[Closed] Recommendations for a Petrol Lawnmower?

Honda izzy.

Nonda or if it's a big un, KAAZ.

The dogs danglies of the mower world.

I bought a pair of ex-trade gardening company lawnmowers, with nice metal decks and bearing wheels, with brand new Briggs and Stratton motors on for £65 one autumn. Add £12 per mower for a new blade, sold one to a mate for £45.

That was 6 years ago, it is still going with nary an oil change and new filter.

Cant beat a good old suffolk punch although the blade needs sharpening a couple times a season for a good cut

Dont get too hell bent on a metal deck they rot quickly as grass acidic a decent abs plastic deck is far better.

Our hondas would rot like mad 5 years max even keeping thm clean but we just sold them offat 4 years to residential folks. Goo compromise between easy to look after and good finish due to roller and bit of weight.

The kwacker engine etasias lasted for ever - we never had t replace that once and my suzuki powered allen flymo must be 25 years old still going strong when i drag it up ad downthe road side weekly:) how ever the cut finish isnt great on either

I use Vikings commercially. Very pleased with them.
Had a 2 series which I chipped in this year as well as a 5 and 6 series.
B&S engines with power to suit your garden.
Had a big Honda but found it too heavy to move about.
Tim

I found an old Honda HR173 on ebay, pretty durable, light, small enough for small gardens and not daunted by the 1/4 mile lane at our old place. We had a fair bit of grass there, but in bits and pieces rather than one big block.
£11 and a blade is the tally so far.

The deck was the main attraction, Honda and B&S engines often outlive their metal decks which either rust or the castings get cracked.

Got a big Lawnflite Honda at work, think the Etesia ride on can probably be turned tighter and isn't much heavier.

Mountfield, was cheaper at screwfix than the DIY sheds.

We've just bought a rotary, roller Mountfield with a Honda engine. Has a handy feature where you can connect a hose up to it and it self cleans its own deck.

I'd recommend going for a roller mower as its easier to mow over the edges of the lawn. Its also the only way to get a stripy lawn if that's important to you.

Sorry to jump in but can anyone recommend a ride on mower. Budgets about 2k

Kubota... might need to keep saving though :-/

I ended up with a Husquavana when I was looking a few years ago but I think it's just a rebadged generic £2k ride on. They're in all the big garden centres. 36" double cut, collector, hydro whatsit gearbox and a 13.5hp Briggs & Stratton motah.

I'd try and find a good nick ex Council Kubota twin diesel that's been serviced etc rather than one that's been stood in a shed 90% of the time.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-135cc-self-propelled-petrol-rotary-lawn-mower/747-2552.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=747-2552

Ours is on its second year, starts first time, deck is holding up well

I have an Al-ko t92 and would recommend
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/al-ko-t16-92hd-special-edition-lawn-tractor.html

On the smaller lawns I have a qualcast cylinder mower or I use a cordless rotak.

Sorry to jump in but can anyone recommend a ride on mower. Budgets about 2k

I've gone nuts and bought a used [commercial] John Deere X740 complete with power steering and 3 cylinder diesel. Really really nice it has cost me more than 10x what I paid for the Hayter/Countax. That said it's mowing 10-20 x what I was doing before!
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Sister and BIL have domestic JDs and they've been good for a number of years. Look at something that can mulch as well as collect, I'm now mulching for the first time ever and it's so much easier. You may have to [s]play[/s] mow the lawn a little more often but I'd rather do that than the numerous trips to empty the cuttings.

Honda Izzy +1
Great easy to use mower.

Honda izy ok for a domestic amount of use. I have a viking 755 kawasaki engined machine, not sure how much I'll get out of it, 3rd season now and it's barely hanging on.

However, the 2008 Kaaz 21" pro roller i bought second hand 4 years ago is still going. Maybe £200/yr repairs but it's getting used 4hrs a day march-nov.

All this doesn't really matter as you'll only be doing a wee garden once every 2-3 weeks max so most mowers will cope. Self propelled is much easier on the back and honda engines are light to start and sip fuel.

So did you buy one yet? I'm also looking, moving to a house with approx 0.5 acre of grass. Current owner has a ride on, I was thinking on a self propelled push along petrol. Anyone look at the robotic efforts?

Tip. If you can find one with a ally deck rather than a pressed steel one it should last a bit longer. If you do end up with a steel one then be sure to turn it over, wash the deck out, dry it and WD40 it after each use. Otherwise it will probably rust out in 4-5 years.

huggis, forget a robot one for that area, they're showpieces really.

Half an acre, 2000m2, should take around 2hrs max with a 21" walk behind, possibly half that with a mulcher. Use a mulch mower if it's not a fine lawn, try and cut at least every 2 weeks. Or a Toro commercial 30" machine. All depends how much you want to spend really.

