Need a lawn mower: self propelled or riding mower

[ponyo]

My yard is 1/2 acre and relatively flat. I used lawn maintenance company in the past but this year I want to cut my own grass. So I need to buy a new mower. I narrowed my search down to $700 21" Honda GCV190 self propelled mower from Home Depot and $1900 48" Husqvarna V-Twin Hydrostatic riding mower from Lowes. Will 21" Honda push mower be too tiring to use for 1/2 acre? Likewise, is 48" riding mower overkill for 1/2 acre? I'm also concerned about maintenance on the riding mower. What's general average lifespan of a riding mower and how often do things break? I figure push mower will be lot simpler to maintain and pretty much bulletproof. If I buy the 48" riding mower, I will also have to build bigger door gate to the backyard. So that's another project I have to deal with. What would you recommend?

 

[DCal430]

Non self propelled cordless electric push mower.

 

[olds]

Riding for 1/2 acre? How fat are you?

 

[Elixer]

Yeah, riding mower is overkill for 1/2 acre, unless of course you plan on doing other things, like snow plow, tilling, vacuum up leaves and what not, or you are in poor health.
Honda mower (with big wheels in the back) is pretty nice.
Frankly, the cordless electric push mowers I have seen are too weak, and run out of juice too fast, and the corded ones are a huge PITA.

 

[Ichinisan]

The self-propelled kind can be rigged-up to defend from zombie attacks. I wouldn't trust that as my only defense, however.

 

[some_guy]

My yard is 1/2 acre and relatively flat. I used lawn maintenance company in the past but this year I want to cut my own grass. So I need to buy a new mower. I narrowed my search down to $700 21" Honda GCV190 self propelled mower from Home Depot and $1900 48" Husqvarna V-Twin Hydrostatic riding mower from Lowes. Will 21" Honda push mower be too tiring to use for 1/2 acre? Likewise, is 48" riding mower overkill for 1/2 acre? I'm also concerned about maintenance on the riding mower. What's general average lifespan of a riding mower and how often do things break? I figure push mower will be lot simpler to maintain and pretty much bulletproof. If I buy the 48" riding mower, I will also have to build bigger door gate to the backyard. So that's another project I have to deal with. What would you recommend?

Consumer Reports: 1/2 acre or more - riding mower(page 1). Most craftsmen riding mowers made by Husqvarna(page 4), Might want to check out what they have to say.

http://consumerreports.org/cro/lawn-mowers/buying-guide.htm

If you are in good condition the self propelled is easier to store and easier to clean than a rider so it doesn't stink up the garage so much which would be pretty important to me. Also, when I was much younger I would do a 1/2 acre with a push mower because I could go a lot faster than with a self-propelled. Doing the lawn with a rider doesn't count as exercise.

(Note: Didn't notice any recommendations in Consumer Reports about Zombie defenses so I would go with what Ichinisan said.)

 

[thedarkwolf]

Pretty sure a push 2 stroke would be the way to go for zombie defense. Being a push makes them light as does being a 2 stroke but more importantly a 2 stroke can run at any angle as long as you can get fuel into it.

 

[Meghan54]

If you buy a self-propelled mower, do NOT buy a front wheel drive mower; buy a rear wheel drive mower.

 

[dawp]

Non self propelled cordless electric push mower.

I have a cordless electric and it will not finish my yard in one charge if I let the grass go a bit and it is not 1/2 acre.

this mine, tho you can buy spare batteries to extend the range.

I generally don't use the self-propelled feature, it tends to go slower than I want to mow.

 

[mcveigh]

My first thought was the Jerky Boys where they put an ad for a mower in the paper and prank people who call about it.

http://youtu.be/Znq-CB2JdYo

 

[DrPizza]

Riding for 1/2 acre? How fat are you?

I think if we put pictures of different lawn sizes side by side, a lot of people would say "half acre lawn" for a lawn that's a fraction of that. Half an acre would be a little more than 100 feet wide by 200 feet long. That's definitely riding lawn mower time, unless you've got nothing better to do with your time. Though, a lot of times, that 1/2 acre lawn is really a .4 acre lot, and includes the house and driveway.

An acre is 4840 square yards. Thus, half an acre is 2420 square yards. With a 36" wide mowing deck, you would have to travel a minimum of 2420 yards forward. That's 1 3/8 miles. With a 24" mowing deck on a push mower, you'd have to go half again as far. That's 2 miles at a minimum, assuming zero overlap. At a good walking pace, that's half an hour. At lawn mower pace, and with some overlap, that's at least an hour of mowing, not including all the trim, etc.

 

[shortylickens]

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I have the non-CA version of this

Craftsman

Highly rated and I love it.

 

[SearchMaster]

I have a Husq ZTR that I got last year. It's a vastly superior mower to the 15 year old Craftsman it replaced, but it has one major flaw - its traction is simply awful. If the lawn has a drop of moisture and a hint of slope, it will slide around and tear up the grass, and our lot is very wooded so it is always damp. But I can do my yard plus my elderly neighbor's in less than an hour, whereas it would take me 2.5 hours to do just my yard with a push mower.

