A perfectly manicured lawn is probably the most sought-after thing for most amateur gardeners and homeowners. Deceivingly simple in appearance, a beautifully striped lawn is such an important aspect of the perfect garden that there are endless articles and videos about how to achieve that very thing.
Of course, a good quality lawnmower plays a big part in crafting the perfect lawn, along with other tools such as a strimmer and an edging tool. The thing is, there are so many excellent lawnmowers on sale these days, where do you start?
A good way of narrowing down these options and getting closer to the right lawnmower for you is to decide on whether you need a petrol, electric, or cordless model.
And what’s a good way to decide this? Well, the size of your lawn is a great start, although there are other factors that come into play.
I this article we are going to explain which type of lawnmower is best suited to different lawn sizes, and also point out a few other things that might help you make your purchasing decision a bit easier. it might also stop you from making costly mistakes.
Pick the right type and you might be as happy as this guy while mowing the lawn-
I had a 3 strike policy. 1st strike we talk about what you did & why it was wrong. 2nd strike I remind you of the conversation. 3rd strike that ass is grass and I’m the lawn mower. pic.twitter.com/A7yzqUOl3Q
— @mixtapeminimusic (@mixtapeminimus1) May 5, 2021
Comparing different types of electric lawn mowers for a small-sized lawn
So, you’ve got a smaller lawn, and that can be a good thing. It means less time and effort needed to keep it looking ship-shape, and should keep the costs down too.
Generally speaking, any kind of petrol lawnmower is going to produce far more power than you need for a smaller lawn, and when you factor in the extra cost for these machines, they are probably not the best choice. Yes, they will offer better performance, but it is highly unlikely that you will require that extra power.
Electric lawn mowers, such as Flymo hover mowers, are a good choice for smaller properties and lawns, as the main drawback of this type of lawnmower; the power cord length isn’t really an issue. Electric mowers have more than enough cutting power to handle a small lawn, even if the grass is quite overgrown, although you might want to have a brush cutter handy for some of the heavier foliage. If you don’t know what a brush cutter is or how to use one, watch this clip-
Just like with electric models, the main drawback of cordless lawnmowers isn’t a problem here either. The main complaint I hear from customers is that cordless machines don’t last that long before the batteries need charging, but with most of the best cordless models offering at least half an hour of usage between charges, it should be more than enough to get your small lawn done.
If your garden is really on the small side, you could probably get away with a push mower, that is if you don’t mind a little bit of hard work.
Comparing different types of lawnmower for a medium-sized lawn
When it comes to medium-sized lawns, the drawbacks of both the corded electric and cordless models do start to rear their heads. These aren’t huge problems, but they are factors that we should mention.
As they run off your mains electricity supply, you don’t have to worry about cutting a medium-sized lawn to completion before the machine runs out of battery, or fuel. The motors built into corded electric lawn mowers are usually quite powerful too and will handle the workload without any problems. Due to the fact, there are no liquids like fuel to spill, they are also better than petrol models for cutting up steep slopes. The only real problem is how long the power cord is, and also being careful not to get it tangled, trip over it, or accidentally run over it. Can you say electric shock?? 😂
ELECTRIC SHOCK SWITCH pic.twitter.com/apBZ5BmPVv
— Batman 66 Labels (@BatLabels) May 5, 2021
Cordless lawnmowers are limited by their battery run time, and a medium-sized lawn might be a little too much for them to finish on a single charge. Having said that, there are some models that run off two batteries instead of one, and they will handle a medium-sized lawn without a doubt. You can also buy extra batteries and have one charging while one is used, or another option might be to use a robot lawn mower but these take some setting up.
With a full tank of fuel, a petrol lawnmower will make light work of a medium-sized lawn without the need to stop even a single time, unless it’s to empty the grass box. These machines vary quite drastically in size and weight though, and obviously, the larger versions might be hard to manoeuvre around if your lawn has lots of curves and tight spaces.
Here’s video on how to set up a robot lawnmower for those of you who are interested-
Comparing different types of petrol lawn mower for a large lawn
Very large lawns cause a problem for electric lawnmowers as you’re going to need a long extension lead to get at the furthest reaches, and that makes the chance of an accident more likely. Apart from this, the more powerful electric models, such as ones made by Wilks and Makita, should be able to handle the workload.
Unless you’re going to have a few spare batteries on standby, a cordless lawnmower wouldn’t be the ideal choice for a larger lawn, and those batteries aren’t the cheapest things in the world. Once you factor in the cost of having these extra batteries, you would probably find that there is a petrol lawnmower available for not much more.
Having said that, cordless machines do come in handy for cutting around garden features such as fountains, large ornaments, and garden furniture, as their smaller size and lighter weight, make things much easier than with a large petrol machine.
From my experience, petrol lawnmowers are the way to go for large lawns, giving you the power, range, and freedom of movement that you need to get the job done properly. For exceptionally large properties, you might want to think about buying a sit-down mower, also known as a riding lawnmower, which will save you a lot of energy and tired legs. For large lawns, I would also suggest that all your other tools should be petrol too, such as a petrol strimmer, vacuum, brush cutter, etc.
if you’re lucky enough to have a garden that needs a sit-down mower, don’t forget your safety gear 😉
FY19 I will be working hard towards my GOAL!! A garden big enough for a sit down lawn mower!! 🤪 💪#Gunning4MyGoal #U4Buzzing pic.twitter.com/G1bN1HI13T
— Tom Hinton (@TomHinto) August 30, 2018
Conclusion
So, to sum up, the information above. I would recommend either a corded electric or cordless lawnmower for smaller gardens. A petrol model really isn’t needed for this kind of job and the extra weight, noise, service, etc. just isn’t worth it.
For medium-sized lawns, you could any of the three, but they all have their flaws in this situation. Electric mowers will still need to be connected to the mains and that means power cord trailing on the ground, cordless machines will require you to stop and charge the battery or have another ready to go, and some petrol machines might be too big and heavy to move around comfortably in certain areas.
Larger lawns really need to be dealt with using a petrol lawnmower. I‘m not saying you can’t use an electric or cordless lawn mower to cut a large lawn, but speaking from experience, I will say that it is just not worth the hassle when a decent petrol machine will handle it so much better.
Whatever type you choose, always remember to keep the blades sharp and well oiled or you’ll find that the performance deteriorates quickly.