A used etesia/viking/honda would be fine, but no smaller than 21" for that area.

Sod that, get a ride on.

Thanks Glasgowdan...the shape of the garden is a bit 'random' with no defined borders etc...more concerned about getting the right tool for the job than budget. That's said they'll be no end of things to spend cash on with the new house!

I bought a Honda HR173 2nd hand abut 4 years ago and it's been great, needs a service but otherwise no real problems. It's small and easy to use but can go all day long if needed.

They have got self propelled mountfield SP53H with a honda engine on special offer in screwfix at the moment. Picked one up last week and very pleased with it.

here's a useful tool if you want to find out how big your garden is!

http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm

Bought a cheap mountfield at B&Q. Has been going for 3 summers with no problems at all. Starts first time everytime. Didn't see much point going crackers for the size of our lawn.

Used a Hayter the other day and it was brilliant, so easy to use and start.

I've narrowed it down to one of these...

http://www.toro.com/en-gb/homeowner/mowers/walk-power-mowers/pages/series.aspx?sid=timemaster-intl

Is an electric or pull start better? Pros / Cons (Pull is slightly cheaper)

I wouldn't go electric for a walk behind. It's a PIA on my ride on. I keep my battery on an Optimate and still need a new one every 3-4 years. Have you looked at KAAZ mowers? It's what the Contractors use so idiot proof and very robust. Not cheap mind.

I couldn't afford a petrol mower for the moment, and bought a 6 month old Bosch Rotak 40 electric mower for £30. It'll do until next year when I can replace it with something better.

@ Alexx and Huggis - I bought a new Mountfield ride on earlier this year for my new bigger garden.

Hydrostatic gearbox, grass collection, free mulch kit, and now with 5year warranty, Came out around £1800.

Also has a tow hitch so got a trailer too and its ace for moving heavy or bulky items around the garden - compost, rocks, logs etc.

Also, the advantage of it not being a push mower is that my missis now does all the mowing as it is really easy. Taking a smaller push mower grass collector up and down the garden to the tipping point would be a drag and take for ever!

And....if any friends come to stay for the weekend, it's a novelty for them to have a go....and they can mow the lawn for us too 🙂

Pull start for walk behind. Toro are decent, good choice

I bought a pretty cheap Mountfield in 2005, IIRC it was about 110 quid. Still going strong.

I have a Briggs and Stratton that I'm currently repairing the metal deck on (bit of welding but it always starts first time and leaves a good cut finish), and the plastic deck loaner really isn't very good in comparison.

+1 for Honda Izzy. Had mine for 5+ years - always starts first time, even after winter hibernation, only ever needed basic DIY servicing and runs perfectly.

My neighbour bought a B&Q own-brand petrol mower at the same time as me and gloated at the £100 or so he’d saved over buying an Izzy. Within 3 years the starter mechanism had broken and he couldn’t source any spares. Being a resourceful sort of chap he managed to work around the problem (now starts it by attaching a battery drill/driver to where the cord starter used to connect!) but the engine sounds like a bag of spanners compared to mine.

I read somewhere that painting the underneath of a metal deck with old engine oil helps prevent rust. Never tried it myself.

MaryHinge - I like the way you built your business case for a ride on!!

Is the petrol tank big enough to get to the pub (2 miles away)? And is drunk in charge an offence?

Still debating between a 30" walk behind ( Toro Timemaster or Turmaster) or a ride on. For cost, flexibility and storage the Toro looks best. My grass is about 0.5 acre with lots of obstacles and some "wild bits" ! The cheapest husquavana tractors look okay also. Anyone have experience of either of these?

Literally just bought the reduced self propelled mccallister job from b and q, cheap with a briggs engine etc.

I brought a cheap B&Q own brand about 4 years ago. The wheels kept coming off. The starter handle broke. The throttle seized. It was a pain to start. The lever to raise and lower broke too. Just rubbish.

Replaced with a Honda Izzy which has been brilliant so far. Even Mrs Blobby likes and uses it.

Edit: have had similar experience going from b&q own brand strimmer and hedge trimmer to Stihl ones.

I painted my mower in bright Orange rustoleum, with a double white racing stripe up the middle, I chromed up the wheels and put a more attractive puller on the starter. I recommend you do the same. Custom mowers are where it is at.

Sadly this mower has finally rusted through, so I have a new project to mess with and a spare engine that will be powering the young'uns garden go cart

Fancy a Honda MrBlobby but probably too small for my garden.

Screwfix have some deals on mountfield petrol mowers at the minute.

Well after using it there's sod all wrong with it. Oh and I use stihl stuff rtc when required, it's a mower it'll be out 12-15 times a year at most.
Stihl saw most days...

Thinking it might be worth waiting until later in the season to get a used or reduced ride on.