I happen to rather like using manual mowers...

They suck. That is all.

My wife bought one 2 years ago. We have a small yard and she likes the exercise.

As long as I don't have to mow, I love it!

They cut grass very well, but it's a workout.

djcunix: My wife bought one 2 years ago. We have a small yard and she likes the exercise.

As long as I don't have to mow, I love it!

Super This!

Do the push mowers have holders for beer cans attached?

I hired Manual to mow my lawn.

We just moved 3 weeks ago. First house. I thought of buying one and telling my partner "I thought you could use the exercise" but then I realized that I do, in fact, enjoy having meals cooked for me.

Any tips on a real lawn mower (preferably self-propelled or partially self-propelled/ I don't need to be PULLED by my lawn mower)?

When we move back to manual leaf-blowers (AKA 'rakes'), then I'll be happy.

My wife and I just bought an electric mower. Sure it takes a couple of days to do the front and back yards, but why pay for the gas and store it in the shed or garage when all we have to do is plug it in for a handful of hours to charge?

McManus_brothers: They suck. That is all.

This.

Ceph: We just moved 3 weeks ago. First house. I thought of buying one and telling my partner "I thought you could use the exercise" but then I realized that I do, in fact, enjoy having meals cooked for me.

Any tips on a real lawn mower (preferably self-propelled or partially self-propelled/ I don't need to be PULLED by my lawn mower)?

Hondas are a good choice. Toro is popular as well.

Peddle power, baby!

It takes about 40 cents worth of gas to cut a lawn. Even if gas prices double, well, do the math... Get a grip, people.

ruthless_toothless: Peddle power, baby!

Awesome.

Manual - OK, but a lot of blade maintenance and agony if you have a huge lawn.

Electric - cords suck, cordless has no power. Just don't.

Gas - ultimately the least pain. If you want a 'workout', do it in a way that makes sense for your muscles and CP system.

ruthless_toothless: Peddle power, baby!

That thing is farking awesome.

A push mower is not a huge workout unless you hardly walk at all -- don't be afraid of it


How much gasoline do people use when mowing their lawns? If it costs so much, but they are incapable of using a push mower because of disability, then why not buy an electric one

bukketmaster: When we move back to manual leaf-blowers (AKA 'rakes'), then I'll be happy.

like your ideas...newsletter?

blowers are in the top 10 all-time of Tools for Lazy People. if you're 70 like my dad, fine. when i see 30-somethings like me out using one i just marvel at the laziness. but, i guess the young need to get the leaves done quickly cuz they only have 26 minutes to get to the gym.

I use a manual mower. If you don't let the grass get real long, it's no harder than pushing a heavier gas mower, which isn't that hard to push either.
At least I don't have to wonder if it's going to start up.

Ceph: We just moved 3 weeks ago. First house. I thought of buying one and telling my partner "I thought you could use the exercise" but then I realized that I do, in fact, enjoy having meals cooked for me.

Any tips on a real lawn mower (preferably self-propelled or partially self-propelled/ I don't need to be PULLED by my lawn mower)?

Get something with a 6.5/6.75 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine. The engines are very easy to repair/keep up and will last you forever, and machines with these engines are significantly less expensive to buy than a Honda or Toro.

Dang it, Bobby.

right. .. .

i mowed lawns all through high school. it was my only job, really. those push-mowers are a joke, and only a sucker with no sense of the value of his time would even consider one.

My parents have always had a manual push mower. (Admittedly, they were born in the wrong century. Despite living in the Chicago suburbs and not some bumfark backwater, they still don't have a microwave or dishwasher, either.)

Anyway, our neighbors used to borrow it often. Oh, they owned their own power mower, but if one of their teenage sons needed to be punished, we'd see him pushing our clunky mower across their lawn.

Plug-in electric really does it! if it breaks, you just have to connect the wires to get it back...ain't no pulling a rope every time ya gotta move the kids' toys...and the pollution is cured back at the power plant. ya ain't gonna pay the gas prices, stink up the SUV getting it home. Or leave arson material layin' around for the local Meth guys!

/just sayin'

ruthless_toothless: Peddle power, baby!

I would think that you have to change the gear ratio of the bike, otherwise it would take allot of force to get the mower going.

