Lawn Mowers
We are a brand which has been born into mother nature. It's time to create a new feeling.
Compass GM have been the UK’s leading online lawnmower retailer since 1999, and we’re now proud to be the country’s largest specialist lawn mower supplier. With a wide selection of models to suit your needs and your finances, we have exclusive deals and an industry-leading delivery and back-up service. Included in our range are petrol lawnmowers, mains-electric lawnmowers and battery-powered cordless lawnmowers. We also supply self-propelled models, which are ideal for slopes and rough grass; and hand-push mowers, which are perfect for areas where manoeuvrability is key. We guarantee our discount lawnmowers are the best you’ll find!
Cordless Battery Lawn Mowers – Built for quiet, efficient performance, our battery mowers offer powerful cutting, long runtimes, and hassle-free operation for all gardens.
Cordless Lawnmowers
Engineered for consistent, reliable performance, our electric mowers deliver smooth cutting, easy handling, and low-maintenance operation for smaller to medium lawns.
Electric Mains Lawnmowers
Designed for effortless lawn care, our robot mowers provide intelligent navigation, consistent cutting, and fully autonomous operation for perfectly maintained lawns.
Automatic Robot Lawnmowers
Lawn Mowers: The Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Machine
Buying a lawn mower is often more complicated than people expect. Walk into our showroom or browse our site, and you are greeted with hundreds of options: petrol vs battery, rotary vs cylinder, push vs self-propelled. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.
At Compass Garden Machinery, we believe the “best” mower is simply the one that fits your garden. A £2,000 cylinder mower is useless on a bumpy, mossy lawn, while a budget electric mower will struggle on a half-acre estate. Based on our extensive testing and years of customer feedback, this guide breaks down the key choices to help you find the perfect match.
The First Big Decision: Power Source
The biggest shift we have seen in the UK market is the move away from petrol towards battery and automation, but every power source has its specific place.
Best For: Large gardens, long grass, and professional stripes.
Why Choose It: Nothing beats the raw power of a petrol engine. If you have thick, wet grass or a large area (over 600m²), a petrol mower will keep going where others stall. Brands like Mountfield and Honda offer engines that run for years if maintained well.
The Trade-off: They are heavier, noisier, and require annual servicing (oil, spark plugs, filters).
2. Cordless (Battery) Lawnmowers
Best For: Convenience, medium-sized gardens, and noise-sensitive areas.
Why Choose It: Modern 48V, 60V, and 80V batteries from Stiga and Mountfield now rival petrol performance. You get push-button starting, zero emissions, and much less vibration. Plus, you can share the battery with your hedge trimmer.
The Trade-off: Runtime is finite. For huge lawns, you may need a spare battery.
Best For: Small lawns (terraced houses) and budget buyers.
Why Choose It: They are light, cheap, and run forever as long as you have a plug socket.
The Trade-off: The cable. It can be a trip hazard and limits your range to the length of your extension lead.
Best For: The “hands-off” gardener and those wanting a carpet-like finish.
Why Choose It: This is the fastest-growing sector we see. A robot cuts the grass every day, trimming tiny amounts (mulching) which feeds the lawn. In our experience, this creates a greener, healthier lawn than human mowing ever could. New GPS models from Segway and Stiga don’t even require perimeter wires.
The Trade-off: Higher initial cost and the need to keep the lawn clear of dog toys or hosepipes.
Cutting Types: Rotary vs Cylinder
Most mowers you see are Rotary Mowers. They have a single blade spinning horizontally underneath like a helicopter.
Pros: They are robust, can handle longer grass, and are easy to sharpen. They handle bumps and worm casts well.
Cylinder Mowers have a reel of blades that spin vertically against a fixed bottom blade, cutting like scissors.
Pros: They give the finest, shortest cut possible (think bowling green or Wimbledon).
Cons: They require a perfectly flat lawn. If you hit a stone, it can be an expensive repair. In my experience, 95% of UK gardeners are better off with a rotary mower.
Drive Systems: Push or Self-Propelled?
Hand-Propelled (Push): The engine spins the blade, but you push the mower. These are lighter and cheaper. Ideal for small, flat lawns.
Self-Propelled: The engine drives the wheels. You just walk behind and steer.
Expert Tip: If your lawn has any slope or is larger than a tennis court, get a self-propelled model. A full grass bag can weigh 10-15kg; pushing that uphill is hard work.
The “Striped” Lawn: Do You Need a Roller?
To get those classic British stripes, you need a Rear Roller Mower. The heavy roller at the back flattens the grass as it cuts (light reflects differently off the flat grass, creating the stripe).
Added Benefit: A rear roller allows you to cut right over the edge of a flowerbed without the rear wheel dropping into the soil and scalping the turf.
General Maintenance Tips
Regardless of what you buy, a little care goes a long way.
Clean the Deck: Wet grass turns into a corrosive paste when it dries. We advise scraping the underside of the deck after every cut.
Sharpen the Blade: A blunt blade tears the grass rather than cutting it, leaving yellow tips on your lawn. We recommend sharpening (or replacing) the blade at the start of every season.
Fuel (Petrol Only): Modern E10 petrol goes “stale” in about 30 days. If you are storing the mower for winter, run the engine until it is dry or use a fuel stabiliser. This prevents the carburettor from gumming up.