Which mower to buy- petrol or electric, rotary or drum mower, with or without a basket? See what the choice of a mower should depend on, what features of mowers are worth paying attention to when you want to buy a mower, which mower will be better for a small backyard garden, and which will work better on a large plot outside the city. Here's everything you need to know tobuy a mowerthat meets your expectations.
Which mower to buy - the purchase is worth considering, because we usually buy a mower for many years
What should you consider when you want to buy a mower
Currently, there are many types of mowers in stores, differing in price and functionality. A higher price usually means that the device is made of more durable materials, has more advanced technical solutions or better equipment. But it is not the price that should be the main determinant of your choice. First of all, it should be amower tailored to our needsAnd so, for example, it makes no sense to buy an expensive petrol lawn mower for mowing a small home lawn with an area of less than 100 m². In this application, the petrol lawn mower will turn out to be too cumbersome and expensive to use, and our neighbors will complain about the noise during mowing and the smell of exhaust fumes. So it is definitely better to buy a cheaper and quieter electric mower.
When we plan tobuy a mower , we should take into account factors such as the lawn area, the frequency and manner of mowing, the unevenness of the surface on which we planted the grass, and the availability of power sources.In order to choose the right mower, it is also worth knowing the basic types of mowers and the most appropriate applications for them.
If we have a small lawn, we often have to maneuver between trees and shrubs or cut the edges of the turf next to a fence or flower beds, a trimmer may be more useful
Mower or trimmer
Thinking aboutwhich mower to buy , first ask yourself - do we need a mower at all? In some cases, a much better solution will be to buy a grass trimmer that is cheaper and easier to use.
Trimmerscan be powered by an electric or combustion engine. They will prove useful for owners of small lawns, as well as for mowing tufts of grass along curbs, under walls, between shrubs or in narrow alleys between flower beds. Trimmers are indispensable wherever there is not enough space to maneuver the mower.They are also suitable for completely mowing small lawns where the precision of mowing is not the most important element of aesthetics.
I personally use theelectric string trimmerto mow a small lawn in a home garden where there would be too little space to maneuver the mower, and by the way, I can easily mow the grass growing along the fence of the garden or under the bushes. The trimmer is light, not too loud and comfortable to use. The nylon line is easy to replace and you can use it to cut plants that grow next to a wall, sidewalk or trees without damaging the trimmer. The disadvantage of this device is the need to bring the cable with the current and exercise caution due to the possibility of breaking the line or knocking out plant debris and pebbles ( although the line works under the cover). And you have to try very hard to ensure that the entire lawn is trimmed really evenly.
Which mower to buy - drum or rotary
The cutting quality of the grass is determined both by the sharpness of the cutting knives and the method of their mounting.An even and precise cut is ensured bydrum mowers , i.e. with knives mounted on the drum. They can mow very low and are recommended for decorative lawns that are cut to a height of 2.5 to 3 cm. However, they are worse at cutting too long grass and in places where the surface of the soil is uneven. Therefore, they can only be used when the lawn has been established on carefully leveled soil and is mowed regularly (at least once a week).
With more grown, less frequently mowed grass (e.g. in a garden allotment outside the city), and on slightly uneven terrain, the mower will do betterrotary mowerThe mowing mechanism of such mower consists of several flat, profiled knives rotating around a vertical axis. This type of mowing mechanism is most commonly used in equipment for amateur applications.
Mowers with a blade mowing device are less common.Bar mowersare mainly used for clearing wasteland and mowing very tall, weedy grasses. Regardless of the type of mower you have, it is worth making sure that the cutting knives are always sharp during operation. Dull blades can tear at the leaf blades of the grass, causing damage to the turf and yellowing of the grass. If such symptoms are observed after mowing, the knives must be removed and sharpened. It is best to order it to a specialized service, because sharpened knives need to be balanced. However, it is worth comparing the prices of this service with the prices of new mower knives we have. Sometimes it may turn out that sharpening is at a similar price to buying new knives.
The hand mower does not require electricity or fuel. Usually, working with such a mower requires more effort, but good quality devices turn out to be comfortable to drive, effective, quiet and, above all, economical. In the photo: GARDENA manual drum mower
What mower to buy - manual, petrol or electric
We can choose mowers with manual, electric or combustion drive.
Hand mowersare the cheapest (both at the time of purchase and during operation), they do not make noise and do not require a power source connection. The cutting knives are set in motion by the strength of our muscles as we push the mower. From this solution it is necessary to have good contact of the wheels with the soil surface, otherwise the non-rotating wheels will not drive the mower blades. Therefore, hand mowers are not suitable for areas with uneven surfaces. It is also very difficult to mow grass that is too tall, so the lawn must be mowed regularly. This type of mower is recommended for lawns up to 50 m². On larger surfaces, the use of such a mower can be too tiring. Then you need to choose a mower with an electric or combustion engine.
