There are many different types of lawn mower available on the market today that can take the strain out of mowing your lawn. In addition many of these mowers fulfil specific functions and are not simply just used for cutting the grass or turf in your garden.
The main types of lawn mower available today are:
- Cylinder Lawnmower
- Rotary Lawnmower
- Petrol Lawnmower
- Hand Driven Lawnmower
- Electric Lawnmower
Cylinder Lawnmower
Long luxurious lawns are cut using cylinder lawnmowers as they usually give an excellent cut. While the cylinder rotates grass blades are forced up between the rotating cylinder and a straight cutting blade, which give a scissor-like cut. Normally fixed with five to six blades these mowers offer a fine quality finish to your lawn. If you have a bumpy or uneven lawnmower then it has to be said that a cylinder lawnmower should not be your lawnmower of choice.
Rotary Lawnmower
As the name would suggest this particular type of mower has a rotating blade fixed centrally so that it cuts the grass beneath it in a circular fashion. One of the distinct advantages of a rotary mower is the ease in which it can be cleaned. This is worth nothing in relation to the aforementioned cylinder mower, which takes a considerable amount of time and effort to maintain.
Petrol Lawnmower
Although more expensive than the previously mentioned mowers, Petrol mowers have distinct advantages over the others in that they do not need electric to run them. This frees up the gardener to move to areas of the garden that might not be otherwise accessible with an electrically operated mower. It also cuts down on the risk of electrocution as mowers powered by electric have cords, which can be cut accidentally with the blades.
You will find that the cut of a petrol mower is much the same as any of the mowers already mentioned but as they are operated by petrol they are more powerful and make the job of mowing the lawn that much easier. On the negative side however they can be considerably heavier and need more effort to push, this can sometimes make them difficult to manoeuvre.
Hand Driven Lawnmower
A hand driven lawnmower is exactly that, it is powered by nothing more than the user pushing and pulling it around the garden. The advantage to one of these types of mower is that they are now commonly referred to as ‘mulching mowers’. This means that they cut the grass into very fine pieces and return it to the lawn or turf as clippings, which are then used as an organic fertiliser.
These mowers distribute the clippings back to the lawn in even sprays, which reduce the risk of clumping and therefore reduce the risk of Thatch build-up, which can lead to fungal problems. Also in this age of environmental friendliness these machines cut down on the amount of petrol and electricity used which is helpful if you are trying to reduce the size of your carbon footprint.
Electric Lawnmower
This is still the most popular type of lawnmower available in the marketplace today. Lightweight and easy to use an electric lawnmower can give your lawn that look of being cut by a professional using some of today’s more sophisticated pieces of lawn machinery. Quieter than most of the other mowers mentioned – with the possible exception of the Hand Driven variety – electric lawnmowers pose no real level of noise pollution or annoyance to your neighbours. However as already mentioned, care is advised when using an electric lawnmower especially where electric cables are concerned.
All in all there are many solutions to any gardener’s lawn mowing needs and there will be a mower that suits both your needs as a gardener and the individual nature of your lawn.