Mowing is one of the main tasks of the gardening year, so your lawnmower is an essential piece of kit and must be fit for purpose. There is a huge choice of mowers available from corded electric to petrol but as technology evolves and prices fall, cordless battery mowers and ride-on mowers are very popular choices for sustainable and eco-friendly lawn care.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Cordless lawnmowers are affordable, easy to maintain without the dangers and restrictions of a cable, lightweight to use and compact in design and style. Powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, they also fit most household budgets, and are quiet and emission-free!
Many mowers come with a battery and charger which works across a range of other tools such as strimmers, blowers and chainsaws, from the same manufacturer.
While we are seeing miniaturisation in mower design and build there is nothing small about performance and the cut!
The low down on lawn care
The type of lawn you are mowing will dictate the mower features that will male light work of the task in hand. Push mowers require you to provide the effort and momentum, so manoeuvrability is key, particularly if your lawn slopes or you have hard landscaping, garden furniture, beds and trees to navigate.
A mower that cuts right to the edge gives a neat finish and saves time with the shears or a strimmer later. For a sharp, neat look choose for a low-cut height, but if you don’t have time to mow regularly, a higher cut will tackle longer grass.
Self-propelled mowers take the effort out of mowing and are ideal for slopes and gradients letting the lawnmower do all the work not you!
Also consider the collection box capacity and location of your compost bins for the cut grass. Many steps and much time can be taken in walking from the lawn area to the composting bins.
A rear roller gives neat stripes that many gardeners look to achieve for that cut lawn look and envy from onlookers! The Hayter range of cordless mowers is renowned for creating that much admired striped lawn and come with batteries included in most cases.
The STIGA models are self-propelled and come with rear rollers at an affordable price.
Choose to recycle. A mulching plug lets you choose between collecting clippings for or mulching them. It saves you emptying the collection box but mulching only works if the lawn is cut regularly.
Battery charge and run time
Lithium-ion batteries vary in size and capacity, and this determines the cutting power and run time on a single charge. Match the run time to the size of your lawn. Most mower specifications set the recommended lawn size or run time (although this does depend on the weather conditions) and ideally a fully charged battery will last long enough for you to finish the task.
Some models, such as the COBRA and Mountfield Empress cordless mowers, use two batteries in tandem to give you longer mow time.
Most brands also sell the batteries separately so you can use one while one is charging. Fast charge times allow you to get mowing again quicker.
Easy to use & store
We like to supply our mowers fully assembled and ready to use where possible with just the grass collector to put in position.
Switching between cutting heights is relatively easy. Some mowers need to be turned over and the entire axle moved to change the height, but a single lever simply moved through the range is typical.
Deck sizes vary which is where the cutting width is determined. While narrower decks are easier to manoeuvre, wider decks / widths save time and are more efficient for larger areas.
If you don’t have much room, check how far the handle folds down and how easily. Most can be partly unscrewed to fold over the body of the mower; others are designed to unclip and double-fold completely flat or can be hung or stood up vertically.
Economic mowers
The quality of materials often relates to the cost. Budget models made from lightweight plastic as opposed to higher-end machines with metal decks are unlikely to last long and buying another mower later rather than one robust model now is bad for your budget and the environment.