When buying a manual mowerremember to pay attention to the mowing width (the wider, the less you run, but it will also be more difficult to push. ) and the ability to adjust the cutting height.Some hand mowers have the option of attaching a mowed basket (I do not know if it is practical in a hand mower, because although you will not need to rake the mowed grass later, after attaching the mower it will be even harder to push the mower), and also have self-sharpening knives. Electric motor mowers
, compared to petrol mowers, are cheaper, more convenient to use and maintain, work quieter and do not emit exhaust fumes. However, their engines are not as powerful as petrol lawn mower engines. As a result, they have a smaller working width (usually no more than 40 cm). They are suitable for lawns up to 500 m².However, the basic limitationwhen using electric lawnmowers
is access to a power source. It must be remembered that as the cable length increases, the voltage drops. For this reason, the electric mower should not be operated more than 40 meters from the power source, and the optimal length of the power cord is 25 meters.The cable can make work difficult, especially when maneuvering the mower between trees or groups of shrubs.To sum up -I recommend electric mowers to owners of small and medium-sized home gardens
There is usually no problem with access to the socket electric motor, and the quieter operation of the electric motor and the lack of smell of exhaust fumes will be appreciated not only by ourselves but also by our neighbors.
If, without having access to an electric socket on the plot, you still want to use the advantages of electric motors (quiet operation, no exhaust fumes), a good solution will becordless mowerThe device is powered by a battery and you do not need a cable power supply. This makes it very easy to move the mower between flower beds, groups of shrubs and trees. There is no need to be careful that the cable does not get tangled or get caught somewhere.
Looking at thebenefits of cordless mowers , the question arises - why are they not as widely used as electric mowers? Well, battery devices are unfortunately much more expensive.You must also take into account the need to charge the battery, which can take up to 16 hours - remember this in advance. In winter, when the mower is not going to be used, the battery must be fully discharged. And finally - the power of the motors powered by batteries is relatively small, which means that the cutting width of these mowers is also small. This makes it easier to maneuver on garden paths, but also significantly extends the time of mowing larger areas. Ultimately, battery mowers lose out to electric mowers when it comes to price-performance ratio or working width.
AWhat mower to buyif we own a recreational plot outside the city, without access to electricity, and the area of our garden exceeds 500 m²? Then there is nothing else but to buy a petrol lawn mower.
Petrol lawn mowersdo not require access to a power source and are better suited for mowing large areas, high or wet grass.We will appreciate an independent power source for petrol lawn mowers, especially in areas interspersed with groups of trees and shrubs. The engine power of petrol lawn mowers usually ranges from 3.5 to 5.5 HP, thanks to which these devices are able to mow with a wide strip of over 50 centimeters. This means that we can deal with mowing a large area faster. If the area of our lawn exceeds 1000m² - be sure to choose the modelwith wheel driveThis makes it easier to drive the mower, and with a large lawn area, we will be much less tired.
What are there disadvantages of petrol lawnmowers?First of all, they are more expensive than electric lawnmowers. Therefore, it makes no sense to invest in them if we have a small garden that an electric mower can handle. When using a petrol lawn mower, you need to remember to refuel and periodically change the oil and filters. This makes the operation more troublesome and costly than in the case of electric mowers.Petrol lawn mowers are also louder and produce exhaust fumes. If this bothers us a lot, we can choose a model with a catalyst and a noise-suppressing housing, but such devices are even more expensive.
The VULCAN VOA 32132 electric mower with a 1300W motor and 3-step cutting height adjustment is a proposition for people looking for good equipment at a low price. Equipped with a practical grass catcher
Which mower to buy - with or without a basket
In most cases, after cutting the grass, it is necessary to rake the cut grass from the lawn. Residual swath can inhibit the development of turf and impede air circulation. Removing cut grass from large lawns can take a long time and be tiring, so when buying a lawn mower, choose a model with a basket. The capacity of the baskets is usually adjusted to the size and power of the mowers. For this reason, electric mowers have smaller baskets (capacity 25 to 35 liters) than petrol mowers (capacity up to 85 liters).This is justified because when mowing large areas, for which petrol lawn mowers are intended, frequent emptying of the small basket would be very onerous. However, this is not a problem when mowing a small garden with an electric mower, when it is more important to maneuver with a smaller basket.The cut grass is perfect for compost. If, however, we do not have a place to store the cut grass and we want to leave it on the lawn (it is worth doing this especially under trees in orchards), choose a mower with an additional function of shredding the cut grass, i.e. mulching. Well-shredded grass left on the lawn decomposes faster and fertilizes the soil. Intended for compost, it is also composted much faster.
As you can see,what mower to buydepends on many factors. For small gardens it makes no sense to buy more expensive devices with high power, because it will cause us more worry than profit. I hope that I was able to present all the important functional features and technical parameters of mowers that need to be taken into account when choosing the right machine.I wish you successful shopping and great mowing results!
Based on: C. Brickell, Wielka Encyklopedia Ogrodnicta, Muza SA, Warsaw 1994, pp. 465-466; I. Dąbrowska, Mower to England, Nice Ogród, special no. 1/2007, pp. 64-67, and advertising materials of mower manufacturers. Photo sxc.hu and press materials of mower manufacturers.
