Understanding Lawn Mowers – Cylinder, Rotary and Hover

While there’s a lot of truth in the old saying “A bad workman blames his tools”, it’s also fair to say that choosing the right tool for any job often makes life much easier. In spite of the variety of brands and styles on the market, lawn mowers fundamentally come in three forms: cylinder, rotary and hover.

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Cylinder Mowers

If you’ve ever seen a period drama with someone mowing a lawn into perfect stripes then you’ve seen a perfect example of what cylinder mowers are and why they are used. Cylinder mowers were the earliest mowers invented and take their name from the fact that they have long cutting blades arranged in a cylinder shape, which are guided by wheels. Some of them also have an integrated roller. Cylinder mowers are the de facto choice for places such as bowling greens, where grass has to be cut with absolute precision. For home gardeners who take particular pride in their lawns, they may be an ideal choice, but for homes where the lawn is mainly an area for relaxation and casual play then a rotary or hover mower may be a better choice.

Rotary Mowers

Rotary mowers have blades which spin around a central point. They are far less precise than cylinder mowers but much easier to manage on more challenging ground. If your lawn is on ground which is far from even then you may find yourself struggling with a cylinder mower, whereas a rotary mower will cope quite happily. It will also deal with long grass capably, so if you sometimes find that you’re too busy to get the mower out as often as you really should, then go for a rotary mower. As a final point, rotary mowers will also cheerfully deal with tougher grasses and weeds. In other words, it is adept at handling lawns which are intended for family and pets rather than as ornaments.

Hover Mowers

Invented in the 1960s, hover mowers are rotary mowers which use an impeller to push air downwards. As the air hits the ground, the resistance pushes it back and this creates lift, which makes hover mowers feel much lighter to use then standard rotary mowers. Their biggest drawback is that they perform relatively poorly on uneven ground and at the edges of lawns as these areas tend to have bigger gaps between the impeller and the ground, which can significantly reduce its effectiveness. In fact anything which interrupts the air flow can cause issues with hover mowers. These include grass cuttings or moss on the lawn or grass cuttings (or other debris) getting under the hood and impeding the air flow. If, however, this can be managed, hover mowers can be an excellent choice for a neat cut with minimal effort. They are particularly useful for lawns with curves or which have ornamental features such as flower beds in them as they are particularly easy to manoeuvre.

Power Source

Once you’ve chosen your preferred type of mower, you’ll need to think about making it move. For very small spaces, it may be worth remembering that there are still manual mowers available. These do require a bit more effort to use, but they are very inexpensive and easy to maintain and store. For many modern gardens, electric is the way to go. The only real downside to these is the trailing cable, but some mowers now come with charging stations. Those with larger lawns (or very sloping gardens) may wish to consider petrol mowers, although they are generally a bit more expensive and need a bit more maintenance.