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Rider or Self-Propelled? - Help me pick !!

16 years ago

Hey Gang,

Generally speaking, how much grass/land becomes impractical or 'too much' for a self-propelled mower? I'm moving, and I have a self-propelled picked out however I'm just making absolutely sure I'm doing the right thing before I sell my JD X304 rider. I THINK I'm in self-propelled territory, but I don't want to kick myself in the old patookus later on.

What say you pros?

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Comments (8)

larryf
16 years ago
You did not memtion how large the new place is.

Keep the JD - even if you have to store it. Once you are in the new place, evaluate your need for the walk behind.
jopopsy
Original Author
16 years ago
The new place has about 1/2 acre, including the house. A significant chunk is wooded (brush cleared but all trees). I'm thinking the JD may be overkill, but I'm not sure.
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level ground less than 1/3 acre? Just get you a cheap push mower 22" from walmart or honda or toro self=propelled if you think you can't push it. Really No self propelled needed, can push that in probably less than half hour and it's good excerise. Self-propped just adds weight and more things to break not needed in your case with level ground. I wouldn't mow when the grass is wet usually early mornings in spring and fall dew. Mid to late mornings or late evenings in summer. Spring and fall Late morning and early afternoon. I would multch and not bag. If you bag you have to get rid of the grass clippings, if you just mow the exit shut may leave rows of grass depending on how often you mow. IF you multch you want to cut the grass maximum 1/3. SO this maybe once week or maybe twice in early summer when the grass really grows. Grass needs about 1" water once week. Along with push mower you will need sprinkler and hoses when it don't rain. You will also need to feed it, control weeds, and sometimes down the road insects...Start reading up now so you won't be in over your head. Not that hard millions of people do it with little or no knowledge. One last thing NO KIDS in the yard or immediate area while mowing. Beware mowing with the exit shut torwards the street or at someone, the mower can throw a rock or metal object at high rate of speed. Fast enough to break windows, dent cars and injury walkers. So if you don't multch using the exit shut 98% of the time the exit shut cover will direct the clipping downward and anything else coming out. It's away good idea to look over your yards for anything that's not grass, like papers, toys, trash, ect... if you mow over these it will make mess and may damage you blade. Notice I said blade? No need for two or more with such small yard. If you think your in over your head watch some Ytube video's on servicing, starting, using push mowers. Unless you get elect. You need to check the oil and gas before use and inspect for loose hardware. Mowers vibrate and can shake hardware, screws, nuts & bolts loose. Ok enough I think you get the picture?? more to it than just pulling the rope and walking off.
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What about Snapper, they have 2 different walk behind mower lines now. Their top of the line seems nearly identical to mowers they were making decades ago. Everything seems old time heavy duty. Which leads to a few big positives. Reliable proven design, dependable, and when yo do need a part chances are it will be available. (A problem I had with a 10 yr old Murray, sure those generic parts are available at big retailers, as well as some parts for more recent models, but they like to keep you buying new equipment every few years.) Plus they are mostly sold at dealers who are also service shops. When you need your mower serviced, the big retailer wont be the one you bring it to. Look at many of the mowers they have discounted in their discount area. Usually the ones returned for one reason or another often with the sticker of the local repair shop that serviced the machine. Snappers other line is new and designed and priced to compete with mowers sold at the big retailers. Im not sure about the dependability, but if you are using them with different teen operators and on Camp sized property with hills and such with enough area needed mow that two mowers would be needed to cut it quickly then it may be wise to purchase from an authorized service / dealer like Snapper. And the prices online at Snapper are suggested list only. When I got my new Snapper I had moved from a flat 7000 sq ft lawn to a sloped 20,000 sq ft lawn. Considering I had 3 times the amount of lawn, I definetly wanted self propelled, mulching, and a high quality motor. So I picked the old style Snapper mulching deck with the 6hp Kawasaki engine that is used on many commercial models for $599 , $100 under list without bargaining. If I had gone with the standard B&S engine it probably would have been closer to the price of the Deere yout mentioning since the mulch only B&S Snapper is listed at $499 and your planning to get two so you could probably get a nice deal. Ariens also makes a nice mower I was considering, but the Ariens dealer wasnt as close as my local Snapper dealer. Also considering the other equpiment you have it would be even more of a reason for me to buy from a Dealer / Service shop as opposed to a big retailer.
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jopopsy
Original Author
16 years ago
It LOOKS like I have about 1/4 actual land to mow, after taking into account the house envelope, creek easements, and the fact that they don't want me to clear the woods behind the house and make it a big grass yard. So, for 1/4 of an acre MOWABLE - is my tractor overkill? Sorry if I sound newbish here, but I've never used a push or self-propelled mower before.
1saxman
16 years ago
I have 1/2 acre, half of which is wooded. Like yours, the other half contains the house and driveway. I also have narrow natural strips on each side and a 15'-wide cut slope in front which is mulched and planted. Other than that I also maintain grass in the ditch and street shoulder at the bottom of the cut slope. I only have walk-behind mowers. A rider would definitely be impractical for me. By the time I cut what I could get to with the rider, put it away and get the trim mower, I could have cut the whole yard with the mower. I can cut the whole thing including blowing off any stray clippings in about 40 minutes. Even if the 1/4 acre you will cut were in a square of 105' on each side with no cut-ins or push-pulls, it probably would be overkill to have a rider, and no doubt such is not the case. You probably have a lot of maneuvering to do even with a walk-behind mower, which would be my main criterum. This really doesn't leave much for your rider to do. OTOH, you already own it. I might keep it if I were you. You never know what uses you might find for it. I can't advise on that because I've never owned or used a rider. Like LarryF, I'd say to take it with you and decide after a year whether to get rid of it or not.
rdaystrom
16 years ago
Keep your rider. I would own a rider unless I had a yard that was smaller than a postage stamp. I have push mowers as well and get energetic every once in awhile but always am grateful later that I have a rider. Why not keep the rider and buy a self propelled mower to. That's no big deal really. You'll probably need both. You could sell the rider later if you just never use it any more.
roadbike
16 years ago
A riding mower on 1/4 acre mowing area seems like overkill to me. Especially if you have a lot of cutting in and bushes to mow around. OTOH the resale of a used mower will likely not be much, so you might want to hold onto the machine.
plmn
16 years ago
On 1/4 acre, a rider isn't going to save you much time. And if you have to go back with a trim mower, it probably won't save you any time or effort.

Takes me about 35 minutes to mow my 1/4 acre with a push mower. Even with few trees or other obstacles to mow around, a rider would be more time, money, and effort than it's worth for me. Keep in mind you have to store the thing and do maintenance on it as well.

Only you will know what works best on your specific yard, but if you'd like to get rid of your rider I wouldn't worry about it.
billy3p
16 years ago
In my opinion it comes down to where you want to be.For me,mowing is relaxing.Maybe because with my earphones on I can tune out everything else.I also like the exercise I get from walking behind my mower.I have mowed as much as 1/2 acre with my Lawnboy 10515 and enjoyed every bit of it.Not to say riders do not have their place though.

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