Choosing a lawn mower for your garden
Lawn mowers can be expensive machines, so it is important to make the right choice when you are buying one. Your lawn mower should last you for many years, so buying a good quality mower from the start should prove to be an economical decision.
Manual lawn mowers are available, however we have assumed that for most medium and large gardens, you will require a power lawn mower. Even for small gardens, most people are likely to purchase a power lawn mower, given the range of low cost mowers now available.
The next decision will be whether to invest in a petrol or electric lawn mower. Of course, the major disadvantage of all electric gardening machines is that you will be followed around the garden by a length of electric cable making the further corners difficult to reach, and restricting you from wandering freely. Having said this, brands such as Castor and Qualcast have a range of good quality electric lawn mowers.
Having chosen what sort of power would suit you best, you then have the basic types of lawn mower, and the final decision will probably be determined by your garden.
The main types are: rotary mower, cylinder mower, hover mower, and a ride on mower. These four types are considered in more depth in separate articles. The rotary lawn mower will suit almost all types of garden. Its horizontally spinning blade whilst not giving such a fine cut, does make it preferable for longer grass, and because of its high position, is better on an uneven garden. The cylinder mower cuts the lawn with a scissor action. It consists of a spiral of blades set on a cylinder which cut against a fixed blade. This produces a very fine cut, and as a result can cut much closer to the ground. When combined with a heavy rear roller, your cylinder lawn mower will give you the light and dark stripes. Atco produce a range of Balmoral lawn mowers which will give you this highly polished finish to your garden.
Hover lawn mowers, like rotaries have a horizontal blade. However, rather than sitting on wheels, they sit on a cushion of air. There are many lower cost hover lawn mowers available suitable for small the small garden. However Allen produce an excellent range of hover lawn mowers. Again, these mowers are good for uneven terrain.
Finally, the ride on lawn mower. Normally reserved for the larger lawn, these machines make lawn mowing an effortless task. Whilst sometimes difficult to use in confined areas, they are essential for covering large expanses of lawn, quickly. They could also be combined with a smaller machine, or brush cutter, for tidying up the inaccessible corners afterwards.
Whilst ride on lawn mowers can be expensive, Increasingly there is a wider range giving them broader appeal.
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