Mowing takes forever! Is there a way to speed it up?
type: speed-up
reliability: 
- low
understandability: 
- maximum
time saving: 
- too variable
usefulness: 
- high
difficulty: 
- very easy
required skill: - newbie
overall: 31 of 40 points,
This trick is effective most mainly on standard push mowers. While mowing, simply tilt the mower so that the front end is about 4 or so inches off the ground, up to 6 inches is recommended [for speed, 3 inches recommended for niceness of the lawn]. There's many good reasons why this becomes so effective. It's even very effective on tall grass so you don't have to mow the lawn as often. The reason for it's effectiveness is that, if the mower was in the usual position, and that grass gets cluttered around everywhere, the mower will have the tendency to konk out [stall in other words]. Tilting it up lets the grass fly forward a short distance and has a much greater area of discarding, thus keeping the rpm's up a ways. However, though it sounds good, the disadvantage about this is that it leaves a wave-like effect with the grass. Not only just that, but it can also be harder on your back. The back issue is workable as, while doing so, keep as upright as possible and you'll reduce the effects of the pain. The final minus about it is when you have rocks in your lawn. They can get thrown quite far, so make sure no one is in the direct path of your mowing path, otherwise they may get hit. For the effects of the waves and the back pain issue, the reliability gets a fairly low rating. Outside this, this trick can cut your mowing time from anywhere from no change at all [when grass is really short] to being up to 150% faster [when the grass is really tall].
This is basically how the mower would be tilted. The left side is the standard way. The right side is the new way. Notice a difference and why the rpm's would keep up higher?
This image illustates the wave effect you'll encounter in a more cross-sectional view. The heights of the wave effects have been magnified 4 times as otherwise it's hard to see. This occurs from the unevenness of the blade since, when tilted, an arc forms. As you head to the right of the image, the mower's tilt increases in intensity. The greater your tilt, the greater the wave effect gets because the greater the arc formed by the blades. Use this trick wisely.
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