[LAWNMOWER NOISE AND GRUNTING]
I can't cut this grass with this lawn mower anymore.
I need something better, bigger.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[ECHOING] Hey, Jack.
There are better option.
Come here and I'll show you.
Oh.
John Galeotafiore.
Hey, Zack.
Oh, are you real?
Oh, I'm real.
Ah, so good to see you.
John, can you help me?
I've been trying to cut the lawn.
And that lawn mower I have isn't getting the job done.
Absolutely.
It all boils down to the size of your lawn and the terrain.
If you have half an acre or under, one of these basic push
mowers, they're low cost, they can work.
But there are other choices.
Let's go see.
If you have a half an acre to an acre,
you want to step up to a self-propelled model.
Basically self-propelled mowers take some power and power
the wheels, could be the front, rear, or both.
In our testing, we found rear wheels
give a little better traction.
Nice.
It's a little more expensive.
But with that cost, you get more options.
One of the options is a blade brake clutch.
What does that do?
Basically, sounds weird, but if you're bagging clippings
or you need to stop and collect a kid's toy,
you don't have to shut the engine, just shuts the blade.
Ah.
A lot of people don't like pulling that cord.
Nope.
This has electric start.
You'd simply turn a key.
[LAWN MOWER STARTING UP]
Starts right up.
Every mower has to be able to lift the blade and the cutting
deck because in the spring the grass grows faster,
you want to cut it maybe a little, a little lower.
In the summer, when it dries up, you want to cut higher.
And so on this mower, it has individual levers.
You have to go around to each wheel
and adjust the cutting height.
With a mower like this that has a single lever,
you just basically move all four wheels at once,
makes it a little easier.
Wow.
This one looks like a spaceship.
It's a very modern mower.
And if you have a smaller lawn, say about a third of an acre,
which means it'll take you about a half hour to cut,
this is a good option.
You don't want to use it on a bigger lawn,
because the batteries run for about 30 to 60 minutes tops.
You don't want to be worried about running out of battery.
They have a push button start, so they're really
easy to start.
It's so quiet.
It really is.
A good thing about this is you really
don't have to wear hearing protection.
And you want to get out there early on a Saturday morning,
you're not going to annoy the neighbors.
Nice.
I like that feature.
I want to show you the batteries on this thing.
There's two very large batteries.
Very high tech.
Yeah.
These are really powerful batteries
that give you good runtime.
The other thing is, this mower folds really easy for storage.
Now we're going to lift it.
Oh, how cool.
You know, these motors don't have gas or oil,
so nothing to spill out, really easy to maintain.
You should never touch this unless you take the batteries
out or you take the spark plug wire off our gas models.
It's very dangerous.
This is the blade.
Every mower we talked about has a blade.
Now what about cleaning it?
Do you have to clean it?
You should clean the deck after each use.
Because if grass builds up on it, it diminishes airflow
and it doesn't cut as good.
The other thing is you should sharpen the blade.
We say usually twice a year.
If you have sandy or rocky soil, you
may want to do it a little more often.
John, this looks like a mini tractor.
Yeah.
It's a lawn tractor.
And if you have an acre of grass or more,
you're really going to want to ride.
Some of the features on a conventional tractor
are the comfortable seat.
You may be on this thing for an hour or two.
So you want to have a high back, comfortable seat.
How it engages the blade.
Some models, you have to use a level like this, where you just
engage it.
Some models, you just pull a switch.
That's a little easier.
You want to also look for how easy it is to raise and lower
the cutting deck.
So I'm assuming something this size needs gasoline.
Yeah, absolutely.
And with gasoline, you don't want
to run out if you're all the way on the other side
of your property.
Good point.
So it's good to have a gauge that you
can see right from the sitting position
so that you know when you need to go back and get some gas.
This is a zero turn radius mower.
Why don't you have a seat?
Don't mind if I do.
So like a regular lawn tractor, you only
use this if you have an acre or more.
But it doesn't have a steering wheel.
It has levers that actually make it run.
OK.
It takes a little learning curve to get used to,
but once you get it, it's pretty easy.
The benefits of these models is that you can cut faster
than a lawn tractor.
Anything else I need to know, John?
Hearing protection.
You want to wear hearing protection.
Just like with all gas mowers, but with this one especially,
because your ears are right above the engine.
John, thank you very much for all the advice.
You know, I think I can mow a mean lawn
with one of these guys.
I had my eye on that green one.
Mind if I give it a spin?
Yeah, let's do it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ah, there's no chore too tough when
you're driving a mean machine that's right for the job.