Lawn Care
Information, Tips And Tricks
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If you're thinking of buying a new
gas mower, a few decisions will
have to be made.
 Mulching mowers have specially designed decks to improve the
flow of grass cuttings under the deck. Once the grass blades have
been cut the deck routes the blades of grass to be cut over and
over again by a specially designed mulching blade. The mulching
blade cuts and re-cuts the grass blades until they become very small
pieces of grass that can easily fall down to ground level and be
used as nutrients. When buying a mulching mower you'll want to keep in mind that all of this cutting and re-cutting as you move over your lawn will require more horsepower than a bagging / side discharge mower that simply cuts the grass blade once and throws it. There's no replacement for displacement as they say so try to buy a larger displacement higher torque motor if you want a mulcher. Mulching is generally easier than bagging as you're not constantly trying to find a place to dump / compost your clippings. The mulching mower doesn't get heavier as you mow because there is no bag to fill up and weigh your mower down. Purpose made mulching mowers generally do a great job at getting the grass down to a size that falls into the lawn – not on top of the lawn. The extra nutrients being dropped into the lawn will save you a small amount on fertilizer costs. Where mulching mowers show weakness is in long wet grass. There may be times, often during the spring, where your lawn is growing out of control and the rain just won't allow you get out and mow it. When you're finally able to get out and mow the mulching mower is going to have a fight on it's hands with long damp grass. You'll hear a fair amount of banging and clanging as clumps of wet grass bang around under the deck. These clumps will usually not get mulched enough to fall into the lawn and will be left on top of the grass. Combination bag/mulch/side discharge mowers are better at the above scenario. If your lawn has gotten out of control or you often need to mow it when it's wet, the bagging mulching mower will do the job with ease either by collecting the grass or simply discharging it out the side until you can get back and mow in dryer weather. A combination type gas mower will not likely do as good a job at mulching as a purpose built mulching mower (although there are some that come extremely close). Look for a combination mower with a good mulching blade, or consider buying an aftermarket mulching blade – it will make a big difference even if the deck is not purposely built for mulching. A bagging mower will, in most cases, leave your lawn looking nicer than a mulching mower. Many believe that a purpose built mulcher can come so close in after cut appearances that it's just not worth the extra work of emptying the bag as required on a bagging mower. A combination type mower with a good or aftermarket mulching blade is seen by many to be the best of both worlds – bag or side discharge when your lawn is damp those first few times in the spring. Use the mulching feature during normal mowing months, then vacuum the fall leaves up with the bag attachment in the fall. |
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|Lawn Care Information, Tips And Tricks | Buying A
New Gas Lawnmower