You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My petrol mower refused to die for about 15 years, despite never being serviced, at all. It finally give up the ghost at the end of last season so I finally have an excuse to replace it. I don't have much grass and I am not a precious gardener, so just need something reliable and affordable. I will need mover and battery as I don't have any complimentary battery systems powering other tools.
£300 limit, I just don't have the money to go over that.
What size deck do you want? What size was the petrol?
And do you want the possibility of powering tools off the same batteries in future? Worth considering, as the batteries are a big investment.
I’m very happy with my makita dlm380.
Looks like the dlm330 should be in budget once you’ve added batteries and charger.
Petrol mowers are usually cheap and easy to fix. There are dozens of YouTube tutorials on it and people who make a modest living from buying 'broken' ones and turning them around for peanuts. Often it's nothing more than a service and carb clean. Why not do the environment and your wallet a favour by keeping it out of landfill and putting that £300 (or the bulk of it less a few service parts) towards something else?
I've got that, but I'm already in the Ryobi battery infrastructure trap.
Light, easy to use. It does struggle with longer grass though, so you need to drop the adjustable height and mow in stages if you don't keep on top of it. Mine has been fine reliability wise for 2 years.
The 4ah battery is enough for my front and back garden - about 30 square metres.
I purchased a Flymo (300 r??) battery mower last summer from BnM bargins. £150. Cheaper than other local stores. Nice and light, easy to use and store but it had an issue with one of the batteries. 1 charged the other didn't.
I'm the end I took it back to the store and they gave me a full refund.
There seems to be a few videos about the dead battery problem on the web.
I'm about to buy one of these. They have the free battery offer on at the moment too via Makita UK.
https://www.toolstoreuk.co.uk/makita-dlm330rt-18v-33cm-lawn-mower-with-1x5ah-battery/p20032
If you were after something a bit bigger they have this Hyundai refurb on their eBay store which looks good:
Petrol mowers are terrible for the environment so good to get rid. We've got a Stihl which is pretty decent. Cuts well, easy to move around. Got a couple of batteries and it's more powerful with the bigger battery so would recommend not just getting the smallest one. They have some good other tools once you have the battery too.
I have been using an Einhell for the last 4 years. No complaints so far and probably well under budget depending on what deck size you need.
Mains-power an option?
Definitely cheaper than budget, arguably better for the environment (no nasty battery stuff), less freedom from cables than either petrol or battery
I don’t have much grass
If thats the case why petrol previously and why battery now? A pair of decent batteries and a charger will add over £100 to whatever lawnmower you're looking at and you don't have any other use for them. A set of batteries is unlikely to last you 15 years, especially at the budget end of the market and as they fade, coupled with a cheap charger you're going to be left with half the job done and hours to wait before you can continue. Seems like a lot of investment for something you don't have much use for. And batteries become obsolete. The makita LXT batteries are great - but they've also been around since 2005 it wouldn't be a massive shock if there were to be superseded soon.
I've got one of the makita lawnmowers - but I've already got more than half a dozen of the batteries. But the only reason I went battery over mains was my garden is a bit of an obstacle course - corner plot so all triangles, 5 lawns with trees, shed, shrubs, hedges between them and the the house which makes trailing a cable around tiresome. Theres only really an advantage to having a petrol or battery one if your lawn is both big and more than an extension lead away from your house.
If I hadn't already had the batteries I'd have just got an analog mower rather than mains.
Another Makita dlm380 more owner here. Works a treat, we don't have a particularly big lawn so multiple cuts from one charge. I do have other Makita tools though so bought it as tool only.
@bens you got me all excited but its only on battery inc. models like the 330RT. Still Hmy old bosch electric is dead and I was considering fix vs. battery new, and since I have a good stock of large Makita batteries already, 2 more (+ a mower) for £240... Sounding pretty good!
Makita… Get the version that comes with the battery included (not body only) and then claim yourself an extra free battery from Makita.
~£200 will get you the Worx mower & strimmer combo pack and a pair of batteries and a fast charger.
I've got one and the lack of faff by not dealing with petrol or extension leads is great. I also get to use the batteries in my cordless power washer.
If thats the case why petrol previously and why battery now?
I had a house with a bigger garden when I bought it. we then moved house and have since built an extension that has reduced grass even further. Finally, battery lawn mowers were not really a thing 15 years ago when I got the petrol one. Petrol replaced corded which was a massive faff.