You may ask: why do I need a great garden roller?
Well, lumpy lawns put up such a poor sight!
Right after the winters it actually becomes a painful thing to look at the sprawling lawn which looked beautiful and inviting last spring. You certainly cannot stop the frost from heaving the soil or the moles from burrowing holes making the perfectly manicured lawn uneven and ugly.
What you can do is, seed the lawn or lay the sods and get back its lush greenery and beauty once again. However, to do that you need an invaluable tool, the lawn roller.
The best grass roller 2017
We have reviewed all the popular lawn rollers and have narrowed the list of best garden rollers to the top 3 on the basis of features, value of money, usefulness and user ratings. The review of these 3 popular yard rollers will help you make an informed choice while you buy the one for your lawn.
Brinly PRC-24BH 270-Pound Combination Push/Tow Poly Lawn Roller
The first one to draw our attention is the Brinly PRC-24BH. It is a 270 pound 18” diameter x24” wide poly lawn roller which can be pushed or towed as per the convenience of the user. When not filled with water or sand, this roller weighs just 37 pounds, making it one of the most portable rollers that we have reviewed off late. The polyethylene material does not let the roller rust, giving it the highest durability and prevents the cylinder from getting dented. The dimension of the roller is good enough for easy maneuvering in tight corners of the garden.
We Liked:
- Closed grip design and removable handle makes it easy to be pushed
- Rounded ends of the roller keeps the lawn from getting damaged while turning the roller
- Highly durable
- Portable roller that weighs just 37 pounds when empty
We Didn't Like:
- The drain/fill plug of the PRC-24BH is not very easy to deal with. Wrench support is required to remove the plug at times.
Agri-Fab Commercial Steel Tow Lawn Roller 45-0216
Although Agri-Fab has a commendable range of poly rollers as well, we couldn’t resist ourselves from adding this made-of-steel piece to the list of best garden lawn rollers. The 45-0216 is steel roller which has a diameter of 24” and a width of 48” and weighs 910 pounds when filled with sand or water. Used to roll large lawns, this is a tow roller which needs to be attached to a garden tractor. The striking feature of this commercial steel roller is the scraper bar that keeps the roller drum free of clumped soil while being rolled.
We Liked:
- Made with welded seam steel which gives higher durability and better strength
- Convenient operation with scraper bar and heavy duty hitch tubes
- Easy filling and draining of the drum by means of garden hose.
We Didn't Like:
- Being made of steel it is vulnerable to rust
- Cannot be operated without towing to a garden tractor
Precision Products Push/Pull lawn roller PLR1824
Ideal for sealing away mole tunnels and ruts along with packing down the newly laid sods, the PLR1824 is a poly lawn roller. When filled, it weighs 221 pounds and has a diameter of 18” and width of 24”. The roller is characterized by a steel tow bar frame which gives the roller a long lasting durability. The roller also comes with an optional handle which makes it good to be pushed or pulled manually. The universal hitch of the roller makes it compatible with almost all trailers and tractors.
We Liked:
- Highly durable poly roller that survives the test of time
- Can be towed, pushed or even pulled as per user convenience
- Rounded ends that protects the lawn grass from getting damaged during turns
- Side molded spokes gives additional strength to the roller
- Easy assembly that takes less than 30 minutes
We Didn't Like:
- Not made in USA
- Susceptible to getting warped if left filled with water
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So, what does a lawn roller do?
A lawn roller plays an indispensable role in preparing the lawn after the winters. As the name implies, this tool rolls the soil before and after laying the sods or sprinkling the grass seeds. To get best rolling results, it is important that you know which type of turf roller you would need and get the best garden lawn roller for your lawn.
Grass roller types
There are four types of lawn or garden rollers:
- Steel rollers
- Plastic rollers
- Poly rollers
- Concrete rollers
While the steel rollers are believed to be the most effective ones, it is always not possible for DIYers to use it, thanks to the huge weight of the steel lawn roller.
For domestic uses and small to medium yards, it is the plastic rollers or poly rollers which make a better choice. However, if a comparison between the two is to be drawn, the poly rollers would outshine the plastic ones as they are comparatively more durable and do the task of rolling better. The only hitch of a poly roller is that if filled with water, it needs to be flushed out after every use. If left overnight, the water will cause warping of the polyethylene material, leaving the lawn roller absolutely useless. Filling the roller with sand is an option but that is expensive and cumbersome as well.
Much like the steel rollers, the concrete rollers are also very effective but tough to handle by DIYers. Basically the concrete rollers are more used for commercial purposes.
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Tips to buy the best grass roller
Owing to the sheer number of factors that needs to be considered, buying the best garden lawn roller could be an easier said than done task. Some of the major factors that you need to keep in mind while buying a lawn roller for sale are:
- Size of the lawn – If the lawn is quite big it may not be a good thought to use a push lawn roller. This means that plastic or poly rollers will not be very handy here. You would need to use garden tractors which can pull the heavy steel or concrete rollers.
- Size of the cylinder – This is direct correlation with the garden size. The bigger the lawn, the higher should be the diameter of the roller. It is obvious that you will not plan to roll a big garden with an 18 inch roller.
- Condition of the soil – As every roller exerts a different pressure to the ground, it is important to consider the moisture content of the soil while choosing a roller. While a concrete roller is okay to be used on dry or wet soil, steel rollers should be avoided on wet grounds.
- Storage space – You will definitely not leave the roller out in the open. Thus you would need to buy a roller which can be stored conveniently.
DIY Garden Roller
If you are a handy man type of person check the viceo below:
Sources:
http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Lawn_Roller
https://www.mowersdirect.com/Precision-Products-PLR1824/p4973.html