How big a yard is reasonable to push mow?

[Moses Yoder]

You can get the Husqvarna with a Honda or Kohler engine, I would say it is a toss up. (When I last looked into mowers a few years ago) The Honda will probably start easier for longer. I wanted to buy a Husqvarna push mower with Honda engine a few years back and my wife said we can get a mower cheaper from the Meijer grocery store with my daughter's employee discount so we bought a Yard Machine with Briggs engine for $50 less than a Husqvarna would have cost from a small local engine shop. Two years later the piece of crap does not run smooth and she says I need to fix it before she can use it. Well, I am not waiting for the pond to ice over I am simply throwing it in.

[David Weaver]

Part of the benefit of the honda mower is everything else that goes along with the motor. All of it is reliable and well designed. Maybe the husky is, too. Some of the other honda powered mowers have shallow decks.

I've noticed often that my neighbor is mowing and his mulching mower is struggling because the deck is a bad design - and shallow. I'm doing the same thing with a honda mower with less horsepower and no problem because there's enough room under the deck for the mower to mulch in heavy grass.

I usually look used first when I need something, and some couple who came from india bought the mower, used it for a year and then hired yard service and sold it on CL for 1/3rd of new price. They couldn't get it to start. I have no idea why. It's started fine for me for 8 years now with no maintenance other than air filters and oil changes.

[Matt Meiser]

You can get the Husqvarna with a Honda or Kohler engine,

Honda or B&S right now, at least in the models my dealer carries. She says this particular Briggs as proven to be a good engine but I'd probably get the Honda. The perceived advantage the Briggs model has is a blade brake clutch which leaves the engine running when you let go of the handle which is nice, but the clutch is intolerant of hitting anything and is $50 to replace.

[Brian Elfert]

I have a self propelled Honda push mower with blade brake clutch. It is one model down from the top of the line. I think the only thing I don't have is electric start. It has a hydrostatic transmission that I can set any forward speed I want. I've very rarely felt like I needed to mow faster than the mower would go at top speed. Typically I would have to mow at less than top speed because I often let the grass grow too long.

I'm currently looking for a riding mower of some sort for my future house. I will probably have at least one acre at my next house so I likely wouldn't want to use my push mower for that. I have seen a used Toro Proline 118 riding mower I would like to buy, but I think my father would kill me if I bought it and stored it at his house. It is a front deck commercial type riding mower. It is Toro's bottom of the line commercial riding mower and has a Kohler small engine rather than a heavier duty liquid cooled motor like the bigger ones. Also no power steering. Not being liquid cooled could be an advantage as less to maintain on the engine.

[Brian Ashton]

The tipping point is can you afford a ride on mower. If so, who cares how big the area is that you're cutting.

[Brian Elfert]

That are many sizes of yard that would make no sense to use a riding mower for no matter if one afford one or not. It would be fairly silly to have a riding mower for my 40 foot wide swatch of grass at my house. A non-zero turn would take more time to turn around than to cut the grass. My father spent 3 hours a week for years with a push mower on his lawn. He finally broke down and got a lightly used riding mower since he is in his upper 60s now.

[Brian Ashton]

That are many sizes of yard that would make no sense to use a riding mower for no matter if one afford one or not. It would be fairly silly to have a riding mower for my 40 foot wide swatch of grass at my house. A non-zero turn would take more time to turn around than to cut the grass. My father spent 3 hours a week for years with a push mower on his lawn. He finally broke down and got a lightly used riding mower since he is in his upper 60s now.

People buy massive lathes and other woodworking equipment and extremely expensive hand tools for what is barely a hobby considering the time they put in and their lack of skill. Whats the difference? The way I see it is if it's your money, stuff what anyone else thinks, it's all about you. And if your friends are all too judgemental because you like to spend your money then buy some new ones.

Or how bout people that buy hummers and only drive them around town...

Other than stuff like eggs and milk, most of what westerners buy these days is over the top self indulgence...

I knew a guy that had a wall of planes. No way in the world could he hope to use a quarter of them and he sucked at woodworking. How dumb is that. Again not at all, he was stinking rich and could afford that and probably thousands more. Only problem is he wasn't smart enough to spend some money on lessons on becoming a reasonable woodworker

[Jerome Stanek]

People buy massive lathes and other woodworking equipment and extremely expensive hand tools for what is barely a hobby considering the time they put in and their lack of skill. Whats the difference? The way I see it is if it's your money, stuff what anyone else thinks, it's all about you. And if your friends are all too judgemental because you like to spend your money then buy some new one

Or how bout people that buy hummers and only drive them around town...

