Lawn care for a large area: TOP-5 gasoline self-propelled lawn mowers

The Intertool LM-6050 lawn mower is a simple and inexpensive solution for those who have a large infield sown with lawn grass or mixed grasses. It is self-propelled, so it does not need to be pushed and pulled across the lawn. All the work is done for you by a petrol engine with a volume of 173 cm3. It is powerful (4.9 hp), so it handles perfectly with moving the mower itself on the lawn, and with mowing vegetation. The engine is not the most modern, but it is easy to operate, so even someone who is "on you" with the equipment will cope with refueling, cleaning filters, replacing oil and candles. But the motor is running loud enough, and during lawn mowing it is worth using earplugs or protective headphones.

The equipment of this lawn mower is the simplest. There are 6 mowing height adjustments: from 25 mm to 75 mm. To change the height on all wheels, it is enough to move one lever. The height of the handle can be adjusted to your height. A 65-liter bag of a combined type (soft, but with a plastic top) is provided as a container for collecting mown grass. In order not to mess with the pouring of grass from the bag during work, it can be removed — then the scraps of vegetation will be thrown out at your feet, and then they will have to be collected from the lawn with a rake. To flush the machine after the shearing is completed, a fitting for connecting a hose with water is provided on the mower body.

In the segment up to $350, there is not such a large selection of large gasoline lawn mowers with wheel drive. Therefore, those who want to buy a good self-propelled mower often choose Intertool LM-6050, because the equipment of this brand is inexpensive, has a good reputation and is easy to maintain.

The Collector series of garden equipment is a line of relatively simple devices in design. It focuses on reliability, durability and unpretentiousness, as well as ease of use for those who are not particularly sophisticated in technology. The Stiga Collector 48 S lawn mower fully conforms to this philosophy. Its 123 cc engine (power 2.6 hp) is easy to start, runs smoothly and requires only the most minimal maintenance. The steel deck ensures the strength of the entire structure. Despite the metal body, the device turned out to be light (28 kg is 5-10 kg lighter than odnoklassniki). At least an adult man will be able to lift the mower himself, without straining, to pull it out of the boot or carry it over an obstacle. For this purpose, special handles are made on the case.

All wheels have the same size — 20 cm. Due to the fact that the rear wheels have a relatively small diameter (other mowers of the same class have 5-8 cm larger), the device does not behave too confidently on uneven surfaces and does not overcome bumps well. The drive from the engine is carried out on the rear axle. On a flat surface, the mower moves at a speed of 3.7 km/h.

Six mowing height adjustments are enough for most lawns. The height changes on all six wheels synchronously, with one movement of the lever. The adjustment range is from 22 mm to 65 mm. The mown grass is thrown into a 60-liter plastic container, on which there is a fill indicator.

The manufacturer recommends using this device for processing smooth lawns up to 12 acres in size. With a price in the region of $400, the Stiga Collector 48 S is one of the cheapest gasoline self-propelled mowers capable of handling plots of this size. Only products of "low-cost" brands, like Sturm or MTD, are cheaper than it.

The Hyundai L4610S lawn mower has a four-stroke "branded" engine with a volume of 139 cm3 and a power of 3.5 hp. Hyundai gasoline engines have a good reputation. They are quite reliable (according to the manufacturer, the engine life of this series reaches 800 engine hours), consume a moderate amount of fuel and oil, as well as easy to maintain and repair due to the availability of spare parts and consumables — perfect for installation on garden equipment.

The mower is simple and easy to operate. It can cut grass to a height of 25 mm to 75 mm. The height of the haircut (one of 6 positions) is set by the central lever. The design of the device allows you to do anything with mown vegetation. It can be thrown back or to the side, as well as collected in a 65-liter bag with a filling indicator. And when installing the mulching nozzle, the mown and crushed grass will be scattered back onto the lawn as an organic fertilizer. Due to the presence of a drive on the rear wheels, the mower does not need to be pushed, and the speed of movement of the device on the lawn can be adjusted. On the panel there are cup holders for a water bottle, and on the body there is a special fitting to which a watering hose is connected to quickly flush the bottom of the deck from the stuck remnants of vegetation.

