Electric vs Gas Lawn Mowers

When it comes to maintaining your lawn, a lawnmower is often considered one of the most useful tools due to the large coverage it provides and its ability to evenly and neatly cut the lawn. 

Amongst the different types of lawn mowers available, there are two common ways in which they can be powered. Most lawn mowers available are powered by either gas or electricity. Deciding which type is best for you requires reading into the main differences and choosing which one is more reliable for your circumstances. 

Factors to Consider

When purchasing a new lawn mower, there are different factors to consider that will affect your experience using it. Due to the wide variety of lawn mowers available, it’s easy to become sidetracked and purchase one that doesn’t have the ideal features for your garden. One way to combat this is to break down the different aspects and factors that you will need to cover when choosing your next lawn mower. 

Noise

Lawn mowers can be incredibly noisy, especially when they’re running in close proximity to the home. Very little is more annoying than waking up at the crack of dawn on a weekend morning to your neighbor loudly mowing their lawn. Truth be told that the noisier lawn mowers are often those that run off gas. Whilst the noise may not be the deciding factor when it comes to purchasing a lawn mower, it can offer you a few added benefits, such as being able to mow the lawn later in the evening or at times when people may be asleep. In addition to this, quieter lawn mowers are less likely to damage your ears or hearing as loud lawn mowers will. 

Size of Lawn

The size of your lawn can determine which type of lawn mower may be best suited for your needs. Gas lawn mowers are usually best reserved for larger areas due to their extended run time and their lack of restraints in the form of an extension lead. On the contrary, electric lawn mowers are better for smaller areas, as it may be cheaper to supply electricity to them than it would cost to purchase gas, and they aren’t hindered as much by the extension lead that connects them to the mains. 

Cost

Generally speaking, gas lawn mowers are more expensive than their electric counterparts. This is mostly due to what they are built for, which is larger lawns that require a more powerful mower. Electric lawn mowers are often cheaper by comparison, due to several of their drawbacks including their cables and less powerful engines. 

Eco Friendliness

Eco-consciousness is something that a lot of people nowadays consider when buying products of any sort – especially items that require an engine or power source to run. When it comes to lawn mowers, electric powered ones are typically considered the more eco-friendly between them and gas-powered ones. Of course, the most eco-friendly lawn mowers are those that don’t require any power such as push mowers, and rely solely on the movements of the individual pushing it. 

Performance

The lawn mower’s performance may be the most important deciding factor when it comes to purchasing. Lawn mowers are not all built to the same standard and some are more powerful than others, and offer a different mowing experience. Gas powered lawn mowers are much more powerful than their electric counterparts, and work better on terrain that can be described as bumpty or uneven. In addition to this, they also work better for large areas. On the contrary, electric lawn mowers are less powerful, work best on even yards, and aren’t usually used in larger areas due to their restrictive cables. 

Maintenance 

Lawn mowers may not need regular maintenance, but they will require it at some point such as for blade sharpening. As a result of this, some people may prefer to purchase one that is not as hard to repair or will not require as much maintenance as others. Electric mowers don’t usually require as much maintenance as gas mowers due to the simple fact that there is less to go wrong with them. With gas lawn mowers, regular gas changes are required, and stale gas and oil is often the main cause of them not turning on after winter.  

Gas Lawn Mowers

Gas lawn mowers are reliable and trustworthy. They’re built to last and are robust. As a result, they’re typically the strongest type of lawn mower on the market, with the ability to effortlessly mow through grass regardless of how dense or thick with vegetation it is. 

Gas lawn mowers are one of the most popular types of mower around due to their reliability and lifespan. Whilst their price can range from fairly cheap to quite extortionate, it doesn’t seem to affect their popularity. 

Gas lawn mowers are the ideal mower for large areas of land which may need an extended run time to cover. Additionally, they’re also ideal for uneven lawns, or those that are thick with weeds or vegetation. Gas lawn mowers are also multifunctional and can be used for mulching, as well as standard cutting. 

With all its advantages, there are also disadvantages to owning a gas mower. The main issue is currently that they’re the less eco-friendly option due to their reliance on gas. Gas can not only be expensive, but it also produces high emissions, due to the fuel burning. 

