Here is how to choose the lawn tractor that is right for you
No wonder you are asking yourself “ what variety of lawn tractor do I want ? ” There are one C of lawn tractor model on the market and the round-eyed question that most people want the answer to is : which is the honorable one ?
sure , if I ’m write this epic Charles William Post on the case , I must know .
So , why do n’t I just get it over with now and tell apart you ? you’re able to then go to the nearest dealer or jump online and Holy Order one and we can all go homehappy .
Zero turn mower for tight spaces
Unfortunately , thing are not that simple and here is why .
There is no such matter as the best lawn tractor … all there is , is the best lawn tractor for you .
You may consider this is a affirmation of the obvious . In some way it is , but it is also the most important musical composition of advice in this post .
Zero turn mower for tight spaces
I urge you to keep it in idea because the World Wide Web is full of consumer review where people are complaining that thelawn tractor , the garden tractor or the riding lawn mowerthey bought does n’t do what they desire it to do . In many cases , this is because they did n’t properly think about what they would want the political machine to do before they bought it .
The point is that all possible vendee have different conditions , dissimilar budgets and dissimilar requirements of their machine . That is why there is such a bewildering array of machines on the market .
manufacturing business simply would n’t make so many differently configure fashion model if the same basic machine would suit pretty much everybody .
suppose how much more profitable it would be if they only demand one exercise set of machine instrument , one yield line and the same basic theatrical role for every model that was create . It would probably also mean that prices would add up down considerably too .
regrettably , as far as prices are relate , but fortunately in every other way , the lawn and gardens of the world are as wide-ranging as the people who nourish them . So the pecker that those people require have to meet that uncounted variety of requirement .
With all that in mind then , how do you go about working out what might be the good lawn tractor for you ?
In my scene , you demand to ask yourself the follow three fundamental questions :
What size of lawn tractor or riding mower do you need?
dissimilar machines are better suitable to dissimilar conditions . Therefore in calculate for the best lawn tractors , you need to recall about the specific conditions of your land . There are two principle agent to see – size of it and terrain .
Size of lawn tractor needed for size of lawn
Put just , the bigger your lawn , the bigger ( in terms of world power and cut down width ) your lawn tractor needs to be .
If you think about it , the independent reason you are likely to want to practice a lawn tractor is because of the size of the area you involve to cut . Once you have a lawn beyond a certain size ( which will variegate according to individual tolerance ) , it will take you too long or it will be too physically demanding to cut down your lawn with a walk behind mower , even a ego - motivate one .
One of the ways the lawn tractor cuts the clock time postulate in pout is by having a importantly wider cutting deck than a walk behind lawn mower . Therefore more ground is mown with each fling of the mower .
It follows , therefore , that the larger the domain that involve to be mown , the wider the lawn tractor rationalise deck of cards needs to be in parliamentary law to secure that the line can be done in the shortest possible time .
Cub Cadet ( at www.cubcadet.com ) provides the follow estimates to give you an idea of the potential time to be saved by choose a wider cutting deck , based on mowing a 2 acre lawn :
But there is also a kinship between the size of it of the area concerned and locomotive engine power , mainly because the wider the cutting pack of cards , the heavier it will be .
How much horsepower do you need for a riding mower or lawn tractor?
The following mesa provides a worldwide usher to the appropriate railway locomotive and ignore deck sizes for special land sizes .
Please note there is some overlap between the categories as there are no steady delineations . This is a general guide only and , as I aim out below , there are a number of other factor that may mean that the guideline do n’t exactly apply .
As a general rule of thumb , the size of the engine will generally be related to deck size , as pursue :
So , the wider the cut pack of cards and the larger the area , the more herculean the lawn tractor will want to be for do the work involved in covering the ground with the lawn mower deck of cards over a drawn-out period .
But the work that the lawn tractor has to do will be determined not only by the sizing of the area involved but by that surface area ’s terrain as well . The practiced lawn tractors for some kinds of terrain may not be suited at all to other kinds of terrain .
Terrain
By terrain , we are basically talk about all the characteristic of the lawn , other than its size . you could determine the relevant characteristics of your terrain by asking the following questions :
These sort of machine characteristic are going to have a big impingement when it comes to work out which lawn tractor will be best for the stipulation in question .
You therefore demand to think very cautiously about the extent to which the characteristics of your terrain are probable to regard the ability of a lawn tractor to cover the undercoat . In panoptic term :
Zero turn mower for tight spaces
The more challenging the the terrain , the more powerful the lawn tractor will need to be and/or the more you are potential to require it to have especial features .
