You can also watch a video on how to choose a lawn mower, and in 6 minutes you can get all the information you need to select a lawn mower with our catalog in a short and concise way.

Lawn mowers and other types of garden tools

Lawn mowers, as their name suggests, are designed to mow a lawn — a uniform lawn that is constantly and regularly maintained. This lawn can be sown with special lawn grass or covered with naturally occurring meadow vegetation. The vast majority of lawnmowers are designed for lawns ranging from 2 to 20 acres.

A lawn is defined by its short-cut grass, typically with stems ranging from 20 to 70 mm. Consequently, traditional lawn mowers are not well-suited for tall grass. If your area is overgrown with dense and succulent vegetation, large weeds, and young bushes, it is advisable to use a powerful engine-equipped a brush cutter, as discussed in our dedicated article on this type of garden tools, “Useful tips for choosing a brush cutter”.

The only real alternative to lawn mowers are robotic lawn mowers that independently move across the lawn and mow the grass. They use boundary wires, obstacle sensors, and a hardwired card to perform their work without human supervision. But the price of a robotic lawn mower is unfortunately much higher than the cost of a regular lawn mower.

In the future, robots will probably completely displace traditional lawn mowers. For now, the price of robots is not satisfying.

Which lawn mower is better: petrol, electric or battery-powered?

One of the key parameters when choosing a lawn mower is the type of drive. In online stores you can find equipment that runs on petrol, electricity, or batteries.

Petrol lawn mowers are the most common type of lawn care equipment. It is advisable to use them if the area of your lawn exceeds 5 acres. Petrol mowers are distinguished by their power and autonomy, because they are not tied to outlets and do not depend on batteries. On the other hand, owners of internal combustion engine equipment should always keep a can of fuel and a can of engine oil on hand, and also have some knowledge of how to maintain and service a petrol lawn mower.

Perol lawn mowers are still the main tool for maintaining large lawns.
Petrol lawn mowers

Electric lawn mowers powered by the mains are optimal for caring for lawns with an area of up to 5 acres (but, to tell the truth, the maximum size of the lawn is limited only by the length of the cable in the extension cord or reel). Electric lawn mowers are quieter than petrol ones, but usually have slightly less power for the same dimensions. The main disadvantage is that when cutting the grass, the electric cable must be constantly monitored to ensure that it does not get caught under the mower blade, which is very inconvenient.

Battery-powered lawn mowers are already very close in power to electric ones, and in terms of operating time on one charge (about 20 – 30 minutes) they do not yet reach the operating time of petrol mowers on one tank of fuel. The main problem is that high-capacity batteries needed to drive equipment are quite expensive. Therefore, battery mowers are recommended to buy, first of all, those who plan to gather a whole collection of gardening equipment and power tools that can be powered by batteries for one system.

Some garden equipment manufacturers believe that battery-powered lawn mowers will soon push petrol “dinosaurs” to the margins of history.

How to choose a lawn mower based on the area of the lawn

Another important parameter to consider when choosing a lawn mower is the cutting width. The wider the mowing width, the fewer mowing passes you need to make.

There is no universal formula (you can use a small mower on a large lawn or a large mower on a microscopic lawn). But based on user experience and manufacturer's recommendations, some conclusions can be drawn about how the lawn area and the mower's working width should relate.

Area, m2 200 350 500 1000 2000
Cutting width, cm ≤ 32 32 – 40 40 – 45 45 – 53 >53

Consider not only the total lawn area but also its layout, which likely includes trees, bushes, flower beds, greenhouses, garden furniture and other obstacles. Maneuvering through these may be challenging for a large lawn mower, making a smaller one more practical, especially in narrow spaces. Devices equipped with piano wheels, however, enable even large equipment to navigate effectively, allowing it to make sharp turns and maneuver around obstacles like bushes and flower beds with small radius curves.

