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When I moved to our house 7/8 yrs ago I bought a petrol Mountfield 51cm mower. The Brigs & Stratton engine is still going strong after zero maintenance. However everything else is literally falling apart.
It takes roughly 1hr to cut when the grass is short ish.
I am reluctant to but electric, only because other people have them locally and they dont get a full cut before having to recharge, and they dont appear to cut very well (maybe they didnt go powerful enough)
So currently Ive looked at a Honda Izy ~£750.
I want self propelled, variable speed, and a nice large grass box 70l preferable and a genuine ability to last 1 hour. Is petrol still the way to go, or has battery caught up? The lawn is an odd shape with some nice easy 'fast' sections and some on quite a considerable slope that needs slower speed.
I went through this 2 years ago and went with a petrol Izy (46cm I think). I looked at battery but felt they were more expensive for an equivalent and as my mowers last 10+years I was not convinced a battery one would last that long. The Izy is great, simple to start, has a grass box that actually collects all the grass (looks smaller than my old one but fills right up) easy to adjust height etc.
Robot mower like Mammotion?
Self docks to recharge when required.
Mine is an Izy and I'm very happy with it.
I wouldn't bother with self-propelled, oddly-shaped lawn will need a bit of tipping and turning so the lighter and simpler the better, but you may have reasons.
I'd also get a battery-powered strimmer to go with the mower to make the edges and odd bits easier.
Go to a proper horticultural supplier where you'll probably find ex-demo models about now and save a few £££
Robot mower like Mammotion?
I wouldn't bother with self-propelled, oddly-shaped lawn will need a bit of tipping and turning so the lighter and simpler the better, but you may have reasons.
I wouldn’t rule out electric just because of cutting time; just buy an extra battery if that’s a problem, swapping them takes seconds and you can use the same batteries for a strimmer for the fiddly bits. There should be something in the Ego range that suits (other makes are available). I find the separate motor for driving the wheels a bit of a game changer when it comes to manoeuvring compared to a petrol Moutfield, never mind the lighter weight.
I went through this earlier in the year and ended up buying a battery powered Makita DLM462. It seems to get quite close to ticking quite a few of your boxes so may work for you as well. Though they do offer a slightly larger one (DLM530) if you want the bigger cut width and grass box.
https://www.makitauk.com/product/dlm462.html
I'm not exactly sure how much lawn we have, as it's not the most regular shape, but it's probably somewhere in the region of 150 - 350 m square and I've been able to get through this over the summer, with plenty of charge to spare, on just two 5.0 AH batteries. The mower will take four batteries up to 6.0 AH, possibly more if the new 9.0 AH or 12.0 AH ones fit, and offers a claimed run time of 51 minutes with four of the 6.0 AH packs.
It isn't a light mower but it does feel like it should last a good long time with the way its built so I've been very happy with it so far. Especially the mulching cut which has saved me using the grass box for all but one cut since I've had it (when I was using it to help clear the leaves from the lawn).
I went through this earlier in the year and ended up buying a battery powered Makita DLM462.
Yeah I saw your post. I was looking at it, but then saw a couple of videos that said the run time was really low about 20mins, but it doesnt sound like you have had that issue?
What are battery mowers like on longer grass? I have a B&Q petrol mower (with a B&S engine) and if I leave it three weeks between cuts (it's usually every two weeks), then it can start to struggle a little with the longer grass (I can turn up the power a little to overcome it). I question whether a battery mower would have enough power?
I've got a 46cm AlKo. Had it nine years and no issues although it does need a new blade due to hitting rocks too often. Apart from an annual oil change and blade sharpening it just works.
I'd say definitely need self propelled. A lot of my garden is in and out round beds and paths but even then the self propelled makes it so much easier where you can use it. Having to push the beast everywhere would be a killer. Mowing takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours as it is. A larger mower would be harder for the round and in and out bits.
If you're in the east Midlands, there's a bloke I Ashby de la Zouch who sells reconditioned Honda mowers. I bought some bits off him for mine, he had me on the phone for about 30 mins chatting on about them!
Shop is hondalawnmowers on eBay. He's got a couple of 21" self propelled ones for £560 just now. Refurbished but new decks which solves any corrosion issues.
Yeah I saw your post. I was looking at it, but then saw a couple of videos that said the run time was really low about 20mins, but it doesnt sound like you have had that issue?
With it being quite dry over the summer, and the grass not exactly growing into a meadow, I've potentially not been giving it too much of a challenge yet. As a result it's has rarely needed to go at anything over the lowest, automatically controlled, power setting when I've been mowing, so that could be giving the batteries quite an easy time.
It's quite nice and sunny right now so I'll see if I can get out and time myself over lunch as it does need doing again now.
I’ve had a 46cm Makita for 4 years, it runs on 2x 18V 5Ah batteries - it still runs for over an hour to do our lawns which are about 200m2 I’ve also got a Makita strimmer and brush cutter.
What are battery mowers like on longer grass? I have a B&Q petrol mower (with a B&S engine) and if I leave it three weeks between cuts (it's usually every two weeks), then it can start to struggle a little with the longer grass (I can turn up the power a little to overcome it). I question whether a battery mower would have enough power?
This was why i ended up with a robo mower.
Would take 40 mins to do on a dry day if i did it weekly ..... it would take 1hr 15 it i left it two weeks.
Now i only strim the edges.- Doesnt seem to mind fox shit. and self mulches
Grass looks much better for it too - least moss theres ever been
Well that was a pleasant diversion from work.
It would seem that I can cut all of our lawns in about 30 minutes (ignoring the time it takes to get stuff out and put it away again) without the kids helping. Suspect the area is probably closer to 200 m square once all the bits and pieces are taken out of the plot size and a bit over half that would be sensible for using the self propelling drive. Went into the high power mode a few times but probably less than a minute in total. Today it created about 3/4 of a wheely bin's worth of grass cuttings and leaf mulch.
The two freshly charged 5.0 AH packs were put on at the start and are still showing three out of four bars of capacity on their built in gauges at the end. I've no idea how accurate those are but have to imagine it would keep going for a while yet, the could quite probably manage a whole extra cut.
Based on that limited testing I suspect it's only going to have issues with battery life if you're some sort of grounds keeper cutting back fields of grass after no-mow May. For looking after a semi-civilised garden lawn I can't see that it would cause any trouble.
So I think I’ve decided on a Honda, one with a plastic deck and 7 yr warranty
However I can’t get anyone to confirm the T&C’s of the warranty
ie to maintain warranty does Honda have to service it, can a 3rd party service it, can I service it using genuine parts.
I’ve had 3 different answers so far. I’m not going to spend a shed load of money and then void as warranty !
any ideas ?