Lawn Mowers

[BadMechanic]

So we are about to close on our first house and that means I have to mow and upkeep the outside of my residence. But, I also have to do snow removal. Well "have to" is a stretch, my truck can just drive through it.

However, I was wondering if anyone uses their lawn mower for mowing and plowing. The lawn could be done with a push mower and the driveway is more wide than long. But, wheres the fun? Its my own house!

My thought process being I can put money in a piece of equipment, which requires maintenance, that has dual purposes. Id be more inclined to get a better built model of something vs buying a push mower AND snow blower.

Back to the questions at hand, if you do use lawn mower for both, do you recommend or using another option?

Thanks.

[Chako]

Depends on the amount of snow you get, and the size of your lawn and driveway. A simple blade is good up to a point. If you get a lot of snow, you may find that the plow blade won't cut it. A snow-thrower is better in such cases. If your lawn is big, a riding lawnmower might do the trick...and you can get a snow thrower attachment for some of those. These cost a lot more than a cheap lawn mower and snow-thrower however.

[MadPlumbarian]

A Troy bilt flex, you have to buy a main unit but then can attach multiple attachments, I had it and I must say snow didn’t stand a chance and high grass didn’t even attempt to choke the engine, self propelled so it does the work, just squeeze the trigger! The only thing I didn’t like about it was in snowblower mode it kinda took off quick and needless to say you could end up having it drag you, don’t get me wrong it was funny when the kid did it, lol.. you just got to get a feel for the controls, the only other Thing is depending on the lawn size, if it’s small forget it, yeah you’ll have it done in minutes but in order to turn it around and work it, your going to be sore! I also had the pressure washer but only used it once, here’s a pic there’s a few other on the forum of me using it but idk where..
JR

[BadMechanic]

Chako- Im in Central NY so we get a bit of snow from the lakes. Most times its 2 to 4in, with the exception of storms that can be up to a foot or more. Home previous owner said it takes him 20 mins to push mow. Not a large yard. The driveway is a very large square. Has to be minimum 40ft by 30ft.

JR- ruining all the fun 
Thatd make the most sense though. Thanks.

[MadPlumbarian]

Hey it’s what you asked for!
JR

[BadMechanic]

I wish I could tell you that you were wrong 

[MadPlumbarian]

JR

[Chako]

Well, that is the multi-tool. 

For the size of your property, a seperate lawnmower and walk behind snow thrower would do the job...and would be the cheaper option.

[BadMechanic]

Well, that is the multi-tool. 

For the size of your property, a seperate lawnmower and walk behind snow thrower would do the job...and would be the cheaper option.

I was thinking that too 
Base prices came to around $1300 for all 3 parts needed.

With only 1 engine to run, might be cheaper longer term

[Chako]

Now...if you got a rechargeable electric mower...that would equate to zero motor maintenance...just keep the batteries indoors during the winter.

By all means. Go for the multi-tool. That looks better the more options you need. 

[BadMechanic]

Im even considering electric. But the good ones aint cheap.

[gregozedobe]

Im even considering electric. But the good ones aint cheap.

We have a couple of Ryobi 36V (probably 40V inthe US) mowers which I'm pretty happy with (bought one cheap that didn't go and simply fixed up a severed control wire to the handle). 

Genuine Ryobi batteries are a bit pricey though.  I also have the Chainsaw, Pole saw and line trimmer (whipper-snipper) that run on the same batteries.  No idea how the mowers would perform on snow (we almost never get enough snow to even cover the ground here, and we are one of the colder places in Oz).

We used to have a mains powered electric lawn mower, but found the power cord was a total PITA (and not running over it was a thing to be VERY careful of)

[BadMechanic]

We have a couple of Ryobi 36V (probably 40V inthe US) mowers which I'm pretty happy with (bought one cheap that didn't go and simply fixed up a severed control wire to the handle). 

Genuine Ryobi batteries are a bit pricey though.  I also have the Chainsaw, Pole saw and line trimmer (whipper-snipper) that run on the same batteries.  No idea how the mowers would perform on snow (we almost never get enough snow to even cover the ground here, and we are one of the colder places in Oz).