Other than stuff like eggs and milk, most of what westerners buy these days is over the top self ind
I knew a guy that had a wall of planes. No way in the world could he hope to use a quarter of them and he sucked at woodworking. How dumb is that. Again not at all, he was stinking rich and could afford that and probably thousands more. Only problem is he wasn't smart enough to spend some money on lessons on becoming a reasonable woodworker

But there is a break point where it takes longer to mow using a rider than a push and he is close to that

[Moses Yoder]

The tipping point is can you afford a ride on mower. If so, who cares how big the area is that you're cutting.

I see what you mean (in further explanation) is not really what you said. Essentially you said that everyone who CAN afford a riding lawn mower SHOULD have one. In further responses you state essentially that if you WANT a riding lawn mower and CAN AFFORD a riding lawn mower then you SHOULD have one. I have never met anyone who could not afford a riding lawn mower. You can buy them often times for around a $100. I saw one the other day for $50. On the other hand, there is a lot involved in WANTING a riding lawn mower. You have to either want to spend a lot of time or money on maintenance. You have to have some REASON to WANT the mower. Some way to justify the expense. Most people buy one because they say it saves them time. Some people buy a very expensive one to impress the neighbors. There are a lot of reasons to want a riding lawn mower but there are a lot of people with enough money to have a rider and yet they still don't want one. There are many millionaires who have no yard to mow, and various other reasons not to want a rider. Push mowing the yard is good exercise, is not so hard on the environment, gives you a reason to exist, etc.

[Moses Yoder]

We are doing some yard work today, raking leaves and planting some stuff so there are a couple piles of leaves on the ground but here is why I won't ever have a riding lawn mower.

house spring 14.jpg

[David Weaver]

I think the only thing I don't have is electric start.

I don't know what yours is like, but mine, like clockwork takes 10 pulls at the start of the season (since there is no prime bulb or anything beyond throttle set type choke), and exactly two every other time I start it cold each week for the rest of the year.

If there was ever a small engine maker that you didn't need a starter for, honda is it.

[David Weaver]

The tipping point is can you afford a ride on mower. If so, who cares how big the area is that you're cutting.

I can't imagine wanting one. I could afford one, though I guess I have a problem with getting stingy when buying things I don't love, like some folks do. When it comes to a vice, my wallet is wide open.

I did grow up in a house that had two riders, but only have a quarter acre now, and look forward to the 40 minute walk each week.

I've got a neighbor who loves to kind of do as little as possible outside, and as slow as possible, and when I moved here, he had a rider for his third acre. Your post got me thinking about the number of people here with riders, he was the only one on my street except for the church at the end (that has one for obvious reasons - it's about a 3 acre property and mowing is via volunteer). Anyway, even the guy who had a rider no longer has one now. I'm kind of curious as to why he doesn't, but I don't know.

[Larry Frank]

I have got two acres that I mow and also a bunch trees and stuff to go around. I have a Simplicity ZTR that makes it fun to do the lawn. This time of year when the blue grass is growing...a freshly cut lawn looks great. Sometimes, I even break down and mow it in patterns such as squares or diamonds. Yes, it is kind of nuts but it is all in what makes you smile.

Pushing a mower on a hot humid day does not make me smile.

[Bill Cunningham]

I have a 25hp tractor w/42" 3 blade deck, front and back lawn = just under 15000 sq. Ft. I can cut both In about an hour, because I have better things to do than cut grass.

[Todd Willhoit]

Very interesting thread. I suppose the answer is somewhat dependent on how long you want to be in the yard. I can mow, trim, and blow off the clippings off 0.2 ac. in less than an hour with a self propelled 21". That equates to a little exercise and a LOT of sweat during the summer months in Houston. I don't care to be doing yard work all day, so I consider that pretty good.

I highly recommend Toro. Mine model is the least expensive of the commercial line (Super Recycler). Nothing fancy, but it has an aluminum deck, and a longer (five year) warranty. I asked the dealer about the differences between the commercial line and those at the big box stores. He said he regularly sees the big box models in the shop for wheel and transmission replacements. Mine has had zero issues in five years. Starts on the first pull.

Buying the low end of the commercial line has served me well. I have a low-end commercial Echo SRM-2500 string trimmer going strong with 23 years of service. The only parts I have replaced are the carburetor and the gas cap.