The cost of this lawn mower can not be called overstated. At a price, it belongs to the "middle class" of garden equipment. It is interesting to note that even an electric Hyundai LE4600S with a similar deck width costs almost the same. But if you have a lawn larger than 12 – 15 acres, or you just want to work faster and spend less time caring for the lawn, then it makes sense to look at larger gasoline-powered lawn mowers, like the 51-centimeter Hyundai L5100S or 55-centimeter Hyundai L5500S.

The AL-KO Premium 520 VS-B lawn mower is designed for lawn care up to 18 acres. It is equipped with a four-stroke 163 cc petrol engine with a capacity of 3.5 hp from the American company Briggs & Stratton, which is one of the most reputable companies in the production of small motors for construction and garden equipment. This engine is characterized by reliability and moderate appetite, it is durable and easy to maintain. Therefore, the operation of the lawn mower will most likely be trouble-free, and the device will last for a long time without repair.

Due to the presence of a rear-axle drive, it is not difficult to work with a 34.9-kilogram device at all, because it moves independently on the lawn. The speed of movement can be adjusted in the range from 2.5 km/h to 4.5 km/h to adjust the lawn mower to your step. The mowing height setting changes synchronously on all wheels. You can set one of seven height positions: from 30 mm to 80 mm. A 70-liter hard plastic container with a fill indicator is used to collect grass. The lawn mower has two modes of grass ejection: backward and sideways. It is also possible to install a mulching kit instead of a grass collector. In the mulching mode, the cut vegetation is not collected, but finely crushed and scattered over the lawn to protect the soil from drying out and provide it with nutrients.

The lawn mower, which costs around $ 700, cannot be called cheap in any way (and the version with an electric starter is even more expensive). But it should be taken into account that the equipment from the AL-KO Premium series are mowers, which in quality and characteristics almost do not differ from professional models of lawn care equipment. They are not even assembled in Asia, like almost all the tools presented on our market, but in Europe.

When buying a gasoline mower for a large lawn, it also makes sense to price the aerator AL-KO Solo 518, with which you can make the grass thicker and healthier.

The Husqvarna LC353 AWD lawn mower is equipped with a powerful petrol engine (4.9 hp). For this device (which even by the standards of the Swedish brand mowers is considered "top"), they took not a "native" engine, but a Honda GCVX-170 engine with transistor ignition — a reliable and proven unit that has decent torque (11.1 Nm) and moderate "appetite" (less than 1.2 L / h).

Unlike many other self-propelled lawn mowers, this "Huskvarna" is driven on all wheels (and not only on the rear axle). It helps to overcome uneven, wet and slippery areas, and also provides excellent manoeuvrability. The variator allows you to smoothly change the speed of movement in the range from zero to maximum (4.8 km/h). At the same time, no matter how fast you move, the knife always rotates at maximum speed — this ensures clean mowing and cutting of stems without injuring plants. The mown grass is ejected back into the bag with a volume of 65 liters . Instead, you can install a BioClip plug (included in the kit), which grinds the grass into tiny pieces and scatters them across the lawn as mulch. To clean the inner surface of the steel deck after work, a special fitting is provided on the mower body, to which a garden hose can be connected.

In terms of settings and adjustments of mowing modes, this lawn mower can give odds to most competitors. She has as many as nine height settings — from 25 mm (for rolled lawns) to a solid 102 mm (for lawns with decorative grasses). But it is not very convenient to change the height, since there is no synchronous adjustment mechanism here, and in order to reconfigure the device, you have to bend to each wheel separately.

The Husqvarna LC353 AWD lawn mower is a professional—level garden equipment designed for processing large lawns. It is quite expensive, but that's how much high-quality and reliable machines used by professional gardeners cost.