What It Means If Your Mower Is Self-Propelled

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While weekends are meant to be a time of relaxation or catching up with friends and family, there is often a backyard chore that takes up far more time than we'd like: mowing the lawn. While the end result will transform your lawn into a green oasis, when you're in the thick of pushing through a particularly tough patch, all you want is for it to be over. Even if your lawn is small, you'll still work up quite a sweat pushing a standard lawn mower around and will soon be yearning for that frosty glass of something to quench your thirst. While we can't help you get around having to mow your lawn (outside of paying someone else to do it), we can direct you in the direction of a specific type of lawn mower that will make the job a lot easier. It's a self-propelled mower, one of the best types of lawn mowers if you're looking to remove a lot of the laborious work involved with cutting the grass.

It's common to think of a self-propelled lawn mower as the one you sit on and cruise around the yard. What we're talking about here, though, is the walk-behind mower that moves itself forward while you direct it where to go. It uses a drive system to steam ahead, which means a far less taxing exercise for you and a quicker overall mow. If you're in the market for such a mower, there are a few things you need to know.

When it comes to the main differences between a self-propelled lawn mower and a push lawn mower, it's good to first know why most people buy them. Self-propelled mowers are well suited to large yards with a big area to mow. They are just as useful in a small yard, though, especially if you're not as young and fit as you once used to be. You'll find two main options with the self-propelled models: those with a single speed and those with variable speeds. The first is quite self-explanatory, in that the mower will move forward with one set speed. With the variable-speed models, you'll can control the speed at which it moves ahead. This comes in handy when you're working around obstacles like outdoor furniture, trees, and garden beds and want to slow down. Like Lewis Hamilton, once you hit the straights again, you can go full throttle.

You'll then need to choose between a front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive mower. Each one offers slightly different handling and performance. You'll find this type of mower in both corded and cordless models, like this EGO Cordless Electric Lawn Mower. As for the cost, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that self-propelled lawn mowers are more expensive than the standard push models. You'll also notice quite quickly that these lawn mowers are a bit heavier than the push models, with a few additional parts like drive components and a gearbox adding to the weight.

Knowing which of the wheels is powered is an important decision when buying a self-propelled mower. There are a few factors that you'll need to take into account, like the angle of your lawn, if there is loose soil to navigate, and how many obstacles you'll need to work around during the mow. Starting with the front-wheel drive (FWD), it's the easiest of the three to maneuver around your lawn. As the power is directed to the front wheels, if you need to turn or switch direction quickly, all you do is lift the mower off its front wheels and it will stop moving. You can then re-angle and drop the nose, and off it'll go again. If you have a flat lawn with a lot of flowerbeds or multiple trees, the front-wheel drive is the best option.

A rear-wheel drive (RWD) mower pushes all the power to the back wheels, giving you a lot of traction as you work up a sloped lawn. It's well-suited to mowing your lawn up a hill where you'll need extra grip. The last model, the all-wheel drive (AWD), gives you the benefits of both the FWD and RWD. With power going to all wheels, you'll get great traction during the mow, where you can tackle both hills and loose soil with ease. Think of it as a four-wheel-drive truck, but for your lawn. Out of the three, the FWD is in most cases going to be the more affordable lawn mower model.