[Phids]

What is the reason you're moving away from a lawn care service? Money, aesthetics, exercise...? My guess is not aesthetics since mowing once per month would mean you'll get a lot of weeds outgrowing your lawn each month. In any case, I estimate it would likely take you about an hour to mow 8000 sq ft with a 22" mower, so use that as a reference point. If you want a quicker mow, opt for a larger diameter mower.

 

[Phids]

I paid $1000 last year to have someone mow my lawn, and my thought is to invest this year in a tool and go DIY, mostly economics driven. So, if i can buy a mower for about $1k, that would pay for itself in thr first year, notwithstanding my labor under hard Texas sun.

Have you considered a robotic mower? Although I have no experience with them, it sounds like this option would solve the issue of investing time on mowing, and it would also work well given the flatness of your lawn. I imagine there would be some decent options for you around the $1000 price range.

 

[Phids]

I ended up going with a Ego LM2156SP after watching numerous reviews as well as factoring in cost per Watt-Hour.
In case anyone is interested, below is my analysis which should be up-to-date

That is quite the extensive decision matrix. You examined far more models than I think I ever would in making such a decision. But as an observation, I noticed you included criteria that I probably would not have, and you did not include other factors that I would have. I realize what to include or not is a personal matter, but did you consider other items not included in your matrix?

Just pay someone to do it. Buying a mower to collect dust will just take up space in the garage and remind you how lazy you are every time you walk by it.

Agree that saving space in the garage is an underrated factor.

 

[Phids]

I was thinking that average time per mowing 1000k sq ft might be nice to consider based on deck size (especially if you want to reduce the amount of time spent mowing). Or, maybe ability to collapse/store the unit in the offseason, or other features that might distinguish them. And maybe all of them are self-propelled, but that would be an important requirement as well IMO.

 

[Phids]

60” zero turn and be done in 15 min. 😁

That would blow through a $1000 budget though. For 8000 sq feet, to go fast I would opt for a rear engine mower, but that would still be closer to $2000.