Self-Propelled Lawnmower

My lawnmower recently broke down and I guess I will have to fix it. It is an old model, in fact, it is over 30 years old but still worked fine up until today. Anyway, I borrowed my neighbor’s new lawnmower which just happens to be a self-propelled lawnmower model. This is the first time I have used a self-propelled lawnmower. I thought I would write about it. Turns out that I really liked using his lawnmower. Now I want one of my own that is self-propelled.

Self-Propelled Lawnmowers – Borrow a Lawn Mower

It is not always a good idea to borrow other people’s tools. If you break them you have to replace them with a brand new model. Even if they lend you something that is close to the end of its life.  This was not my situation, I just do not like to borrow other people’s tools.

Anyway, his lawnmower was a self-propelled mower and I found that I quite liked it. There are rear self-propelled models and front propelled models. This was a front self-propelled model so I really cannot compare it to these other models. There are two levers on the handle. One is the normal safety lever which causes the engine to stop if you let it go. The other lever engages the power wheels to drive the lawnmower.

Self Propelled Lawnmowers – How to Use

I found that you could really not push the lawnmower easily. Sometimes you want to go slowly especially if the grass is thick. Or if you are navigating around a plant for example. You can push the lawnmower, it is just a little more difficult than a normal non-self-propelled lawnmower. I guess the wheels or the transmission provides some resistance.

Along with a straight cut, using the self-propelled feature is easy and very helpful. Basically, all you need to do is steer the lawnmower and it moves along at a reasonable speed for walking. If you need to go more slowly or want to turn, just lean on the handle to raise the front wheels slightly and your forward momentum decreases or stops altogether. The wheels continue to turn, however, they are not touching the ground and will not pull the mower forward as long as they are raised.

I was also cutting the grass when it was wet from heavy morning dew. I know I really should not have been cutting it at this time. Most people wait until the grass has dried. However, we had a party later in the day. I really needed to have the lawn cut and looking good. This lawnmower really got a workout with the wet grass and also my lawn had not been cut in a while.

I had to make frequent stops to clear the grass chute. Wet grass does not blow very far and so it would stop at the entrance to the bag. As a result, I could only go about 50 feet before the grass would plug the entrance to the bag and I would have to stop and clear the bag.

Self-propelled lawnmower

Aside from the issues I have mentioned, I was very satisfied with my neighbor’s lawnmower and would probably purchase a self-propelled lawnmower if  I cannot fix my own. With a large lawn and being able to just follow along, steering the lawnmower, you really cannot get any better than that unless you are sitting on a riding lawnmower.

My own lawn mower is not running well due to what I think is old gas that has clogged my gas tank and/or my carburetor on the lawnmower. I really cannot complain since I have not tuned this thing up for over 20 years. Nor have I replaced the spark plug, nor have I cleaned the carburetor. I guess it is about time I did these things and will have to fix it within the next week or buy a new one.

I will keep you posted on my attempts to fix my lawnmower and if you have any comments about self-propelled lawn mowers or fixing lawn mowers feel free to leave comments on my blog. For more information about buying a new lawnmower, click here.

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