 

[Tweak155]

Riding for 1/2 acre? How fat are you?

You clearly don't know how big a half acre is, or don't care about your time. Has nothing to do with ability.

OP I have a half acre and I use a riding mower - wouldn't even think about using a push. If you were paying $20 or less it's probably worth continuing to do so if you make decent change in a year. If a riding mower didn't come with my house I likely would have made the mistake of buying one. Around here you can get it cut for $20 and that's a steal for your time, gas and maintenance of the mower.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You clearly don't know how big a half acre is, or don't care about your time. Has nothing to do with ability.

OP I have a half acre and I use a riding mower - wouldn't even think about using a push. If you were paying $20 or less it's probably worth continuing to do so if you make decent change in a year. If a riding mower didn't come with my house I likely would have made the mistake of buying one. Around here you can get it cut for $20 and that's a steal for your time, gas and maintenance of the mower.

My lawn is about 1/2 acre and I use a self-propelled mower. It isn't that hard and this is from someone who is pretty out of shape. My wife pushed me to buy a riding mower but I don't see spending that much money when I can use a self-propelled mower to do it.

 

[Tiamat]

I have 1/5 acre and I have the Honda. In retrospect, I really wish I got the riding mower only because of the ability to hook up accessories like dethatching trailer and core aerator trailer. Now, I rent a core aerator which is a pita to use, pick up from home depot, load and unload etc., and I own an electric 20" dethatcher which takes a long time to complete the job.

 

[Tweak155]

My lawn is about 1/2 acre and I use a self-propelled mower. It isn't that hard and this is from someone who is pretty out of shape. My wife pushed me to buy a riding mower but I don't see spending that much money when I can use a self-propelled mower to do it.

Again, it has nothing to do with how hard it is and has nothing to do with what shape you're in. Did you even read what I wrote?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Again, it has nothing to do with how hard it is and has nothing to do with what shape you're in. Did you even read what I wrote?

I did, and even with a self-propelled, it doesn't take long. You're talking an hour to 90 minutes per mowing. It isn't as if you're spending 10 hours/week doing it.

 

[randomrogue]

My yard is 1/2 acre and relatively flat. I used lawn maintenance company in the past but this year I want to cut my own grass. So I need to buy a new mower. I narrowed my search down to $700 21" Honda GCV190 self propelled mower from Home Depot and $1900 48" Husqvarna V-Twin Hydrostatic riding mower from Lowes. Will 21" Honda push mower be too tiring to use for 1/2 acre? Likewise, is 48" riding mower overkill for 1/2 acre? I'm also concerned about maintenance on the riding mower. What's general average lifespan of a riding mower and how often do things break? I figure push mower will be lot simpler to maintain and pretty much bulletproof. If I buy the 48" riding mower, I will also have to build bigger door gate to the backyard. So that's another project I have to deal with. What would you recommend?

Half an acre and you need a riding lawn mower? 1/2 an acre might sound like a lot but it really isn't. That seems kinda silly. If you think you're going to get away with no walking think again since you'll have to do the trimming by hand.

I had a John Deer riding lawn mower but I cut something like 2.5 acres of grass with it. If you insist on a riding lawn mower I'd definitely recommend the John Deer. They're tanks. Literally. As long as you get the rocks out of the way the thing will never die.

The more I think about it I wouldn't get a riding lawn mower unless you're going to fully utilize it. We used it for towing and hauling stuff around as well. Your cost to recover what you paid for it will take forever! Half an acre and a push mower might cost you $20 a week to cut by paying a neighborhood kid.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

It's really a toss up with a half acre. If you had anymore land than that it'd be a no brainer. I have used my rider for many projects around the yard with the cart I bought for it so that counts for something.

 

[randomrogue]

Yeah if you have a lot of property and can see yourself clearing out brush, hauling rocks, moving bales of hay, etc then get the riding lawn mower. If you live in suburbia though and just have half an acre it's going to be a waste.

You give me the impression that your entire yard is 1/2 an acre which is why I think you would be making a mistake with a riding lawn mower.

 

[Tweak155]

I did, and even with a self-propelled, it doesn't take long. You're talking an hour to 90 minutes per mowing. It isn't as if you're spending 10 hours/week doing it.

That's exactly what I was estimating. You don't think 90 mins of your time per week is worth $20? You also have to consider gas costs and mower maintenance.

Maybe I just don't agree. If it was something enjoyable (I don't mind it, but it isn't enjoyable either) I'd see where you're coming from.

 

[TwiceOver]

I rock a $100 craftsman push mower. I think I'm year 6 or 7 with it and all I ever do is sharpen the blade and clean the air filter. I don't even stabilize it for winter. Starts every time. Can't say enough about the Briggs and Stratton engine I guess.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Wtf said anything about $20? If he's getting a half ac mowed for $20 I need his lawn guys phone number so I can get my yard mowed.