Lawn mowers are an essential ingredient to any well tended lawn. There are a wide variety of choices, depending on whether you have a small patch of green on your patio’s flat, or a yard that needs to be cared for.
In choosing the right mower you will need to consider power, propulsion, blade type and size of your lawn.
Electricity, Petrol and Human Power
Lawnmower engines can be powered by electricity, petrol, or muscle. Petrol engines will be louder and more costly. Advantages to petrol powered mowers are that they are not limited to areas where there is access to a mains plug.
Electricity powered lawn mowers are either mains powered or battery powered. Mains powered units will have a cord. Cord lengths range from 12 – 16 metres, though they can come longer or shorter. Consider the size of your yard to get an appropriately sized cord. Battery powered units will allow you to go cordless but must recharge prior to mowing. For large lawns, make sure the battery will last long enough to get the entire lawn done.
You can get push mowers that are powered by the user. These have a blade and handle. They offer an excellent work out and cut down on the cost of energy for the mower.
Propulsion
The propulsion type is different from the power type. Propulsion refers to what moves the lawn mower forward as opposed to what powers the engine and spins the blades. Mowers can be self-propelled, push mowers or riding tractors.
Hand mowers or push mowers are pushed by the user. The engine spins the blade for quality cutting, but the assembly is moved forward by the force of the user. Some push mowers have no engine spinning the blade, so the user must exert additional force for the cutting portion and not just to move the assembly forward.
Self propelled mowers have mechanics inside that pull the mower forward. The user is only required to guide the mower. This uses more fuel, but requires little exertion on the part of the operator.
Riding tractors or riding mowers drive themselves at the depression of a pedal or push of a button. The user sits atop and rides, steering the mower with a steering wheel or other controls.
Wheels, Rollers and Hover Mowers
Mowers can have wheels or rollers. We all know that the invention of the wheel allows us to easily push our machines around. Mowers will generally have four wheels.
Rollers are large cylindrical type objects that one might see in a cartoon rolling coyotes and other protagonists flat. In the case of lawn mowers, rollers are designed to give lawns a snappy striped look, and to add to stability of the mower should one end drop off the lawn.
Hover motors work by floating on a bed of pressurized air. Benefits to hover mowers are being able to deal with taller grass and mowing on banks.
Blade: Rotary, Cylinder
There are two types of cutting mechanisms available in mowers: rotary blades and cylinder blades. Rotary blades are blades that spin, cutting grass in a scything action. As the speed brings the sharp edge against the grass it swipes the top of the grass off. Cylinder blades have one blade moving next to a fixed blade. As it passes over the grass, the spinning blade traps the grass against the fixed blade, which chops it off. This is much like how scissors work.
Cylinder mowers usually have a roller in the front and back, while rotary mowers have for wheels. Rotary mowers can have an optional cylinder in the back and two wheels in the front.
Recyclers, Mulchers
Recyclers and mulchers are lawn mowers that chop the grass clipping into fine sized pieces so that they may add nutrients back to the soil, and avoid having to empty a grass collection bag. They are healthier for the lawn and more environmentally friendly. Mulchers can take on larger yard debris.
Other Features
When purchasing a mower, it’s important to consider the size of the yard. This will affect the power you choose, the length of cord, type of motor, and grass collection capacity. Motor power can range from 325 to 2800 Watts. Tougher, longer grass requires more power.
Grass collection is done using containers or bags. Usually the bag is in the back of the mower. Mowers with the collection bag in other locations can be obtained. Grass collection bag sizes range from 15-88 litres.
Cutting width varies from 28 – 76 cm. Maximum cutting length is individual to the machine and ranges from 18 – 102 cm. Some mowers will allow you to vary the cutting height up to the maximum cutting height.
Safety features are very important to consider. All mowers are required to shut the blades off when the operator walks away. Some motors will offer the option to walk away from the motor, disengaging the blades, but leaving the engine running. Also consider blade guards.
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