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Adding slopes to one’s lawn can accentuate its visual appeal. Instead of being completely flat like most other properties, a lawn can be distinguished easily with a hilly terrain. However, maintaining these hills requires extra attention and the right pieces of equipment. Thus, we are here to recommend you the best lawn mower for hills you can get this year.
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Before you start mowing the hills on your property, you must be aware of these tips. They should keep you safe while you take care of the lawn.
Mowing hills is not about high-speed operations using the most powerful lawn mowers with the biggest deck sizes. Instead, you should mow at a low speed to reduce the risk of losing control of the mower and tip over.
If you go down from the hilly area, first check if your wheels generate a decent depression over the lawn grass. If there is barely any depression over the grass, you should only move the lawnmower very slowly.
If you want to completely stop your lawn mower, the common response is to use the brake. However, things are different when you are mowing the hills. If you use the brake while you are on a slope, the lawn mower won’t totally stop.
The rear wheels will be locked, but the machine will still slide down the slope. In this situation, it’s better to use a transmission to slow it down considerably. Still, you must always conduct proper maintenance, especially with the brakes. This is both for your safety and the longevity of your lawn mower.
Lastly, you should be aware of your surroundings. When your lawn mower begins to tip over, you should know where to go. Thus, pay attention to bumps, stones, and any other obstacles that you may come in contact with once you move away from the lawn mower.
There are several types of lawn mowers you can buy, and each one of them will perform differently. Here, we discuss how to operate them on the slopes.
Also known as a stander lawn mower, this is unarguably easy to operate on hilly areas. This type is generally safe to use because you can quickly position your weight as you move along the hill. Likewise, you only have to press the right buttons to control the walk-behind lawn mower.
If you want a walk-behind lawn mower without spending too much, you can buy a model that isn’t self-propelled. The cutting operation will be smooth as long as the mower has a strong motor.
As the name implies, such a lawn mower is capable of turning at zero degrees. This is typically used in large-sized lawns, especially thanks to its steering system. However, the efficiency of clearing huge swaths of land is not as useful on bumpy garden as on flat terrain. Such mower is heavy and prone to tipping over, which can lead to serious injuries.
Compared to a walk-behind lawn mower, this type is more likely to tip over when used on hills. However, the risks are not as high as when you use a zero-turn mower. As long as the rear wheels are sizable enough, a riding lawn mower or a lawn tractor should have adequate traction on the slopes.
In addition, a rear-engine riding lawn mower will work fine on hilly areas. You can have efficient cuts with each turn without worrying about the exhaust fumes. It does not move fast about just around five miles per hour, but it is simple to maneuver.
If you have an open yard, its decks size ranging from 42 inches to 54 inches should be alright. However, a lawn with narrow areas and various obstacles such as hilly areas and hedges can benefit from shorter decks. After all, it becomes easier for the machine to move around if it’s not too long to hit anything around its path.
Not all lawn mowers are hard to control. If you are new to operating such machine, you should consider model with easy control features. For example, a cruise control will allow your lawn mower to navigate around an area without complex instructions.
Traction is incredibly important if you are going to cut grass in hilly areas. While a front-wheel lawn mower is good for standards lawns, it won’t perform well on slopes. Compared to a front-wheel or even an all-wheel drive, the rear wheel drive gives the best traction on hilly terrain.
In fact, a lawn mower with a rear-wheel drive will typically have bigger rear than those located at the front to increase traction. Moreover, treaded tires and a low-profile design will help a lawn mower move on hills without falling over on its side.
While many lawn mowers can be readily connected to various attachments such as baggers and snow blowers, you shouldn’t worry if your lawn mower cannot accommodate them. After all, this simply adds more weight to the lawn. In particular, the rear section becomes heavier and increases the risk of the lawn mower tipping over.
As we’ve previously mentioned, the overall weight of the lawn mower needs to be relatively light. Otherwise, it will be difficult to move it up and down hilly areas. If possible, you should get a light mower that still provides enough power to easily move it on slopes.
Via amazon.com
This lawn mower is designed to be resistant to the harsh elements of weather. The standard operating duration of the EGO Power+ LM2001-X is about an hour and a half, which is long enough for a standard mowing session. An advanced 56-volt Arc-Lithium battery is used for this model. The battery is fully loaded in just 30 minutes using a fan-cooled rapid charger. To protect this premium battery, they include a green cover.
As for storage purposes, you can fold the handle of the EGO Power+ LM2001-X to make it more compact. As long as you keep it an upright position, you shouldn’t worry about it being damaged when not in use. Speaking of its appearance, this mower has a two-tone grey and green aesthetic.
Moreover, this mower uses a 20-inch cutting deck, which is narrow enough for use on slopes and other uneven terrains. Pushing this is not hard, and its noise output is at an acceptable 70 decibels.
