mow after a good ride. My wife really likes that feature on the occasion that she mows for me.

 

[jacksonpt]

FYI...Honda makes the Craftsmans for Sears now

I don't think they make them all as some still come with B&S engines. I could be wrong though...

 

[Jozz]

I gotta give JOZZ credit for being the first HONDA recommendation. And when you come over next week, we'll let you try it

Hey I'm a monthly mower... I cut short, and not often... my grass looks like a jungle... always affraid to step on a Vietnamese that doesn't know the war is over... (famous quote, who can tell?)

 

[MtnBikerChk]

BTW...your home is gorgeous MBC I'm envious.

thanks - you are welcome to come visit ANYTIME

 

[Acadian]

thanks - you are welcome to come visit ANYTIME

I fear that if I go, I might never come back!!!

hey..I could be your landscape gardener!!

 

[Instigator]

F the lawn mowing..............build stunts all over the yard and have a weed eater to trim around them.


who's the smart guy now

 

[biggins]

you could just ditch the grass idea, buy a bunch of truck loads of dirt with the money and build a ton of dirt jumps.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Goats are very effective! The city I work for hired 600 goats to eat the lawn at the recycle center and dump...they are a little unruly though...sometimes they escape...

But its worth it watching you trying to hurd them up.

 

[TreeSaw]

F the lawn mowing..............build stunts all over the yard and have a weed eater to trim around them.


who's the smart guy now

Sounds like a good idea to me....wait a minute...that is our front lawn. neaky:

 

[jacksonpt]

Thanks all - I think we are going to the Honda dealer to check things out.

Cool - let us know how you make out.

 

[narlus]

With a lawn that size you want a lawn boy (a human, not the mower). Well, baboon may want a lawn girl, you'll have to work that part out. But, just remember, it will mean more time for riding!

bingo, we have a winner.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Cool - let us know how you make out.

will do!

 

[MMcG]

Well??? Did you pick out a mower??

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Well??? Did you pick out a mower??

furniture yesterday, mower tomorrow.

 

[I Are Baboon]

furniture yesterday

$$$ $$$

 

[MMcG]

furniture yesterday, mower tomorrow.

what did you get furniture wise?

My date was an hour later than originally scheduled last night so I got a ride in - rode by your house but you guys weren't there. But someone was doing some work or something - pickup truck in driveway.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

what did you get furniture wise?

My date was an hour later than originally scheduled last night so I got a ride in - rode by your house but you guys weren't there. But someone was doing some work or something - pickup truck in driveway.

floor guys we got there last night about 7? we only stayed a few minutes and then went to the furniture store.

here's what we bought:

Triple dresser
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/catalog/Bed_Adult_D.asp?ID=1518

chest
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/catalog/Bed_Adult_D.asp?ID=1517

night table
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/catalog/Bed_Adult_D.asp?ID=1511

couch/loveseat – we ordered it in RED J
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/catalog/LR_D.asp?ID=1828

coffee table
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/catalog/LR_D.asp?ID=32