We used to have a mains powered electric lawn mower, but found the power cord was a total PITA (and not running over it was a thing to be VERY careful of)

oh wow! Thanks for the info.

Well being an American, we do weird stuff. Like put plows on riding lawn mowers. 

[cody6268]

For the most part, "riding lawnmowers" from the '60s right through the '80s were marketed to do everything smaller tractors like the Farmall Cub could do.  Plowing gardens, tilling, plowing snow--even loaders could be fitted. They were sold with implement lifts and hydraulic pumps that fit to the PTO normally used to run the deck.  Our Deere from the '80s we had could do all of that. Even the Troy Bilt that replaced it could. Our Deere 277AWS cannot.  We have a garden that is hard to get into with a full-size tractor, and that makes tilling it really hard. A small Farmall Cub or garden tractor would make it so much easier.

I will admit, a bit larger garden tractor, with the proper implements, can make yardwork a lot easier. Especially if you don't own enough acreage to justify a full-size tractor. We have enough to where the chain around here is--garden tractor/riding mower, compact 38HP tractor, full-size 65HP tractor.


I've been on the lookout for a vintage John Deere 140 garden tractor from the '60s and '70s. Our dealership had a banged-up junker and a Brinly-Hardy plow (they were really big in garden tractor implements in the '60s and '70s), that at the time, when they moved, and given my folks' relationship with the owner, I could have probably gotten for free. Actually, the dealer recently told me, if someone traded in something so old, they'd just tell me to come get it at no cost. If I can get one (or a '60s-70s IH Cub Cadet pretty cheap, I'll definitely have a lot of implements bought up.

[smiller43147]

I don't think a lawn mower is going to work on anything more than 2 inches of powder.  For starters, even if you raised the cutting height to its highest setting, anything more than about 3 1/2 inches is just going to be pushed in front of the machine.  In addition, that blade wasn't designed for the job.  It's designed to cut, blowing the cut grass out is a secondary design concern.  And snow is just too dense.  When that blade tip is whipping around at 100 mph and hits all that mass, something bad is likely to happen.

[Chako]

 

[BadMechanic]

I don't think a lawn mower is going to work on anything more than 2 inches of powder.  For starters, even if you raised the cutting height to its highest setting, anything more than about 3 1/2 inches is just going to be pushed in front of the machine.  In addition, that blade wasn't designed for the job.  It's designed to cut, blowing the cut grass out is a secondary design concern.  And snow is just too dense.  When that blade tip is whipping around at 100 mph and hits all that mass, something bad is likely to happen.

Um...what?

Adding a plow blade, not using the existing grass cutter blade.

[ToolJoe]

I have a manual push mower with no motor. Small yard and no sharpening of blades in 8 years.  if something gets jammed in it, I just bang it a couple times and usually solves it.

[BadMechanic]

I have a manual push mower with no motor. Small yard and no sharpening of blades in 8 years.  if something gets jammed in it, I just bang it a couple times and usually solves it.

USually? I dont like those odds 

[Alan K.]

The trend these days is going towards electric, and specifically battery operated. I can see why.  I'm getting older and lazier and I really don't like pull starters and oil changes and pouring gas anymore.  I'm pretty sure my next set of yard implements with be electric and use a common battery between them.  That's just the way of things.

[gregozedobe]

The trend these days is going towards electric, and specifically battery operated. I can see why.  I'm getting older and lazier and I really don't like pull starters and oil changes and pouring gas anymore.  I'm pretty sure my next set of yard implements with be electric and use a common battery between them.  That's just the way of things.

That's pretty well what's happened to me. I always seemed to think I'd use my chainsaws again so didn't run the fuel tank dry, and when I didn't the carbies were usually gummed up from old petrol so they wouldn't start the next autumn. Now I have electric chainsaws I just plug in a charged battery and away I go.  The electric ones aren't suitable for big or long running sawing, but for what I do these days they are more than up to the job (Ryobi 36/40V)