Choosing A Mower
Types Of Lawn Mower
There are several different types of lawnmower to consider.
There are manually powered push mowers where the machine and the cutting blades are powered by you pushing the lawnmower. These are usually known as Push Reel Mowers. Benefits are that they are cheap to buy and environmentaly friendly but the downside is that they can be hard work to use for anything more than a very small patch of grass.
Push Mower With Powered Cutting Blades
Next we have the powered blades but manually pushed lawnmowers. The blades may be powere by either a gas engine or electricity from either batter power or a length of cable that is attached to the machine.
Benefits are that they are easier to push around because the machine uses a power source to do the cutting but you still have to physically push the machine around. Disadvantags vary depending on the power source. Corded electric lawnmowers are cheap and light but you have to deal with a cable dragging around behind you. Battery powered lawnmowing machines are heavier and more expensive than corded and you need to remember to get the battery fully charged before you start grass cutting. Gas powered lawn mowers can be heavy to use, they emit exaust fumes and can be noisy but they are usually rugged and last for years and are not limited to being within reach of a power source or needing a charged up battery.
Self Propelled Follow Behind Lawn Mowers
Powerdriven walk behind lawnmowers are mostly gas powered. They can be expensive and heavy but once in motion they are very easy to use and can cope with most grass cutting tasks.
Robot Lawnmowers have been growing in popularity over the last ten years or so. They are now reliable and efficient machines that can save you a lot of time cutting your grass every weekend. They can be quite expensive to buy but the savings in time, and money if you would otherwise employ a lawncare service, justify the expense. Once they are set up you can almost forget about them and your robotic lawnmower will keep your lawn in tidy condition throughout the summer growing period.
The traditional ride on lawnmower, or lawn tractor, remains popular and if you have a large are of grass to cut regularly they are a worthwhile investment. They range in size and cost from around $1,000 up to around $3,000 or more. Benefits are that cutting large areas of grass and lawn is much easier to doand the only real downside is the cost of purchase and maintenence of the gas engine.
Zero Turn Radius Lawn Tractors
If you have a huge area of grass to cut and need to have a very manouverable grass cutting machine then the zero radius lawn tractor is the machine for you. They can cope with enormous areas of grass cutting and can almost turn on a penny. They can cost a pretty penny to purchase as the bigger machines are aimed at professional lawn care people but they are the cream of graden machinery and if you can justify the expense they are the ultimate machine to own.
