Things that we used daily are worn out fast and need to be maintained occasionally to keep it in tip top condition. That goes the same for our beloved garden buddy – lawn mower. Instead of sending your lawn mower for maintenance, I will share with you a few tips to DIY the maintenance yourself at home.
1) Clean your lawn mower when it is between the months of October and November. This is to prepare for spring and prevent it to malfunction.
2) Drain your lawn mower by running your motor dry during winter. In case there is fuel left in your tank, remove and keep it in a container. Alternatively, you can use it to top up your car to avoid the wastage.
3) Change your oil every 2 years and the best period is just before spring. You can simply drain off the old oil and replace it with new ones. You might think that it is a waste of the oil but is recommended to do it to prevent other fault especially if your lawn mower has been used for the past 5-6 years.
4) To prevent the air filter of the lawn mower from getting clogged, you can clean it gently by using a brush. I know it is inexpensive to get a new filter but this doesn’t take you more than 15 minutes.
5) Replace spark plugs regularly and these could be purchased from the hardware store. You can check out your instructional manual on how you can go about replacing it and this shouldn’t be too difficult for most lawn mower brands. Make sure you know the exact specifications of the spark plugs before getting one to avoid the hassle of changing it again.
6) Like the cutlery knives, the mower blades get blunt over a period of time due to wear and tear. You can either purchase a new set of blades or sharpen it. The procedure of sharpening the blade is exactly the same as how you sharpen your cutlery knives.
7) Check on the underside of your mower for any dirt and clean it using a paint scraper.
These are some simple maintenance tips that you can adhere to save you some money. Follow these tips and you will realize that your lawn mower can actually last you longer before you need to send it for major repair. With the current economic conditions, it is definitely helpful to reduce our expenses in any way that we could. Do share with me in the comments below if you have any other methods that you use to maintain your lawn mower.
Different Types Of Lawn Mower
I believed most of you have try riding on lawn mower in certain point of your life and you must be pretty familiar with it. This process is part and parcel of everyday life and is vital to maintain a healthy lawn. Therefore, we need lawn mower to aid us in maintaining a beautiful lawn and to lighten our work load. You will be able to find various types of lawn mower in the market and each serve different purposes.
To make things simple, we can actually categorized lawn mowers into two types:
1) Push lawn mower
It can be operated manually either with gas or electricity. Manual lawn mower is classified to be more eco-friendly as it needs to be push and need not require the usage of chemicals. Thus, there is no pollution cause by this type of lawn mower.
On the other hand, gas or electricity operated lawn mower is less eco-friendly due to the output that is emitted into the environment. It is also noted by a few of my friends that gas operated lawn mower is a hassle since it often dirty the area after re-fueling the lawn mower.
2) Riding lawn mower
It is also more commonly know as lawn tractors. This type of lawn mower is more skewed towards large scale yards or lawn. Unless you need to mow more than 1/2 acre of land or you are someone who hates working in the lawn, it is not really necessary to get a riding lawn mower since it is more expensive as compared to the push type.
Different Functions/Features Of Lawn Mowers
1) Mulching lawn mower
This is very helpful urban and suburban homeowners since it reduces the amount of time we need to spend on the lawn. Instead of spreading mulch with our hands, we can actually use a lawn mower to aid us with this process. It will mulch the grass clippings and leave it behind on the lawn to function as fertilizer. You can choose to attach a bag to collect the grass clippings which is not recommended by me since it can be use to mulch the lawn instead.
2) Rotary lawn mower
This type of lawn mower cuts the grass with its rotating blade. The blade rotates horizontally which is even usable in uneven lawn. The distance between the lawn and the blade can be easily adjusted which makes mowing much more easy.
Do not be confused with the reel mower as it is slightly different from rotary ones. The blade of reel mower rotates vertically and usually contains more blades. However, it is more difficult to manage reel mower if you intend to use it to cut very high grass but is healthier for the lawn.
