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Analyze your lawnmower needs.
First you need to decide what size lawnmower you need. It doesn't make since to purchase a riding mower if you have a 50 square foot lawn. If you have a very small lawn, you may be able to get away with a manual push mower. If you have an average to medium size lawn, a standard walk behind rotary blade mower will work. Large lawns will be easiest to manage with a riding mower. Don't purchase more mower than you need just to impress the neighbors. |
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Push Reel Mowers
They may not make you the coolest guy or gal on the block, but they get the job done. They are relatively inexpensive and will save you money on gasoline. Push mowers have a cylinder with blades on it. As you push the mower, the cylinder turns and slices the grass. You need to make sure to keep the blades sharp to maintain its efficiency. Reel mowers can be tiring to operate and are best suited to small yards. They do have the benefit however of being able to cut grass much lower and cleaner than rotary mowers. They are also available in gasoline powered versions. |
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Traditional Rotary Lawnmowers
This is what most people think of when they think about lawnmowers. These machines cut the grass with a circularly rotating flat blade mounted under the mower. You have many options available depending on your needs and they are available in a variety of widths to accommodate different sized yards. You can purchase these mowers in either a gas powered or an electric version. You will save gas with the more environmentally friendly electric versions but they are more tedious as they require you to keep track of an electric cord and they do not cut long grass as well as the gas powered mowers. Mulching is another available feature which will cut the grass into smaller pieces allowing you to not have to rake. This is important in areas where bagging lawn clippings is illegal. Another option is a self propelled feature. This is especially useful if you have a large yard or have back problems which make mowing difficult. It can make cutting uneven sloping lawns a much easier task. |
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Riding Mowers
These are wonderful if you have a very large lawn. They can save you a tremendous amount of time. Some will even come with hitches for pulling a small trailer. This can be very useful in maintaining a large yard. If you don't have a huge lawn however, they can be a waste of money. These mowers can cost thousands of dollars and require a large area to store it in. They will also be more expensive to maintain.
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CHOOSING
A LAWNMOWER