What lawnmower to get? Do I need a bag?

[FrogDog]

Skoorb: I'm getting a cheapy lawnmower - probably a murray because I have a bunch of cash off at home depot (no I'm not spending $300 or more for a toro or honda). The bag version murray is like $30 more than the bagless. The bagless isn't a side dispenser but I guess it just "mulches" and leaves all the grass right under it.

I've always used a bag one at my parent's house but murray's site says that mulching is a little better for the lawn and obviously it's more convenient as I can just leave all the dead grass there. So, do I need a bag?

Sears has craftsmen for the same price but both them and the murray use the same briggs and stratton engines.

 

[Kremlar]

I just bought a home and have a ride-on mower. In my very limited experience, unless you're going to stay REAL on top of mowing and mow very often, you need a bag. Otherwise, there's too much dead grass on the lawn and it can hurt it, and look just plain ugly. I ended up buying a bagger later.

Again, in my very limited experience.

 

[UglyCasanova]

I always mulch, but I'm just lazy. I would think the grass makes a good fertilizer, and it doesn't look bad. Save yourself the headache, go bagless.

 

[FrogDog]

Originally posted by: UglyCassanova
I always mulch, but I'm just lazy. I would think the grass makes a good fertilizer, and it doesn't look bad. Save yourself the headache, go bagless.

This is what I've been trying to tell him as well. I hate mowing our lawn with the bag on, it takes at least twice as long.

 

[Ornery]

With the bagger, at least you have the choice of catching it or spraying it out the discharge shute. The guy across the street mows his grass at least twice per week. Is this because he uses a mulcher? I think he's a nut case. I do mine very couple weeks. I don't cut it so damn short, so that helps. I catch the grass and only have to dump the hopper a few times, again, thanks to not cutting it so short.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Mine mulches and bags and in 2 years I have never once used the bagger. To much hassle. I am not a yard Nazi though so if there are some clumps of dead grass or spots I missed I leave them alone. I'll get them next time.

 

[jagr10]

Buy an electric or manual mower. Better for the environment. Cars are bad enough, let's not make it worse with mowers.

I like the manual mower. It gives you a good work out and it's alot cheaper.

 

[billandopus]

Two ways to go about it IMO -

1 - if you have a largish yard and/or have rougher terrain and/or let the grass get real long before you mow then a gas powered model will do the trick nicely. Mulch or not to mulch is up to you. Pros: wide range of prices and good performance overall. Especially with taller grasses. Obviously cordless and you can either push or have a driveline. Cons: you get real stinky from the fumes and it's not good for the environment overall. Have to do tuneups here and there.

2 - if you have a manageable yard and are environmentally conscious then a electric model will do nicely. Pros: you don't smell of gas after mowing (a real plus IMO since if you want to you don't have to take a shower - just mow and leave) and you do the environment a favor. You don't have to fill up gas and do some tuneups. Much lighter so it's more manueverable and easier to push. Cons: more expensive for sure, you have a cord that changes your mowing lines unless you spring bigger bucks for cordless models. In my experience you don't have the same kind of grunt power that you would have with a gas model so if you save your lawn 'til late then it will be more difficult for your mower to get through that grass. Especially if you are mulching. You will probably have to go through the lawn twice to get it nice.

As for models, if it's gas then i'd go for an inexpensive Murray or something like that. You can find some competitively priced models at Home Depot, WalMart, Lowes et al. If it's electric then i've used the Black and Decker and it works pretty well.

 

[Pliablemoose]

After buying a couple of mowers, I wouldn't buy anything but a Honda.

They cost more, but they start every time & they work great.

I grabbed a returned one @ Home Depot that mulches or bags.

 

Be a real man and use one of these like I do, besides, they cut far superior to any rotary mower.

 

[DorkBoy]

Originally posted by: UglyCassanova
I always mulch, but I'm just lazy. I would think the grass makes a good fertilizer, and it doesn't look bad. Save yourself the headache, go bagless.

Yes, Mulch it.
Grass clippings can provide up to 25% of fertilization to your lawn. And you don't have to bag

 

[Pliablemoose]

A leading consumer mag gave this one (or last year's model anyway) best buy-Yard Machines

 

[flot]

I think it depends on your situation. The house I just bought, the lawn is in awful shape, and I have a tree that drops a million leaves all over the place. I'm VERY glad I bought the bagging mower, for one thing it helps me see where the really bad spots are in the lawn so I can fix them. Plus it's a mulcher/bagger, so I always have the choice of removing the bag. However, I've done that twice vs using the bag about 6 times, and am much happier with the bagged results. If the lawn ever starts looking healthy, then I'd consider mulching it and cutting it very frequently instead.

