Lawn Care?

Does anyone know of any good lawn care professionals in the Indianapolis area and surrounding suburbs? I prefer not to go with large companies like Trugreen. Prefer small individualized companies.

Advantages Of Cordless Lawnmowers

When people talk about cordless lawnmowers, they usually mean the kind that are powered by a battery. These are called cordless electric lawnmowers, and they are usually powered by one to four 12 volt batteries that are usually rechargeable. The amount of batteries usually dictates how long your lawnmower is capable of cutting grass before recharging. This is one thing to keep in mind when buying an electric cordless lawnmower.

Electric cordless lawnmowers can be somewhat more expensive than their corded counteparts. However, in the long run you might actually end up saving money as you won’t have to buy petrol or oil. For example, the Rotak 43 LI cordless lawnmower sells at around 350 gbp and is capable of cutting with the same power as a corded lawnmower. This lawnmower also recharges quickly, thanks to its innovative lithium-ion battery. A cordless electric lawnmower, like the Rotak 43 LI, is perfectly suitable for lawns between 300 and 600 square metres in size.

The greatest benefits of corded electric lawnmowers are the lack of smell, much quieter sound and the fact that it doesn’t have a cord, which can be quite a hassle with conventional electric lawnmowers.

The Bosch Rotak models have gathered numerous extremely positive feedbacks on sites such as Amazon, and it’s no wonder because these lawnmowers are so far ahead of their competitors’ choices.

If, however, your lawn is bigger than 600 square metres, you should consider buying a corded electric lawnmower, such as the Bosch Rotak 40. This powerful lawnmower is an excellent choice for medium to large lawns.

Simple Lawnmower Maintenance

If you are having trouble starting up your petrol lawnmower the following tips will have your lawnmower starting in no time!

The Spark Plug

The most usual cause of a failure to start is a dirty spark plug. After disconnecting the wire attached to the plug, remove it using a wrench. If the plug is wet looking or black this is the reason the mower will not start. Clean the spark plug top with fine sandpaper making sure that the area around the metal tab is cleaned. Ensure there is a gap between the electrode and the metal tab and use a set of feeler gauges to check the gap if you have the specifications.

Clean off any loose dust,make sure it is dry, then replace on the lawnmower engine.

Check the air filter and replace if it is oily and dirty. If it is just dusty shake it out and put it back in the engine.

Check the oil level and top up if necessary.

If you drained the gas at the end of the mowing season fill it up. If there is still gas from last season drain it out first.

Make sure the fuel line switch is on. Fuel lines do get clogged so if the lawnmower still does not start disconnect the line from the carburetor to see that fuel comes out easily. if not you will need to replace the fuel line.

Cleaning the Carburetor

Turn off the fuel line and find the nut on the bottom of the carburetor. Remove it and take off the bottom portion of the carburetor.Clean inside and ensure the float valve can move freely. Replace the bottom part of the carburetor and turn the fuel line back on.

The lawnmower should now start!

A final task before beginning a mowing season is to sharpen the blade. Now you are ready for a full season of mowing.

Choosing a Riding or a Zero Turn Lawnmower

Riding lawnmowers are those lawnmowers that have a rear engine and on which an operator rises. A ride-on lawnmower, also called a lawn tractor has an engine in the front. We will describe riding lawnmowers in this article.

We can distinguish riding lawnmowers into two types, regular riding lawnmowers and zero turn lawnmowers. A regular lawnmower takes between four and twenty eight inches to turn through 180 degrees. This is wasted movement and zero turn lawnmowers are designed to eliminate this waste. Zero turn lawnmowers are also faster than regular lawnmowers, up to twice the speed.

The steering system on a regular lawnmower has a front steering wheel to turn the front wheels, the radius depending on the design. Zero turn lawnmowers steer by means of two handles that control the rear wheels, separately. This allows independent rotation of the rear wheels. By moving one forward and one in reverse the lawnmower can be rotated in place.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The most important consideration when choosing between a regular lawnmower and a zero turn lawnmower is usually the cost. A regular rinding lawnmower costs between $1500 and $3000. Zero turn lawnmowers are considerably more expensive, starting at around $2500 and reaching $7000 or more.

Another consideration is speed. A regular lawnmower has a top speed of around 4mph, a zero turn lawnmower around 9mph. In addition to getting through the lawnmowing much faster a zero turn lawnmower is fun to ride!

