Intro and push mower I think I'm going to buy.

[TheDogLady]

Hi there! Never joined a lawn mower forum before. ...Never really thought about looking for one to exist. And then, till after looking at this forum, never really knew there were so MANY types of lawn mowers, I knew there were different types - just not as many.

So I'm going to buy a push mower in the next couple of days. Hadn't used a mower in years. Our last mower broke and since then my younger brother decided he would just hired someone to mow the grass. He did that just because he would rather play video games than mow the yard. Besides, when my brother did mow, he often was careless and mowed over things. Well, I've about had it with the people he hires and I had a long talk with him about how much it was costing him to hire someone else. So we decided to go buy another mower, however, more than likely I'll be the one who ends up mowing majority of the time unless I nag him to do it.

Our last mower was a self propelled 5.5 hp engine Yard-man. Didn't have it for too terrible long when the self propelling belt broke. Despite the belt being broke, we put it to use anyway. Due to no longer being self propelled, that thing was heavy! Which is when I really pushed my brother to cut the lawn instead of myself. A while after that, the bolt that held the blades in (I'm sure you know what I mean) snapped, leaving a broken piece lodged in the mower. Found out it would be just as costly to buy a new mower. Sadly, that mower has been parked out back - uncovered, under the overhang of the house, for something around 3 years ... possibly longer.

The lawn mower I'm about to buy:

This new mower I'm looking at is from Walmart (which is where we've always bought our lawn mower). It's a Brute 22" Mulch/Bag/Side Discharge Rear Wheel Drive Electric Start Gas-Powered Lawn Mower. What I'm looking at:

1) I really want to buy a self propelled because it hurts me to mow the lawn. I've broken my collar bone 3 times and the vibration from the mower's handle bar already hurts. It hurts even more to push the mower along. So any help from the mower is great.

2) Not really interested in the grass catcher bag as it seems to fill too quickly and I have to empty it often.

3) As far as rear wheel drive vs front wheel drive - I really don't know if there's much difference. One online source claimed rear wheel is better.

4) The thing that really caught my attention is that this mower has an electric key start! I'm so excited about that!!! Tugging on that ripcord hurt as well with the collar bone and I would just get so mad, lol. According to the picture provided by Walmart, it still has a ripcord, which confused me. After researching a bit more, found out that the key start has to be charged before use. So I guess the ripcord is for a second alternative.

5) It also has a single point height adjustment. I don't know if that's bad or good. I do know that I didn't particularly care for adjusting each wheel on the last mower, I found it to be more of a nuisance than helpful.

My yard:

My back yard is bigger than most yards in my neighborhood but nothing like an acre or anything. Honestly, I don't know the exact measurements. Though, anyone who has mowed our yard has commented on my yard's size. A couple times I heard, "It doesn't seem that big but it's almost like a baseball field!". (It's not that big though!) I think I barely have grass, lol, just a wide variety of weeds. As of right now, my grass is overgrown and decorated with buttercups. ...Which I think is pretty and, imo, is great for photos. :biggrin: But anywho, with it being tall already, I figured I would just set the mower on it's highest setting and mow at that level first to try to avoid burning out the brand new mower.

Sorry about the long winded intro. ...I tend to do that. :ashamed: I hope it read easy as it's way past my bed time, lol! But wanted to thank you for your time, interest, and any feedback. :smile: Again, never been to a lawn mower forum before but maybe I can learn things here like better upkeep on the lawn mower.

 

[Two-Stroke]

I'd like to complement you, DogLady, on both a well-written first post and a username that I can really relate to. I'm a dog person myself. :wink:

This is my Go-Go.

On your prospective mower purchase, my best advice is to go for a quality used machine over a junky mower from a big-box store.

Have you ever worked on engines or anything like that? If so, consider buying a good used mower off CraigsList. It's fun to fix them up. And you get a much better mower.

And as far as push vs self-propelled... if you're healed from your injury, I'd recommend going with an unassisted push mower. It's a simpler machine (lower maintenance costs) and you benefit from the exercise.

Playing with old mowers, Lawn-Boys in particular -- that's why I'm here on this forum. :biggrin:

 

[Rivets]

Please, please stay away from the Brute. They have had many problems and a waste of your $$$$. There are many good brand new lines out there, but I would stay away from those built by MTD. This company builds mowers under many different names and are sold mostly by the big box stores. I would recommend you take a look at the Toro line with Personal Pace. They do come with electric start and will make your mowing as easy as possible. What ever you buy, please consider buying from a dealer. They will be much more helpful in answering all you questions before and after the sale. Most good dealers will also set up your unit and some even deliver new machines for free. if you have any more questions on different units, please post. There are many knowledgable people here willing to give you input.