How big a yard is reasonable to push mow?

[Matt Meiser]

As the title says, what's the tipping point between a push mower and a rider of some sort? The self-propelled 22" units I was looking up are advertised at 3.1 mph. Assuming 20" of actual cut that's theoretically 5/8 acre in an hour but I don't know if any of that theory pans out.

[Wade Lippman]

I can do my half acre in an hour. Personally I like propelling it myself (I actually have a self propelled, but never push the bar up. The bigger engine just cuts better) but I suppose that is matter of how you like exercise.

Obviously it depends on how much stuff you have to go around, and how fastidious you are. It could take anywhere from 30minutes or 3 hours to do a half acre.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

My 2 1/2 acres on a John Deere 42" cut feels like all day. Tom

[Moses Yoder]

It depends on your landscaping. Lots of little trees I would push mow up to an acre. I also would push it instead of propelling it. That advice is coming from someone who has never used a self propelled mower. Plus the money too, and time on maintenance. A push mower is easy to maintain, a rider not so much. We have a half acre lot with 2 million shrubberies on it thanks to my darling wife and a horse in the back yard. It takes me about 45 minutes to push mow the front yard but there is no way a rider would fit. We rarely mow the back yard, the horse keeps it trimmed pretty good.

[Jim Matthews]

I've got a Lesco walk behind mower.

36" deck and I complete my yard duties in less than an hour.
(Smaller plot, steep front grade.)

The current crop of Cub Cadets are essentially the same Lesco mower I own.
They're simple machines, overbuilt for the trade.

Riding mowers wreck my back.

[Justin Ludwig]

Riding mowers wreck my back.

Gotta keep your belly half-way tight to support your lumbar. I can't mow my place without a riding lawn mower and if I lose my posture or tight belly, my lumbar is quick to remind me.

@ Matt - I personally would never own a self-propelled. They mow too slow for my liking. I used one as a kid and the only time I engaged it was mowing uphill. The tipping point? That's entirely subjective. My old town house was 1.5acres and I push mowed it until a friend gave me a 42" rider. Took 3 hrs, but I ate it in chunks and washed it down with beer.

I've been working on my wife for a year and half to get a 0-turn because I now have 3 acres to mow with lots of undulating terrain. I think my 42" lawn chief is going to have a "mishap" by the end of this summer. It was free and is 8 years old.

[Brian Tymchak]

I have ~15,000 sq ft of lawn and push mow it in about 2 hrs. (I mow relatively slowly). 22" non-self-propelled mower, but the lawn is pretty flat. I fertilize and have a full lawn irrigation system, so the lawn is dense. Pretty decent exercise. 4-5 yrs ago I would mow it every 4 days in the spring time but now I'm down to once a week, whether it needs it or not.. I wouldn't want to push mow much more than this. In fact, getting older, if we decide to not downsize next year, I will likely get a rider, or larger self-propelled.

All my neighbors with the exception of 1 have much smaller lawns and either have a lawn service or riding mowers. Depends on how much time you want to spend at it, and how much peer pressure you're willing to put up with..

[Curt Harms]

It depends on your landscaping. Lots of little trees I would push mow up to an acre. I also would push it instead of propelling it. That advice is coming from someone who has never used a self propelled mower. Plus the money too, and time on maintenance. A push mower is easy to maintain, a rider not so much. We have a half acre lot with 2 million shrubberies on it thanks to my darling wife and a horse in the back yard. It takes me about 45 minutes to push mow the front yard but there is no way a rider would fit. We rarely mow the back yard, the horse keeps it trimmed pretty good.

What Moses said. Trimming around lots of bushes & flower beds ups the time required quite a lot. I think it's quicker to cut around 'obstacles' with a push mower than with a rider. A ZTR might change that but you'd still need enough room between 'obstacles'.

[Brian Elfert]

A front deck riding mower can really cut down on time going around obstacles like bushes and such. The deck is out front of the rest of the mower so the deck can go under the branches on bushes and such. Unfortunately, front deck mowers aren't really made anymore and they were almost exclusively commercial (expensive) units. There are a few commercial zero turn mowers that have the deck out front, but the cost is out of sight. (low five figures)

[Myk Rian]

Back in 1978, I cut our lawn with a push mower. Just under 1 acre. We moved in Dec. 77.
I said "The heck with this" went to Sears, and bought a tractor. On our third machine now.

I've seen TV ads where all the guys in the sub are on tractors. How stupid is that?

[Rick Moyer]

Another consideration is do you intend to ONLY cut the grass or do you intend to make the lawn look really nice. A tractor can pull a spreader, aerator, thatcher, etc. should you want to go that route yourself. Also, I doubt you'll get a 20" cut out of a 22" blade unless you are extremely accurate following your lines. I would suspect a larger overlap than 2" unless you're really careful. There are also a lot of factors contributing to how long it may take to mow beyond the size of the mower.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have a little over a half acre in the front and 3/4 acres in the back that I used to mow with a push mower. Now I have a zero steer and mow more but want to gt another push to mow when it is to wet to put the rider on.

[Bill Huber]

There are 2 types of self-propelled mowers, one is a set speed and then the other is a Personal Pace.

I have a Toro Personal Pace and I can't go faster then it. The nice thing about the personal pace is if you slow down they slow down and if you want to walk faster they will go faster.

If you get a non self-propelled get one with the biggest wheels you can find, it makes it much easier.

[Brian Kent]

I have a Honda self-propelled with an adjustable throttle. When I hit unseen gopher holes and dog-digging holes, it is much less jarring to be able to not be pushing when it hits. I can control much better. We have a half acre but not all lawn. For me it is easier to mow the weeds when they come up than to try to ride on all of the irregular hills and slopes around many trees.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

you guys with bad backs should look into gel filled cushions. all the difference in the world.Max