The gas continues to cause issues for gas lawn mowers, as they also require to be fully winterized to ensure that they’ll work sufficiently come spring. Winterizing a gas lawn mower can be somewhat time consuming and requires removal of the gas amongst other steps to correctly and safely store it for winter.

Gas mowers are also notoriously louder than other counterparts due to the components used to build them. If you don’t like working with or dealing with gas, then these lawn mowers aren’t for you. 

Electric Lawn Mowers

Electric lawn mowers are the spiritual successor to  gas mowers. They are more eco-friendly than gas mowers and are easier to start due to their components. Electric lawn mowers are also usually quieter, and cheaper to buy. They’re best used in small areas due to the cable that connects them to the mains, and are perfect for residential areas due to storage options they provide as well by being foldable. Electric lawn mowers are also somewhat adaptable and can be also used for mulching if their hardware allows. 

Whilst some see electric lawn mowers as the way forward, they do have some drawbacks due to their performance. Electric mowers are best used in small areas due to their cords. Whilst this isn’t an issue to anyone who has a small yard to mow, it becomes an issue if you have more land you need to cut. Most of these electric lawn mowers don’t come equipped with an extension lead either, meaning that it may be another expense that needs to be purchased on top of the lawn mower. Electric lawn mowers are also used mainly on even ground, and can sometimes struggle when pitted against an uneven lawn. There are ways to level a yard if you find it is a cause for concern, however. Another downside to electric lawn mowers is that they aren’t to be used on wet grass due to the power supply being electrical. Of course, it’s not a good idea to mow wet grass anyway, due to various risks. The risks are larger when mowing a wet lawn with an electric mower, so either make sure your grass is dry first or wait for a better time to mow your lawn.

Battery-Powered Lawn Mowers

Along with standard gas and electric mowers, battery-powered ones are also available on the market. Battery powered mowers are essentially electric ones in terms of use, minus the cable. Battery-powered lawn mowers are most ideal for small yards with even terrain. A yard can usually be completely mowed on a single battery charge when using a battery-powered mower, but it will have to be recharged before its next use. 

Which Lawn Mower is Best for Me?

Whilst there are many more different types of lawn mower available to purchase, gas powered ones and electric powered ones are the two most popular types. 

When choosing a lawn mower, the best thing to consider are your surroundings, type of grass and the price that you would be willing to pay for the equipment. The biggest deciding factor for many people is the size of the property which they are intending on mowing, as it often dictates the type and size of the mower. A property larger than ½ an acre is likely to struggle with an electric lawn mower. A lawn that is too large, however, might even struggle with a gas mower. At that point, it may be better to invest in a ride-on mower or other mower that is built specifically to handle large areas. 

If you’re conscious of eco-friendliness, an electric mower may be your best option based on its emission-free usage. 

How Long Do Lawn Mowers Last?

The lifespan of a lawn mower might compel you to buy it above another, similar, model. Knowing how long lawn mowers last and how routinely maintenance should be done can help sway your decision. 

Regardless of the type of lawn mower, there are individual models and brands that will break or simply stop working before others. It’s hard to say if one type of lawn mower is longer lasting than another, because there are models within each subcategory that will last years, whilst others will last months. 

Electric lawn mowers should last around a decade providing they are maintained correctly and kept in the correct conditions. With advances in technology, lawn mowers are becoming more and more durable. Electric lawn mowers are more likely to survive winter months due to their lack of gas, which can potentially clog the system up if left inside a gas lawn mower during the winter. 

Gas lawn mowers, on the other hand, can oftentimes last longer than electric lawn mowers if maintained correctly. One of the main differing factors between gas and electric lawn mowers is that gas lawn mowers are easier to repair and source parts for. As a result, it’s easier to repair and replace parts of a gas lawn mower that has become defunct. This can vastly increase its lifespan, leading it to work for many more years than electric lawn mowers can.

Both electric and gas lawn mowers can last past 10 years of use, depending on their usage and maintenance. If they’re looked after correctly, they can work for even longer. 

Final Thoughts

It’s impossible to state whether a gas lawn mower or electric lawn mower is better than the other. This is because both mowers have their own pros and cons, and choosing which one is most effective for your yard depends on your individual circumstances, such as how long you keep your grass or how often you mow your lawn. Both of these lawn mower types are abundant and easy to find, easy to use, and long lasting.