Choosing the Best Lawn Mower to Handle the Job in Your Yard
If you are looking over all the lawn mowers on the market,
selecting the right one can seem an overwhelming task. This lawn mowers guide will help you select
one you’ll be satisfied with in the years ahead. We look at types and brands, plus give you
potential prices ranges to consider.
Manual Lawn Mowers
These have made a comeback in the last few years – reel mowers that aren’t powered. They are popular with those who advocate green energy, the kind you supply yourself rather than from electricity or gasoline. Reel mowers are also a good choice for those who want to keep noise to a minimum, enjoy the exercise, and don’t mind raking up clippings because they don’t have collection bags.
There are a few things you should keep in mind about manual
lawn mowers. Most of them are cheap and
not worth the money. Secondly, the good ones are pricey, from $125 to $200,
or as much as decent push mowers. Two of
the best brands are Fiskar, the scissor company, and Brill.
Electric Push Lawn Mowers
These are quiet too, and run off a charger or a power cord. They are not especially rugged but for very small areas and trimming, they can work quite well. Cordless models can be 20-30 pounds heavier than corded models to accommodate the battery. However, you can reach further areas of the yard with cordless lawn mowers. The top brands are Black and Decker, Toro, Snow Joe, Green Works, Earthwise, Remington, American Lawn Mower, Homelite, and Worx. Prices range from $150 to $400.
Robotic Lawn Mowers
Interest in them followed the success of some robotic vacuum cleaners. Robotic lawn mowers are expensive and don’t do a very good job. They are rated poorly and probably won’t be around much longer, at least in their current form.
Powered Push Lawn Mowers
Also known as trim mowers, they are the right size for a
small yard. They are also popular with
homeowners who have large yards and need a trim mower to cut around trees, a
deck, outbuildings, etc. If you only
plan to use if for trimming around things, you might get by with a weed
trimmer.
Push mowers are used by homeowners, yard services,
maintenance and grounds workers, and many others. There are quite a few companies that make push
lawn mowers including Poulan, Troy-Bilt, Honda, John Deere, Husqvarna,
Lawn-Boy, Toro, Honda and many others.
Cheap push lawn mowers start under $150 and top of the line models used
for commercial purposes may exceed $500.
Garden Tractors
Riding lawn mowers are generally referred to as garden
tractors. They are ideal for larger
plots of ground up to several acres or more.
They are handy for use with attachments such as a lawn rollers, yard
rakes or snow throwers. Garden tractors
can pull a garden wagon as well. Cutting
widths range up to 50 inches or more and engines of 12-20 horsepower are
common. Most are not commercial-grade
lawn mowers but should be expected to last 10-20 years with normal use and good
maintenance. Garden tractors start at
about $600 and can cost up to $3,000 or more.
Lawn mowers in this class are built by Cub Cadet, John Deere, Husqvarna,
Sears, Craftsman, Snapper, Husky and others.
Summary
Which type is the best? The one that meets your needs most closely! Consider your needs in light of the types of lawn mowers that are available. Choose the one within your budget that suits your lifestyle and the work you need to get done.