When it comes to choosing a walk-behind lawn mower there are several things that can be considered.
- How big is your yard?
- Is your yard flat or hilly?
- Push mower or self-propelled mower?
- How big do you want the cutting deck?
- How big of an engine?
- Gas or electric?
- Side discharge, bagging, or mulching?
- Front or back wheel drive?
- Price?
We are going to do our best to simplify some of these questions and make buying a lawn mower easier then it seems. Remember that these are general “rules” and everyone has different wants and needs when it comes to a lawn mower.
Yard Size and Terrain
A general guide is if your lawn is less than a quarter of an acre and relatively flat, a push mower is a good choice. For lawns that are larger, usually up to a half acre, or may have a rolling terrain, a self-propelled mower would be the best choice.
Push Mower Vs Self-Propelled Mower
The main difference between a push mower and a self-propelled mower is the amount of effort it takes to mow your lawn. With push mowers, the operator is doing all the work by physically pushing the mower. On the other hand, self-propelled mowers are assisting the operator by moving itself which cuts down on the physical effort.
There are a few things to consider when you are deciding if you want a push mower or a self-propelled mower. The first thing to consider is how large your lawn is. If you have a smaller lawn, a push mower will be a good decision. If you have a larger lawn, and don’t want to push a mower around, then the self-propelled mower is the better decision. The second thing to consider is how much work you actually want to do. If you want to get a work out and mow the lawn at the same time, then by all means a push mower. For those of you that would like to walk behind the mower and let it do the work, self-propelled is calling your name.
Cutting Deck, Engine Size
The cutting deck size and the engine size go hand in hand. The cutting deck is the area that houses the blade of the lawn mower. The larger the cutting deck, the longer the blade, the less passes needed to mow your lawn. As the cutting deck size gets larger, so does the engine size. It requires more power to spin a larger blade. Deciding what size cutting deck is needed is simply preference. If you don’t mind spending all day mowing the lawn then a smaller deck will be fine. If you would like to get your lawn mowed in a shorter amount of time, a larger deck would be appropriate.
Discharge, Bag, Mulch
There are different types of walk-behind mowers. The first type is the discharge walk-behind mower. This is the mower that has a chute on the side and discharges the lawn clippings on the lawn. The second type is a bagging walk-behind lawn mower. This mower comes with a bag that will house the lawn clippings. The third type is a mulching walk-behind mower. This mower is equipped with a special blade that cuts the lawn clippings into tiny pieces and pushes them beneath the lawn. Many walk-behind lawn mowers on the market today come as 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 versions. This means that they can be interchanged from discharge to mulch, mulch to bag, or mulch to bag to discharge.
Front Wheel Drive VS Rear Wheel Drive
Yes that is correct; self-propelled lawn mowers come in front wheel and rear wheel drive. Let’s run through each one and see what the differences are. The front wheel drive works well on flat lawns that tend to have shorter grass. A main feature for the front wheel drive is you won’t have to release the self propel when turning the mower. The rear wheel drive gives you better traction on different lawns and works well in longer grass.
Congratulations, you now have a background in lawn mower 101. We hope this gives you a better insight into some areas to pay attention to when buying your next walk-behind lawn mower. As always, ask a sales associate for more information on the different brands and models that they carry.
Supreme Hardware 