I bought a craftsman (B&S) 4 stroke for about $180 and am very happy with it. Certainly no "gas smell" after mowing, and it seems to use a very reasonable amount of gas. so far starts every time, etc. There are some people on the board who appear to be "in the know" who have suggested anything honda powered would be a better choice. ??

 

[Vortex22]

Originally posted by: flot
I think it depends on your situation. The house I just bought, the lawn is in awful shape, and I have a tree that drops a million leaves all over the place. I'm VERY glad I bought the bagging mower, for one thing it helps me see where the really bad spots are in the lawn so I can fix them. Plus it's a mulcher/bagger, so I always have the choice of removing the bag. However, I've done that twice vs using the bag about 6 times, and am much happier with the bagged results. If the lawn ever starts looking healthy, then I'd consider mulching it and cutting it very frequently instead.

I bought a craftsman (B&S) 4 stroke for about $180 and am very happy with it. Certainly no "gas smell" after mowing, and it seems to use a very reasonable amount of gas. so far starts every time, etc. There are some people on the board who appear to be "in the know" who have suggested anything honda powered would be a better choice. ??

My 4 year old Honda always starts on the 1st pull.

 

[rh71]

I initially picked up a Murray 4.5hp from Home Depot. It wasn't bad at all... it does have the same Briggs & Stratton engine like the Craftsmans 6.5hp that I ended up sticking with. It starts on the first pull every time too.

I went with a rear bag and my front and back yard = 3 dumps into trash bags... once a week. Keeps the yard looking pretty good. The dead yellow grass that goes with mulching just doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Vortex22

Originally posted by: flot
I think it depends on your situation. The house I just bought, the lawn is in awful shape, and I have a tree that drops a million leaves all over the place. I'm VERY glad I bought the bagging mower, for one thing it helps me see where the really bad spots are in the lawn so I can fix them. Plus it's a mulcher/bagger, so I always have the choice of removing the bag. However, I've done that twice vs using the bag about 6 times, and am much happier with the bagged results. If the lawn ever starts looking healthy, then I'd consider mulching it and cutting it very frequently instead.

I bought a craftsman (B&S) 4 stroke for about $180 and am very happy with it. Certainly no "gas smell" after mowing, and it seems to use a very reasonable amount of gas. so far starts every time, etc. There are some people on the board who appear to be "in the know" who have suggested anything honda powered would be a better choice. ??

3 year old Honda mower always starts on the 1st pull.

5 year old tiller takes a couple of pulls, lawn mower starts every time

Toro has a very good reputation too.

I bought a new high dollar Craftsman & had starting problems with it & made the dealer take it back. I negotiated with Sears customer service & the store manager that if the manager's repair staff couldn't get it started (with 5 pulls) after they worked on it that they'd take it back. It took 12... Guy still didn't want to give me my $ back, I asked to use his phone to call customer service back (I had the name & extention of the CSR who mediated the return) & he caved, gave me my $ back.

I like the Garden Web forums, lots of great advice (thanks haybusarider)

Also, you can compost your clippings if you bag them.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: Roger
Be a real man and use one of these like I do, besides, they cut far superior to any rotary mower.

How do you sharpen that thing? Or do you just buy a new one when it's dull?

 

[Mill]

Skoorb! Call me you bastage! 985-9514

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Mulching too frequently encourages a buildup of a thatch layer which can ultimately choke off new grass growth; grass simply doesn't decompose fast enough if you're mowing on a weekly basis.

If you're worried about removing too many nutrients from your soil, consider bagging and composting.

 

[LakAttack]

I got a Yard Machine (B&S engine) from Lowe's about 2 years ago that bags, mulches, or shoots out the side. I paid somewhere between $130-150. The thing with mulching is that you are only supposed to cut 1/3 of the blade length at the maximum. Anything more than that is thatch and very bad for the lawn. So if the lawn gets too long, not bagging it can be bad for the lawn. So if you get a combo mower, then you can mulch most of the time and bag when laziness takes over and you wait too long to mow.

Just my thoughts.

 

[dman]

In S.FL they are really pushing mulching mowers for landfill reasons. I think it may be an ordinance, etc.

We have St.Augustine Grass down here which is basically a weed that we maintain.

So, I have a John Deer self-propelled and it has choice of bag/mulch or shoot out the side. I've used mulching mode for last 1.5yrs and no problems with the grass, and I mow about every 1.5wks during summer and maybe 1/mo in winter.

