In my last article, I gave you three basic tips on choosing your next lawn mower. In this post, I am going to give you some further tips and try and go a little deeper. Remember, these are just my opinions developed over the years and I hope you can take something away with you that will assist you in your next lawn mower purchase.

More Features To Look For

The next feature I would recommend you look at when buying your next lawn mower would be the depth of the actual mower deck. The deeper the deck, the better the mulching will be. If the deck is shallow, the clippings will fall out prior to being ground up (if you are in mulching mode) or being shot into the bag (if you are catching). The best mowers will be around 4 or 5 inches deep graduating upward towards the back of the blade swath.

I mentioned before that I recommend rear wheel drive self-propelled mowers, and in addition, I highly recommend a mower that is variable speed. There are times when your lawn is super flat and wide open and you will want to run in high speed gear, but going up and down hills or in tight spaces, you will want to slow down a bit. If you have variable speed at your fingertips, you will be good to go!

Finally, I want you to look for fat tires! Yep, you read that right, fat tires. The fatter the tire on your next lawn mower, the better stripes you can mow in the turf. Stripes are what make your lawn stand out in the neighborhood, and a lot of homeowner-style mowers are featuring wider tires to give you what you are looking for.

Keep all of this in mind when you head out this weekend, and see if you can find a mower that includes all of these features!

Over my career in the lawn care industry, I have used a lot of different types of lawn mowers. I have used riders, walkers, zero turns and push mowers. Now, I understand you are not going to head over to the local lawn mower shop this weekend and drop ten thousand dollars on a new SCAG hydro mower, but you may visit that same shop and buy a new walk-behind and these tips will surely help you out.

What To Look For

First off, I want a mower that will both mulch and catch clippings. This is because different lawn conditions will warrant the use of both. If I have a lawn fungus in the turf like dollar spot, I will want to catch the clippings so as not to spread it. However, if conditions are good in the spring, I will mulch to recycle nutrients back into the lawn. This is a nice option to have at your disposal.

Next, I want a mower that is well-powered. I never recommend buying anything with less than 5 HP. At this level and above, you have enough power and torque to push through thick and damp grass without leaving clumps.

Finally, I want you to get a mower that is rear-wheel-drive self propelled. Trust me, pushing a mower gets old quickly. The reason I recommend rear wheel driven mowers is because it makes it easier to mow straight lines and keeps power to the ground on hills and curves.

That’s a good start for now. In the next article, I will go into more depth on what to look for in your next mower purchase.