On 2021-05-11 12:22 p.m., Michael Trew wrote:
> On 5/10/2021 9:03 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> My mother's yard is very small; 40 ft x 100 feet or less.Â* She
>> always had an electric mower.
>>
>> I managed to use it without mowing the cord when I was a teenager.Â* I
>> think Kuthe can cope.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>
> Really that all depends on the size and shape of your lot.Â* A flat,
> small city lot, that would be fine.Â* Parts of my yard are at about a 45
> degree angle, and I sometimes question my sanity when standing below the
> push mower, handle tied down so it doesn't die, and pushing it above me
> to reach areas to mow, since it is too steep to mow sideways.Â* I have to
> stand on a steep stone wall at some points to continue mowing... I would
> literally kill myself dealing with a cord wrapped around me when cutting
> about half of my lawn.Â* The joys of living on a hill, I suppose.

Time for a self propelled 4WD mower like the one I use for some of my
lawn. When I do the front there is a small ditch and the west end of it
has a serious slope there. It is too steep for my lawn tractor. Then I
have a ditch/stream between the house and the barn I have the self
propelled mower to do those areas and for going around the house and the
stone walls and around and between trees. It gets into the places where
the tractor mower can't.

On 5/11/2021 12:33 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2021-05-11 12:22 p.m., Michael Trew wrote:
>> On 5/10/2021 9:03 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>> My mother's yard is very small; 40 ft x 100 feet or less. She
>>> always had an electric mower.
>>>
>>> I managed to use it without mowing the cord when I was a teenager. I
>>> think Kuthe can cope.
>>>
>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>
>> Really that all depends on the size and shape of your lot. A flat,
>> small city lot, that would be fine. Parts of my yard are at about a
>> 45 degree angle, and I sometimes question my sanity when standing
>> below the push mower, handle tied down so it doesn't die, and pushing
>> it above me to reach areas to mow, since it is too steep to mow
>> sideways. I have to stand on a steep stone wall at some points to
>> continue mowing... I would literally kill myself dealing with a cord
>> wrapped around me when cutting about half of my lawn. The joys of
>> living on a hill, I suppose.
>
> Time for a self propelled 4WD mower like the one I use for some of my
> lawn. When I do the front there is a small ditch and the west end of it
> has a serious slope there. It is too steep for my lawn tractor. Then I
> have a ditch/stream between the house and the barn I have the self
> propelled mower to do those areas and for going around the house and the
> stone walls and around and between trees. It gets into the places where
> the tractor mower can't.
>
>

I've used one of those before, my concern would be the weight of the
mower in general. Mine is light as a feather, little 20" cut 90's model
that I rescued from a scrap pile. I'm thinking about tying ropes to the
base of the handle and lowering it that way from the top of the hill.

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 12:22:16 PM UTC-4, Michael Trew wrote:
> On 5/10/2021 9:03 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> > My mother's yard is very small; 40 ft x 100 feet or less. She
> > always had an electric mower.
> >
> > I managed to use it without mowing the cord when I was a teenager. I
> > think Kuthe can cope.
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
> Really that all depends on the size and shape of your lot. A flat,
> small city lot, that would be fine. Parts of my yard are at about a 45
> degree angle, and I sometimes question my sanity when standing below the
> push mower, handle tied down so it doesn't die,

You mean there are people whose first act is _not_ to defeat the deadman
switch? Our first lawn mower had a strap of leather with a snap. Our
current walk-behind that I use for "edging" has velcro.

When we got our lawn tractor, the first thing my husband did was jumper
over the switch that stops the blades when it's backing up. We retained
the one that stops the engine if my butt leaves the seat. I mow our ditch
by the OSHA-unapproved method of running lengthwise along it with
half my butt on the seat and half hanging over the edge to counterweight
the machine so it doesn't roll.

> and pushing it above me
> to reach areas to mow, since it is too steep to mow sideways. I have to
> stand on a steep stone wall at some points to continue mowing... I would
> literally kill myself dealing with a cord wrapped around me when cutting
> about half of my lawn. The joys of living on a hill, I suppose.

I've never measured the angle of the side of the ditch. Apart from that,
my yard is nearly flat as a billiard table, thanks to the death throes of the
last glacier that came through this area.

