The Big Boys
Large lawns and professional landscaped spaces require large-scale mowers to perform the work efficiently and correctly. Cutting grass is hard enough without covering large acres. It may be an excellent aerobic work out, but enough is enough. For those large jobs, you need something bigger. In fact, you have two choices: a riding lawn mower or a lawn tractor. They combine power, performance and speed in order to provide you with the best job possible. What is even better, you get to ride in comfort while you work.
Lawn tractor mowers and riding mowers do resemble one another. Although tractors have been around forever, riding mowers are a product of the 1950s and suburbia. Many offer the same type of conveniences and accessories. These can range from snow removal attachments, to baggers, to mulchers, to carts and wagons. They can accept huge numbers of attachments and components such as blades, front bumpers, garden caddies, snow throwers/blowers, spin spreaders, sprayers, tow-behind tools and utility carts. There are, however, differences in two specific areas: the location of the cutting deck and the position of the motor.
Lawn tractors, like riding mowers, are meant to be ridden over acres of land, mowing down grass as they go. Lawn tractors, however, have a front engine and a mid-mounted cutting deck. The operating controls reside near the driver and include as expected, a throttle, choke and transmission gears. Other controls include cutting height and power take off (PTO). The latter engages and disengages the cutting blades. The engine is a gas-powered vertical-shaft motor of between17 to 21 horsepower (hp). A lawn tractor is manufactured to spin two or three horizontal blades to cut grass at a particular height. The blades, located between the front and rear axles, are covered in the mower deck. Lawn tractors use a long belt, made of reinforced material such as Kevlar. This belt conveys the engine power to the rear wheels. A second belt transports energy to the pulleys therefore, turning the cutting blades.
Both the mowing deck and the blades are moveable. The operator can raise or lower them slowly from one half to two inches above the ground. The decks usually have rollers or anti-scalping wheels. This keeps them level on even the most uneven ground, ensuring a better cut. To prevent discharge of grass out of the side, you can purchase side chutes. These send the grass and cuttings into a bagger at the rear of the tractor. If you purchase a mulcher, or mulching kit, it plugs the discharge chute. This keeps the grass beneath the deck while the mulching blade grinds up the grass and other materials.
Riding mowers have a rear engine. The engine's horsepower ranges from around 12hp to 30hp. It depends on the manufacturers. Their cutting deck is located under the front of the vehicle. The location of the cutting deck makes riding mowers more maneuverable. This is particularly helpful when the landscape is strewn with trees and shrubs. Snapper produces conventional rear-engine riding mowers. Other companies are producing the latest hot "new" thing: zero-turn riders. They can turn on a dime.
Yet, whether it is a riding lawn mower or a lawn tractor, you must be careful when operating either machine. It is not a toy for children and the center of gravity can shift with disastrous results.