The power of mowers is usually directly proportional to the cutting width. For small lawn mowers designed to care for lawns up to 5 acres, it rarely exceeds 1200 – 1400 W, and for large equipment with petrol engines it can reach 3000 – 4000 W. However, you should choose a more powerful model. It will be more efficient and faster, better able to handle tall and wet grass, mulching and chewing thick plant stems. Some power reserve will also be needed if your garden has not only lawn grass, but also dandelions, nettles and other weeds. A powerful engine is especially needed for appliances with wheel drive.

A certain amount of power reserve for a lawn mower will never be superfluous.

Features and nuances that lawn mower buyers need to know about

To choose the most convenient lawn mower, you should also pay attention to the presence of additional functions that ensure the comfort of users of garden equipment and the ability to customize it for different operating conditions.

Self-propelled lawn mowers, which have an engine driven wheel, do not need to be pushed, because they move on their own, and a person is only needed to change course or turn the device around. Thus, lawn care turns into an easy, pleasant walk on freshly cut grass. There are mowers with one fixed speed (usually about 2 – 3 km/h) and models which speed can be adjusted.

Wheel drive mowers are especially useful when dealing with lawns that are sloped.

Lawn mowers with a mulching function not only cut the grass, but also immediately turn it into useful organic fertilizer. They have a stopper which is inserted into the body instead of the grass bag. Therefore, instead of going into the bag, the cut grass tips are torn into tiny shreds that fall under the deck and remain on the lawn.

Mulching lawn mowers

The design and volume of the grass bag may also differ between mowers. The larger the volume of the grass bag, the less often you will have to pause to empty the accumulated grass into a wheelbarrow, compost bin or specially designated place. However, the maximum volume of the bag is limited by the size and weight of the mower. It usually has a volume of about 35 or 40 liters. The grass collection bag can be soft (tarpaulin with a wire frame), hard (entirely made of plastic) or combined (hard top with rag sides). Soft bags are more convenient to store, as they fold into a compact roll. And hard ones are much easier to empty of plant residues and wash under running water after use.

The larger the volume of the grass bag, the less often you need to pause to empty it.

The handle of the lawn mower can be adjusted in height, providing the flexibility to match it to your own height. This feature prevents discomfort such as hunching over or maintaining an unnatural arm position during use. Typically, the range of adjustments is limited to two or three positions for both height and angle. However, this is sufficient for individuals with heights outside the average range to find a comfortable handle position.

The range of adjustments for the cutting height should correspond to the type of your lawn, the composition of the grass cover and the frequency of mowing. The lower end of the range is usually around 20 or 25 mm. The upper limit is usually approximately 50 – 60 mm, but for some models it can exceed 80 mm. The more adjustment steps — the easier it is to adjust the mower (usually between 3 and 10). The design of the height adjustment mechanism has a direct impact on how much time you will spend on adjustment. On the simplest mowers, each wheel must be manually repositioned by unscrewing it from one slot and screwing it into the other. For other models, the height is adjusted by repositioning the axles in the slots on the body. The most convenient design seems to be one with synchronous height adjustment. These lawn mowers have a lever that raises or lowers the body of the lawn mower relative to ground level — simultaneously and equally on all wheels.

The height of all wheels on synchronized mowers is adjusted with a single lever.

Some petrol lawn mowers are equipped with electric starters. Thanks to the electric starter, the engine can be started at the touch of a button. But it complicates the design and makes it heavier (after all, it has to carry its own battery), so lawn mowers with a starter are rare and they usually belong to the upper price range.

Manufacturers of garden tools produce lawn mowers with plastic and metal decks. Plastic ones are found among budget electric mowers. They are lightweight and completely resistant to corrosion. The metal deck is considered more reliable and durable. At least a steel deck cannot be split with a stone thrown by a blade that rotates at great speed. On the downside, a metal deck adds a few extra pounds to the mower, making it harder to push across the lawn.

The washer port saves effort and time.

The washer port on the lawn mower deck makes it possible to spend less time maintaining the equipment. You can connect a garden hose with water to it to quickly and with minimal effort wash away grass and dirt from the inner surface of the deck after mowing the lawn.