Petrol Lawn Mowers


Petrol Garden lawnmowers

The first ever prototype of a lawnmower powered by a petrol engine was made in 1896 by an American engineer called W.J. Stephenson-Peach. These did not arrive in England for another six years, when in 1902, Ransomes, makers of not only lawnmowers but also many other forms of agricultural machinery, began to produce them on a commercial scale at their factory in the Suffolk town of Ipswich.

Up until this point, mowers had been running on steam. They were large cumbersome machines which puffed and chuffed like a steam train, which is what they were really, but on a much smaller scale. They worked in exactly the same way though, and had to be continually stoked with coal to keep them running.

In 1915, not even the middle classes could afford petrol mowers anymore. England was at war and money, along with everything else was in short supply. Ransomes, along with other manufacturers of lawnmowers were not producing mowers, as they had been commissioned to provide the war effort with much needed ammunition.

Lawns still needed to be mown though, and it was ‘Rendle’ who came up with the idea of making petrol units which could be attached to existing push along mowers, this was much cheaper and used significantly less materials than making entire lawnmowers would. Still it was only the very well off who could afford to do this. It was not until sometime after the war ended in 1918, that lawnmower manufacturing was again the prosperous industry which it was before.

The reign of the petrol mower continued until 1926 when electricity started being used to power the smaller mowers, Ransomes were again at the forefront of the technology and were the first to produce them in quantity.

Electric lawnmowers however have never been able to match the petrol mowers power, and have only ever been suitable for small to medium lawns which do not require a lot of maintenance.

For this reason, petrol mowers are still used today. They have an enormous amount of power and can handle even the most untamed gardens, they certainly have no problems with large areas, unlike the electric mowers which tend to overheat after a while mowing, and of course, the cable problem is no longer an issue.

On the downside, Petrol mowers are horrendously loud, rather like pneumatic drills, and of course they are heavy and cumbersome, but if you have a garden large enough to warrant a petrol mower you will more than likely have a large shed in which to store garden equipment. One of these will definitely not fit in the cupboard under the stairs, unlike a dainty little hover mower.

Finally, petrol mowers are at least double the price of the average electric mower, but this is reflected in the quality. They are built to last, and they won’t melt if they get a bit warm. All in all they are definitely worth the money, and if you have a large garden, then something with a bit of guts will be needed. It shouldn’t need replacing for at least twenty years if it is looked after with care.