I am about to purchase a new lawnmower, but i am in a quandry as t
which type i will buy, either petrol driven or electric. Can anyon tell me whether there is a significant difference between these types with respect to grass cutting quality
-- Korbinian
I've never had an electric mower, but I have had an electric weed eater and an electric leaf blower. I'm sticking to gas/petrol for now because when the electric ones break, I can't fix them. I can usually get a gas engine running again. I suspect that there are plenty of small engine specialists out there to help also if you're not interested in working on it yourself. I figure that the reduction in greenhouse gases is not worth the trash in the landfill. I would think that the electric mower could do the job if you mow regularly and keep the blades sharp.
hth,
nick
-- Nick Owen
These are very different types. An electric mower will do the job is the yard is small. Electric has very limited power and is more likely to bog down with high grass. The quality of the cut has more to do with the sharpness of the blade. If I could get away with an electric mower that would be my choice.
Google: gasoline OR gas versus OR vs electric lawnmower
Many of the first page's hits from Google look very informative.
With corded electrics, you're hauling cord with you... can get heavy. With battery powered, you've got low battery problems eventually. Either tend not to do well with heavy, wet grass.
Gasoline engines are more expensive but easier over the long haul, imo. They're good for large area cutting and heavy grass, but can be hazardous because of the powered blades and mowing over various objects. They will handle dense lawns and fairly long grass.
Two-cycle engines (where you mix oil and gas in a preset ratio, rather than having separate oil and gas in the engine) are major air pollution causes. Four-cycle engines are some better, but need tuning now and then.
The best cuts tend to come from reel mowers -- the old fashioned push mower, rather than rotary blades, but they won't handle long grass very well, and usually have fixed cutting heights. IMO, if the lawn is small enough for an electric mower to handle, it's small enough for a people-powered reel mower (assuming a healthy owner). Quieter, too.
Whatever you choose, keep the blade sharp and learn to mow properly -- timing is very important.
Kay
Since cut quality was mentioned, I don't suppose a scythe is in order, but a scythe never bogs down, and if you like the outdoor break every day, cut a daily 10' wide swath across the lawn, and soon the lawn is done and you get to start over.
I keep an acre cut with a scythe
Strangely, it winds up being much more expensive than a mower, since once you're into it, you leave no blade untried, just out of curiosity, and looking for the perfect one for the conditions. And then there are the accessories, stone, anvil, cross-peen hammer ...
The grass cuts very differently in each season.
Incidentally, I think a scythe-cut lawn looks much better than a mower cut, but it's not at all the same style.
Yeah, but those black hooded capes are no picnic in the summer.
dwhite
And then there's the Central American style machete-cut lawn... oh, my aching back....
Kay
>
A scythe is designed to cut on the ground with the least effort.
The chief physical constraint is running out of breath, but then you cut at a pace that allows pauses to sharpen the edge give you exactly the breather you need ; so the real constraint is that you have to keep the edge sharp, and you work at a pace that accommodates that.
(Pauses vary depending on grass condition, but may be as short as ten strokes, or as many as a hundred, before sharpening is adventageous. The edge has to be really sharp for cutting short grass.)
A good electric can do a superb job of cutting lawn areas if one keeps after the job and doesn't try to chop down weeks of growth at a single go. When a blade of grass is cut by a rapidly-spinning sharp blade it doesn't stop to consider what the source of the spin might be.
Personally, I decided on a battery powered mower since, despite a lot area of 1.25A, my mowable area probably doesn't cover 100 square meters. The two 12-volt batteries make this mower heavier than the corded sort but in my experience the latter aren't good for more than a postage stamp lawn. Besides I'd invariably lose concentration and mangle the cord...
Allow me to offer a truly subversive suggestion:
If your lawn isn't too, too, too large, consider a non-motorized push mower. Good exercise, and a nice feeling beating the system.
Aspasia
Thanks for all the help. Now that i think about it, the scythe seem
the best option. Plus thats half of my halloween costume taken car of
-- Korbinian
"JoeSpareBedroom" writes in article dated Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:30:27 GMT:
They never charged me for my membership, but my e-mail address which I made up especially for them wound up in the hands of a spammer after I cancelled.
For a mower I use a 6.5 HP Craftsman. It gets the job done quick, usually
45 minutes for my 0.25 acre.When I was a kid my dad had a *corded* electric. That one stunk.
-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.
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