Choosing A Lawnmower
There are a huge variety of lawnmowers on the market and while they come in various shapes and sizes, you may also have noticed that many machines seem to be available in a range of practically identical variations, only with minor differences in the specifications or features. This means that choosing a lawnmower can be a slightly confusing subject if you don’t know what to look for – but don’t worry, as the Tooled Up Buying Guide to Choosing a Lawnmower will tell you everything you need to know.
Choosing a Lawnmower: Power Source
Many lawnmowers require electricity, either via a household mains socket, or rechargeable batteries. Alternatively they may require fuelling with petrol, or they may be completely push powered. The pros and cons of each may be fairly self explanatory, but here are some points to bear in mind.
Corded Electric
Corded electric lawnmowers tend to be one of your cheapest options, both in the initial outlay and the ongoing running costs. Their range is obviously limited, and in almost all cases you’ll need to use a suitable extension lead as well. However, for the average small to medium sized garden a corded mower may be all you need: it’s worth pointing out though that the length of the cable is not necessarily the only problem: power leads can get tangled up, snagged on objects and pulled out of sockets during use – all of which can be frustrating. Additionally, they can be hazardous: care must be taken not to cut through the cable with the mower, to connect it to an extension lead which isn’t rated for the load, or to use it wet conditions. When using corded lawnmowers or other corded power tools in outdoor environments it is always advisable to ensure there is an RCD in the circuit – these are designed to instantly cut the power in the event of a fault, and help to protect the user from getting a harmful electric shock.
Cordless Electric
Battery power is an extremely convenient alternative to a trailing cable, and these days the technology is so good that you won’t notice much difference in performance either. The downside is that batteries are expensive, and they don’t last forever. If you’re thinking of going down the cordless route, it’s worth looking at different manufacturers battery platforms as a whole – a great way to offset the cost wherever possible is to buy a machine which runs on batteries you already own. For example if you already own a cordless drill, there’s a good chance you can buy a lawnmower which is part of the same battery system. As lawnmowers draw power continuously when in use they tend to benefit from larger batteries – for example many are designed to run on two 18v batteries simultaneously, and the smaller capacities like 1.5ah and 2.0ah are unlikely to power them for very long. Therefore batteries of 4.0ah or greater are going to be a better choice unless you only have a small garden to maintain.
Petrol
A decent petrol powered lawnmower can have a very long service life, far outlasting an electric motor type. Additionally they are powerful, making them ideal for heavy duty workloads such as areas which aren’t mowed regularly. And since they don’t need any electric supply, they are often the preferred choice for more isolated locations. The major downside of course is that you will have to regularly top them up with petrol, and while buying and transporting it can be an inconvenience, storing petrol on your property also requires some safety considerations. On top of this, petrol engines require regular maintenance if you want to ensure they stay in good working order, so they are not quite as user-friendly as the other options. On that note it is only petrol lawnmowers that have a pull cord start, and many people find this a bit too physically demanding (it often requires some fairly hard yanking on the cord to start up the engine). If you feel that a petrol lawnmower would be perfect but that you’d struggle with the cord, they do also make them with electric starting systems, powered by an onboard battery – and in this case it is just a case of pushing a button to start up the engine.
Hand Push
Hand push lawnmowers can be extremely convenient since they are always ready for use. You don’t have to bother with untangling extension leads, charging batteries or refilling the fuel tank, and they’ll keep running all day as long as you have the energy to push them. Similarly there are essentially no running costs, so they’re an affordable option which is environmentally friendly too. However there are limitations to their capabilities. If a lawn is overgrown, they can get bogged down and jammed up with grass, meaning it can take a painfully long time to make any progress. They also generally require a bit of available space for the operator to get enough momentum to effectively push the blades into the work area, as well as a degree of physical fitness. They generally work best if you’re able to mow the lawn regularly and take a little off each time.
Choosing a Lawnmower: Types of Lawnmower
Lawnmowers don’t all work in the same way, and there are several different designs. The main reason for this diversity is that so far no one has invented a lawnmower which does everything perfectly. Most are going to be better suited to some types of terrain and less well suited to others. Here is an overview of the main types and a quick explanation of their strengths and weaknesses.
Rotary
The rotary lawnmower is probably the most widespread and common type in use, and in fact the underlying design principle is shared by most of the other types too. The rotary blade spins around a central shaft which is connected to a motor or engine, and they are available in corded electric, cordless electric or petrol options. They are typically fitted with grass collectors and the cut grass is thrown into this during use, but many give you the option to eject the clippings straight back onto the lawn if you’d prefer (where it will act as natural fertilizer). They aren’t well suited to bumpy or especially uneven ground, but they can be used on slopes, up to a point (care must be taken when using them on sloped ground as the high speed rotary blade is capable of causing serious injury if you come into accidental contact with it). The most powerful rotary mowers can easily chop through overgrown grass and light weeds as well as hidden obstacles like twigs so they make an excellent general purpose machine for relatively flat and even terrain. They are usually fairly large so will require a suitable storage location, though features like collapsible handles and removable grass collectors will also be a helpful benefit if space is tight.
