What is a trimmer mower and what size lawn mower do I need for my yard? Find answers to all your lawn mower questions to find the mower that fits like a glove.
Walking into your local hardware or farm store to buy a new mower isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. Do you need a trimmer mower or a walk-behind mower? Perhaps a ride-on model would be better, but should you get a zero-turn or traditional lawn tractor? On top of that, there are traditional gas-powered models and new battery-electric options. So many choices, it’s enough to make your head spin almost as fast as a mower blade. But with a little research and thought, it’s easy to pick the perfect mower for you and your property.
What Size Lawn Mower Do I Need?
Think of your property and the area you want to mow. Is it a small, suburban lot with flower beds and hardscape features that you need to maneuver around, or do you have a large open lawn with few obstacles? Or perhaps you have something in the middle. The size and shape of your property are the first things that will guide you to the right type of mower, and depending on your property, you may benefit from having more than one option, so let’s explore.
What is a Trimmer Mower
Trimmer mowers are similar to string trimmers, but tend to be more powerful, cut a wider path, and best of all, have wheels. Trimmer mowers are great for those with minimal yard space and can be a great companion to your walk-behind or ride-on mower. With more powerful engines than handheld string trimmers, trimmer mowers can cut down severely overgrown grass and weeds, and even light brush growing close to foundations, fence posts, and trees. Some models offer accessories that allow you to cut woody material and saplings up to 3″ thick. The wheels on a trimmer mower mean you won’t have to deal with the back and arm fatigue common with using a heavy string trimmer. Simply push and point the trimmer where you need it — or upgrade to a self-propelled model and the mower will do the pushing for you.
Walk-Behind Mowers
Walk-behind mowers are perfect for small to medium yards of less than an acre. They’re also ideal for areas where a ride-on mower might not fit, such as through tightly placed trees, between garden beds, and on steep slopes. You might hear these mowers referred to as “push” mowers and have flashbacks of pushing the old single-blade as you sweat under the sun. But today’s mowers can be anything from a 20″ single-blade model to a 30″ dual-blade wide-area mower, and many walk-behind mowers are self-propelled. You just stroll behind the mower, guiding its path. It may not be as relaxing as a walk through the park, but it’s close.
Mulching Push Mower
Just when you thought your choices were complete, both walk-behind and ride-on mowers offer deck and blade configurations that allow you to mulch, bag, or discharge grass clippings while mowing. Each option has benefits and drawbacks. Mowers that mulch grass clippings use special decks and blades to repeatedly cut clippings, turning them into small organic mulch that seeps into your lawn and feeds the grass. However, if you mow less often or have thick, dense grass, a mulching-style mower can get bogged down, causing the blades to spin slower, producing a poorer quality of cut.
Bagging mowers feed clippings into a bag behind your mower’s deck, leaving behind a clean path with little to no grass clippings on the surface. This style of mower is great for those looking for a premium manicured look and can even help keep weeds at bay by removing seed heads before they spread. But bagging could also mean having to stop while mowing to dispose of the clippings, depending on your lawn and bag size.
Ride-On Mowers
Ride-on mowers are great for homes with wide-open yards of over an acre and are exactly what they sound like — mowers you can ride on. Available in a range of drive styles, including small rear engine mowers, zero-turn models that can turn on a dime, and the standard lawn tractor style you may have grown up with. Deck size is another key factor to consider when selecting the right riding mower. You’ll find models as narrow as 30″ that can fit almost anywhere a wide-area walk-behind mower can, all the way up to 60″ decks designed to mow large areas quickly and efficiently. While it may be tempting to go for a ride-on mower with a large deck, you could find yourself mowed into a corner. Be sure to think about where you mow — and what you mow around — so you can select the size that best suits your property. To ensure that your deck size fits your needs, measure the tightest space your mower will need to navigate, like between fence gates, and where you plan to store your mower to be sure it will fit easily.
Finally, be sure to factor in turning radius. A traditional lawn tractor turns just like your car, requiring a relatively wide area to maneuver while a zero-turn model turns on its center, making it easier to navigate around tight spaces.
Finally, side discharge mowers throw clippings out from a chute on the side of the mower deck and are the default style for most residential mowers. Side discharge mowers efficiently remove excess clippings from under the mower, so you can cut wet or tall grass quickly while maintaining a quality cut. The downside with this style of mower is that it doesn’t discriminate about where or what it throws from under the deck. Grass clippings and weed cuttings can end up in flower beds or patios, and rocks or seeds can become dangerous projectiles. It’s essential to remove stray objects from your yard and pay attention to the direction of the discharge to keep unwanted materials out of your flowers.
Lawn Mower: Electric vs Gas
Now that you know what type of mower you need, the last thing you need to decide is how you want to power it — gas or electric. Both are powerful options capable of cutting most lawns. But there are other factors you may want to consider, including annual maintenance needs, noise levels, and how long you need to mow.
On the maintenance side, there’s little comparison. Gas mowers require regular oil changes, new filters, spark plugs, and annual winterization, while electric mowers only require occasional blade sharpening. Noise is also where electric mowers shine. Their average of 75dB is close to the noise of a washing machine, compared to the gas mower’s 95dB, which is on par with a motorcycle engine. If you live in a close neighborhood or want to mow early in the morning without waking up the whole house — electric is the way to go.
The one place where gas mowers may still have an edge over residential electric models is their ability to mow for hours and quickly refuel to keep going all day. That said, electric mowers (like electric cars) go further and mow longer than ever before and have the same cutting performance as their gas counterpart. Today’s electric mowers can mow yards as large as 5 acres, recharge overnight, and are ready to go the next day.
Now you can hold your head high as you select your new mower, confident that it will be perfect for you and your yard. Happy mowing!