Cylinder mowers
Which 30 cm cylinder mower cuts lower?
Both of these are hand-pushed cylinder mowers with five steel blades on a ball-bearing cylinder, 30 cm wide, rated by their makers for up to 150 m². The differences are small and they are real: one cuts 2 mm lower, one holds 0.8 litres more, and one publishes a rear roller while the other does not.
| Compared on | GC-HM 300 | SPM300 |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting width | 30 cm | 30 cm |
| Blades | 5 steel on a ball-bearing cylinder | 5 steel on a ball-bearing cylinder |
| Cutting heights | 13–37 mm in 4 steps | 15–35 mm in 4 steps |
| Stated area | Up to 150 m² | Up to 150 m² |
| Catcher volume | 16 L | 15.2 L |
| Rear roller | Plastic, Ø 45 mm | Not published — large wheels stated |
| Weight | Not published | Not published |
A tick means one listing published something the other did not, or published a better figure. It does not mean the product is better, and the column is not a score out of anything: a maker who says less loses lines here without losing a comparison. The two verdicts below are where the page is settled.
Einhell wins every row where the two differ, and the roller is the one worth caring about. A rear roller is what lets a cylinder mower run over the edge of a lawn without the cylinder dropping, and it is what leaves the stripe cylinder mowers are bought for. It also cuts 2 mm lower, which on a fine lawn is a real setting rather than a rounding.
Scheppach publishes the same five-blade cylinder, the same width and the same stated area for less, and its 15 mm bottom setting is low enough for any domestic lawn that is not a bowling green. What it gives up is the roller, and large wheels are not a substitute — they cannot hold the cylinder up over an edge.
It is the makers’ own figure and both publish the same one. A hand cylinder mower cuts at walking pace and needs the grass to be short already, so the practical limit is patience rather than mechanics — 150 m² is about twenty minutes of steady pushing.
Because they cut by scissor action between a moving blade and a fixed bar, and long grass folds over instead of being trapped. A cylinder mower on a lawn that has grown to 8 cm simply pushes it flat, which is why these machines suit lawns cut weekly and not lawns rescued monthly.
Two things. It carries the back of the machine so the cylinder stays at its set height when the front wheels go over an edge, and it flattens the grass behind the cut — which is what produces the light-and-dark stripe. Only one of these two publishes one.
30 cm, 5 steel blades, 13–37 mm in 4 steps, 16 L, roller
A 13 to 37 mm range on five steel blades, with a plastic roller behind the cylinder and a park position for storage.
Best for: A small lawn kept short, where a light stripe and a steady cut are the point
30 cm, 5 steel blades, 15–35 mm in 4 steps, 15.2 L
Five steel blades on a ball-bearing cylinder, four heights from 15 to 35 mm, and a 15.2-litre box — the cheapest way to cut grass with scissors.
Best for: A small, level, already-maintained lawn cut every few days at a short height
The live figure beside a product went and asked the shop for it the moment this page opened; any amount written into the text has not moved since the sentence was drafted, and it is the first of the two that counts.