On the other hand, it would be very useful in its current form against a gerbil invasion.

TheyCallThisWork: right. .. .

i mowed lawns all through high school. it was my only job, really. those push-mowers are a joke, and only a sucker with no sense of the value of his time would even consider one.

How old are you, 54?

seminole87: how many times is this going to get posted?

Until the inventor of the push lawnmower makes enough money to fuel his jet.

Ceph: We just moved 3 weeks ago. First house. I thought of buying one and telling my partner "I thought you could use the exercise" but then I realized that I do, in fact, enjoy having meals cooked for me.

Any tips on a real lawn mower (preferably self-propelled or partially self-propelled/ I don't need to be PULLED by my lawn mower)?

I bought a Craftsman self-propelled with RWD for less than $400 on sale from Sears. You can vary the amount of propulsion by squeezing a handle as opposed to setting a speed and being dragged behind the mower.

I highly recommend it. Like most decent mowers, it bags, mulches, or side-discharges. After three years of no maintenance, it starts on the first pull.

I also only use about 6 gallons of gas per year (1/3 acre yard). I seem to burn more in the weedeater.

/Toros and Hondas are good, too, but IIRC the Craftsman was a bit cheaper.

Ra_: I use a manual mower. If you don't let the grass get real long, it's no harder than pushing a heavier gas mower, which isn't that hard to push either.

I use an manual, and the problem isn't with the difficulty. It's with the fact that if you get lazy like I sometimes do and let the grass grow a little too long, the mower just bends the blades over and they don't get cut. Then you have to keep going over those areas over and over again.

I don't see why it's so important to have a green, manicured lawn. I happen to like the look of tall grass.

The 3 speed Honda mower at home depot works nicely. If you can find a mower with a Kawasaki engine they are great, just make sure the deck isn't a POS(cub cadet).

I'd do the Honda one. Easy starting, not super expensive

Push mowers coming back because of high gas prices?

I had a pretty big lawn, and I went through maybe two gallons every 6 weeks...that doesn't seem like enough to switch mowers.....


Maybe the MSM is just trying to panic everybody?

Nah, that's not possible....

...Nah

Ceph: Any tips on a real lawn mower (preferably self-propelled or partially self-propelled/ I don't need to be PULLED by my lawn mower)?

I bought an MTD from Lowe's a long time ago... it has large wheels in the rear so it rolls very easily and there is no need for self propulsion. I've had it for over 15 years and all I have to do is make sure it's got oil.

Reading all the responses in this thread remind me why I sold my house and moved into a (yard-free) townhouse.

h to the 'ojo: How old are you, 54?

32.

But, between 89 and 93, I could easily make 60-80 bucks a weekend working about 3-4 hours. Plus, it's California, so the work was available about 10 months out of the year.

I know you were making fun of my leave-it-to-beaver occupation, but I actually knew a lot of guys who did the same thing. It sure beat 5 bucks an hour slinging burgers.

h to the 'ojo: How much gasoline do people use when mowing their lawns? If it costs so much, but they are incapable of using a push mower because of disability, then why not buy an electric one

I have an older John Deere lawn tractor, and I mow 1/2 an acre once a week. My 5 gallon jerry can lasts me about a month and a half. $20 every 6 weeks. That's about 7 dollars more than I spent every 6 weeks last year. 5 gallons ought to last 2 months at least for a push mower, mowing twice a week.

This article, and those of this ilk, are dumb. If you are so worried about gas prices that you have to resort to a push mower for your lawn needs, you are farking poor. So, go ahead and throw out your $200 lawnmower, buy a $100 manual mower, to save $7 every two months, idiot.

Oh yeah, and not that anyone ever bothers to maintain their mower (like sharpening the blades every so often) but reel mowers suck ass even more when you don't sharpen the blades. They work like scissors. Ever try cutting something with really dull scissors, where the screw in the scissors is loose? That's what mowing with an ill-maintained reel mower is like.

I prefer a push mower. It was never out of concern about gas though. I just don't care for the noise and exhaust.

I have a Honda-powered LawnBoy 5HP self-propelled walk-behind, and a Great States reel mower. Since I have an acre of property (and no way in hell does my house take up even half that) I use the Great States reel mower up until I decide I want to be done for the week. It's not that it's a major workout, it's that it's not terribly wide and takes a while, especially if you're like me and not good about picking up sticks (they tend to jam up the works.)

