Rotary lawn mowers have a long blade that spins around its central point so that the area that it covers is a circle. The rapidly spinning blade cuts the grass with a scythe like motiion that slashes the grass. Sharpening the blades of a rotary mower is relatively simple when compared to maintaining the blades of a cylinder mower.
Both Petrol and Electric rotary models are available with either just the blade(s) or both the blades and the forward motion of the mower being powered by the power source. A self propelled rotary model is recommended for medium to large lawns as it requires less strength and exertion.
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Rotary mowers will handle uneven lawns and lawns with longer, rougher grass types. This is because the action of the spinning blade(s) does not suffer from getting overloaded when compared to cylinder models. This makes rotary lawn mowers a good deal more versatile than cylinder mowers although cylinder lawn mowers can give a better finish.
Rotary mowers normally come with side wheels and so a slight overlap should occur when mowing adjoining ‘stripes’ into the lawn. Rotary lawn mowers with a rear roller are available and these will give an enhanced stripe effect.
Grass collection boxes or bags are available on many rotary models and they will save a job of raking and collecting the grass clippings.
For those with large lawns then a ride-on rotary lawn mower is worth looking at.