Here are some example :
If you have one and a half Acre ofsloping , boggy and scratchy nation , you are potential need a tractor with more power than if you have the same surface area of bland , unobstructed and well - drain land .
This kind of terrain demands power and good traction
If theterrain is particularly test , the proficient lawn tractor for the job may be a 4 steering wheel drive model .
If thegrass is often damp and/or lushyou may need a more brawny car to cut it . You will also need to nullify getting a machine with the kind of bagging or collection system that can get block by cuttings from damp grass . A simple side discharge or mulching deck may be the answer in that suit .
If you have a niceclear rectangle of open land , you may not need a machine with a particularly sloshed turning dress circle .
Tow-behind broadcast spreader
If you have a lot ofobstacles and sozzled spaces , you may need a 4 - wheel steer exemplar , a zero turn mower or evena automatonlike lawn mower .
What do you want your lawn tractor to do?
I suppose the tangible question here is – what , if anything , do you want your lawn tractor to do – aside from cut your lawn ?
If the answer to that question is ‘ nothing ’ , then it simplify your choice . You then just need to choose from among the best lawn tractors , within you budget , that are worthy for your lawn ’s size and terrain as discussed above .
If you think you might desire your lawn tractor to do a bit more than just mow your lawn , it complicate thing a bit , but also introduces Lot of exciting options .
Do you need your lawn tractor do more than just mow the lawn?
You should therefore think cautiously about what other tasks you might need to employ your lawn tractor for – both now and in the hereafter . You then need to ensure that you choose a machine that is capable of doing what you want it to do now or what you might want it to do in due course .
To determine whether the lawn tractor can carry out other undertaking , you have to consider :
Most reasonable sized lawn tractors with the correct appointment will be able to tow a plant food broadcaster or a cart full of logs or lawn clippings .
Twin cylinder lawn tractor engine
The real tryout comes when you need to expect out ‘ ground engaging tasks’- like dig , plowing , snow removal , or moving soil or totality .
If you want to apply the attachments necessary for that kind of employment , you undoubtedly need to invest in the kind of lawn tractor that is made for the problem – i.e. it has the power and robustness to perform those tasks comfortably .
commend , you need your lawn tractor to last so you do not want to be pushing it beyond the limit of its capabilities week in calendar week out .
Twin cylinder lawn tractor engine
How much money do you have to spend?
You could pass anything between $ 1000 – $ 10,000 or more on a riding lawn mower or lawn / garden tractor and like most of the good thing in living , the good models come at a price .
Generally , as engine sizing and mow width increases , so do the prices charged . But there are other factors that touch price :
Where you buy – a consecrate dealer may be more expensive than Amazon or a discount DIY retail store . Then again , you are potential to get more personal care , advice and additional services at the dedicated monger .
lineament – some lawn tractor and some lawn tractor section , especially engines and transmissions , are just well made than others and designed for long living . Hydrostatic transmissions in particular may vary quite considerable in smoothness of functioning and longevity .
Axles can also be a estimable indicator of quality . The estimable quality machines will often have cast Fe or forged axles whilst lower budget machines may have steel , weld axle .
Reliability , parts and serve – reliability will often come down to the overall anatomy quality , which is potential to be reflected in Mary Leontyne Price . Similarly it is often easier to hold parts and service for the in high spirits cost agio machine because it is more economically viable for the manufactures to exert the appropriate infrastructure to support these services where the gross generate from sales is outstanding .
How to compare lawn tractors
So , to summarize so far , choosing the respectable lawn tractors involves first of all assessing your own requirements and circumstances – your lawn , the chore you require carried out and your budget .
If you do n’t do this , you could end up with the combining weight of a Ferrari for doing the school ravel .
Only once you have done this , should you cogitate about the different types and models of lawn tractors .
One of the trouble for the vendee is that it is knockout to break up out the important details from the avalanche of data that the manufacturer publish about their lawn tractors . You ’ll see wad of exclusive features and elaborate spec and you ’ll be invited to wonder at various proprietary trade - marked system that will apparently deepen the font of lawn mowing as we know it .
What you might not see , however , as you attempt to compare lawn tractors , is the same degree of accent on a particular feature given by one producer as is given by another . You may not even see the same give-and-take used to describe what is basically the same thing .
To aid you slue through the the jargon and merchandising speak , we set out below the independent features you in all probability want to compensate attending to . Note , the first sections all relate to gasolene power lawn tractors , but there are details below about what to look out for in a battery power galvanic lawn tractors .
Engines and Engine Power
The power that the engine delivers is measured in horse world power ( HP ) or ( Hp ) . The large the sawbuck mightiness , the more powerful the railway locomotive . In broad terms lawn tractor engines may run from about 10hp to 30Hp plus .
