Lawn Movers In the maintenance of lawns, yards, or gardens, lawnmowers have an important role to play. You may simply want to cut down th...
Lawn Movers
In the maintenance of lawns, yards, or gardens, lawnmowers have an important role to play. You may simply want to cut down the overgrown meadows or maintain the gardens in a neat way. In any case, you require these wonderful machines.
However, there is a number of factors you should consider while purchasing one. This includes their power, drives, usage, and much more. We have elaborated some of them below
1.Riding Lawn Mowers (Powerful, Convenient)
Lawn Tractors
The common type of ride-on mowers is lawn tractors. Having front-mounted engines, these machines have large decks, usually about 42 – 54 inches. They are mostly powered by 18 -25 Hp engines.
You can find basic models with single cylinders and expensive ones with twin cylinders. The top-priced models also have auto transmission. Ranging between 1000 to 3000 USD, these machines are comparatively priced.
However, these machines are not good maneuvers especially when the surfaces are not even. This can cause uneven grass cuttings here and there.
Zero-turn Lawn Mower
In the past few years, Zero-turn mowers have become most popular among gardeners. The lap bars are positioned to operate from the front seat. These bars control the transmission systems fixed at the rear wheels.
These machines are built in essence for easy maneuverability. Hence, handling them is easy and stress-free. These machines provide excellent performance while mowing the lawns, especially in irregular-shaped lands.
In a short time, these machines provide better finishing. They can get much closer to the obstacles or edges and mow down the grasses.
2. Walk Mowers (Affordable)
These machines are suited for small lawns up to half acres. It may take hours to mow such lawns manually. However, it is a good exercise also! There are different varieties of walk mowers with a wide price range.
Cylinder Mowers (Reel Mowers)
These machines usually have vertically rotating cylindrical blades fitted at the front. When you push the machine, these blades rotate, trap grass against a stationary blade, and cut them finely.
Higher-priced models have up to 12 blades, providing more fine, precise cuts. These machines are designed for flatlands. Hence, they may not work well on rough surfaces.
They also work finely with smooth grass and do not work well with coarse grass and long grass. Hence, it is recommended to use mow the grass at least two times a week, particularly in the growing season.
Periodical maintenance is essential as the blades tend to fade with usage. The blades are usually fixed in less accessible positions. Spare parts availability is also less. Hence, you may face difficulties while repairing them.
Rotary Mower
These are one of the most commonly used walk along with mowers. The rotary mower has a long, horizontally rotating blade. As in food processors, this blade rotates at very high speeds. It cuts down the grass as it contacts while moving.
These machines are well suited for medium to long grass. However, the cuts are less precise compare to reel movers. This difference is not much visible on average lawns.
Push Mower
Push mowers require manual force for clipping the grass. Being strenuous, these machines are suited only for small lawns on level grounds. These simple, environmentally friendly mowers do not make noise or emit hazardous gases like the powered machines.
These machines have similar vertically rotating reel blade arrangements as with the case of reel mowers. While you push these machines, the rotating blades mow down the grass.
These lightweight, least expensive machines are easy to handle and offer high maneuverability. You can steer them around any type of obstacle to cut the grass more precisely.
On the flip side, these machines exert more physical force. Hence some people may avoid using them, especially on hilly lawns.
Self-Propelled Mower
Self-propelled lawnmowers use advanced mechanisms to propel themselves forward. You just have to operate them. These machines are easy to operate and save a lot of time by completing the job quickly.
Maintaining consistent speed, they can mow the lawns more perfectly than humans. As a result, the lawns have a neat and professional look.
With advanced machinery, these systems need regular maintenance. They are more expensive but worth every penny you spend on them.
Hover Mower
While mowing lawns, the hover mowers, sit on a cushion of air above the ground by a few inches. This results in less friction and becomes easy to maneuver anywhere as needed on the surface. You can easily mow the grass around the edges or at uneven borders.
The main disadvantage of these relatively inexpensive mowers is that they lack power. This becomes more apparent while clipping large lawns. Hence, these machines may suit well only for small lawns. Most of these machines are electrically powered.
