"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
30 June 2007Mower-icideIt wasn't deliberate, exactly, but the result was the same. There was a period of about four hours today when it actually wasn't raining, so I figured I'd see if I could tame the jungle that had been growing in the front yard for the better part of two weeks. The mower complained; I pressed ahead. Finally, after finishing about ¾ of the job, I looked down and noticed a nasty hemorrhage spreading across the deck. This is not the first time I've seen oil out of place on this mower: lately every few minutes or so a smidgen of it would blow out the exhaust, which tells me that (1) the valve guides are probably shot and (2) it would cost more than this thing is worth to fix it. So if you were wondering what I'm doing for the Fourth of July, wonder no more. Posted at 2:03 PM to Surlywoodbe gentle, put it out of it's misery... Posted by: Dave at 9:59 PM on 30 June 2007I'm considering replacing it with an electric. Okay, I hate cords, and I have had the unpleasant experience of cutting through a cord with a hedge trimmer, but I think this may be the way to go, if only because it's less of a hassle to maintain. Posted by: CGHill at 12:03 PM on 1 July 2007If your lot isn't too big, would a cordless electric like this work? Black and Deck 19" Cordless Mower Or course a reel mower would theoretically be even less of a maintainance hassle. Might take longer to use, though. Posted by: Air at 12:25 PM on 1 July 2007I thought about a reel mower, which would be fairly cheap, but inevitably it must be followed by a rake. The electric I was considering (which is similar to that B&D except for the cord) will mulch the stuff in place. (My lot is just a bit over a quarter-acre, which is fairly large for this close to downtown but way too small for a tractor.) Posted by: CGHill at 12:56 PM on 1 July 2007We own a RoboMower and a corded electric mower. We paid $600 for the RoboMower 3 years ago; this year we had to replace the $100 battery, but other than that it's been maintenance free. Four years ago we were paying a kid $50/week to mow our lawn, so we broke even on the mower during the first summer. Our only complaint is the perimeter wire that must be laid. If you don't bury it eventually you'll cut it, and tracking down a break in the wire is a pain in the grass. Thus, the electric mower is used as a backup. Works great. You get over the cord issues pretty quickly, plus it's super quiet so mowing early/late isn't an issue, and no oil/starting/maintenance issues. Posted by: Rob "Flack" O'Hara at 4:33 PM on 1 July 2007 |