What's a good thrifty mower???

[hiding57]

We just bought a house on an acre. We were renting so never had to mow and we don't own a mower.
We're both thinking a push mower is probably not realistic for an acre. We don't have that much spare time just to mow. But if someone thinks otherwise we're open to ideas.
We're also thinking this probably isn't something we want to buy used unless it was like new, mowers seem like one of those thing that'd cost more to fix than buy....
Any info would be much appreciated!

[laceysmom]

the lot is one acre total including the house? Or not including the house?
I've done an acre lot (acre including the area where the house sat) with a push mower up to 7 months pregnant with no problems.
We have a Craftsman gas powered push mower that I got off Craigslist 5 years ago for $100. Its been serviced once (cost $75 to service) and is still going strong. Its self propelled, so unless the area is uphill, its like just pushing a stroller. Not a big deal at all.

[hiding57]

How long does it take you to do it though? We both work and spending an hour or two to mow the lawn isn't realistic.

[cherylchoo]

Is it possible to hire a local kid to do it? A mowing service may not be cost effective, but a kid might. Here a service charges in the neighborhood of $25 for a front and back yard in a standard subdivision. Because we have to mow weekly in the summer, that gets spendy really quick. We used to pay it because DH worked long hours and has a severe ant allergy. Now he's laid off and we do it, and be very careful around the ants. We rarely do the whole thing at once. Usually DH will mow the front one day, edge another day when needed, and I will do the back yard 1/2 at a time with the weed wacker. It may be feasible for you to do it if you break it up.

[angelnalex]

I use to push mow an acre and a half with a mower I pulled out of the trash and repaired, it was in rough shape and was not self propelled. I would go with a self propelled mower if you go push style with larger rear wheels and smaller front wheels, that kind is easier then pushing a stroller IMO. Unless you have plenty of storage space I wouldn't bother with a riding lawn mower.

[alicia+2boys]

Have you checked into local repair businesses? We have two in our area. The guy was older and fixed them up. We bought a self propelled push mower for like $60. He had riders all at huge discounts. If ours ever breaks we have someone to fix it. Otherwise I'd try craigslist

[hiding57]

Originally Posted by cherylchoo Is it possible to hire a local kid to do it? .

It cost us $35 for the .25 acre here I don't even want to guess what an acre would cost. just wondering what brands people have and if they held up well and if you do use a push mower for an acre how long does it take?

[slimy72]

riding mowers go about the same speed as someone walking behind a self propelled (we also have just over an acre). So saying you need a riding mower to save time really isn't the best reason, as it really doesn't save much. The biggest difference is the bag size. If you are mulching and not bagging then it doesn't matter, but if bagging then you have to stop more often with the push. As for my "thrifty" mower idea, you need a goat. End of story. Stake him out with an igloo dog house and a water bucket, and move him every couple of days. That's the best i've got as we have a push mower for our lawn and the rest of our property is fenced and the sheep graze it.

[ittybittycoconuts]

hahahaaa I was just coming here to suggest a goat!

Or if time is really the issue get a riding lawnmower with a large capacity bagging system. I grew up on 1/2 acre and it was a pita to mow with the push mower then we fought over mowing when the parents got the riding.

[christywills]

I love our riding lawn mower. We bought it from a friend who only used it a few times for $400. We have a large yard for our area. About 1/2 an acre. It takes a good hour on the rider to get it done. I find it relaxing to ride in circles and I like how the lines in the grass remind me of freshly vaccumed carpet