For a lawn with many obstacles, benches, flower beds etc a zero turn lawnmower will be much easier to operate, easily cutting grass right up to the obstacle.

Choosing the Type of Lawnmower You Need

Cylinder Lawnmowers

Ideal for even lawns, cylinder lawnmowers have close cutting, vertically rotating blades. They are not so easy to use on uneven lawns. They have different cutting widths, detachable collection boxes and usually rear rollers to give a striped effect. They can be purchased in electric, petrol or hand pushed model.

Rotary Lawnmowers

Rotary lawnmowers have horizontal rotating blades which give a slightly rougher appearance than cylinder models. They are better however on uneven lawns with slopes or humps or on lawns with rough patches and weeds.

They have adjustable cutting heights and built in rollers for striped effects. They can be purchased in electric, petrol driven or manual/ self propelled models.

Hover Lawnmowers

Ideal for mowing small or medium lawns in record time they have rotating blades that float just above the surface. They do not give such an even cut as other types but they are very good for uneven lawns and sloping lawns. They are inexpensive to buy and lightweight so are easy to carry and store. They all use electric power.

Some Considerations When Buying Lawnmowers

1. To collect grass clippings use the biggest collection box possible for the most convenience
2. For a larger lawn choose a mower with the widest cutting area to speed up grass cutting time.
3. For a nice striped effect choose a lawnmower that flattens the grass in one direction

5 Tips for a Healthy Lawn

1. Watering – Water less frequently but more deeply! The recommended amount of water for most lawns in most climates is one inch, once a week. One way to measure this is to place containers around your lawn. Water as usual and note how long it takes for the containers to fill up to one inch. This is how long you need to water. Also take note of which areas do not get so much water and may need the use of a sprinkler. When the surface of the lawn feels dry it’s time to water again. This will ensure that the grass roots grow deeply.

2. Cutting – Always cut the grass to the recommended height for the type of grass you have. Some people recommend that you use the highest setting but we do not recommend this. It is much better to find out the recommended cutting height for your particular type of grass and use this.

3. Aeration – Aeration prevents soil compaction by allowing air, water and nutrients into the soil. Machines for aerating lawns are available. They punch plugs out of the soil and distribute them on the lawn. This does look a bit ugly but they soil disappear!

4. Mulch – use a mulching lawnmower and use the clipping to feed back organic materials into your lawn. You will need much less fertiliser. Mulching does not cause thatch but can make it worse so do not mulch until the thatch is dealt with.

5. Fertilise – Use an organic fertiliser with a NPK ratio of 3/2/1. Always follow the directions given.

Reel and Rotary lawnmower Basics

The basic types of lawnmowers are rotary mowers and reel mowers. Reel mowers were invented in 1830 by Edwin Budding but were slow and awkward to use and heavy. The rotary lawnmower was invented by Power Specialties in 1933. The first lawnmowers were all manually operated. Only gradually were engines added.

Reel Lawnmowers

These types of lawnmowers use blades mounted on a revolving cylinder. As the mower moves forward, the blades contact a stationary bar, called a bed knife, which is parallel to the ground. Grass, held by the bed knife and the grass is cut as the blades form a shearing action against the bed knife. reel mowers can be adjusted for different cutting heights.

The shearing action allows shorter cuts to be made by a reel mower than a rotary mower and they are used on golf courses for this reason. They also give a cleaner cut and leave finer grass clippings than rotary mowers. For the most efficient use the blade must be adjusted correctly. The rotating blades must be at the correct distance from the bed knife. Too close and they will catch the bed knife, too far away and the cut will be ragged.

Rotary Lawnmowers

In a rotary motor a flat blade turns, driven by the engine. The blade is attached to the engine shaft and rotates at the speed of the engine. A deck holds the engine, provides a safety shield for the blade and creates a vacuum to lift the grass to help make a better cut. Rotary mulching mowers have further blades to finely chop the grass after it has been cut to provide a mulch for the lawn.

On long grass rotary mowers are much easier to use than reel mowers but do not give such an even cut. This is because the grass tends to bend as the horizontal blade spins even with a lawnmower with a ‘vacuum chamber’ design. They are easier to maintain however and it is easy to remove and sharpen the horizontal blade.