Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)
  • Petrol lawnmower recommendations please.
  • slackalice
    Free Member

    I shall soon be looking to buy a new petrol lawnmower to keep my garden /lawn / grassy area of about 350 Sqm, in some sort of neatness and would value any suggestions you may have that will fulfill the following criteria:

    Rotary petrol push mower

    Roller would be good, I like the stripes.

    Collection box/bag, steel deck, manual start, height adjustable.

    Currently, I’ve a Circa 25 year old Hayter Harrier 41 (16″ cutting width) with a Briggs & Stratton engine, it feels a tad small for the garden at home. It still runs fine, but I also use it to cut the grass at my much smaller riverside plot and so during the summer and autumn months, I’m constantly ferrying it around in the back of my car, lifting it in and out and I’d like to ‘retire’ it to the plot and get a new and slightly larger one for home.

    Honda has been suggested (pricey), also Viking. What are the current Hayter’s like? Mountfield? Any and all suggestions, apart from goats, appreciated.

    Nothing against goats, I really like them, love their milk and everything. It’s just they don’t have an off button when it comes to eating stuff.

    Thank you 😃

    andyha
    Free Member

    Husqvarna. I have one with a B&S engine ABS deck, it gets left outside in the winter and starts with no issues.

    timber
    Full Member

    Lot of them are rebranded items out of just a few factories now, check the manufacturer plates and you may find you’re looking at the same thing in different colours.

    Friend that mows a lot of lawns for people quite likes the Rover mowers, apparently they are quite good for wet grass, which is handy when you can’t be waiting for everyone’s lawns to dry before cutting.

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    lotto
    Free Member

    I have a 160cc 4 stroke Honda engine Flymo. Effortless in use . Super reliable.

    slackalice
    Free Member

    Thank you peeps. Googling of the above suggestions indicates that one of the bigger lawnmower dealers are quite local to me, so I’ll pop over to have a looksie at a few of them.

    biglee1
    Full Member

    At 350 sq m have you thought of a mulching mower? My garden is just over 400sq m and I’ve a self propelled mulching mower by honda.

    https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/honda-hrs-536-sk-lawn-mower.html

    It’s expensive but I can honestly say I’ve never thought it a waste of money 👍 no collecting grass and just over half an hour and it’s done, leaves nice stripes as well 😁

    slackalice
    Free Member

    I hadn’t considered a mulching mower, so cheers for that, I’ll take a look.

    myti
    Free Member

    If you’re considering mulching mower. Check out etesia. I have 2 of different sizes. Cut in all weathers.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Not a great time of year for bargains but abbey garden sales had some good deals when I bought mine a couple of years ago

    (mountfield with a honda engine)

    petec
    Free Member

    I have a viking; one of these. We have a lot of steps to carry it up, and a steep garden in places. Lot of rubbish from the trees as well

    It is excellent. Takes a lot of abuse. Plastic deck, so a bit lighter. Came with a mulching attachment so can do both.

    They do one with a roller as well…

    cloudnine
    Free Member

    Certain honda izy models have ability to switch mowing modes from collect to mulch.

    I use a  21″ for my Gardening business and is nice fast mower which leaves a good finish.  Wet grass collection isn’t great though..

    andylc
    Free Member

    Stiga lawnmowers are great, good value too. They particularly specialise in mulching mowers but I think do standard ones as well. Also I like the fact that Stiga make lawnmowers……and table tennis bats….!

    mikertroid
    Free Member

    Have just bought a Cobra Hover mower with B&S engine for a sloping garden with lots of steps. Works really well but doesn’t collect/mulch. Good VFM.

    andrewh
    Free Member

    My parent’s Honda-powered brush cutter is surprisingly unreliable, they bought it expecting the usual Honda build quality and it just isn’t (it’s a Honda engine on an Allen contraption)

    arcing
    Free Member

    I’ve got a steep and relatively large garden, so went with a Honda Izy mulching mower. They’re magic, it’s as if the cuttings disappear into thin air. You can easily remove the bung, attach the collecting bag, and it’s a normal mower for the smaller flatter patches of grass. Highly recommended.

    pedlad
    Full Member

    Educate me about Mulching.  I appreciate the mulching method returns (eventually after decomposition) some nutrients to the soil, but I thought having loads of build up of organic material around the grass was a bad thing hence the encouragement to scarify periodically?  Also when damp don’t you get all the clippings sticking to kids shoes and legs (and in the case of my boys walked instantly back into the house)?

    biglee1
    Full Member

    Have a read of this, of course you’ll have some grass cuttings on shoes but no more than a normal mower. Saves loads of time and no massive piles of grass clippings every week to dispose of or compost down

    https://www.mowwithus.com/mulching-explained.html

    IHN
    Full Member

    I’m going to give mulching a go, the mower (a Qualcast leccy job) came with a mulching, er, thing, that is essentially a bung for the bag-hole. If it helps combat moss, like that article says, it’s got to be worth it.

    Is a specific mulching blade better than the normal one on the mower?

    slackalice
    Free Member

    Thanks for your suggestions, there are certainly plenty to consider.

    Following the mulching thing, the mowers look good, however from the reading I’ve done thus far, one of the points to note was that because the clippings feed the lawn and soil, it encourages worms and in our case, moles… They are industrious little buggers and have made a mess of our grass area over the last few years. Except this year, they seem to be somewhere else…

    Also, there was something about not mulching whilst the grass is seeding. I’m not sure why, do any of you mulches have any experience as to why and moles?

    Aside from that, mulching looks like a good way to go, perhaps that Honda Izy with both options, although does it compromise and do neither collecting or mulching very well?

    The Stiga’s and Viking’s look like good options. Any love for Hayter? A colleague’s son sells them and there’s potential for a discount, although I haven’t pursued that yet.

    biglee1
    Full Member

    My lawn is an established one so I just mow it, dunno what the situation is about the grass seeding is. Ime if you’ve a bigish lawn the time saved by mulching is worth the cost of a good mulching mower 😁 no experience of moles either, I imagine that if you have them a few extra worms from a mulched lawn won’t make a difference 👍😁

    integerspin
    Free Member

    the aged parents have a a largish garden, about 3/4 of an acre of grass. The honda they
    have is about 10 or 12 years old, it was very cheap on ebay, delivered from the states I think!
    Is there a Honda Harmony? If so that’s what it is. It’s pull start only but starts with a slight pull.
    It gets the oil changed and blade sharpened once a year and cuts the lawn twice a week.

    hamishthecat
    Full Member

    I’d second Husqvarna.  Ours is 22 years old – self propelled, plastic deck and B&S motor.  I’ve changed the oil three times in that period and the starting cord twice.

    slackalice
    Free Member

    It’s a bloody minefield! At least I’m finding this process of research to be quite fun 😃 Lots of good suggestions and all have their merits and I’ve even considered mulching.

    I think I’ve found my winner, Atco do a self propelled roller rotary mower with a Honda 160cc engine and it seems to be one of the best for value at less than £500. Steel deck too and decided that I could use it as a mulched if I cut again after a few days to take the tips off and not to use the collection box thing.

    Nostalgia is also playing its part in that I remember my dad pushing an Atco rotary mower around the third of an acre garden I grew up with and even though Atco are now apparently owned by Bosch, it looks like the same branding and green, what’s not to like?! 😉

    All that remains is to work out if I’ll go for the 16″ or 18″ version and fortunately, one of the bigger dealers is within 12miles of where I live.

    Cheers for all your suggestions, I’ll maybe let you know when I’ve got the new spangly mower, let you know how it cuts!

Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)

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