Lawn Mowers UK

If you own about half an acre of lawn, the best lawn motion available is Ride-on and in case you have a much bigger lawn, then larger machines will be more suitable. Ride-on lawn mowers are also termed as Lawn tractors, Garden tractors and Ride on tractors. They all are essentially the same thing. A lawn tractor is normally used to refer to a large ride on mower which is built with the capability of cutting areas extending more than an acre of lawn. Garden tractors do seem to have larger capacities with larger engines, bigger grass collectors, more gears and are usually larger in size. If you require a bigger space to mow, then these machines should ideally suit you.

Types of Ride on Lawn mowers:

There are 2 basic types of ride on mowers that you can find in the market, but in essence these are powered by petrol which will provide the required power and operating range you need for such a lawn mower.

Tractor Ride On Mowers:

These types of mowers are similar to a type of small tractor vehicle having cutting blades underneath and collection box is supplied at the rear. As a user, you can just drive the lawn mower over the area you have to cut. The rest of the work will be done by blades underneath. These mowers are built with a series of controls and levels to engage the mechanism of cutting and for adjusting the cutting height. Designed with wide pneumatic tyres, you can get over uneven surfaces, even in wet conditions, without shredding the lawn. These mowers are usually designed to mow in a rotary manner which provides a good but not very fine cut. These machines can tackle longish grasses with a great deal of ease owing to the engine’s power.

Adapted Petrol Mowers:

These mowers have been launched in the market recently and come with a lot of bigger high-end petrol mowers that could be connected to a roller/seat attachment. You can purchase these mowers usually as a push along version, though they have adequate engine power. The self propulsion feature lets you convert it into a ride on mower. The adapted petrol mowers are sold in the form of a cylinder type cut and this will offer an extremely fine cut. However, it is not suited for long grasses.

Things to consider:

Size of Garden: One of the key factors to consider is the shape and size of the cutting area, be it grass verge, garden or field. Purchasing the widest cutter may not prove to be a useful option, if your mower requires mowing around difficult areas including kerbs, trees and gates. You will find that ride on mowers generally feature a cutting width of roughly 25” to 32” with bigger lawn tractors being a bit wider at 32” to 50”.

Grass Collectors: The collection units of the Ride on Mower are generally located at the rear of the lawn mower.  A few models are integrated with other features such as a mulcher that will let you spray a nice layer of grass which is freshly cut across the cutting area.

Size: The tractor type lawn mowers are usually sized according to the width of their cutting deck and that will provide you the width of the grass strip which will be cut at any one time. It is always a good practise to manoeuvre with balance speed of cut, particularly if you encounter fixed obstacles like trees in your garden. Storage of the machine too will crop up as an issue in terms of its overall size.

Engine power: This is usually measured in horse power (hp) and apparently, the higher the horsepower, the more powerful the engine. You will require an Engine Horse Power of 6.5hp, 12.5hp, 13.5hp and 15hp+ for a garden size (area) of up to 0.5 acre, 0.75 acre, 1.0 acre and over 1 acre respectively.    

Buying considerations:

Check out the following aspects before you go for a riding lawn mower including Type of ignition: Manual or Electric, number of gears of the mower, availability of the reverse gear, size of the engine (whether the engine is large), convenience of the steering (particularly in small spaces), comfort level of the seat, availability of a cover or options to store the mower, sufficient insurance for ride on mower, type of blade system: Single or twin, number of cutting heights, width of the cutter & option for the mower to fit through all the narrow spaces such as paths and gates, option to store the mower at this width, option of both foot and hand operation, fuel consumption and eco-friendly option.

Maintaining ride on lawn mowers:

One has to follow a regular maintenance schedule as Ride on lawn mowers are basically powered by petrol engine. This basically involves the routine process of changing and checking the oil and inspection of spark plugs. It is also recommended that you carry out a safety check because of the power and size of the machines that will ensure the ‘road worthiness’ of the equipment.

Cleaning: Like you find in all mowers, there may be grass or debris stuck to the underside of the chassis or blades. These should be cleaned off after you make every cut, particularly if the grass is wet or damp. You can also find in some of the tractor mowers, a hose attachment on the cutting deck that will let the blades to be cleaned when you spray on them as they rotate.

Winter Storage: You should store the ride on mowers in as dry conditions as possible so as to avoid corrosion.

Bottom Line:

Larger horse power machines have a place for itself in the market. However, the reality is that if you require a ride-on, then you have to shell out enough money to purchase a good one. Therefore, spend some time researching online and go for a good brand that actually sells quality ride-ons.

The price comparison section for Ride on Lawn mowers brings you some of the latest and cheapest models available in the market. Find some of the popular ride-ons at the top of the section with their prices, technical features, and specifications of leading brands. These ride-ons are distributed by leading shops, merchants and retailers in the UK and of course they offer you the best deals and cheapest prices on these models.