Types of Riding Lawn Mowers
A riding lawn mower is a very useful and convenient piece of equipment. Once you ride on it and turn on the ignition, all you have to do to get the job done is to steer from one direction to the next.
Basically, there are two types of lawn mowers in the market.
The first one is the conventional rider. And the second type is the Zero Turn Radius, or also known as the ZTR. A conventional rider can take 4 to 28 inches in order for it to turn 180 degredd at the end of each directional cut. While the ZTR, as its technical name implies, does not even change direction or go a few inches forward or backward so you can be certain that you are laways on the right track.
Generally, a ZTR is more expensive than a conventional riding lawn mower. A conventional riding lawn mower can cost anywahere from $1,000 to $3,000. It can accept attachments for it to be able to pull a wagon behind it. And conventional riding lawn mowers are considerably slower than ZTR’s in terms of speed as they can only run a maximum of 4 miles per hour.
ZTR’s, on the other hand, are a lot faser. Most ZTR’s travel at double the speed of conventional riding lawn mowers. While an average ZTR can go as fast as 9 miles per hour, there are ZTR’s which can go as fast as 15 miles per hour. If you are wondering how fast that speed is, you can just imagine mowing an entire football field in only ten minutes. Now, that is fast! And ZTR’s are also better since they can cut grass, not only faster, but also more efficiently. With a bigger motor, it certainly brings more power for the job.
But of course, the power and efficiency of the ZTR can come at a price. The price tag of a ZTR riding lawn mower usually ranges from $2,600 to $7,200.
Another major difference between these two types of riding lawn mowers is the steering system.The conventional riding lawn mower only has one steering system which is located on its front. While the ZTR has two sterring systems that separately control the two sets of wheels. this is the mechanical reason why it can mow with a zero turn radius since it does not really have to turn to be able to reverse directions.
A quick survey of the riding lawn mowers currently available in the market would reveal that there are now less conventional riding lawn mowers as compared to a few years back. ZTR’s are slowly gaining in popularity. And nowadays, ZTR’s are not limited to just the golf courses, quite a number of homeowners are already purchasing them to use in their lawns in their residences.
Riding a lawn mower is better than pushing it. You get to operate this machine like a bumper car or go kart which can be a lot of fun. Before you use it, be sure to read the safety instructions that are found in the manual and know how to properly take care of it. That way, you can take steps to prevent it from breaking down and also reducing the risk of injuries and accidents that have occurred to countless victims.
It is quite obvious that riding a lawn mower is better than pushing it. But aside from the convenience that a riding lawn mower brings, it can also be a lot of fun. You can operate this machine like a bumper car or a go-kart. But before using it, just make sure that you read the safety instructions first. Read the operating manual that comes with it so taht you can readily know how to properly use and take care of your equipment. This way, you can take steps to ensure that it would not break down easily and reduce the risks of accidents and injuries. Your riding lawn mower is an investment that can certainly bring you returns with the value and convenience it provides you as its owner.
