Which lawn mower should I get? About 1 acre, slightly bumpy, barren patches

[oxonian]

Hello friends,

I hope everyone is doing well.

I am in the Houston, TX area.

I am looking for a lawn mower recommendation for my acreage home. I will be getting a tractor with a brush hog to maintain most of the acreage, but I need a good lawnmower for the front and back yard areas.

The total area that I may want to upkeep with a lawnmower is maybe ~1 acre. That area is not completely flat, it is bumpy (not hilly), just bumpy,and has rocks and barren patches of land where no grass is currently growing.

I would prefer a gas powered mower, that mulches the cuttings, I do not need to bag them.

I was thinking of getting one of the entry level or slightly higher, commercial mowers, e.g I saw the Honda HRC216HXA at a dealer where I was looking for my tractors, but not sure if this is too much for my needs.

I can provide additional information if needed.

Thank you,
Oxonian

 

[davesl708]

Well most on here including myself will recommend you stay away from the big box store mowers if you are looking for a long term machine.
Hustler, John Deere X series, Kubota.

Others may have better recommendation. I use my BX for mowing my 1 acre.

 

[oxonian]

Well most on here including myself will recommend you stay away from the big box store mowers if you are looking for a long term machine.
Hustler, John Deere X series, Kubota.

Others may have better recommendation. I use my BX for mowing my 1 acre.

Thank you davesl708.

I will get a brush hog attachment with my tractor, but the tractor may be too big to navigate through some of the areas, especially in the yards.

I want to be able to use a self propelled mower those areas, thus I am looking for some recommendations for one.

I think the BX you are referring to is a tractor attachment correct?

Thanks,
Oxonian

 

[davesl708]

Thank you davesl708.

I will get a brush hog attachment with my tractor, but the tractor may be too big to navigate through some of the areas, especially in the yards.

I want to be able to use a self propelled mower those areas, thus I am looking for some recommendations for one.

I think the BX you are referring to is a tractor attachment correct?

Thanks,
Oxonian

The BX2200 is a sub compact tractor. It has a 54 or 60 mid mount mower or brush hog off the 3pth. It was made in 2003 the current model is the BX 25. Lots of attachment options for a SCUT.
A little pricey for just mowing.

 

[hawkeye08]

Box store mower if budget constrained, commercial mower if budget allows.

I mowed ~1.5-2 acres with box store mower for 17 years. It has a 42" deck and has had only a few problems. It will need some deck maintenance if I continue to use it (not likely since I bought a new zero turn mower). Your budget and time will dictate the mower. I had more time than budget (and limited time) so had to settle in 1999 for a box store mower. It served me well. It is not a commercial mower by any means. YMMV.

 

[CCWKen]

Depends on your age and whether you're fit doesn't it?

If you have acreage and the yard is only one acre, count on it growing in area. Mine did. I started with a cheap push mower (about one every two years) but as time went on, I started cutting and clearing more area around the house and barn (Mostly high grass, brush and cactus). That meant more lawn with more trees. It didn't take long for the push mower and trimmer to become a 2-3+ hour workout for this old body. I finally found a used Woods ZTR I could afford and that turned the job into a 30-45 minute joy ride. That and a DR Trimmer meant I didn't have to carry around a weed whacker either.

This past Winter and Spring has been unusually wet for here. I bet I cut more times this year than in the past five years. I was glad to have better tools.

 

[RalphVa]

Our last mower bought was a Honda walkbehind, rear drive. It's a good one. Always starts when needed. That's what our local JD dealer now sells. Bought it there.

Also have a very old JD walkbehind. Have had to put washers in the blade brake to keep it working. It's a good mower, but apparently JD quality on these machines went south when they started selling at the big box stores.

One of my neighbors is partial to Toros. Last year, he bought a 30" Toro walkbehind to replace his Simplicity tractor. They seem to have a system that auto matches your walking speed for their self propel.

Ralph

 

[oxonian]

Hello friends,

Thank you for your replies. I am debating whether to either spend up to a $1000 and get a good self propelled walk behind mower, e.g Honda, or I could go cheaper and get one for about $400 from the big box store.

Or should I get an entry level riding mower, if available, for about $2000? I do not know if those are available in that price range.

I will be getting a tractor to brush the larger areas, so want to mower to mow the areas I designate as a yard.

In terms of fitness, my spouse and I will be using it, and we are average fit. Her Dad will also be using it, who is quite fit at 65!

Any suggestions please?

Thanks,
Oxonian

 

[MossRoad]

For the first time today, I just used my father-in-law's Toro self propelled walk behind mower with the Personal Pace system. He's in the hospital, so I went over there to mow his yard for him. I have to say, it was no more strenuous than going for a walk. The crazy thing adjusts to your walking speed. You slow down, it slows down. You speed up, it speeds up. You don't hardly put any pressure on it at all. I am now fascinated with it. The grass is very thick and lush. He uses a lawn service for fertilizer and weed killer and he has an underground sprinkler. It is a show quality lawn. The lot is 0.4 acres, so subtract the house and driveway and its probably 0.3 acres. I walk at a pretty good pace and it took me 51 minutes. I think he paid around $400-$450 for it. Its 22" cut. If I had to buy a self propelled walk behind mower, I'd give this one a very good look. It was a pleasure to use. :thumbsup:

By the way.... he mows every three days.... he'll be 89 years old in October! So that says something about the ease of use. :thumbsup:

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I've got an old Toro high wheeled self-propelled (not the Personal Pace system) mower with the GTS (Guaranteed To Start) motor (don't know who makes that motor for them). I bought it used and I think I paid $150 or $175 for it 9 years ago. The darned thing is so dependable that I can't think of any excuse to get rid of it for something newer. I don't use it much - mainly just for ditches and trim work where my ZTR can't get close enough.

If I was going to buy a push mower today, I'd get the Honda HRX217HYA model with the hydrostatic cruise control, the blade stop system (that allows you to step away from the mower without killing the engine) and the VersaMow system that allows you to mulch, bag, discharge or shred leaves. I wouldn't spend the money on an electric start model just because Honda motors are so easy to start. They're expensive, but I had a Honda once (which I gave to my son, and then regretted it) and it was as dependable as an anvil.