Ride-on mowers allow you to attach accessories such as trailers, broadening their range of use. You'll also need to get your ride-on lawn mower serviced annually. Cons of ride-on lawn mowers:. See our guide on how to buy the best ride-on mower. A robot mower isn't cheap, but it makes mowing hassle free.
Once installed, it will mow your lawn with little input from you, cutting regularly and mulching clippings back into the lawn so there are no clippings to deal with. Use your robot mower during daylight to reduce the risk to wildlife. Some models are capable of cutting lawns that are 5,sq m and more, making them a great alternative to a ride-on or petrol lawn mower. Pricier robots will usually have more advanced features, like smartphone compatibility, weather monitoring and mapping.
Cons of robot lawn mowers:. Read our handy guide to robot mowers to find out if automated mowing is for you. Or see our robot lawn mower reviews. One thing to consider before buying any type of lawn mower is how easy it will be to get replacement parts if you encounter any issues. You can expect most mowers to last a decent amount of time at least seven years or more but that doesn't mean you'll never need spare blades, springs, or perhaps a replacement mower belt.
Most major mower retailers such as Bosch, Cobra, Flymo, Ryobi and Stihl offer spare parts for their lawn mowers, either directly from their website or through a third-party seller. It's always worth checking on the availability of spare parts before you commit to a purchase, as you don't want a minor fault to end up in you replacing your entire mower because you can't get hold of a certain part. With cordless mowers specifically you should check to make sure it's possible to buy replacement batteries separately.
We don't give Best Buys to models where the batteries can't be replaced, so will never recommend a mower that's destined to have an unusually short lifespan. A local-garden machinery specialist may be able to service and repair your mower, especially petrol models, so always check before you discard a mower that seems to be broken.
The price you pay for a new lawn mower will ultimately depend on what type of mower it is. Our expert tests prove you don't need to spend big to get your hands on a Best Buy lawn mower. Often, if you spend more on a lawn mower you're paying for certain features rather than guaranteed better performance. These can include:. As is the case with most products, price is very rarely an indication of how 'good' your lawn mower actually is.
There's no way of knowing for definite how well it will cut your grass until you put it to the test in your garden. If you're trying to stick to a budget, though, don't feel like you need to fork out money you don't have to land yourself a reliable model. In other respects, the manufacturer went all-out to equip this mower: variable rear-wheel drive speed from. On that last point, the mower is not really side discharge in that the chute does not mount on the side of the deck and discharge to the side, rather it mounts on the rear and discharges to the side.
We did notice considerable clumping in this mode; it's not the mower's strong suit. On the other hand, it bags well, even with the mulching blade. Rounding out its features are its easily-adjusted single-lever control of deck height. It delivers a tremendous cut area with its two 6 Ah batteries providing a total of 12 Ah of capacity, and it's X-shaped blade leaves a pristine surface in its wake.
Ryobi estimates the design should provide 70 minutes of run time; we didn't time our cut, we just measured it, but it strikes as plausible. Its rear wheel drive and reasonably aggressive tread pattern provide good hill climbing and sidehill cutting performance and its bagging on all surfaces level, sidehill and uphill is also commendable. Its other ease of use features include an easily installed or removed bag thatmounts and dismounts straight up and down through the handl.
Adjusting deck height is easy with single-lever deck height adjustment; the straight-edge deck is polypropylene and will never rust and needs very little care other than basic cleaning. This is a beauty of a mower, with a cast-aluminum deck and a smooth-running Honda GCV engine. The has 7. Other features we like include its handle that folds forward and a high-quality grass bag that loads through the handle, from the top.
And those were amply demonstrated in this spring's test as the Toro turned in the best ratio of cut area per amp hour of battery in the self-propelled category while at the same time not skimping on cut quality, mulch quality and bagging.
We attribute this outstanding mower performance to three features, all upgrades to the previous version of this machine. First, the air vent at the front of the mower deck seems to improve mulching and bagging performance. Toro calls it Vortex technology, a design to increase air flow in the same way as a hood scoop on a car.
The company says it helps the grass stand straighter under the mower and the clippings to be suspended longer for more thorough mulching, but it also helps airflow into the bag. We can't verify that, but we can say our results indicate the design is successful. Finally, the 3-phase volt motor appears to be exceptionally efficient, resulting in a large cut area for a single battery.
Toro has, wisely, not altered some of the previous features that make this mowe work: rear wheel drive, a one-piece deck that's all steel no plastic nose , rear wheel drive, inch wheels to help it roll over roots and crevices, and the same fold-forward handle that was an industry breakthrough when it was introduced some years ago.
It exhibits good workmanship, with neatly stamped and formed parts, and there was no miscellaneous junk in the box. The mower has two-lever height adjustment to make tweaking the deck height easier than if it had four levers. And we like its inch rear tires, always a good feature if you have to roll over washboard surfaces. Note that the Home Depot site says the MNA is currently out of stock, so it might be worth heading to your local physical store to see if they have it.
Cutting width: 20 in. Voltage: 40 Cut area per charge: 11, square feet. We were pleasantly surprised by this little walk mower's cut area and its overall performance. Its cut quality and mulching are quite good for an inexpensive mower, and it's bagging ability is what we describe as middle of the road suitable for this class of product, but nowhere near a Toro, Honda or Cub Cadet.