3) Cylinder lawn mower
You can expect to get a cleaner cut of grass with cylinder lawn mower. It has a spiral blade that is covered around with a cylinder. It cuts grass by ‘scissor like’ action and the cut will be of good quality if the lawn mower is in good condition which includes the condition of the blade. However, it is not recommended if you are working on an uneven lawn and it will be much more difficult to maintain as compared to rotary or reel lawn mower.
4) Hover lawn mower
It rides on a cushion of air which allows it to glide over your lawn quickly. This type of lawn mower is best used on steep slopes, uneven lawn or difficult corners.
Be objective when buying a lawn mower and only get the one that is most suited to the condition of your lawn. For example, you can choose to using a riding lawn mower if you have a large lawn with few trees or use push mower if you have a smaller lawn.
If you wish to workout during mowing, reel mower is the best choice for you. Select an electric mower if you are someone who is lazy and hates working in the lawn.
Don’t be mislead by the beautiful lawn mower shown in brochures and catalogues because it might not be the one you need. Make sure your money if spent worthwhile. Hope this article gives you a better idea on the different type of lawn mowers. Choose the right one and have fun mowing this weekend.
To make things simple, we can actually categorized lawn mowers into two types:
1) Push lawn mower
It can be operated manually either with gas or electricity. Manual lawn mower is classified to be more eco-friendly as it needs to be push and need not require the usage of chemicals. Thus, there is no pollution cause by this type of lawn mower.
On the other hand, gas or electricity operated lawn mower is less eco-friendly due to the output that is emitted into the environment. It is also noted by a few of my friends that gas operated lawn mower is a hassle since it often dirty the area after re-fueling the lawn mower.
2) Riding lawn mower
It is also more commonly know as lawn tractors. This type of lawn mower is more skewed towards large scale yards or lawn. Unless you need to mow more than 1/2 acre of land or you are someone who hates working in the lawn, it is not really necessary to get a riding lawn mower since it is more expensive as compared to the push type.
Different Functions/Features Of Lawn Mowers
1) Mulching lawn mower
This is very helpful urban and suburban homeowners since it reduces the amount of time we need to spend on the lawn. Instead of spreading mulch with our hands, we can actually use a lawn mower to aid us with this process. It will mulch the grass clippings and leave it behind on the lawn to function as fertilizer. You can choose to attach a bag to collect the grass clippings which is not recommended by me since it can be use to mulch the lawn instead.
2) Rotary lawn mower
This type of lawn mower cuts the grass with its rotating blade. The blade rotates horizontally which is even usable in uneven lawn. The distance between the lawn and the blade can be easily adjusted which makes mowing much more easy.
Do not be confused with the reel mower as it is slightly different from rotary ones. The blade of reel mower rotates vertically and usually contains more blades. However, it is more difficult to manage reel mower if you intend to use it to cut very high grass but is healthier for the lawn.
3) Cylinder lawn mower
You can expect to get a cleaner cut of grass with cylinder lawn mower. It has a spiral blade that is covered around with a cylinder. It cuts grass by ‘scissor like’ action and the cut will be of good quality if the lawn mower is in good condition which includes the condition of the blade. However, it is not recommended if you are working on an uneven lawn and it will be much more difficult to maintain as compared to rotary or reel lawn mower.
4) Hover lawn mower
It rides on a cushion of air which allows it to glide over your lawn quickly. This type of lawn mower is best used on steep slopes, uneven lawn or difficult corners.
Be objective when buying a lawn mower and only get the one that is most suited to the condition of your lawn. For example, you can choose to using a riding lawn mower if you have a large lawn with few trees or use push mower if you have a smaller lawn.
If you wish to workout during mowing, reel mower is the best choice for you. Select an electric mower if you are someone who is lazy and hates working in the lawn.
Don’t be mislead by the beautiful lawn mower shown in brochures and catalogues because it might not be the one you need. Make sure your money if spent worthwhile. Hope this article gives you a better idea on the different type of lawn mowers. Choose the right one and have fun mowing this weekend.
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