Mowing the lawn doesn’t have to be so hard once you’ve got a self-propelled mower. No, not a robot mower, even though those exist, too. We’re talking about a walk-behind lawn mower with two- or four-wheel drive.
Since it’s self-propelled, you only have to guide it. If you’ve got a sloping lawn, it’s especially nice to have it doing all the work for you.
The mower market is flush with a variety of brands and models to choose from. Let’s look at what characteristics will make up the perfect mower for you.
Just like an automobile, mowers come with front wheel, rear wheel, and all-wheel drive. Front wheel drive is an upgrade for anyone who’s never had a self-propelled mower. This kind is great on flat lawns, and is easy to turn by just lifting the front wheels and pivoting.
But even better are rear wheel and all-wheel drive. Imagine yourself struggling to push a mower up a hill in thick grass. Now think how great it would be to have the traction from a rear wheel drive motoring that mower right up the hill. The good part is that even if your bag is so full of clippings that the front wheels are lifting up, you still have the rear wheels in contact with the ground.
Some people prefer rear wheel to all-wheel drive because they can easily tip up the front of the mower to roll over a driveway without scraping the blade. Keep in mind that if you go with rear wheel drive you’re going to want the next feature described below.
Some self-propelled mowers have just one speed and you’ll have to walk at its pace. But the best mowers have variable speed control. Look for that feature in your next mower; it’s worth having.
Speed control is important for mowers with rear wheel drive. It makes them much easier to turn—cut the speed, turn the mower, and hit the gas again. Without variable speed control it’s impossible to pivot, you’ll have to just make a curve to swing around.
Mulching happens when the mower chews up the grass clippings extra small so you can leave them on the lawn. This can save you time and money: you don’t have to clean up the lawn and you won’t have to apply as much fertilizer.
The other methods for disposing of cut grass are bagging it and shooting it out a side discharge chute. The best mowers offer both of these features as well as mulching. It’s always good to have options!
Unless you’re mowing super difficult terrain, most lawn mower engines have plenty of power for residential yards. Your big choice will be between electric or gas motors.
Nowadays you can find gas mowers that have an electric start with no priming needed, and no cord pulling. Yes, they’re noisy, but you won’t have to deal with an extension cord in your way, and you can cover a lot of ground.
On the flip side, electric mowers typically require less maintenance and are quieter than those with gas engines. Just make sure you have a long power cord.
So you’re rolling along and suddenly you spot a toy or branch in the grass. In the old days this meant stopping the motor to retrieve or move the object, then yanking on the cord again to start up the mower. So much extra work.
Avoid this problem by looking for a mower with a blade brake. The brake stops the blade from spinning without stopping the motor, too. You can pause the mower in place, remove the obstacle, and continue without restarting.
Cleanup is not such a chore if your mower has a washout port. Just connect a garden hose and let the water run for a minute. It will push out a lot of the grass that built up inside around the blade underneath the mower.
Consumer Reports says that the average lifetime of a lawn mower is about 6 years. Most of the better self-propelled mowers come with a 3-year warranty. A longer warranty means the company is confident that their product isn’t going to cost them money in free repairs to consumers, so generally a longer warranty is better.
It’s one thing to read about it, it’s another to put your hands on the mower and see how it feels. If you’re going to working with your lawn mower a lot, you might as well find a comfortable fit for your height and your hands. Check to see what kinds of height adjustments (only body or individual wheels) and handlebar adjustments you can make before you settle on a new mower. And consider the width of the mower too, will it fit through the tight spots and still cover a lot of ground well? Get the best mower for you.