2 - if you have a manageable yard and are environmentally conscious then a electric model will do nicely. Pros: you don't smell of gas after mowing (a real plus IMO since if you want to you don't have to take a shower

If you are outside walking around behind a mower you will smell of something afterwards... at least that's my experience. I still recommend a shower afterwards!

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw
Mulching too frequently encourages a buildup of a thatch layer which can ultimately choke off new grass growth; grass simply doesn't decompose fast enough if you're mowing on a weekly basis.

If you're worried about removing too many nutrients from your soil, consider bagging and composting.

Best advice yet. Also, it's a bad idea to use a bagless/mulching mower if you live somewhere that has hot summers. When I was growing up in New Orleans, we went on vacation and had a friend mow our lawn while we were gone with his mulching mower (we always used a bagging mower, actually a 20 year old Craftsman that still starts within 3 pulls ). When we got back, the whole lawn was yellow and dead because the mulched grass suffocated and baked the lawn. Poor kid was so apologetic, my father tried to pay him anyways, but he wouldn't take it.

 

[Vortex22]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: Vortex22

Originally posted by: flot
I think it depends on your situation. The house I just bought, the lawn is in awful shape, and I have a tree that drops a million leaves all over the place. I'm VERY glad I bought the bagging mower, for one thing it helps me see where the really bad spots are in the lawn so I can fix them. Plus it's a mulcher/bagger, so I always have the choice of removing the bag. However, I've done that twice vs using the bag about 6 times, and am much happier with the bagged results. If the lawn ever starts looking healthy, then I'd consider mulching it and cutting it very frequently instead.

I bought a craftsman (B&S) 4 stroke for about $180 and am very happy with it. Certainly no "gas smell" after mowing, and it seems to use a very reasonable amount of gas. so far starts every time, etc. There are some people on the board who appear to be "in the know" who have suggested anything honda powered would be a better choice. ??

3 year old Honda mower always starts on the 1st pull.

5 year old tiller takes a couple of pulls, lawn mower starts every time

Toro has a very good reputation too.

I bought a new high dollar Craftsman & had starting problems with it & made the dealer take it back. I negotiated with Sears customer service & the store manager that if the manager's repair staff couldn't get it started (with 5 pulls) after they worked on it that they'd take it back. It took 12... Guy still didn't want to give me my $ back, I asked to use his phone to call customer service back (I had the name & extention of the CSR who mediated the return) & he caved, gave me my $ back.

I like the Garden Web forums, lots of great advice (thanks haybusarider)

Also, you can compost your clippings if you bag them.

Why did you change the 4 in my post to a 3? lol

 

[technogeeky]

My brother owns a landscaping company here in Georgia with 300 or 400 clients.

He says that you should get the bagged version, even if you don't use it. When you mow, start on the outside and face the output (grass clippings) inward. That way, when you cut the next row in, the grass gets mulched again and again.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Vortex22

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: Vortex22

Originally posted by: flot
I think it depends on your situation. The house I just bought, the lawn is in awful shape, and I have a tree that drops a million leaves all over the place. I'm VERY glad I bought the bagging mower, for one thing it helps me see where the really bad spots are in the lawn so I can fix them. Plus it's a mulcher/bagger, so I always have the choice of removing the bag. However, I've done that twice vs using the bag about 6 times, and am much happier with the bagged results. If the lawn ever starts looking healthy, then I'd consider mulching it and cutting it very frequently instead.

I bought a craftsman (B&S) 4 stroke for about $180 and am very happy with it. Certainly no "gas smell" after mowing, and it seems to use a very reasonable amount of gas. so far starts every time, etc. There are some people on the board who appear to be "in the know" who have suggested anything honda powered would be a better choice. ??

3 year old Honda mower always starts on the 1st pull.

5 year old tiller takes a couple of pulls, lawn mower starts every time

Toro has a very good reputation too.

I bought a new high dollar Craftsman & had starting problems with it & made the dealer take it back. I negotiated with Sears customer service & the store manager that if the manager's repair staff couldn't get it started (with 5 pulls) after they worked on it that they'd take it back. It took 12... Guy still didn't want to give me my $ back, I asked to use his phone to call customer service back (I had the name & extention of the CSR who mediated the return) & he caved, gave me my $ back.

I like the Garden Web forums, lots of great advice (thanks haybusarider)

Also, you can compost your clippings if you bag them.

Why did you change the 4 in my post to a 3? lol

sorry, thought I was editing my post