No, you don't use a lot of gas in a gas lawn mower, but it's a sure bet you're pumping more pollutants in the atmosphere with your gas lawnmower than with your morning commute. Plus the scissors-like action of the reel mower is better for your grass. You could always compromise and get an electric reel mower. :-)

You could always

Atharaenea: I don't see why it's so important to have a green, manicured lawn. I happen to like the look of tall grass.

I do too... the problem in my yard is that I get scraggly ugly weeds that grow a lot taller than the grass. So I keep the semi-manicured look for the sides of my property that face the street (there are 2), and in the large back yard I often just let it go.

Sounds ridiculous to me. I would save less than 10 bucks a year in gasoline costs, and my yard is not tiny. I spend more than that *every day* to get to work and back.

Are push lawnmowers the latest smugness item?

Bacontastesgood: Manual - OK, but a lot of blade maintenance and agony if you have a huge lawn.

Electric - cords suck, cordless has no power. Just don't.

Gas - ultimately the least pain. If you want a 'workout', do it in a way that makes sense for your muscles and CP system.

My Black and Decker cordless electric is a gem, and has been for more than 4 years now. Takes down my 3rd acre St. Augustine lawn with no problems.

TheyCallThisWork That's not right. I've been using a push mower for over a year; it takes me no longer to mow than it did with my self-propelled honda. The only differences I've noticed are on the pro side.
1. Lawn looks like a freakin' golf course, since there are no jagged edges to brown.
2. That gentle scissoring sound is so much better than a 2-cycle engine, I can even listen to music while I mow.
3. winterize=wipe down with a rag
4. mow anytime, even at dawn.
Hell, even without the gas savings and zero-pollution this is a better mower by far.

TheyCallThisWork: But, between 89 and 93, I could easily make 60-80 bucks a weekend working about 3-4 hours. Plus, it's California, so the work was available about 10 months out of the year.

I mowed lawns, too. Had about 5 customers, charged usually $20 a lawn, each lawn took about 45 minutes. Not bad scratch for a kid 12-16 years old. I did it in Connecticut, so only about a 6 month season, but then I'd charge those same suckers $20 to shovel their driveways every time it snowed. My friend and I could go out at 7:00 on a snow day, shovel some driveways, be done by 11:00 to play in the snow, and each of us would have a fresh $100 in our pocket. Kids don't do this anymore I guess.

Front yard is gravel. Back yard is lawn. I use a gas powered, self propelled mower that I only hold onto with two fingers. And only cut about every two weeks.

Meanwhile the neighbors water their lawn like mad and cut once a week and have the gas push mower dragging on the lawn, requiring more effort.

ctobio: I have an older John Deere lawn tractor, and I mow 1/2 an acre once a week. My 5 gallon jerry can lasts me about a month and a half. $20 every 6 weeks. That's about 7 dollars more than I spent every 6 weeks last year. 5 gallons ought to last 2 months at least for a push mower, mowing twice a week.

I don't understand people like you. My neighbor when I was growing up would mow his lawn twice a week too. My family did it once a month to maybe every couple weeks.

Guess who's yard was still green during droughts? It sure wasn't the guy who always kept his grass short!

I have a reel mower in the basement. Try mowing 3/4 of an acre on a hill that's steep in places and you'll see what I mean. The folks behind me have an electric but that's painful also. Their yard is small and it takes them 2 days to mow. If we get a lot of rain, they end up mooching my mower just so they don't have to worry about bogging down their mower.

I bought a gallon of gas 2 weeks ago. I used to mow weekly but since it's not raining that much I'm able to get by mowing ever 1.5 weeks for the "important" part (out front, immediate back where the kids play). The rest of the yard is on a 2 week cycle. I think last year I used 6 gallons of gas to mow. Each mow takes 1.5 tanks or so, less if the grass isn't too high.

The reel I had was ok on the flat part of the yard but where the ground is bumpy or hilly it wasn't cutting it. The first time I tried it I ended up breaking out the weedeater.

I'm just going to buy a goat. Problem solved. Except the cleanup.