Advice - Lawn Mowers
Petrol
So you're thinking of buying a petrol mower....
There are a few factors to consider when looking for a petrol mower, one consideration is cutting width, if your require a pedestrian mower for a large garden naturally the larger the mower the better, this will drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to get around your garden and get the grass cut. Another consideration to think about is will the deck be too big? Do you have tight spaces between flower beds etc?
Another decision that needs to be made is the drive system... There are a couple of choices here.
Standard push mowers - are exactly what they sound like, there is no propulsion from the mower itself all forward motion is made by the user.
Self Propelled Mowers - are provided with drive to their wheels from the onboard engine but are often single speeds.
Hydrostatic drive or variable speed - these mowers are similar to self-propelled mowers in the way that they receive drive from the onboard engine but the difference being they have an adjustable speed to cater for the users comfort.
Finally one other choice which confuses buyers is deck construction.
Three main choices here are;
Steel Deck construction - Strong, Lightweight and cheap to construct. However one problem with steel decks is the susceptibility to rust over time.
Aluminium Decks - Will not rust and when the cast is made thick is extremely strong and durable. Problems can arise when the deck cast is on the thin side as cracking can occur, or on the flip side can be quite heavy when the cast is made too thick, also more expensive to produce that steel.
Polymer/ Plastic mix construction - Extremely lightweight, will not rust and dependant on construction and the mix of plastics used they can be extremely strong and durable.
Electric
Electric mowers
Much the same as Petrol mowers above the biggest consideration must be deck size when looking at purchasing an Electric mower.
However with electric there are some limiting features to consider. If the Mower is mains powered we recommend using it no further than 50 metres from an electric power point and to use as fewer extension cables as possible, preferably only one. This reduces degredation of the electrical current traveling along the cable which can cause the electric motor to struggle for power eventually leading to failure of the motor.
If the mower is battery powered obvious consideration is running time and this is dependant upon the mower you are considering. Also always consider running time as a guideline, if you have particularly long grass etc then this will be putting the mower under more strain resulting in using more charge at a quicker pace.