That'sthe second year in a row that this new brand has given a good account for itself. Unlike last year's mower which was rear wheel drive, this year's version is a push mower and this explains the large cut area.
No battery charge is diverted to the drive system, enabling the little white mower to cut, and cut, and cut some more. The lack of a drive system is not a big deal on level ground because the mower with bag and battery only weighs This helps you dictate the height of the grass, and leave it longer in autumn or during dry periods. Cutting height ranges are usually 20mm to 60mm — see my section on proper mowing technique below for advice. If you want the striped lawn finish you see on football pitches, you need a lawnmower with a rear roller.
The heavier the mower and its roller, the longer your stripes will last. If you have lots of lawn edges, it is worth looking for a model that can cut right up to the edge. Generally cylinder blades or versions with rear rollers are better at this. Any mower with inset front wheels or a grass collection comb is also great for mowing edges — no need to go back round with a strimmer. Robot lawn mowers are becoming more commonplace these days.
The technology is getting better all the time and they can now recognise obstacles and lawn edges. And they are a lot more affordable, though still not cheap. Robot lawnmowers are for you if you really, really hate mowing the lawn. There is some set-up involved as you have to lay a perimeter wire. Then just leave the mower to get on with cutting.
Now you have the best lawnmower, you need to get your mowing technique sorted too. A great-looking lawn needs a regular mowing regime that encourages the grasses to develop fine leaves. It also keeps the growth lush and dense, and stops weeds and moss spreading. The single biggest mistake most people make when cutting the lawn is to cut too low. For normal lawns that get wear and foot traffic, keep the grass around 5cm high. Always remove leaves and grass clippings after mowing and feed the lawn in spring and autumn with special lawn fertiliser.
Make sure you choose the right one — spring feeds encourage leafy growth and autumn mixtures build stronger roots. How to revitalise your lawn and get greener grass. Top 8 lawn care tips for spring. How to care for your lawn in autumn and winter. How to save time on garden upkeep. This was such an interesting read, am helping a friend do some gardening and will be renting an electric lawnmower from Fat Lama.
Great tips on avoiding scalping the grass, will definitely make sure we bear that in mind! So, I liked that you pointed out that can make a huge problem later on with the mower. I wonder if riding mowers will be easier to clean than a push one. I like that you mention that most lawnmowers have adjustable cutting heights, so it opens up your options when looking for one. I just moved to a new home and the yard is a lot bigger than the one at my old home.
There really is a lot to consider when buying a lawn mower, but I particularly like that the article brings up cutting height and width.
Thank you for the post on how to choose the right lawnmower. I definitely like the idea of having a battery powered mower that you can charge and use. You could save on gas that way but you want to be sure whichever you get can handle the grass in your yard.
Your article had some great tips for choosing a lawn mower, and I really liked how you said to consider a cordless mower, as this functions like an electric without the cord. We made this observation using an older version of the StaySharp that was capable of throwing grass out of only the front of the blades; however, the current version, which was released in spring , can throw the grass both forward and backward, so this may be less of a problem. The Fiskars reel mower has a more complicated mechanism than other models do, as it uses a chain drive to connect the turning of the wheels to the blades.
You can change the height with a single lever, and it can adjust between 1 inch and 4 inches, the largest range of any mower we looked at. Through our long-term testing of the Fiskars, we revealed that it might not be the best choice for a particularly small lawn.
The blades will still dull eventually from cutting grass or hitting branches and other obstacles. You should also pay attention to the blade adjustment, which can shift over time. With most reel mowers, the spinning blades pass over a stationary bed knife, which is where the actual cutting happens. The adjustment is easy, and usually involves just a couple of set screws, depending on the model.
Even with proper adjustment, however, the blades will need sharpening after a few seasons American Lawn Mower sells a sharpening kit. In , we found a number of new models, but none of them matched the width and overall features of the Scotts or the cutting height of the Fiskars. These included the Great States Corp. The Earthwise 18 in. The Scotts has seven. The Great States Inch Standard Full Feature Push Reel Mower is the only mower in our test group that requires unbolting to adjust the mowing height—all the others allow adjustments via levers.
In our tests it was such a pain to adjust that the golf crew hated it before they mowed a single blade of grass with it. Worse, it had a tendency to bounce when it encountered even slightly rough terrain, causing inconsistent cutting. While rough ground is a challenge for any reel mower, the Lee Valley model bounced all over the place.
Fiskars makes several variants of the StaySharp Max, such as the inch StaySharp Plus , that are essentially smaller, downgraded versions. Jason Kruse, assistant professor of environmental horticulture at the University of Florida , interview. Doug Mahoney is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering home improvement. He spent 10 years in high-end construction as a carpenter, foreman, and supervisor.
He lives in a very demanding year-old farmhouse and spent four years gutting and rebuilding his previous home. He also raises sheep and has a dairy cow that he milks every morning. Our pick. Scotts Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower For the healthiest grass The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.
Also great. Everything we recommend. Why you should trust us. Who should get a reel mower.
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