If you own a house, you probably have a lawn. Well, if you have a lawn, you will have to regularly mow the lawn. The best way to do this is by getting a lawn mower and trimming out all the long grasses.
Yes, above all the costs you already have, you will now have to decide to buy a lawn mower. But which lawn mower should you buy?
Most people in your neighborhood are already probably using a self-propelled lawn mower. You might want to too, but you don’t know whether it will be a good decision to go for a self-propelled lawn mower.
Well, we have got you covered with that. We have listed all the pros and cons of a self-propelled lawn mower, so that you could take a better decision.
Pros of a Self-Propelled Lawn Mower
Let’s look at some of the advantages of a self-propelled lawnmower, the positive side of owning this machine.
Ease of Use and Portability
Self-propelled lawn mowers are very easy to use. Most of the self-propelled lawn mowers are lightweight and that’s why they are portable.
A special feature of the self-propelled lawn mower is you don’t have to push the mower. This is a visible advantage of the self-propelled lawn mower and one of the main selling points. It makes working on a large lawn so much easier. Since it operates by itself, it is more efficient than push lawn mowers.
One more special thing about the self-propelled lawn mower is that it’s hands-free. It helps prevent the user’s hands from being fatigued. You can push a self-propelled lawn mower if you want to, but it’s not necessary.
Check out this Greenworks 40V 21-inch Brushless Self-Propelled Lawn Mower. This is one of the best in the market in an affordable range.
Suitability
The self-propelled lawn mowers are better suited for large and square lawns. However, there are variations out there that offer you the freedom to use in a medium or small yard. Most of these variations will have a front-wheel drive system.
Usually, the rear-wheel drive self-propelled lawn mowers are better suited for large or sloppy yards. We wrote a blog about Front wheel drive Vs. Rear wheel drive lawn mower. You can check that out for better understanding.
That being said, a self-propelled lawn mower can also be a fantastic toy for an elderly person. The self-moving mechanism will take care of the pushing.
Anyway, you can see that there are a lot of opportunities for utilizing a self-propelled lawn mower in different situations.
Environmental Impact
Self-propelled lawn mowers contribute less to pollution, except for gas-powered ones. But don’t worry, there is a wide range of self-propelled lawn mowers out there that are electrical. Some of them run on the direct power source and some of them run on the battery.
Another good thing about electric lawn mowers is that they are quiet. Unlike the gas-powered lawn mowers, electrical ones are very quiet.
So basically there are environment-friendly versions and non-environment-friendly versions of self-propelled lawn mowers. But most of them are environment friendly.
Safety Issue
The main safety issue with the manual push lawn mower is that its blades are out open. If your feet or your pet’s paw get caught in the blade wheel, serious injury could occur.
However, that is not the case for a self-propelled lawn mower.
A self-propelled lawn mower’s blade is under the machine. On top of that, it is protected by a protective deck. There is no way anything besides grass will ever get caught by the blades of a self-propelled lawn mower.
Time Saving
Well, a self-propelled lawn mower cuts grass for you, moves on its own, keeps things clean, and a lot more. What more do you want?
It is way more effective and efficient than a manual push lawn mower. So of course this type of lawn mower is a time saving genius.
Maintenance
It only requires little annual maintenance. It does cost a little.
Besides this there are small repair costs and the blades are advised to be kept sharp. Otherwise, replace them if needed.
Other Benefits
Other benefits of a self-propelled lawn mower would be:
- They look cool.
- They raise your status.
- They are so satisfying to work with.
We don’t know what else to say about them, but we will say that you should get one.
Cons of a Self-Propelled Lawn Mower
Okay, let’s look at the negative side of the spectrum. Cons of a self-propelled lawn mower:
Runs out of power quickly
The electrical ones that run on battery run out of power very quickly. They take so long to charge, but they lose power with just a little bit of work. As time goes by this charging time increases and the power output decreases.
No designed for too large terrains
Most of them are not designed for very large terrains, more than 13 hectares. Even though they said that self-propelled lawn mowers are made for large yards, very large industrial areas are not suited for them.
Wet grasses are its nemesis
Self-propelled lawn mowers have one weakness, wet grass. They are terrible when there is wet grass. Wet grass can quickly clog inside the self-propelled lawn mower’s transmission. And once the transmission is gone, the self-propelled lawn mower is dead.
Transmissions are irreplaceable.
Batteries lose quality very quickly
Self-propelled lawn mower batteries become obsolete very quickly. They lose quality within 1 or 2 years of purchase.
Also, they lose power quickly too, when you run them on wet grass.
Very Expensive
Last but not least, self-propelled lawn mowers are expensive.
The ones that are cheap and affordable are in the lower-tier class. They don’t offer much quality. The high-tier ones are really expensive and sometimes are not worth it for average house owners.
Speaking of which, look at this one. The Troy-Bilt 12 AVA2MR766 21-inch Self Propelled Lawn Mower a high-tier one.
Alright, there you go. That was all for the bad side of the self-propelled lawn mower.
F.A.Q.s
Is self-propelled lawn mower worth it?
In this era everyone is busy and has very little time. A self-propelled lawn mower is going to take a lot of your effort off the field and will make the job easy for you.
Will pushing a self-propelled lawn mower damage it?
No, it won’t. In fact, pushing a self-propelled lawn mower while the engine is turned off will actually save energy.
What’s better? Self-propelled or Push lawn mower?
The answer to this question depends on a lot of factors. Your affordability, your yard size, your time, your effort, and many more. Effectiveness and efficiency-wise self-propelled lawn mowers are better in general.