u/TorlanBark

Hi. I'd like to know whether a no-go zone can be too small for the mower to recognize. I'm mapping a few small things in my yard, like trees, a narrow flower bed, and some low garden lights. I drew the no-go zones pretty close to the obstacles because I don't want to waste mowing space. But I also worry that a slight positioning shift while running could make the mower drift into it and hit the obstacle.

What minimum size has worked well for no-go zones? Also, how much extra space do you leave around obstacles? Thanks for any insights!

bought my first house last month. 3/4 acre, mostly flat with a gentle slope near the back. previous owner left a rusty push mower in the shed that looks like it hasnt been touched since maybe 2019.

ive lived in apartments my entire adult life. i have genuinely never mowed a lawn before. had to google what mulching meant last week and im still not totally sure i get it.

spent a week reading reddit threads and im more confused than when i started. push mower vs self propelled vs riding vs robot. gas vs battery vs these satellite gps ones. prices from 200 bucks to 4 grand.

the push mower in the shed technically works but it took me over an hour and my arms were shaking after. also pretty sure i set the height wrong because parts of the grass look patchy now.

a few things i think i want: something that doesnt eat my whole saturday, not a nightmare to maintain, and ideally under 2 grand. my buddy keeps telling me to just get a riding mower but that feels like overkill for 3/4 acre and i dont have garage space for one anyway.

can a few of you help me put together a shortlist of whats actually worth looking at for someone starting from absolute zero

we moved last fall and im slowly redoing the whole yard, this is the next piece of that.

at the old place i had about a quarter acre and ran an ego push mower for two seasons. genuinely zero complaints, quiet, charged it in the garage, perfect for that lot. i liked it a lot.

the new place is just under half an acre with a real slope down one side. the ego still runs fine and i kept it, but on this bigger lot one charge doesnt cover the whole yard, so im stopping partway to swap or wait on a charge. i priced out a second battery big enough to actually fix that and it costs nearly as much as a whole second mower. thats where i stopped and did the math.

putting that kind of money into another battery every few years, on a yard this size, just doesnt add up for me. id rather keep the ego for the quick stuff it handles fine and add one cheap simple gas mower for the bigger jobs.

so im after a basic gas self propelled, ideally around 300, that actually holds up and isnt the kind that dies after two summers. i already know gas means fumes, pull starts, oil changes. thats fine, thats expected. i just want something that lasts.

havent owned a gas mower since i was a teenager so im a little rusty, any direction appreciated

I’ve been testing the waters with reselling lately, but I can't tell if people actually make real money or just "coffee money."

I started with thrift store flipping, it was fun but way too inconsistent. Then I tried dropshipping, but the ad costs were a nightmare. Recently, I’ve just been ordering small batches of tech accessories from Alibaba and selling them locally.

Where I’m at right now: The risk is low, which is nice, and I’m getting some sales. But it doesn't feel like a "business" yet. I’m spending way too much time staring at 20+ Alibaba tabs, comparing MOQs and shipping, only to make not too much profit.

Is anyone actually making this work long-term? How do you guys move past the "testing phase" and find products that actually scale without it becoming a full-time job of just clicking through tabs?