The more powerful the engine , the more the lawn tractor can :
A lawn tractor engine can vary substantially in design , eccentric , price and timbre .
There are a number of engine manufacturing business that maneuver in this market , but probably the good know and most well consider are Briggs and Stratton , Kohler , Tecumseh , Honda and Kawasaki .
The smaller lawn tractor and riding mowers are by and large equipped with a single piston chamber air - cooled gas engine with a vertical crankshaft innovation .
An air - cooled engine relies upon the passion which the locomotive get being dissipate through louver on the railway locomotive case when atmosphere is swash across them by a rooter . The vertical crankshaft generally means that the lawn mower deck is directly driven by means of a belt .
Larger lawn tractor run to have two or more cylinder with a horizontal crankshaft .
Multiple piston chamber ( especially where there are three cylinder ) generally lead to politic operation of the engine .
The horizontal crankshaft means there is a more direct mechanism to force the tractor , and hence more power is delivered , but there is usually a more complex arrangement to drive the mower deck .
Multiple cylinder engines have more power than single cylinder ones but have more part that can fail .
big lawn and garden tractor are probable to have a liquidness - cool down , multi - cylinder gasoline or diesel motor engine .
The liquid cooled railway locomotive has a pump which circulate water supply through the engine block and a separate radiator . The water is cooled as it make it through the radiator and disseminate back through the lawn tractor locomotive engine .
This system is more expensive than air cooling system but can lead to tenacious engine life by keeping locomotive temperatures more consistent .
Diesel engines may be more costly and are often noisy and dirtier than gasoline engine .
However , they can be more reliable and have a longer working life . Rudolf Diesel fuel may also be uncommitted much more cheaply , peculiarly where untaxed fuel is allow for purpose off - route .
The diesel engine lawn tractor railway locomotive may therefore be the most economical , if available on the model that suits your circumstances .
Transmission
A lawn tractor locomotive has to repulse not only the rack of the lawn tractor itself , but also the mower pack of cards ( and any other powered implements that may be attached to the tractor ) .
The lawn mower deck has to run at a unvarying gamey speed for be able to turn out green goddess efficiently . However , the lawn tractor itself has to be able to run at various speeds for be able to start , stop and maneuver in the ordinary style .
These different demands are accommodated by substance of the Lawn tractor ’s transmission . Therefore the transmission is one of the most important lawn tractor component part .
There are generally three types of transmission used on lawn tractors .
This eccentric of infection provide the good means of lawn tractor control and allow non-finite speed adjustment in move frontwards and in reverse and in general pull in for easy manoeuvering .
Hydrostatic transmission operates by means of a hydraulic pump linked to a hydraulic motor which drives the lawn tractor wheel . It is engage by script levers or foot pedals .
The downside of hydrostatic transmission is that it is expensive – it increases the initial price of the lawn tractor and leads to less fuel efficient operation – and it can be high-pitched maintenance , specially in keep the system sporting .
There ’s more on how hydrostatic transmissions work on in the TV below .
A geared transmitting on a lawn tractor is much like a manual transmittal on a car . There may be a issue of forward gear mechanism , together with a reverse gear .
The gears are operated by a lever and clutch chemical mechanism – either a mechanical clutch or a belt scheme and are often flux with the axle into a ‘ transaxle ’ .
Gear contagion are usually dependable and effective and are a relatively low cost option in terms of initial outlay and relevant renewal parts
This is the simplest and tatty transmission arrangement and is jolly effective on lower powered tractor .
Drive pep pill is check by a belt organisation between crankshaft and drive wheel mechanism . No separate grasp is want .
The whack are adjusted by control lever operate by the machine driver so as to slow or increase the speed of the lawn tractor . Belt drives can be variable speed or fixed speed or associated with 2 - 5 gears .
Drive
Lawn tractors may have two wheel drive or 4 wheel drive , i.e. power is delivered from the locomotive via the transmittal mechanism to turn the rear two wheels or all four bicycle .
As with cars and other vehicle , smashing stableness and traction can be attain with 4 bicycle drive systems .
Battery Powered Lawn Tractors
Just as we ’ve seen the rising slope in electric vehicles we are now visualise the rise in galvanizing lawn tractors and electrical drive - on mowers .
Obviously these cultivate in a very unlike means to gas power machines . mightiness is derived from a rechargeable battery ( or batteries ) and this electrical power is transmitted to the bicycle drives and the cutting deck of cards to power the operation of the car .
There are many fewer move parts than in a gas pedal powered riding lawn mower and therefore less can go wrong . This means depleted upkeep costs as well as lower track costs .
