Anything better than this Honda mower for the money?

[blueST]

I'm considering buying a Honda HRS536 http://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/self-pro...

I know "what mower?" has been done to death, but I'm after something bit different. I need something that can take care of a large area on uneven pretty unkempt grass. I'm not looking for a bowling green finish, don't want to collect the cuttings. I like the idea of mulching the areas we need to look nice, and then whizz over in side discharge mode everywhere else.

So, anything else under £500 notes that would be better? Stick to brand new suggestions, I know people always suggest something used, but I'm sick of looking at tatt described as mint.

[dbfan]

We had a long run of Victa mowers and found them excellent (Father was a vicar, so we had large gardens). I have a Honda IZY now and hate it - I should never have believed the reviews and comments on forums!

However, I suspect that, if you can get a Victa, it will cost more than the Honda (which is why I bought the Honda - I wasn't spending my own money). Victas are 2-stroke, but until the recoil packed up, it would start first pull just about every time (if it too more than three pulls, it needed servicing). I didn't notice the noisier engine, but a friend tried one and said it was horrendous!

I would suggest you find a good mower place and try a few for size before you buy anything - and don't listen too much to others' advice - even mine (and I also did contract mowing with our Victas at one time)! One thing's for sure: when the Honda packs up, I will be trawling the dealers before I buy another mower and probably won't buy online again.

[boyse7en]

Don't know if it better, but I bought an aluminium-decked Toro to cut our 1/2 acre of hilly, awkward shaped garden. We've got a visible bit, which gets done with the box on teh back, and the rest gets done on mulching mode.

One button to change cutting height is a godsend. Variable-speed push-activated propelling action is great too.

Starts first pull every summer (third so far) and only maintenance so far is to hose it off and spray it with WD40 before it goes in the shed for winter.

Think mine was £300, certainly not much more than that.

[blueST]

dbfan said:

We had a long run of Victa mowers and found them excellent (Father was a vicar, so we had large gardens). I have a Honda IZY now and hate it - I should never have believed the reviews and comments on forums!

However, I suspect that, if you can get a Victa, it will cost more than the Honda (which is why I bought the Honda - I wasn't spending my own money). Victas are 2-stroke, but until the recoil packed up, it would start first pull just about every time (if it too more than three pulls, it needed servicing). I didn't notice the noisier engine, but a friend tried one and said it was horrendous!

I would suggest you find a good mower place and try a few for size before you buy anything - and don't listen too much to others' advice - even mine (and I also did contract mowing with our Victas at one time)! One thing's for sure: when the Honda packs up, I will be trawling the dealers before I buy another mower and probably won't buy online again.

I'll have a look for Victa, a quick Google suggests they aren't common though. I don't mind 2 stroke, no need to woory about oil level, or starvation when mowing hills, plus I already use it for other stuff. Noise isn't a concern either, I've got ear defenders!

I've been to couple of dealers, but got a bit disheartened with the level of advice I got. They didnt seem to know a lot more than me!

[fourfoldroot]

I bought a mountfield multiclip from B&Q for just under £200 3 years ago as I liked the idea of mulching. It is great if you don't leave the grass to get too long as it does leave clumps of grass,which take longer to evaporate than the mulched clippings. Lawn is a bit mossier than it was but this could be the last 3 wet years weather we have had. Don't know wether they are still making them though.

http://www.recommendedbuys.co.uk/home-garden/lawnm...

[blueST]

boyse7en said:

Don't know if it better, but I bought an aluminium-decked Toro to cut our 1/2 acre of hilly, awkward shaped garden. We've got a visible bit, which gets done with the box on teh back, and the rest gets done on mulching mode.

One button to change cutting height is a godsend. Variable-speed push-activated propelling action is great too.

Starts first pull every summer (third so far) and only maintenance so far is to hose it off and spray it with WD40 before it goes in the shed for winter.

Think mine was £300, certainly not much more than that.

