With over 13 different types of lawn mowers, it’s okay to get confused and wonder which is the best lawn mower for you.
Whether you’ve got a lawn pending to mow or have just completed your weekly mowing, a quality lawn mower can help you make your lawn clean, beautiful, and healthy.
Whatever your needs are, it’s crucial to check the best type of mower after you consider the size of your yard and how many obstacles you must mow around.
What’s the Best Type Of Lawn Mower?
The best type of lawn mower provides you with the exact required power to mow the lawn with ease and comfort.
Remember, this mantra will stop you from overspending or underspending when buying any type of lawnmower.
With that said, explore all the different types of lawnmowers to make sure you’re investing your money in the right place.
Whichever type of mower you choose, always compare it with your budget, required specifications, and lawn needs. Therefore, we have divided all the different types of lawnmowers into three basic categories.
Let’s Start With All The Different Types Of Lawn Mowers
1. Ride or Ride-on Lawnmowers
If you’ve got a large yard to mow, the best riding mowers are the perfect fit to experience comfort and ease while mowing.
This type of mower has four wheels, a comfortable seat, a steering wheel, a powerful engine at the back, and a handful of adjustment options to cut grass as per the desired length.
The best part is that riding mowers for 1 acre requires less effort as all you’ve to do is rotate the steering and turn the wheels in the desired direction.
However, different types of riding mowers work through different forms of power output. For example, some work through gasoline while others use electric power to run all across the yard.
Also, most types of riding mowers usually offer a horsepower range between 30-40, making lawn mowing as easy as pie.
2. Lawn Tractors
As described by name, lawn tractors are a traditional type of lawn mower, mostly suitable for mowing commercial lawns up to more than 1 acre.
With similar features to riding lawn mowers, lawn tractors are of larger size than riding mowers and usually come with two front and back small wheels.
However, they have front-mounted engines that supply enough power to run the mower. Moreover, the fine and precise cutting is the result of the large cutting decks of size being between 42-54 inches.
Also, lawn tractors offer a variety of variable transmissions, from pulley-drive automatic, lever-operated gear, to hydrostatic pedal transmission.
3. Zero-turn Mowers
Zero-turn mowers are best for lawns that need mowing with less flexibility and tight 360-degree turning circles.
Whether you need a mower for landscaping, cutting, or trimming, this type of mower can cater up to 100 cm- 1500 cm in width.
Due to its compact size and lightweight frame, it is easy to carry and maneuver all across the yard for precise and fine cuttings.
Moreover, zero-turn mowers have the turning decks right in front to quickly identify any obstacle while mowing.
4. Walk-Behind Mowers
Another efficient type of mower we have is the walk-behind mower powered by a powerful engine which is ideal to mow small to large yards easily.
Whether on rough grass or unshaped types of yard, large walk-behind mowers require manual force to move across the yard.
With powerful internal mechanisms, they can mow lawns for 2-4 hours straight, whether for bumpy slopes or patchy types of yards.
5. Reel Mowers
What we have on our list next is another simplest, most cost-effective, and the best type of lawnmower.
Reel mowers are pretty simple grass-cutting machines with sharp circular blades that cut the grass as you move the mower forward.
Not only this, but the best reel mowers are also lightweight, easy to move, and make cutting a breeze by trimming the grass into fine cuttings. Unlike other different types of lawn mowers, they also control noise emission to save your ears from unpleasant noise. With multiple helical blades that spin with a horizontal shaft, they can cut almost any grass type easily and quickly.
6. Rotatory Mowers
Rotatory mowers are the ideal type of mower that comes with horizontally rotating blades to uplift the grass to get cut easily.
Moreover, they offer a variety of cuttings, including mulching, bagging, clippings, landscaping, other types of yard work, etc.
This type of lawn mower comes with an engine fitted that reduces exhaustion during mowing.
They’re also the best for-flat surfaces, bumpy slopes, rough terrain and larger yards that need tough mowers.
Not only cheaper but they are comparatively more efficient than the expensive types of lawnmowers available for sale.
7. Self-propelled Lawnmower
The most interesting part about self-propelled mowers is that they don’t require any manual force but drive on themselves.
So, all you’ve to do is control the steering wheel and decide where to mow. This way, you can save time and effort by mowing at a consistent speed.
8. Push Mowers
As one of the best types of push mowers in terms of flexibility, they feature powerful engines run by manual push force.
However, the engine works when you push the mower in the required direction to cut the grass.
Also, they are eco-friendly and don’t emit harmful fumes which makes them the best type of lawn mower for the environment.
In addition, they are flexible and versatile yet can cover an array of lawn types and sizes as the best type of lawn mower for all small-medium-sized yards.
When you start a push power, the motor spins a whorl that causes the blades to mow over the grass even on bumpy yards.
9. Hover Mowers
Another flexible type of lawnmower that hovers by a cushion of air and mows the lawn. What sets them apart is that hover mowers don’t leave wheel marks on the lawn.
