Choosing the Right Petrol Lawnmower for you
09 June 2009
It's a fact, that most people around the UK at least have access to, if not own, a garden. Lawns shouldn't be taken for granted, there's a lot of work to be done in maintaining the garden, so that you can best make use of the outdoor space during the hot summer months.
There are two basic types of petrol lawnmower design, rotary and cylinder lawn mowers They are generally available with different power sources, including electric, petrol and push along.
Rotary lawn mowers: Rotary lawnmowers use a single motor mounted vertically on the lawnmower base. The engine drives cutting blades which rotate 360 degrees parallel to the lawn surface, thus cutting the grass in a slashing-like motion. The cutting action can be compared to that of the traditional scythe, which first appeared in Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries.
They are particularly good in dealing with very long, overgrown vegetation, so if your garden looks more like an Amazon rain forest at the moment, then a rotary option could be for you. The slashing mechanism is ideal for coping with the longest of grass. Rotary lawn mowers are generally cheaper and lighter than cylinder mowers, they often contain grass collection boxes, and some have rear rollers, allowing you to create a striped effect across your lawn. The disadvantage with Rotary lawnmowers is that they don't create such a clean cut. They slash quickly, not gracefully.
Cylinder lawn mowers: Cylinder lawnmowers adopt the same basic mechanism used back in the late 19th century. The design has changed little over the years. A fixed horizontal cutting blade is positioned just off the surface of the ground, the height of which is adjustable. Over this is a fast spinning cylinder of blades. The spinning cylinder forces grass past the fixed horizontal blade, thus shearing the grass in a scissor-like motion.
Cylinder lawnmowers give the best cut of all, their scissor-like cut is great when a perfect consistent lawn is required, such as on a tennis court or bowling green. They are, however, more expensive on average, than a rotary lawn mower, plus they weigh more, so are arguably more difficult to operate.