How low to set my mower?

L

Lawner

Member
I bought a starter inexpensive gas mower.

Talking to my father today he said that he had to set his on the highest setting to avoid rocks or anything damaging it.

I have not finished putting the wheels on mine yet, my first impression was to go with the lowest setting, the wheels are very hard to put on and I'm not about to change it once they are on. They have that locking nut and you have to hold one end while screwing the other end in.

So would you guys also recommend the highest setting to a newbie?
 
Do you have rocks and uneven surface in your yard too? If it's smooth enough, cut low. If its not smooth or there are rocks, start mowing higher, like maybe 3" and find and remove any rocks before mowing at any height. After you have mowed it high, walk over the lawn and look for rocks and obstacles before mowing lower.

It sounds like you need a ratchet or something to make handling the bolts more convenient for you.

Hope this helps.
Larry
 
MBDiagMan said:
Do you have rocks and uneven surface in your yard too? If it's smooth enough, cut low. If its not smooth or there are rocks, start mowing higher, like maybe 3" and find and remove any rocks before mowing at any height. After you have mowed it high, walk over the lawn and look for rocks and obstacles before mowing lower.

It sounds like you need a ratchet or something to make handling the bolts more convenient for you.

Hope this helps.
Larry
Click to expand...

No there are not a lot of rocks, there is a little white bed of rocks about 3X3 feet. Yeah, I will look around first and pick up rocks and ny branches first.

I can't make it lower or higher unless I take off all the wheels and put them on again which is a problem.

Yeah, I think I bought a cheap ratchet set once and it may be in my trunk, I will have to look for it.
 
What mower is it? Because on my mower the lowest setting is like dirt-level! I cut at around 2.5-3.0 inches even if there aren't sticks or debris on the ground, but your grass might be different.
 
If you have a very level smooth yard with a low loving warm season grass like Bermuda then one and one quarter inches will work fine. If however you are less than perfect in your lawn care then halfway between the lowest and highest setting is going to work the best. The highest setting, three and three quarters is to high for most folks unless they like a rough look to their tall fescue, or just their weeds. So, hard to turn nuts or not try the middle, if you oppose it then try the lowest.
 
During the summer months I cut my grass at 3"-3.5" high because cutting too low might kill the grass if the rains dont continue. During the spring I'll cut it @ 2.5" high.
 
Lawner said:
I bought a starter inexpensive gas mower.

Talking to my father today he said that he had to set his on the highest setting to avoid rocks or anything damaging it.

I have not finished putting the wheels on mine yet, my first impression was to go with the lowest setting, the wheels are very hard to put on and I'm not about to change it once they are on. They have that locking nut and you have to hold one end while screwing the other end in.

So would you guys also recommend the highest setting to a newbie?
Click to expand...

Cutting heights should be determined by the type of grass your cutting


[TABLE="class: layout"]
[TR="bgcolor: #CCCCCC"]
[TH="class: col, bgcolor: #99CCFF"]Turf species [/TH]
[TH="class: col, bgcolor: #99CCFF"] Set mower to (inches)[/TH]
[TH="class: col, bgcolor: #99CCFF"] Mow when turf reaches this height (inches)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Annual ryegrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 1/4 - 3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bermudagrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 - 1 1/2 (for seeded bermudagrass) 1/2 - 3/4 (for hybrids)[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 2 1/4 (for seeded bermudagrass) 3/4 - 1 1/8 (for hybrids)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Buffalograss[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 - 2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Colonial bentgrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1/2 - 1[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 3/4 - 1 1/2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Creeping bentgrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1/2 or less[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 3/4 or less[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dichondra[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1/2 - 3/4 (can be unmowed)[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 3/4 - 1 1/8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hard fescue[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 2 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 1/4 - 3 3/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kentucky bluegrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 2 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 1/4 - 3 3/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kikuyugrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 - 1 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 -2 1/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Perennial ryegrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 2 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 1/4 - 3 3/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Red fescue[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 2 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 1/4 - 3 3/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Rough bluegrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 - 2 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 3 3/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seashore paspalum[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 3/4 - 1 1/2[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/8 - 2 1/4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]St. Augustinegrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 - 4[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 3 1/2 - 4 1/2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tall fescue[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1 1/2 - 3[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 2 1/4 - 4 1/2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Zoysiagrass[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 1/2 - 1[/TD]
[TD="class: center, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"] 3/4 - 1 1/2[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
possum said:
If you have a very level smooth yard with a low loving warm season grass like Bermuda then one and one quarter inches will work fine. If however you are less than perfect in your lawn care then halfway between the lowest and highest setting is going to work the best. The highest setting, three and three quarters is to high for most folks unless they like a rough look to their tall fescue, or just their weeds. So, hard to turn nuts or not try the middle, if you oppose it then try the lowest.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm gonna go with the middle setting, thanks all for the advice.
 
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