Lawn mowers are one of the most important outdoor power equipment we use to take care of our outdoor space.
If you want to improve your curb appeal, you need to mow your lawn as often as possible, keep a consistent height, maybe embed some beautiful stripe patterns to make it look good and appealing.
The truth however is, you can’t do none of that without a good lawn mower. The type of lawn mower you use determine the way your lawn looks.
In this article, we’ll be talking about the different types of lawn mowers you can use to trim all the grasses in your lawn, and make it look good.
Lawn mowers come in different sizes, shapes and designs. Each one with different features, and the way you operate them are different.
There are so many factors that determine the one you choose. First of all, the size of your lawn matters a lot. The bigger it is, the more robust the mower should be.
You also have to consider how much labor you need to get it to work. Nowadays, there are robotic lawn mowers that can function all on their own without your intervention.
The nature of the grass also matters. The area you live in, and how frequently you’re going to be using it all matters.
So, this article is about the different types of lawn mowers. We’ve included every detail you need to know, so that you can choose the right one for your application.
Classifying the types of lawn mowers
Lawn mowers are mainly classified based on how they are moved through the lawn or the source of energy for their motion. This divides them into the following types:
- Push lawn mowers
- Self-propelled lawn mowers
- Riding lawn mowers
- Zero-turn mowers
- Tractor-pulled mowers
- Robotic lawn mowers
They’re also classified according to the source of energy for their cutting action, which divides them into 4 major types which are:
- Manual
- Electric
- Battery
- Gas-powered lawn mowers
Last but not least, they’re also classified based on the type of blade or cutter they use. This divides them into two major types:
- Cylinder or reel mowers
- Rotary lawn mowers
Learn more about each of the different types below.
Push mowers
From the name, it’s quite easy to know that these are hand-powered, and thus require you to physically use your energy to push them through the lawn.
Push lawn mowers can either be hand powered, electric/battery powered or gas powered.
The hand powered ones are mainly equipped with a reel or cylinder blades for making cuts.
The energy for cutting the grass results from you pushing the reel mower through the lawn, with the reel connected to tires or the mower’s wheel through gears.
When you push it, the gear connection makes the reel spin several times faster than the rubber tires or wheel.
Electric or battery-powered lawn mowers are exactly what they imply. They come equipped with electric motors powered with electricity either from a power outlet or a battery.
Gas-powered mowers on the other hand, have gas engines that spin the blades. Most of them are self-propelled, so all you have to do is direct them through the lawn.
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Self-propelled lawn mowers
Unlike push lawn mowers, self-propelled lawn mowers don’t require you to push the machine. Instead, it propels itself through the lawn such that if you leave it, it will keep going by itself in one direction unless you turn it with your hands towards another direction.
The gas engine or electric motor provides the energy that moves spins the blades and also propels it forward.
Related: 8 Best Lawn Dethatchers and Scarifiers To Take Care of Your Yard
Riding lawn mower
A riding lawn mower like the one shown above is designed like a simple lawn tractor that allows you to sit down on it and ride it over the lawn with a sharp spinning blade underneath that cuts the grass.
The most common form of a riding lawn mower is the lawn tractor which look like small agricultural tractors comprising a cutting deck mounted between the front and rear axles of the machine.
There are also rear-engine riding lawn mowers that have the engine at the back of the equipment just below the driver sit, unlike a lawn tractor.
Riding mowers are best for cutting really large lawns, over 1/2 an acre in size. They however can be pretty noisy. That too, you have to consider.
Zero turn mowers
Zero turn mowers are designed to turn in a single spot which makes them faster, easier to maneuver and more efficient.
While a standard riding lawn mower will take a large space to reverse it or turn it to another direction, a zero turn can turn in the same spot about any radius.
It typically drives faster and costs much more than conventional riding mowers of the same size with steerable front wheels.
Unlike conventional riding mowers, zero turn mowers are not controlled with traditional round steering wheels. Instead, there are usually two bars at the front that control the rotational speed and direction of each of the rear wheels.
Each one of the rear wheels have its own motor, so they can be controlled independently. That’s why you can make very tight turns with the mower.
Some zero-turn mowers however, can be steered with a normal steering wheel or a joystick.
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Tractor-pulled or tow-behind mowers
You mount these to tractors and tow them through large lawns to cut the grass. Some of these can be powered by the physical movement of the tractor just like hand powered push mowers, while others have engines mounted in them to power the blades.
They’re also called trail cutters and are ideal for big mowing jobs, with difficult grass and weed and it will even cut brush up to 3 inches.
Tow behind mowers easily attach to your ATV, UTV or just any tractor and are really the ideal equipment you need for large heavy-duty grass, shrub and brush cutting jobs.
Related: Straight Blade vs Curved Blade Pruning Shear – 4 Differences You Should Know
Robotic lawn mowers
These are ideal for homeowners and commercial buildings or estates that just want a set-and-forget system for cutting their lawn.
It might sound too good to be true but these machines really exist and you can find some of the best ones here.
Robotic lawn mowers allow you to trim your lawn without even being there in the first place, and without employing anybody to do it for you.
It’s a machine you can buy once, install it yourself or get it installed for you, and it will do the job of mowing your lawn every day according to the way you schedule it to work.
They usually come with mobile apps you can use to schedule them to work even in your absence.
All the ones we’ve seen are battery operated, and they plug themselves to power and recharge automatically without your intervention.
Talking about robotic mowers, some very good options you can choose from include the SEGWAY Navimow, Husqvarna Automower, the YUKA 2000, and the Worx Landroid.
