What to Look For When Purchasing a Lawn Mower

What to Look for When Purchasing a Lawn Mower

You want to ensure your lawn mower is going to be a good fit for your needs. There are many models and features to choose from, but by focusing on these basics, you will be able to choose the right mower for both your budget and your lawn. Knowing what to look for when purchasing a lawn mower can save you money and frustration down the road.

The most basic aspect of choosing an appropriate lawn mower, is the size of your lawn. Larger yards may require a tractor mower, while smaller ones may be more suitable for a push mower. Walk behind lawn mowers are best suited to yards under three quarters of an acre. In addition lawns that are fairly flat don't require additional features in the lawn mower. Yards that are more than half an acre and do not contained various grades are best suited to a self-propelled walking mower. That way you won't have to do the pushing over hills or rougher patches yourself, you simply guide it. Choosing the right size will also help you to keep your fuel costs under control.

Another key aspect of choosing a lawn mower is the size of its engine and lawn mower deck. The size of the mower deck relates to how much grass the lawn mower will cut at each pass. For large yards, having an engine of suitable power and a large lower deck, helps to get the job done quickly and efficiently. However, you don't want to overshoot your lawn mower's power and size, because that will just cost you money in fuel expenses.

Wheel size is another important consideration in lawn mowers. Standard wheel sizes are good for lawns that are fairly flat and smooth. If your lawn contains rougher terrain and/or many hills, opting for larger rear wheels will make the job much easier.

The same principles for lawn mower engine power and mower deck size apply to riding mowers. If your area is more than three quarters of an acre, a riding mower is a good choice for you.
The new models of lawn mowers can come with many extras, such as mulching the lawn cutting as you go and redistributing them over the lawn. Lawn mowers that also mulch have specially designed blades, which cut the grass into many tiny fragments as you go. Those grass fragments are a great natural source of fertilizer as they decompose. If you don't want this option, make sure your lawn mower bags your grass clippings.

In addition to those basic elements, there are options for solar powered lawn mowers, robotic lawn mowers, and lawn mowers that come with cords or are cordless. Doing a little bit of research on each of these options will help you to know what's a good fit for your yard.
Now that you know what to look for when purchasing a lawn mower, you will be able to make the best decision for your yard.

About the Author:
Blake Bahrns is a lawn mower parts and small engine parts expert with over 20 years of experience working on lawn and garden equipment. For additional lawn mower tips, lawn care tips, and more free lawn mower articles visit http://www.lawneq.com/.

Lawn Mower Fuel Issues- Ethanol & Storage

Lawn Mower Fuel Issues - Ethanol & Storage

Many people are using gas for their lawn mowers that contains around 10% ethanol. Ethanol blended fuel is commonly used as an alternative to unleaded fuel. If you are switching to gas that contains ethanol, check your lawn mower's manufacturer's recommendations on any adjustments that may be required to carburetor first. Lawn mower fuel issues for ethanol & storage are outlined below.

A common problem with ethanol blended gas is that the piston ring may start sticking after a long period of use. This may occur because gas with 10% ethanol has a higher water absorption rate, and can attract water, which can reduce lubrication and allow rubber gaskets and hoses to dry out. The alcohol results in a phase separation occurring in the fuel.

At the end of your lawn mower's season, you should ensure the fuel tank is empty. For lawn mowers that use unleaded gas, you can add a stabilizer to it, to keep the fuel ready for next season. However, ethanol blended fuel has much less of a shelf life than regular gasoline. Its maximum shelf life is only 90 days, which means it's less stable, so to be safe you should replace this type of fuel every 2 to 4 weeks while your lawn mower is in use.


As a general rule of thumb, you always want to store your lawn mower in a dry, well-covered place. This is even more important if you are using ethanol blended fuel, because you need to ensure additional water/moisture does not come in contact with this gas. As a caution against water contamination of the fuel, you should ensure the octane level is over 90, because the water can dilute the ethanol blended fuel, dropping its octane level by as much as three points.
When using ethanol blended fuel make sure you don't put any additional additives or treatment products for fuel systems into the tank, because most of those things also contain alcohol.
It is also worth noting that ethanol blended gas can reduce the fuel efficiency by anywhere between 2 to 40%, resulting in lower gas mileage.


When you are using ethanol blended fuel, you must ensure that you store it in dry, clean tanks that are alcohol resistant. To know if the fuel has gone bad, you can look to see if the gases become layered. If water contamination or phase separation has occurred, you will be able to see two or three different layers in the fuel. There is nothing you can do at this point to restore the fuel - it would have to be properly disposed of.

Knowing these lawn mower fuel issues, relating to ethanol & storage, you can take proper care of your lawn mower and possibly still use ethanol blended fuel. However, you should read your lawn mowers owner's manual to ensure that ethanol blended gas is suitable for your particular model. It is worth noting that any engine, whether it be in a car or a lawn mower, that is older than 1998 will generally not allow for this type of fuel to be used. Doing so can invite damage to the engine's parts and performance issues for the machinery. Always check the specifications first.


About the Author:
Blake Bahrns is a lawn mower parts and small engine parts expert with over 20 years of experience working on lawn and garden equipment. For additional lawn mower tips, lawn care tips, and more free lawn mower articles visit http://www.lawneq.com/.