That say , the initial leverage price can be higher than the price of an equivalently sized gas power lawn tractor or drive lawn mower .
Like electric cars , battery powered lawn tractor are quieter and better for the environment . They also allow a smoother ride as there is less quivering from the locomotive and other strike part .
But the single self-aggrandizing matter to consider when deal buy a battery powered lawn tractor or turn on mower is the battery .
You take to considerthe type of battery . Is it a sealed lead acid electric battery , like the variety used in accelerator pedal powered cars ? Or is it a lithium ion battery of the kind used in most modern battery powered top executive equipment ?
Lead dot bombardment must be prevent charged otherwise they suffer damage , which is not that convenient when you want to bar cut down for the wintertime . They are also difficult to handle and take out if necessary . What is more if they do become damaged and mislay capacity , then that will involve how much you could mow on one guardianship .
atomic number 3 ion batteries , do n’t suffer with as many maintenance issues as lead acid barrage fire and can be allowed to discharge fully . Therefore , they are the preferable alternative .
However , lawn tractors with lithium ion battery are generally more expensive .
You also involve to be trusted about the capacity of the battery to wrap up the lawn region you want to cover , having paying attention to the type of terrain . Alternatively , you need multiple batteries that you’re able to keep on charge that you’re able to swap over as you mow .
Steering
Most lawn tractors have front wheel steering , again like the typical gondola arranging .
Some have power steering which means that the engine indirectly power the guidance , make it much lighter to operate .
Some lawn tractor have 4 wheel steering . This means all 4 wheels turn in response to a turn of the steering wheel . This enables the lawn tractor to sour more tightly than a stock two wheel steer modelling .
Cutting Deck
cut decks house the cutting blades . In most lawn and garden tractors they can be detached . With cutting decks , the points to look out for are :
Grass Discharge
Most lawn tractor complete the grass to the side of the cut deck of cards .
This means that the grass trim are left on the lawn which can look untidy . If the clippings are to be take aim to a collection cup of tea , which may come as received or as an optional extra , there may be a pipe or parachute through which the clippings travel . With wet forage particularly , this can sometimes get choke off .
As an alternative to side discharge , there are some rearward discharge tractors . These dispatch newspaper clipping behind the lawn tractor and , if linked to a accumulation organisation , may have less mechanism to get clogged up than the side discharge tractor .
You will also read that many lawn tractors have a mulching electrical capacity . But what is mulch and what does mulching mean ?
Mulch is fundamentally any cloth lay on cultivated land to serve preventweeds , to aid fertility , to help soil structure and/or to further moisture retentiveness . There are therefore many unlike eccentric of mulch , but gage clippings or shredded garden pruning are often used .
The mulching lawn mower deck has blade that finely chop grass cutting into mulch , so that they can be deposited back onto the primer that has been mow .
This accomplishes several thing :
Some lawn tractor may have a consecrate mulching deck that has to be fitted to enable mulching to take place .
Other decks can be converted to a mulching deck by the improver of a plate to blank off the side or rearward discharge way out , thus retain the clippings within the pack of cards until they are finely chopped and deposit as the tractor moves on .
The other great advantage of mulching deck of cards is that you’re able to utilize your riding lawn mower to easily clean-cut and mulch up parting in dip .
Summing Up
Even the cheapest riding mowers and lawn tractor represent a substantial purchase .
The top of the range models approach the price of a small auto . It ’s therefore lively that you research your choice good before bribe .
If there is one message that I have for lawn tractor buyers it is this :
First and first work out what you need based upon you own personal requirements and the demands of the sphere you are going to be work on . By being very clear about this , you’re able to narrow down your search pretty quickly and then focus on the fine specifications , monetary value and available go for the relevant models .
Whether you approach the choice from the point of view of a nurseryman ( like me ) or from a more technical perspective , this approach should service you well .
Buyer’s Checklist
Ask yourself these questions about your own requirements:
Consider these features when comparing lawn tractors to buy
More guidance on buying lawn mowers
Read more
Martin Cole has been an avid plant lover and gardener for more than 20 years and loves to speak and spell about gardening . In 2006 he was a finalist in the BBC Gardener of the Year contention . He is a member of the National dahlia Society .
He previously lived in London and Sydney , Australia , where he take a sheepskin course in Horticultural study and is now ground in North Berwick in Scotland . He base GardeningStepbyStep.com in 2012 . The web site is aimed at everybody who be intimate plants or has been prick by the gardening glitch and wants to know more .
garden dance step by Step has beencited by Thompson and Morgan , the UK ’s tumid mail order plant retail merchant , as a site that publishes technical gardening subject .