3. Power Mowers ( Powerful )
There are different types of mower machines with various power sources available in commercial markets. You can any type or model depending on your lawn area.
Manual-Powered Mower
Manual powered mowers just push mowers. They suit well for small areas. These machines are inexpensive and a single motor. This motor is only used to rotate the blades and not for momentum.
Hence, the users have to push them tirelessly with muscle power. For this reason, many gardeners avoid these machines.
On the positive side, these Eco-friendly machines do not produce much noise and are easily portable.
Electric Powered Mower
Electric motors operate electric-powered mowers. These machines are best for small to medium lawns. These compact, lightweight power mowers are easy to operate and handle. It is also easy to store them in small places.
Being powered by electricity, these machines do not require battery charging or refueling. Operating at constant speeds, these machines provide superb consistency while mowing the lawns. Typically, the cost of these machines ranges between 100 -250 USD.
On the flip side, the cables are always attached to these machines. These trailing cables may come between rotating blades or tangle you. So, you always have to mind these cables while operating these machines.
Also, you have to measure the length of the cables with respect to your lawns while purchasing. Otherwise, you may not be able to mow every corner of the lawns.
Gas-Powered Mower
Gas-powered mowers run on petrol engines. They suit large lawns and gardens. These powerful machines can mower dense, large, small, and almost any type of grass efficiently and quickly. This helps in saving a lot of time.
You can easily steer and maneuver these machines around trees, rocks, and almost any obstacles. The larger, powerful petrol engines increase the weight of these machines by many folds.
Petrol engines are a source of noise and pollution. Hence, you may feel disturbed while operating them. However, some advanced models are designed to produce less pollution and less noise.
For smooth operations, regular maintenance is essential. It is also recommended to watch for oil and fuel levels every time you use these machines. These most expensive machines cost about 200 – 1000 USD.
Battery-Powered Mower
Battery-powered mowers run on battery engines. Modern engines are powered by lithium-ion batteries. In general, battery mowers are easy to operate, have less weight and also offer good maneuverability.
Without chord restrictions, these machines carry all benefits of electric mowers. They are also slightly heavier than electric mowers.
These machines suit well for small to medium lawns. For large lawns, you may have to recharge the battery several times. These machines require battery replacement every few years.
Battery-powered mowers also cost a little more than electric ones. The price of good quality machines may exceed 500 USD.
4. Drive Types (Drive Trains)
For maximum performance, select a mower with an appropriate drive train, specific to the terrain of the lawns. There are three types of drive trains. They are the all-wheel-drive (AWD), rear-wheel drive (RWD), and front-wheel drive (FWD).
Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)
In rear-wheel-drive mowers, the power is transmitted through the rear wheels. Simply speaking, rear wheels push these mowers forward. These systems work well for open lawns. They also work well on steep inclines, rough surfaces, bumps, and terrains.
On the flip side, these types of mowers struggle while traveling backward (reversing). Changing directions, maneuvering in small or irregular lawns can be also difficult with these machines.
Front-Wheel Drive (FWD)
In FWD Mowers, the power is transmitted to the front wheels. Simply speaking, the FWD mowers are pulled by the motion of the front wheels. These types of mowers work well for plain and level lawns.
Being easy to steer, these machines can be maneuvered easily around the obstacles. This is especially useful while clipping lawns that are irregularly shaped.
However, these mowers do not perform well on rough terrains and steep inclines.
All Wheel Drive (AWD)
The AWD mowers move forward by the motion of all four wheels. The power source distributes the power evenly to all four wheels. Also, some modern more expensive mowers increase the power to a single wheel on demand.
The main advantage of AWD mowers is their power and speed. You can use them to mow almost any kind of land including rough surfaces and steep inclines. However, these machines fall behind the FWD mowers in terms of maneuverability.
These machines are powered by 450 – 700 cc engines and have decks ranging in sizes between 32 – 60 inches. You can purchase them for around 1000 - 6000 USD, depending on the models.