The Toros look to be roughly around the same price as the Honda, but with a bag in addition to side discharge and mulch. Not sure I need a bag, but no harm in having it as an option. I think the key thing is performance in longer less frequently cut grass. Anyone know what features to look for? Bigger wheels? More power?

[Paul Drawmer]

dbfan said:

We had a long run of Victa mowers and found them excellent (Father was a vicar, so we had large gardens). I have a Honda IZY now and hate it - I should never have believed the reviews and comments on forums!.....

What is it you hate about the Izy? I reckon mine is brilliant, what am I not noticing?

[astroarcadia]

Honda or Viking.

Both brilliant.

[blueST]

astroarcadia said:

Honda or Viking.

Both brilliant.

Thanks, Viking down seem to do a large side discharge model though.

[Fishtigua]

Got through 3 Mountfields over the years. That may sound bad but the stuff they were tackling was horrendous. Thick bind-weed, thornbush and stones galore (think Gatling-gun). The rough grass got cut just fine, even on the hillsides.

I'd buy one again for the right price.

[dbfan]

Paul Drawmer said:

What is it you hate about the Izy? I reckon mine is brilliant, what am I not noticing?

The deck height is adjusted by two levers (the Victa had a single handle at the back for both axles).
The blade is too high in the deck, so you can only cut a bowling green on the lowest setting (or you did into the high spots on a rougher "lawn"). This also means I can't cut the grass as low as I would like; it is certainly a lot longer than it was with the Victa.

The deck is steel - cheap, rusts and hence grass doesn't flow through to the bag as well as it did on the Victa.

It has a solid blade - Victas have a saucer with short replaceable blades that never needed sharpening (and could last for years before needing replacement).

The handle is too low, so I tend to push into the ground and lift the rear rather than pushing along the ground.

The choke takes ages to come off, so I mow a lot of grass at reduced revs (and power). It takes half a box of cutting before the choke frees off.

The spark plug is somewhat exposed to low branches in the hedge - though I admit that I haven't broken a plug - yet! Mind you, the plugs don't last long either - the last Victa was about 20 when it died and had only used two or three plugs!

The last Victa (2-stroke engine) would always start within three pulls - though it did need the plug cleaning a couple of times a year. I admit, the Honda often starts on the first pull (as the Victa usually did), but usually needs three or four to start properly.

I'm sure I could find a few more problems if I thought about it more!

Note - I say "Victa", but we had three of them between 1966 and 2009; the first two were 4-stroke engines and the last had one of the best 2-stroke engines I have come across! The only reason I scrapped it was because the recoil starter kept seizing up and I thought it was better to have a nice new machine rather than spend good money on a 20-year old one with no promise that something else may "blow up". How wrong I was!!

My other petrol machine is a 50+ year old Howard Bantam rotovator. It started on the first pull this spring - though cut out before I could "catch" it. It ran properly on the second pull. The Honda? After a few pulls, I took the plug out, cleaned it and it then started on the third pull.

As I said earlier - don't believe the internet hype; check out any mower for yourself (ask friends and neighbours if you can try theirs - on their lawn!). Remember, we can only express opinions about such things - it isn't an exact science!!

[acme]

blueST said:

I'm considering buying a Honda HRS536 http://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/self-pro...

I know "what mower?" has been done to death, but I'm after something bit different. I need something that can take care of a large area on uneven pretty unkempt grass. I'm not looking for a bowling green finish, don't want to collect the cuttings. I like the idea of mulching the areas we need to look nice, and then whizz over in side discharge mode everywhere else.

So, anything else under £500 notes that would be better? Stick to brand new suggestions, I know people always suggest something used, but I'm sick of looking at tatt described as mint.

Be interested to know if you went for the Honda & its performance as I'm thinking of getting one?

Cheers

[MG-FIDO]

Hi Acme,

I know I'm not the OP, but I bought the same mower last year. I've been using it to mow around 2/3 acre of grass and it's done a good job. It manages a very nice finish in the formal areas and also copes with longer grass in an orchard. As long as you're not cutting in the rain and haven't let it get too long you won't notice the fact that the grass has been mulched and won't pick anything to speak of on your shoes.