Ride On
A Ride On lawnmower is usually just a very large rotary lawnmower that doesn’t need to be pushed and instead the operator sits on top of it and drives it like a vehicle. Historically these were always petrol powered but there are now battery powered options on the market too. Obviously these require something akin to a garage for storage and won’t be a sensible option for anything but the largest lawns, but the time and effort they can save makes them a great choice for larger properties and for grounds maintenance work.
Hover
Hover mowers are lightweight and compact – in fact they have to be, as they are designed to literally hover above the ground once the motor is powered up. Since they glide over the ground, they are ideal for uneven terrain and will give a neat and even cut over bumps and troughs rather than gouging out visible patches like a rotary machine would. They can be effortlessly manoeuvred in tight spaces and make a perfect choice for gardens which are slightly more wild, cluttered and untamed rather than flat and sculpted. Due to their small size and light weight they are easy to store and to transport to and from the lawn, but there also limitations too: They tend to be a lot more basic than some other types of lawnmowers, with only very rudimentary control over things like cutting height. Additionally almost all of them are corded electric so will need to be plugged into the mains.
Reel or Cylinder
A reel mower, also known as a cylinder mower, uses a series of blades which are fashioned together into a cylindrical structure. As the machine moves forward, the blade rolls over the grass, performing a multitude of scissor-like cuts. Compared to the more brutal scythe-like action of a rotary blade, cylinder mowers can deliver a neater cut which is gentler on the grass too. This means that high end cylinder mowers have traditionally been a favourite choice for locations where presentation is important and/or the grass needs to be immaculately kept. However this is also the cutting action used on the standard hand push mower, as a short push of the wheels is all that is needed to spin the blades fast enough to effectively cut the grass. They are best suited to flat and relatively well kept grass as they can cut gouges into any irregular bumps, and are prone to jamming if foreign objects like twigs get stuck in the blades.
Robot
Robot lawnmowers may still be at an early stage of their evolution, but presently they all tend to conform to a similar design, typically using requiring the owner to set out a boundary using wire around the perimeter of the lawn so that the mower knows which area (or areas) to stick to. Once the mowing area has been defined, the lawnmower will set about maintaining the lawn by itself, returning to its charging dock to recharge its battery when it needs to. This just requires a bit of initial setting up, ie getting the dock connected to mains power and laying out the boundary wire, but once that’s out of the way, the robot will take over lawnmowing duties – leaving you with more free time to get on with other things. For people who hate mowing the lawn, the benefits are clear. Just make sure to check the maximum mowing area a robot is suitable for to ascertain whether it can do all of your lawn by itself, and whether it can handle any slopes in your garden. Although most of them are designed to avoid obstacles in the mowing area, you will also want to be wary of any features like ponds or swimming pools which could lead to an untimely demise if the mower fails to spot them! If you’re deciding a robot mower is the way forwards, don’t throw out your existing machine just yet, as you’ll probably want to start things off with a reasonably well cut lawn. Most robot mowers are only capable of delivering a fairly close cut, and thick, overgrown grass is probably going to be a bit too much for them to cope with on the first mow of the season.
2 in 1 Lawnmower & Grass Trimmer
If you own a lawnmower, there’s a good chance you own a grass trimmer too, for finishing off lawn edges and any other tricky areas that you just can’t fit the lawnmower into. While it is possible to mow the whole lawn with a grass trimmer, it’s hard to get good results; however, some manufacturers offer a wheeled base which transforms a grass trimmer into a kind of four wheeled lawnmower as well. With the cutting height elevated to a fixed position and the wheels giving it stability and comfortable mobility, the grass trimmer can now be used for most of the heavy lifting as well. When you want to use the grass trimmer as normal, simply detach it from the wheeled base. It’s safe to assume you’re probably not going to achieve a bowling green finish with such a machine, but if you’re short on storage space and just want something that gets the job done, then this could be a great option.
Choosing a Lawnmower: Cutting Width and Cutting Height
If you have a large lawn to maintain, then you’ll probably appreciate a wider cutting width which will enable you to remove more material per pass and get the job done faster. Alternatively, a smaller or more cluttered space may require a compact machine in order to squeeze through tighter gaps. So its worth taking the time to look at the various blade sizes on offer and trying to choose something that’s best suited to the space you’ll be using it in. The standard cutting width for a push lawnmower starts at just over 200mm and goes up to over 500mm, but above this you can get ride on mowers which produce a cutting width of over a metre. The smallest cutting widths of under 200mm are found on robot mowers but since they cut the lawn at their own pace this is fairly inconsequential, other than the fact that it allows them good mobility around objects and through narrow gaps.
