A lawn mower is an essential tool for municipal utilities, organizations and private farm owners, with which you can keep the surrounding area in a neat condition. However, the purchase of such a complex unit is a rather difficult task. Among a fairly wide variety of lawn mowers (self-propelled, non-self-propelled, robotic mowers, electric, mechanical, gasoline), manufacturers of these devices, many functions and different costs are easy to get confused. All this makes us wonder what kind of lawn mower to choose and buy.
Features of choice
There are several ways to determine how to choose a lawn mower for a summer residence. One of them offers to make a choice according to your temperament: if you can be attributed to melancholy, and the image of the decaying ozone layer inspires horror in you, then an electric device will be your best option. For choleric people who like the smell of fuel and the roar of the engine from childhood, self-propelled gas mowers can be recommended. How to choose them will be discussed later.
If you take into account the technical characteristics of the units, then here you must first evaluate the amount of work, as well as the size of the site. A small area can be completely processed using a mechanical device. It works without any noise, and exhaust fumes are not emitted into the atmosphere . The spindle acts as a cutting element in it - a rotating drum on which the blades are located. Since the cost of mechanical devices is quite low, in this case they simply have no competitors.
Options
If we continue to talk about how to choose a lawn mower for a summer residence, then it is worth noting that for medium-sized areas of plots it is best to give preference to the electric model. These are environmentally friendly units that work with a rather high cutting capacity and grass collection, and it’s very easy to maintain. Their only minus can be called the need for close proximity to the electrical network, otherwise the device simply will not work.
If it is necessary to process large areas, you should pay attention exclusively to self-propelled gasoline mowers. How to choose them will be described later. Thanks to the maneuverability and mobility of such devices, it is possible to ensure the most efficient operation continuously for a long time. The best gasoline self-propelled lawn mowers have the greatest power, because they work from a two-stroke or four-stroke engine. These devices are especially popular, as they are not only very powerful, but also capable of performing movement themselves, and the user just needs to set a certain direction.
Important Nuances
You can choose a lawn mower for parameters with front or rear engine. Most often, gasoline models are equipped with a gearbox, which allows you to change the speed of work. The equipment of the device includes a tank for a fuel mixture of different capacities, on which the time of continuous operation depends. And all of these devices are completely different self-propelled gas mowers. How to choose a specific one? It is worth paying attention to such a parameter as the function of ejecting grass directly onto the lawn, mulching, or collecting in the grass catcher. It’s best to purchase the latter, as such a machine will not rust in wet weather and is easier to wash. Some advanced models combine several functions at once, and the method of grass disposal in this case is left to the user's choice.
Ease of use
So, if we consider the question of how to choose a lawn mower for a summer residence, then it is worth saying that a gasoline unit with a Self Start system is a rather good option. In it, the engine is started at the touch of a button. To reduce vibration on the handles there is a coating of soft rubber. The required height is quickly set thanks to the central adjustment. Compared to electric, this model provides absolute freedom of action.
Parameter selection
If we consider self-propelled gas mowers (you can already imagine which ones to choose), then a significant indicator of their productive work is the width and height of mowing. The first parameter is constant and depends on the dimensions of the device. Here, knives serve as cutting elements, which not only mow due to rapid rotation, but also create a vortex flow, which sucks the grass inside the grass catcher.
Advantages
The positive characteristics of gasoline self-propelled lawnmowers, such as the lack of a power cable, the position of which must be constantly monitored, the long service life, etc., make you completely forget about the shortcomings expressed in noisy work, the large mass and the need for special maintenance. The latter refers to the need to constantly fill the tank with gasoline, clean the engine, and other things. The main units of self-propelled mowers are the body, wheel platform, control handle, grass catcher, knives. In most models, the engine is not completely covered by a protective cover, which ensures its air cooling, as well as convenient maintenance. And all these features a self-propelled gasoline mower has. Reviews about each specific model will help you to finalize your requirements.
Market situation
At the moment, on sale you can see products from domestic, Chinese, Japanese and American manufacturers. It is necessary to buy a device taking into account the technical characteristics, operating characteristics of each brand, as well as the conditions of use - topography and size of the site where the work will be carried out. It is worth considering that self-propelled gasoline lawn mowers are very demanding on the terrain - it must be flat and the slope should not exceed 20-25 degrees, otherwise the mixture of oil and gasoline used to operate the device may leak out of the tank. In the selection process, it is worth paying attention to such moments as the mowing width, which affects the performance of the unit, as well as the height of the haircut, which should have smooth adjustment. The diameter and width of the wheels must be selected so that the surface of the lawn is not injured.
Additional features
You can significantly expand the functionality of the lawn mower through the use of special nozzles that come with it in the kit or purchased separately. As standard, all devices of this type are equipped with grass catchers and a mulching function, which involves the simultaneous grinding of mowed grass, which is subsequently used as fertilizer for the lawn itself or for vegetable crops. And the self-propelled gas mower is capable of all this. The rating of these devices will help you finally make a choice.
The cost of lawn mowers depends on the totality of all these parameters, that is, the more features the tool has, the higher its cost.