[battered]

Honda do make excellemt mowers. When it comes to starting, IME the biggest determinant, especially on small 2T motors, is fresh fuel. If you leave old fuel in the tank and carb, it will gum up. The fix is to stop the engine by turning off the fuel tap, if it has one, and running it dry, or by draining the tank if it's going to be standing for more than a week, and then running the engine until it's empty. Keep the engine speeds down and loads light as lubrication will be marginal when a 2T motor is allowed to run dry.

[acme]

MG-FIDO said:

Hi Acme,

I know I'm not the OP, but I bought the same mower last year. I've been using it to mow around 2/3 acre of grass and it's done a good job. It manages a very nice finish in the formal areas and also copes with longer grass in an orchard. As long as you're not cutting in the rain and haven't let it get too long you won't notice the fact that the grass has been mulched and won't pick anything to speak of on your shoes.

Many thanks for that much appreciated. Good to know size too as mine is about half an acre. Ideally I'd like the option to collect cuttings, but Hondas range that collect & are under £1k suggest only suitable for smaller gardens.

What's the single speed like, I'm use to an old machine wity variable speeds which is great around the tricky bits but also on the open bits using the speed?

Good comments re fresh fuel, not something I think of on mowers!

[blueST]

acme said:

blueST said:

I'm considering buying a Honda HRS536 http://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/self-pro...

I know "what mower?" has been done to death, but I'm after something bit different. I need something that can take care of a large area on uneven pretty unkempt grass. I'm not looking for a bowling green finish, don't want to collect the cuttings. I like the idea of mulching the areas we need to look nice, and then whizz over in side discharge mode everywhere else.

So, anything else under £500 notes that would be better? Stick to brand new suggestions, I know people always suggest something used, but I'm sick of looking at tatt described as mint.

Be interested to know if you went for the Honda & its performance as I'm thinking of getting one?

Cheers

I didn't. While I was being pathetically indecisive I bought an Aldi mower with Briggs engine to tide me over. Shameful, I know. The thing has just kept going and does everything I need though.

[acme]

Thanks for letting me know

[aponting389]

if/when it gives up. I would reccomend a Stiga multiclip. around £500, bit more for the honda engined ones but they are really good.

[MG-FIDO]

acme said:

Many thanks for that much appreciated. Good to know size too as mine is about half an acre. Ideally I'd like the option to collect cuttings, but Hondas range that collect & are under £1k suggest only suitable for smaller gardens.

What's the single speed like, I'm use to an old machine wity variable speeds which is great around the tricky bits but also on the open bits using the speed?

Good comments re fresh fuel, not something I think of on mowers!

No problem. I've got a bit of a slope in part of the garden and I find the single speed useful for that and for getting out of corners. I don't do it regularly but it also crawls nicely out of tricky bits if the drive's not fully engaged. On the flat the single speed's certainly fast enough if I'm feeling lazy (I'm often feeling lazy) or trying to get neat lines. Having said that, for a mower this size the 536SK is really light- 31.5kg. That's a good 5-10kg less than most similarly sized collect mowers, I think the £1000 Honda you're referring to is about 44kg for comparison. Because it's so light and has proper bearings on each wheel I hardly use the drive sometimes.

[battered]

blueST said:

I didn't. While I was being pathetically indecisive I bought an Aldi mower with Briggs engine to tide me over. Shameful, I know. The thing has just kept going and does everything I need though.

I'm not very surprised. I have a similar thing, a 4T B&S motor on some no-name mower, it came with the house 2 years ago. It's a great thing. The thing is that it does 25 minutes running pw for 25 weeks a year. 600 minutes, 10 hours. That's 500 miles equivalent in your car. How long would a small motorbike last with that kind of use? For ever, I suspect. I may do it a favour and change the oil this year, it's done at least 20 hours in my care, so a change will be worthwhile. You change the oil in little bikes every 1000 miles anyway, it has a hard life and there's not much of it getting a beating.