[Startingover]

Contemplating a riding mower.

I have barely .25 to mow but 64 trees and bushes so I’m guessing a 42” riding mower is biggest I need? Maybe I should stick with my Honda self propelled.

I don’t mind mowing but when temps are 100° the sun burns my skin. Seems every year the heat gets to me more and more. By the time the dew dries the sun is high.

Ha, but I do enjoy the looks on everyone’s face when I say I do my own yard work.

 

[Windows on Wash]

1/4 acre...you probably spend more time on the tractor with all the turns.

There aren't better walk behind mowers than the Honda if you ask me.

 

[Startingover]

WoW, thanks. Every year I consider one but don’t want to waste money. I do like the (forced) exercise.

My daughter thinks I’ve planted a ‘woods’ but wildlife likes it. Everything's native.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Don't despair, consider an Exmark and mow around all your trees in just a few minutes then tool around the neighborhood with a sign attached that reads I MOW LAWNS. You'll have that puppy paid for in no time. If you find it missing your daughter may have swiped it.

 

[Startingover]

After looking at mowers I like traditional ones with motor in front. Ones with nothing but a steering wheel in front leaves me wondering if I’d tumble off.

Senior, this looked like the guy had a seat belt. Probably cost as much as a new car! This is a monster mower.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

With that many trees and shrubs, with front engine, i'm not certain which would wear out first, your arms or the lawn tractor steering components. The steering systems aren't robust and due to a lack of maintenance, because of the aggravation of design, that's what often wears out first and you don't need that.

 

[de-nagorg]

Stay with the HONDA, riders are limited to areas that are relative flat, have room to maneuver, they cannot get close enough to bushes, trees, fences, walls, other yard things, and you will be cleaning up with the HONDA anyway.

And your postage stamp sized yard, needs you to walk on it anyway, otherwise it will feel abandoned.


ED

 

[roughneck]

A conventional rider will require more time the a push mower when mowing around a lot of obstacles.
This is where zero turns shine. And would likely be quicker then a push.
Even with a hydro drive conventional lawn tractors take a little time to stop, change direction, and steer around obstacles. Not to mention the lack of power steering gets old maneuvering around.

 

[Calson]

My property is also 100% native other than some windblown weeds from neighbors' yards. That minimizes the watering and the mowing (weed wacker is used for 100% one to two times during the year).

I had an electric mower to do the grass in the dog run but with no dogs now I no longer water the area and no grass grows. If I was going to get a new lawn mower it would be a battery powered one like the Ryobi 40-volt lithium-ion one sold by Home Depot for $300. Walking behind a lawn mower and breathing in the exhaust is something I did as a teenager but got older and wiser and stopped doing this.

For sun protection dark clothing blocks more of the UV than light colored clothing and the long sleeve shirts sold for fishermen provide good protection and good ventilation. Add a hat with a full brim and you will be well protected.

As a side note, men tend to get skin cancer on their ears and is is the result of them relying on baseball caps when outdoors (although it is amazing how many guys where ballcaps inside at restaurants for some reason).

 

[Startingover]

Carson, good advice. I have a couple of vented, long sleeve, mens shirts. $17. The ladies, same thing were $34. My best hat is a mans vented around crown with a drawstring. It gets windy and straw hats blow off. I may start wearing my bicycle gloves. Or cut fingers off garden gloves for breathability as I noticed my sister's hands are so brown it looks like shes wearing gloves.

 

[chandler48]

Likewise, I agree with the SP Honda. Too small a tract to make a ride worthwhile. I have 4 1/2 acres to mow with 53 blueberry bushes, 40 fruit trees, and 2 grape arbors to mow around. I do it on a Kubota diesel ZD 21 ZTR. Lifesaver to say the least. Mowed it yesterday, 5 weeks out from the shoulder replacement. What a workout !!!

 

[Windows on Wash]

Good ZTR are going to be near or north of 10K. The ones at home depot and big box stores are crap. They rattle apart in a matter of years.

 

[3onthetree]

men tend to get skin cancer on their ears and is is the result of them relying on baseball caps when outdoors

One spring break I got so burnt on the beach a few days later the top skin layer of the top 3/4 of my ear came off in a perfect intact shape of my ear.


Starting, I would join the chorus on riding is not good for 1/4 acre. If you hired out, they would have a zeroturn and be done in 15 minutes, and can mow when damp. I bet it takes about an hour for you with a push mower. If your mower is really old, you might be able to improve on that time. Over the years there have been minor improvements with things like deck circulation and variable speed. My mom is unstoppable like you, nearing 80 (so maybe stubborn), so I bought her a new mower that improved a bit on the rear drive, variable, and start. Her and the 9 year old grandkids can use it with ease and improve time too.

 

[Startingover]

3onthetree, one day, down the street I saw an elderly, white hair woman in a housecoat, with a walker. She’d shove the mower ahead, then use her walker to catch up. I thought, oh gawd, that’ll be me someday.

How kind of you to help your mom but still allow her to be independent and self sufficient, doing something she must like.

My self propelled mower is only 2 years old. Because of the heat and humidity I break mowing up into 2-3 days. Theres a lawn guy who will mow the front and big side for $25 if I’m busy. The back no one sees so I’m not as diligent with it.

Come on show us the photo of your ear skin.

 

[Old Thomas]

Measure between your trees and get one that will fit in a lot of places. It will reduce trimming, which is a lot more work than mowing.

 

[3onthetree]

3onthetree, one day, down the street I saw an elderly, white hair woman in a housecoat, with a walker. She’d shove the mower ahead, then use her walker to catch up. I thought, oh gawd, that’ll be me someday.

How kind of you to help your mom but still allow her to be independent and self sufficient, doing something she must like.

LOL I'm visualizing that as a skit Vicki Lawrence would do on Mama's Family or Tim Conway on Carol Burnett show. I'd rather her not do mowing, but can only do it myself when I'm there. I've found that it is easier and safer to find better tools/technology to fit the tasks she insists on doing that I can't make her stop. And I know I'll be the same someday with the same genes and stubbornness.

Come on show us the photo of your ear skin.

Ha! That was long ago. If I kept it around, on the shelf next to a mason jar of nail clippings and a Chianti wine next to that, it would have scared off any potential girlfriends!

 

[Startingover]

Hahaha

 

[geenowalker]

After looking at mowers I like traditional ones with motor in front. Ones with nothing but a steering wheel in front leaves me wondering if I’d tumble off.

Senior, this looked like the guy had a seat belt. Probably cost as much as a new car! This is a monster mower.

There is nothing more entertaining, that the local idiot that has a commercial grade mower for 1/4 acre.