To be very, honest riding lawn mowers are major investments. I totally understand when someone frequently asks themselves how long a mower would last especially after breaking the bank to acquire it.
Well, this is not a reason to panic though. This is because most manufacturers nowadays are working day in day out to provide you with very durable riding mowers. However, you should also understand that the life span of riding mowers depends on a couple of factors. The most important one being you. Yes, you! I’m saying this because a riding mower will always serve you efficiently for a very long time if you consistently take good care of it. These mowers won’t treat you right if you don’t treat them right.
A properly maintained riding mower will last you up to 1500 hours. This may sound like a few hours when you don’t think into it deeply, so let’s get into details. You’ll probably be using your mower for approximately 2 hours every week or even less depending on the size of your lawn. This definitely means that you will be using this mower for approximately 8hours in a month and 96 hours in a year. It quite simple maths when I convert these figures into yearly hours and I will confidently tell you that a riding mower will serve you efficiently for more than 15 years if you maintain it well.
The factors that shorten the life span of riding mowers are quite clear and all affect the condition of the mower over a certain period of time.
Factors | Effects |
Frequently cutting thick grass | Riding mower will be working harder than it should be which may shorten its service life. |
Size of your lawn | A bigger lawn means more hours of mowing every time which will make parts wear out faster. |
Failure to maintain the riding mower properly | The riding mower won’t operate efficiently which leads to a decrease in performance and eventually shorten its life span. |
What you Should Do in Order to Ensure Your Riding Mower Serves You for a Long Time
- Clean the riding mower
It is always important to note that you should wash your lawn mower as frequently as you possibly can. Some people assume that cleaning a riding mower is not important but I assure you that this simple task will help your mower serve you efficiently for a longer time. This is because grass clippings and even twigs usually settle on the cutting deck after you mow your lawn. The more they pile up in the deck, the less efficient the deck and cutting blades become.
Therefore, washing the deck on a regular basis will not only maintain cleanliness in the deck, but will also enable the blades to give you an even cut throughout.
- Lubricate the riding mower parts
Just like any other machine, riding mowers are made up of different metal components that work together in order to give you the best results. You should always ensure that you apply lubricants on parts of the lawn mower that are probably susceptible to wear and tear due to lack of lubrication.
This will definitely prolong the service life of your riding mower and help you save on replacement costs in the long run.
- Change the oil in your riding mower
If you have a car or a rough idea of how a car works you will definitely understand how important it is to change engine oil on a regular basis. Well, I don’t mean that you should change the oil every week so don’t get me wrong. However, you should always go through the user manual when you purchase a riding mower and see the duration the lawn mower will work for before you are required to change the engine oil.
Without doubt, the engine of the lawn mower will always run efficiently if you faithfully change the oil as recommended by the manufacturer. Therefore, won’t have to worry about your riding mower breaking down when you are in the middle of cutting grass on your lawn.
- Frequently check the riding mower belts
You’ll agree with me that we all appreciate a lawn mower that works perfectly fine every time you head out to cut the grass on your lawn. A worn out belt will always cause your riding mower to move slower than it should even when you are at full throttle.
However, if you constantly keep track of the condition of the belts, the lawn mower will always operate efficiently every time you mow your lawn. This will also help you save on a lot of time that you can use to do other important things.
- Change you air filter
This is also another maintenance step that people tend to neglect a lot when it comes to riding mowers.
You should always ensure that the air filter in your riding mower is clean throughout. For sure, this will enable the mower to operate at its peak performance even for very long hours.
Most of the riding mowers these days are very user- friendly so even DIY such as changing an air filter usually isn’t difficult. And if at all you can’t do it by yourself on the first try, I highly advise you to seek help from a professional who can help you with this process.
Conclusion
It is quite evident that your riding mower will serve you for very many hours so long as you maintain it well. So, it is important to note that it is not a guarantee that a lawn mower will serve you for the advertised number of hours by the manufacturer. You also play a big role in ensuring it attains its specified service life. This is because a well maintained riding mower will serve you longer than a mower that is not well maintained.
FAQs
How often am I supposed to service my riding mower?
The recommended time you are supposed to use the lawn mower before servicing it is always indicated in the user manual.
Do riding mowers come with a warranty?
Yes, they do. Some come with a one year warranty and some even come with a lifetime warranty. It all depends with the manufacturer.
