Lawn mowers have been around for a long time. The first one was invented back in 1830. It was a manual and basic lawn mower. Over the years, innovation has continued as people desire perfect and immaculately manicured lawns reminiscent of golf courses. From these innovations we now have hovers, robotic mowers and even tractors keeping lawns clean and tidy.
Common to all of these modern lawn mowers is the simple mode of operation they use. The manual lawn mowers are reel mowers. They cut grass in the same way scissors cut things. In the manual mower, a cylindrical blade moves as the mower is pushed. This blade moves the grass pushing it against a stationary horizontal blade thereby slicing the grass. Smooth operation of this mower depends on the strength of the user.
The petrol or electric powered mowers have a motor that rotates the blades fast enough to cut the grass as it hits it. These are called rotary mowers and are the most common mowers used today. Most walk behind, tractor, hover and robotic mowers are rotary mowers.
The blades of the rotary mowers are stationed in a deck. The deck is a covering that keeps the blades contained and out of sight. This protects the user from flying debris and stones that can cause injury. The deck is then pushed on four wheels, and controlled using a steering wheel as in the tractor mowers or handle bars as in the walk behind mowers. The hover lawn mowers do not have wheels. In these mowers, the deck is propelled by an air cushion.
For efficiency and smooth operation all lawn mowers get rid of the glass clippings from underneath the deck. The clippings can be bagged or disposed of through a side discharge.