Most lawnmowers will have a facility to raise or lower the cutting height to a certain degree. On some designs this is very basic: for example you may have to remove the blade and install it in a different position – but on more advanced models, a multitude of different settings can be quickly and easily accessed just by pulling a lever. The amount of control you have over the cutting height affects two things: the maximum and minimum height you can cut the grass to, and its overall health. If you prefer the look of a closely cropped lawn, then you’ll appreciate having a blade that can be set as low as possible – in fact people often make the mistake of replacing their lawnmower with a newer model which can’t produce as fine a cut, and find that not only are they less satisfied with the finish, but that they spend more time mowing the lawn as a result.
With regards to lawn health, the ability to fine tune the cutting height is also beneficial if you want to keep your grass in prime condition. To encourage healthy, consistent growth, it’s best not to damage the grass by taking too much off in one go – instead it’s better to gradually take off smaller increments each time until you’ve got down to the desired level. This is a great way to prevent undue stress to the lawn at the start of the mowing season, when it’s usually fairly long and still in the process of reviving itself after the winter months. You may also need to use a higher cutting height if you’ve laid down new grass seed and the young grass is still establishing itself.
Choosing a Lawnmower: Other Features to Look Out For
There are a few other common features which you may or may not find on a lawnmower, or may wish to consider before choosing one.
Self Propulsion
Pushing a lawnmower can be quite physically demanding, and a self propulsion system goes some way to relieving the physical strain on the operator. On these designs, the wheels are driven by the power plant, so the mower simply needs to be steered. This does use more petrol or electricity as a result, but you can usually bypass the self propulsion completely when not required. A self propelled mower can help lighten the load if you have a large area to take care of, and may also be appealing to those who find that pushing a lawnmower is more of a struggle than they’d like.
Rear Roller
A rear roller is what is used to create the classic striped effect on a lawn, so if you’re specifically looking to get lawn stripes you’ll want to look for a lawnmower with this feature. If you’ve discovered you’ve bought a new lawnmower that’s fitted with a roller but you definitely don’t want stripes in your lawn, it’s no major problem – simply remove the roller from the machine.
Brushless Motor
Brushless motors are a feature you’ll probably only see advertised in cordless electric lawnmowers. Until recently it was fairly rare to find a brushless motor in any kind of power tool other than professional grade machines designed for everyday users, but they’re steadily becoming more and more widespread in the home and garden market too. One of the principal advantages of a brushless motor in a lawnmower is that it is more energy efficient, meaning you can get more work done on a single battery charge – meaning less unexpected breaks before you’ve finished the job.
Deck Material
The main body of a lawnmower is usually referred to as the deck, and this provides most of the structural integrity, while also housing the blade or blades so they’re safely contained out of the way. Typically this will be constructed from either plastic, or metal.
Metal is more expensive, so you’ll probably pay more of a premium price for a lawnmower with a metal deck. As long as it’s in good condition, metal provides excellent durability and impact resistance – it also won’t degrade in bright sunlight like plastic can, and therefore it can last for a very long time. However, it is heavy – meaning more effort will be needed to push or carry the mower, and additionally, it is prone to corrosion if left in damp conditions. So a bit of extra care may be needed to deal with any rust that appears, or to prevent it appearing in the first place.
Plastic decks are cheaper, lighter and unaffected by corrosion – so they’re easy to maintain and make the mower easier to push as well. They can be a lot more fragile than metal, and prolonged exposure to UV rays can make plastic more brittle and prone to cracking, but this depends on the type used – while especially cheap and thin plastic may not stand up to many seasons, the more durable polymers (like those used on professional power tools) are capable of withstanding serious workloads with no problem at all. So it’s not necessarily a downgrade and in many ways it can be a superior material, depending on the grade used.
Conclusion: How To Find Your Perfect Mower
Hopefully this blog post has helped you narrow down the choice if you were unsure which lawnmower best suits your requirements – now you just need to go through all the options to find the right one! To make this process a bit easier, we’ve built filters into the lawnmowers category on our website so you can tick the relevant boxes to see all the relevant results which match your needs – for example you can filter by mower type, cutting width, minimum cutting height, maximum cutting height, deck material, and more – enabling you to quickly filter out all the machines which match your requirements. And if there’s anything else you’re not sure on, our customer services team are always happy to help if you want to speak to them on the phone or send them an email for more information.
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