Moreover, they’re lightweight and work best on steep slopes, golf areas, high-weed areas, yards with flat yards etc. When supplied with power, these mowers spin the blades that fill the air cushion, allowing the mower to trim the grass into fine cuttings.
Most hover mowers are built of lightweight plastic bodies that are easy to carry and mow around.
These types of mowers have special sharp cutting blades that work best for short-height grass, such as golf grass.
10. Cylinder Mowers
Cylinder lawnmowers are very small, compact, and have a cylindrical body to roll over the yard while cutting.
As the most flexible type of lawnmower, they are famous for their excellent, clean, and precise grass cuttings.
From slicing and chopping to trimming and mulching, and bagging, cylinder mowers are popular for their incredible cutting efficiency. With a stationary bed knife that cuts the grass by shearing action, they also ensure the safety of grass blades.
Also, mowing with cylinder mowers on soft and wet grass can give your lawn a decent striped effect
Some of the cylinder mowers have a grass box in front and motors at the back. This feature helps in identifying any bump and cutting the grass without impacting its high speed.
11. Robot Mowers
The truth is that robot lawn mowers are the most advanced and efficient type of lawn mowers that don’t require your presence to mow the lawn.
This means you don’t need to constantly monitor your mowing or push it around all around the yard.
Like a remote-control car, robot lawn mowers follow the commands that you convey through the remote control.
Thing is one of the most convenient mowers among all the different and best types of lawnmowers.
However, you would have to install a boundary wire to restrict the robot lawnmower dimensions and only mow around a certain area.
It has two small wheels on both sides of the mower with all the other internal mechanisms fitted inside the mower.
No matter what time of the day, you simply need to turn on the mower, set its operations, and chill in your hammock while enjoying a freshly trimmed lawn.
12. Rear-engine Mowers
Rear-engine mowers are a sub-type of riding lawn mowers in which the engine is present on the rear side of the mower.
Not only are they cheap plus have low maintenance costs, but they also are extremely versatile for high maneuverability.
In addition, rear-engine mowers are specially designed to mow through tight spaces.
Compared to other types of mowers, rear-engine mowers allow a wise and flexible turning radius to help with the mowing.
13. Front-engine Mowers
This type of lawn mower is slightly bigger with a powerful engine fitted to the front side of the mower.
On average, they can cover an area of up to 1 acre or more, depending on the type of front-engine mower you choose.
However, they are more effective than rear-engine mowers because of their high efficiency and speed to mow without interruptions.
With slightly bigger deck sizes and sharp blade cutting, such types of mowers make your mowing job easier in one take only.
The best part is that front-engine mowers have special helpful accessories, including two-behind accessories, spreaders, and dump carts. With high-powered engines, they work well for slight inclines where you can just lift the mower to a small extent.
Power Options For All The Different Types Of Lawn Mowers
Lawnmowers are just another machine that requires power from a smooth and efficient power supply. Whichever type of mower you choose, make sure it receives a consistent power supply either in the form of water, electricity, or gas.
Having said that, let’s explore different power options for lawnmowers and how they drive the result.
Battery Powered Mowers
Electric mowers run by battery power and have a special high-power battery fitted inside them. As a result, the price of such mowers may increase or decrease depending upon the quality of the battery and ultimate results.
Moreover, electric mowers are lightweight and backed by powerful lithium-ion batteries that offer good running times to ease and quicken your mowing.
That is why it’s recommended to charge the battery before mowing so that you don’t get interrupted midway.
Some lawnmower dimension models come with the attached battery, while for others, you would separately have to buy a lawn mower battery.
With proper battery maintenance and replacement, you can make your electric lawnmower last up to 5 years and save you enough time and effort.
Gas-powered Lawnmowers
Gas-powered mowers use gas to power the engines and get the mowing done. However, they work more smoothly and run more efficiently than the other types of lawn mowers.
Also, they use less power and offer increased running times with quick, right, and fine cuttings.
Also, they are better than most types of mowers in terms of efficiency, size, and weight which makes it easy to mow large lawns with thick, bushy, and rough grass.
With easy maneuverability and quick steering, most gas mowers work quite well with many different types of yards.
Electric Lawnmowers
As the most refined type of lawn mower, they fall in an affordable range and receive power through an electrical outlet.
Cordless mowers have a battery to supply power to the engine while corded mowers come with a detachable cord to maintain a consistent supply of electricity.
If you’re looking to buy electric mowers but have doubts, read our article on the best electric lawn mowers to make your decision easy and right.
Manual Powered Lawnmowers
The most common types of mowers that run by manual power include push mowers and large walk-behind mowers.
Such mowers are extremely simple to run and cost less than other types of lawn mowers. Most of them start with a push that moves the mower in front to let the blade cut grass easily.
Conclusion
There’s no denying the fact that mowing lawns can be a nightmare if you’ve purchased the wrong type of lawn mower. Whether you choose a manual mower or invest money in the best electric mower, make sure to check its compatibility with your lawn needs.
