Last year, while I was working in Brazil, I had a landscaping company mow my lawn. It was a wonderful thing to come home and see this neatly mowed and trimmed lawn. However, the $200 charge for each visit wasn’t exactly cheap. Between mowing the lawn and cleaning up the leaves, I spent a lot of money with the landscaping company in 2018. This year I decided to do it on my own, about 4 acres of grass
When I voiced my intentions to my neighbors they were skeptical. One neighbor related how the prior owner had a riding lawn mower and seemed to spend all weekend mowing the grass, without achieving a neat and trim yard. Each neighbor expressed dismay at how long it would take me to mow my yard.
Having the right tools for a project helps to ensure success and satisfaction. Over the winter, I spent a lot of time reading about electric, riding lawn mowers. Electric was my preference because I was wanted to use the energy generated by the solar panels. The best on the market is made by a company called Mean Green. While their lawn mower sounded perfect for my use, the $12,000 price tag didn’t match my budget.
After much research I bought a Ryobi ZT480ex Zero Turn Riding Mower. It was a bit intimidating when it arrived. The driver parked his truck on the main road and used a heavy duty fork lift to bring it along the driveway and to the garage. Assembly was actually quite easy after watching the YouTube video from Ryobi.
It took some time to get the feel of the steering. The mower is heavy and has a tremendous amount of power. Generally, the mower was easy to operate, relatively quiet and a smooth ride. I was feeling quite good about my first mowing experience. I had mowed about one quarter of the yard and turned the mower to go up a slight hill. The mower was stuck. The blade deck was on the ground. Looking down I realized I had a flat tire. Ugh! It was too heavy for me to move. Fortunately, my neighbor drove up and helped me lift it onto a block to then take the tire off. The tire repairman showed me a sizable nail he had removed from the tire.
Part of my yard is exceptionally wet – all year. This presents a challenge that the riding lawn mower is too heavy to mow this area. I tried, but got the mower stuck. A passing oil delivery man helped me push the mower out (I sometimes need to be rescued and at these times feel like Eddie Arnold in Green Acres – where is Zsa Zsa?).
Many things have fallen naturally into place for me. I was out running one early morning (6:30 a.m.) and noticed a push lawn mower by a mailbox. The cardboard sign said FREE. I finished my run and then went back to get the mower. I ran the rest of the way home pushing my mower. It was in excellent condition. The only draw back is that it is gas mower. It is lighter than the riding mower and it allowed me to mow the wet areas.
Over the summer I developed a routine. I mow about 3 acres on a single charge of the riding lawn mower. This usually takes about 2 hours. While the mower is recharging, I take a break for lunch and then use the push mower to mow the wet area and sloped areas by the main road. I use my Ryobi trimmer and blower to edge along the driveway and clean off any clippings. This usually takes 1 1/2 hours. The riding mower, by this time, has enough charge for me to finish the remaining lawn mowing, which takes about 45 minutes. Total mowing time (not counting lunch) is about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
The best part about my lawn mower is the money I save. In 2018, I paid $200 for each mow and $1,800 to have the leaves removed. Beginning in April and ending in October, when I used the riding mower to chop up fallen leaves, I used the riding mower 30 times. Conservatively this would have cost $6,000 with the landscape company. The cost of the mower was $4,000. Not only did I save $2,000, but I also did not incur any costs for operation. The sun provided all the power through the solar panels.
Without a doubt it was my best investment of the year and it is fun to mow the yard!