Looking for a new lawn mower is never an easy task, especially with the amount of options you have available to you these days. Should you choose gas or electric? Rotary or cylinder? Walk behind or riding? These are questions that you need to answer based on your requirements and past experiences. When you know roughly what you are looking for, that’s when our lawn mower reviews become an incredibly useful resource and can help you zone in on a specific model.
So before you start browsing our website, visiting online stores or driving to your nearest DIY superstore, take a few minutes to answer the following questions. They will help you narrow down your search.
How big is your yard?
This is possibly one of the most important factors that will define which type of lawn mower you should go for. For smaller residential yards, corded electric mowers and reel mowers are often the best choices as they are easy to use, capable of handling light maintenance and are highly maneuverable. If you don’t particularly want to manage a trailing power cable or provide all the power yourself, cordless electric mowers are a good alternative and there are models available that provide enough runtime to get a small to medium sized lawn cut in one go. For anything bigger than the average yard you should probably be looking for a gas powered mower, which are available with much bigger cutting widths and with self propelled features that help you to cover a larger area in a shorter amount of time. If you have a substantial area to cut and maintain then you might want to take a look at our riding lawn mower reviews as not only will they help you get the job done in the most time efficient way possible, but they allow you to do so more comfortably.
Does your land have a gradient?
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a perfectly flat yard. If you do have hills or slopes to contend with this will affect your options. Cylinder mowers are almost out of the question as they will scalp your lawn and not produce a good finish on sloped land. If the size of your yard merits a gas powered mower, make sure you go for a self propelled model that will help you navigate the slopes without expending as much energy. You can go for front wheel drive or rear wheeled drive, but the latter is usually the preferred choice under these conditions.
How strong are you?
You need to assess your own physical strength too. Pushing a heavy gas mower around that doesn’t have a self propel feature can be tiring for many people and if you aren’t particularly strong it can make the task almost impossible. Anyone who doesn’t rate their strength too highly would be advised to look at either a corded electric mower (which are typically made from plastic and lightweight) or a reel mower (which are lightweight due to their barebones design). If you do need a gas powered mower or a cordless mower due to the size of your yard but aren’t particularly strong, make sure you go for one that has a self propelled feature. You also need to factor in how easy the mower is to start, with gas powered mowers requiring much more physical effort to start than an electric one.
What conditions is the mower expected to deal with?
In terms of raw power gas mowers are the ones to go for. If you are expecting to have to cut overgrown or dense areas of grass then they are the best choice. Many corded electric models won’t deal with those situations well and it will take much longer to get the job done, while the runtime of a cordless mower’s battery will be severely affected when cutting through tough or overgrown grass. If you just need something to do some light trimming reel mowers, corded electric mower and cordless electric mowers are all viable options.
What budget do you have?
Lawn mowers are available for as little as 30 dollars but there are also many available that will cost you hundreds of dollars, so it’s important to have a budget in mind before starting your search. Corded electric mowers and reel mowers represent the cheapest options and are ideal for regular yard maintenance, while gas powered and cordless mowers will cost you a bit more.
What type of finish are you trying to achieve?
There are essentially two types of blade that are used in lawn mowers; cylinder and rotary. The finish you are trying to achieve will determine which type will be the best to choose. Cylinder mowers cut your grass much shorter and with a scissor type action that is much healthier for your grass, but the trade off is that they are more expensive and there are not as many models to choose from. They are capable of producing a finish that is similar to that of a bowling green. Rotary mowers are much more common and are the standard type used by many homeowners and produce a tidy finish but are not able to cut the grass short enough to produce that bowling green look. Cylinder mowers are also the best type for producing stripes, since they are heavier and the stripes tend to last longer. If you do want to produce stripes either choose a cylinder mower or look through our rotary lawn mower reviews and find that has a roller.
What do you want to do with the clippings?
If you are quite happy to discharge the clippings back onto your lawn and then rake them up afterwards you can choose virtually any type of mower. However if you want to save a bit of time by not having to rake the clippings up, look for one that has a grass collection feature. You can find a mower in most categories that possesses this feature, including reel mowers. The other option to mulch your clippings, which is where the clippings are cut up small enough to be left on your yard and act as a natural fertilizer. Check out our mulching lawn mower reviews to find models with this feature.
Are you prepared to carry out maintenance?
Some types of mower require more maintenance than others to sustain cutting performance. Reel mowers are perhaps the most maintenance free type as they only contain the minimum number of working parts to do the job, reducing the chance that something could go wrong. A quick addition of oil once in a while and periodic sharpening of the blades is usually all it takes. Corded electric mowers are similarly easy to maintain, only really requiring a good wipe down once in a while to prevent a buildup of debris on the underside of the mower, and a sharpening of the blade. Cordless models require a bit more care and attention and it is important to follow manufacturing guidelines when charging up the battery to prolong its lifespan. If you opt for a gas powered mower you will have to be prepared to carry out slightly more maintenance and change oil, refill the gas tank, change spark plugs and sharpen the blade.
Next Step: Read Through Our Lawn Mower Reviews
You should now have a good idea of the type of lawn mower you are looking for, which will ensure you only read lawn mower reviews that are relevant to your needs.
On our website you will see a list of the different types of mower on the right hand side. Click on the relevant category and you will be shown a list of lawn mower reviews that meet your requirements. These reviews provide you with several valuable pieces of information that can help you to make a decision, including:
- Features the mower has, helping you to determine whether it meets all your requirements.
- Benefits that the mower offers you and the things it does particularly well.
- The disadvantages of the mower. Every lawn mower has drawbacks and our lawn mower reviews help make you aware of them before you buy.
It’s always a good idea to read what other people are saying about a particular model too and you can do this by clicking through to Amazon.