This is far quieter than a gas-powered lawn mower, and it has no emissions. You also can choose among five height adjustments, which reduces the number of times you have to go over the same area.
Via amazon.com
This is far quieter than a gas-powered lawn mower, and it has no emissions. You also can choose among five height adjustments, which reduces the number of times you have to go over the same area.
If you move from a flat surface to a hilly terrain, you could utilize the speed adjustment dial and the Select Drive control. The 21 inches deck size is good for hills. It is constructed out of Nexite that is resistant not only to rust and denting but also to high-impact incidents. In addition, the lawn mower does not suddenly stop even when you cut at a considerably low height.
Likewise, this Honda lawn mower has a twin-blade MicroCut System to create very small lawn clippings that are ideal for mulching. This precise cutting system could reduce the time you spend emptying the bag.
Moreover, the Honda HRX217K5VKA lawn mower has the Versamow System. This will allow you to conduct mulching, bagging, or shredding by simply using the Clip Director knob. Thus, you might not have to buy expensive attachments.
Via www.amazon.com
Similar to the EGO Power+ LM2001-X, this battery-powered mower lasts for 45 minutes for every full charge of the 2AH battery. Thankfully, this model comes with two of the Li-ion batteries that only need 30 minutes to get a full charge. You could also swap the batteries for bigger-capacity compatible variants such as the 80-volt GBA80400 4AH battery and the 80-volt GCH8040 4AH battery.
The brushless electric motor that powers this GreenWorks guy matches the capabilities of a 160cc gas engine. As expected, it has a 21-inch deck size and is lightweight overall. Still, this GreenWorks lawn mower packs a pair of sizable 10-inch rear wheels with a considerable amount of traction on hills. Pushing it up and down slopes is not tiring. In fact, it produces smooth 180-degree turns.
Via amazon.com
While this lawn mower is developed by Husqvarna, the brand relies on Honda to provide the GCV190 190cc gas 4-cycle engine for fuel efficiency. This engine starts quickly and provides sufficient cutting power for mowing hills. The 22-inch deck is tough due to its powder-coated construction. Even if rocks were in the way, the mower deck wouldn’t be easily damaged.
Just like the other entries on this list, this is built for mulching, bagging, and discharging the grass clippings. Specifically, the side discharging system should work well. Furthermore, the risk of tipping over shouldn’t be such a worry with the All Wheel Drive feature of Husqvarna. In other words, the 961450021 HU800AWDH Hi-Wheel Mower has high rear wheels while still balancing all of the four wheels.
In particular, the front wheels measure eight inches while the rear wheels measure 11 inches. Thus, it can move well on uneven surfaces. Moreover, you can stay adjust the speed of the lawn mower using a trigger located on the handlebar. You even have the option to relax as you use the self-propelling feature.
Via amazon.com
Finally, we have a lawn mower with a massive 382cc Auto Choke OHV engine, which makes it the most powerful model on this list. The fuel tank can contain 1.3 gallons at a time and it has a window for checking the gas level.
The maximum forward speed of the Troy-Bilt lawn mower is 4.25 mph, but you can adjust the performance using the six-speed transmission. After all, you only need a slow speed for mowing the hills. Likewise, it has a 30-inch cutting deck that should cut fast. You can choose among five mowing height options. However, the size of the deck requires you to cautious on slopes.
Consequently, this Troy-Bilt lawn machine has an 18-inch turning radius along with massive 16-inch rear wheels. To keep you comfortable, this riding lawn mower has a mid-back seat. The 13-inch steering wheel is also designed with a soft grip. Lastly, you have a two-year limited warranty for this model.
Overall, our favorite lawn mower for hills is none other than the EGO Power+ LM2001-X. While it only comes with a single battery, this 56-volt Arc-Lithium battery delivers enough power and longevity.
For only half an hour using the rapid charger, you can get this lawn mower running for 90 minutes. Moreover, the green cover ensures that the premium battery is protected.
Via amazon.com
As we’ve discussed earlier, a slow cutting speed and a light weight will work best for slopes. The EGO Power+ LM2001-X lawn mower has offers both of these. In addition, the 20-inch cutting deck is just the right size for mowing on uneven terrain. The noise output does not require you to put ear protection. There are even LED headlights so you can operate it whenever you want.
Its grey and green color looks good both on the lawn and inside the storage area. Speaking of storage, it has a compact design that makes handling it easy. If that wasn’t enough, you have two warranties for the batteries and charges.
We hope that you learned a lot from our guide. Mowing hills is definitely different compared to mowing on flat terrain. Bigger does not mean better in such a situation. It’s important to know how to handle the machine on uneven terrain to keep you safe while being efficient.
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