Cindy Hamilton

On 2021-05-11 12:52 p.m., Michael Trew wrote:
> On 5/11/2021 12:33 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2021-05-11 12:22 p.m., Michael Trew wrote:

>> Time for a self propelled 4WD mower like the one I use for some of my
>> lawn. When I do the front there is a small ditch and the west end of it
>> has a serious slope there. It is too steep for my lawn tractor. Then I
>> have a ditch/stream between the house and the barn I have the self
>> propelled mower to do those areas and for going around the house and the
>> stone walls and around and between trees. It gets into the places where
>> the tractor mower can't.
>>
>>
>
> I've used one of those before, my concern would be the weight of the
> mower in general.Â* Mine is light as a feather, little 20" cut 90's model
> that I rescued from a scrap pile.Â* I'm thinking about tying ropes to the
> base of the handle and lowering it that way from the top of the hill.

They are pretty heavy. Mine is pretty handy for most of the trim work I
have to do with it. However, it is a workout to do the stream/ditch
because it is too steep and rough at the bottom of it. I can go down and
back up from the edge but that is a little too much of a workout. Thank
goodness I have the Echo line trimmer.

On 2021-05-11 12:58 p.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 12:22:16 PM UTC-4, Michael Trew wrote:

> You mean there are people whose first act is _not_ to defeat the deadman
> switch? Our first lawn mower had a strap of leather with a snap. Our
> current walk-behind that I use for "edging" has velcro.

I am sometimes reluctant to disable a safety device, even when they are
a pain in the ass. OTOH. I have been known to wrap some thin rope
around the handle to hold in in place.
>
> When we got our lawn tractor, the first thing my husband did was jumper
> over the switch that stops the blades when it's backing up. We retained
> the one that stops the engine if my butt leaves the seat. I mow our ditch
> by the OSHA-unapproved method of running lengthwise along it with
> half my butt on the seat and half hanging over the edge to counterweight
> the machine so it doesn't roll.

My current lawn tractor is defective. That back up safety switch had
never worked. In fact I had taken it over to show my neighbour and he
suggested that I disable that back up safety mechanism and did not
believe me when I told him it didn't work, so I demonstrated. He was as
surprised as I had been.

Those backup safety kill switches are relatively new. My first 2 lawn
tractors did not have them. Then I bought a White. The first night I
used it I was out in the back piece of lawn and was trying to mow
between two small trees. The deck was just a little two wide to make it
through so I put it in reverse. Two things happened. A cloud of hornets
flew out of the nest I had stopped over top and..... the engine stopped.
So there I was with a stalled tractor mower and a cloud of angry
hornets. I quickly threw it into neutral. turned off the PTO, stepped on
the brake and hit the starter. Luckily, I escaped without a sting.
>
> I've never measured the angle of the side of the ditch. Apart from that,
> my yard is nearly flat as a billiard table, thanks to the death throes of the
> last glacier that came through this area.

There are a few main issues with steep grades. First of all is the risk
of rolling the tractor. Second is the risk of an oil circulation issue.
The oil in the pan will go to one side and if you are low on oil to
start with you could find the machine running without oil, and that
won't last long. A lesser concern is that if you are up and down the
slop you will be scalping the grass at the edge.

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 6:22:16 AM UTC-10, Michael Trew wrote:
> On 5/10/2021 9:03 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> > My mother's yard is very small; 40 ft x 100 feet or less. She
> > always had an electric mower.
> >
> > I managed to use it without mowing the cord when I was a teenager. I
> > think Kuthe can cope.
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
> Really that all depends on the size and shape of your lot. A flat,
> small city lot, that would be fine. Parts of my yard are at about a 45
> degree angle, and I sometimes question my sanity when standing below the
> push mower, handle tied down so it doesn't die, and pushing it above me
> to reach areas to mow, since it is too steep to mow sideways. I have to
> stand on a steep stone wall at some points to continue mowing... I would
> literally kill myself dealing with a cord wrapped around me when cutting
> about half of my lawn. The joys of living on a hill, I suppose.
We used to rent a place with such a lawn. The owner had a yard service do the mowing. That was a smart move. We had a surfer that lost part of his foot due to a mowing accident. I can't say if he still surfs but it would give a whole new meaning to "goofy foot." The surfer's daughter wrote the book that a major Hollywood movie is based on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys_EjhRhghE