@pyrolord314. I do have a gasoline powered rotary mower. It isn’t self propelled.
I was a partner in a lawn mowing company where we had a non-powered reel mower. There were three of us that ‘owned’ the company. All three of us were 8 years old. We tied a rope to the front of the mower. Two boys pushed and the other boy pulled. We got 75¢ for each yard we mowed which we split three ways. By the next year, our customers purchased power mowers and we went out of business. I went into teaching at a big pay cut.
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Batteries do have their place. In the last couple of years I have started buying battery tools and like them. I’ve added a couple drills, an impact driver, a “skill” saw, vibrating saw and a pole tree saw. So now I’ve got three different brands of batteries and chargers. The only one I’m dissatisfied with is my Porter-Cable skill saw. It just doesn’t have enough power to cut much before it stalls. I understand though that this is because I’m using lower amp rated batteries, but gee why spend $70 for a better battery for a seldom needed saw?
I do draw the line though on chain saws since usually they would get intermittently used pretty hard. I’m about ready to throw my gas weed eater away though for a battery model. No maintenance and easy to start.
The title of this post reminded me of a co-worker that would visit the new car dealer almost every day during lunch. He was peering through the window of a brand new pickup truck as an excited to make the sale-sperson rapidly approached. May I help you? Nah, I’m just looking at the truck I’m going to buy 7 years from now… The salesperson left like an open ended balloon…
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I’m thinking of a rotary mower more like this:
https://images.app.goo.gl/hbJfyYhLyB9GFSA48
(although it appears I should have called it a reel mower). We have since our yard is quite small. Very easy to use
I used one of these mowers. We had about half an acre to mow when I was a kid and we lived in the country. The Kentucky Blue Grass is tough stuff. The power mower was a real asset. Now I see city people with small lots that have riding mowers. I had a customer when I was in high school that had a 2 acre yard and I mowed it with a LawnBoy push mower.
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When I was a kid a few people had the reel mowers with a little Briggs engine on them to power it. This was before rotary mowers. The mechanically inclined neighbor’s kid’s dad made a go cart out of one. Removed the reel, governor, etc. and welded an angle iron frame and off he went. That’s the kid I bought the Royal Norseman from.
Correct. Purchased the car from the original owner for 15.5k, financed it at 1.29% back then.
My income is decent at 80k, I have the funds to pay it off and still have leftover in emergency plus my investments. I agree, the ICE can be maintained by pretty much anyone. I just have yet to run into much other than maintenance these past 40k miles.
I was also aware Gen 2 Volt did not have it, but had no idea many cars now don’t have spares. Seems like less than 50% now do…
You have a good income , you drive a lot of miles for work so why do you not have a new comfortable new vehicle with full warranty and road side service.
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A lot of people in my neighborhood have riding mowers. For the most part, the grass area is about 12,000 square feet. IMO, it’s too small for a riding mower, unless the hills are too much for a push or self propelled walk behind mower. I was very sick about 5 years ago and considered a riding mower, but opted for a lawn service. They do such a good job for $25/mow, that I’ve stayed with them
In our area for 25.00 you get a teenager with a dull blade and a poor trimming job. Even the small yards will cost 40.00 to 45.00 .
They do a good job and use professional equipment. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to do the lawn. It would take a teen with a walk behind and string trimmer 2 to 3 hours. This particular company does 5 houses on my block.
Some years back, I investigated buying a used Citicar. It needed batteries, but the purchase price was so low that I could justify replacing the batteries. The batteries were lead acid type. I live two miles from my work. However, there are no sidewalks, and the busy street I had to traverse was too scary for me when I tried to ride a bicycle.
I had. an experiment planned where I would measure the amount of electrical power to charge the batteries and compare it with the cost of gasoline for commuting the same distance in a gasoline powered car. I abandoned the idea because the Citicar had a propane heater and I really didn’t think it was the safest way to heat the car in the winter.
If I were still working and not retired, I would consider the Leaf. I like experimenting with new technology.
The thing with a rider though is that it can do a number of other jobs besides cutting grass. Pulling a cart or boat or trailer where you need it. Pulling a lawn sweeper, aerator, roller, tree limbs, you name it. Put a blade on it for snow or landscaping. It’s really a work horse. After the tornado a couple years ago I made a special low cart for loading bucked logs and brush from the back to the front where it could be hauled away. Low to the ground made it easy to load and transport heavy logs.
I’ve got the service for treatment but around here they wouldn’t even stop and look for $25. Besides that 12,000 is not real small. The guys on both side of me have two lots. One does it by hand and the other has a pretty big lawn tractor. To each his own I guess but I always recommend at least self-propelled. 90 degrees cutting grass no fun.
I saw a restored Minneapolis Moline lawn tractor on display today. Don’t know what year it was, maybe 50’s but that thing was built solid. Just like the Wheel Horse brand used to be. Yellow and white. Nice job. Didn’t notice if it had an old Kohler or Wisconsin engine in it. Back then those engines were the best. I do think it had the cast iron transmission though. Good for plowing.