Petrol lawnmowers

[Acuity31]

Any particular brands to avoid? Small lawn nothing intensive. Plastic or metal deck? Obviously metal is more prone to corrosion. Plenty of used Mountfields about, Macalister, Qualcast, Stiga etc

[Bill]

Acuity31 said:

Small lawn nothing intensive.

Given this, I'd go battery. Or robot.

[Scrump]

Until recently I had a petrol mower. Honda engine and steel Mountfield deck. Engine was great, the deck had been replaced a few times over many years. I did buy one replacement deck with the Briggs and Stratton engine but that was soon replaced with the Honda engine.

I now have a Makita cordless mower, not as good on long wet grass, but so much easier normally. So much easier than the petrol mower that Mrs Scrump cuts the lawn now and again.

[Acuity31]

Scrump said:

Until recently I had a petrol mower. Honda engine and steel Mountfield deck. Engine was great, the deck had been replaced a few times over many years. I did buy one replacement deck with the Briggs and Stratton engine but that was soon replaced with the Honda engine.

I now have a Makita cordless mower, not as good on long wet grass, but so much easier normally. So much easier than the petrol mower that Mrs Scrump cuts the lawn now and again.

What exactly makes it so much easier? Just the weight saving?

[Mr Pointy]

Acuity31 said:

What exactly makes it so much easier? Just the weight saving?

Weight, servicing, no rusting deck, much quieter, no messing about with fuel, no gummed up carbs. Just unfold it & squeeze the handle switch to get going. Finished in 10 minutes for a small lawn.

[The Three D Mucketeer]

The advantage of a petrol cylinder mower is the weight , so when mow you are constantly rolling the surface and can usually obtain a lower cut with sharpened blades.

[darreni]

I've had one of these for 3 years

https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/mountfield-sp53h-...

It's been superb, no regrets at all, though maybe a little larger than you want?

I've no experience of robot mowers, but go an email with this Honda offer, seems very good value if you are in the market:

https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/honda-miimo-hrm-4...

https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/honda-miimo-hrm-7...

[PushedDover]

darreni said:

I've had one of these for 3 years

https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/mountfield-sp53h-...

It's been superb, no regrets at all, though maybe a little larger than you want?

I've no experience of robot mowers, but go an email with this Honda offer, seems very good value if you are in the market:

https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/honda-miimo-hrm-4...

https://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/honda-miimo-hrm-7...

The normal answer for these threads are 'Honda Izzy' ,
and more recently I bought that Mountfield too -
but as above messages, the faff of fuel (and it going off) and the progress of batteries, I would now go battery mower, or at that bargain price, I would seriously look at the small mower just cracking away with it all the time.

Thats my Answer : The small Honda robot.

[gmaz]

Yeah check out battery powered, or robot.

You may even be able to find one with your preferred powertool battery type.

[Ste-EVo]

I asked a similar question the other day as my Bosch Rotak34r (electric, corded) is on its last legs...

I initially wanted cordless but decided to replace like for like and also bought a Webb WEH12R push mower for finer cuts.

The Bosch is actually a very good, reliable mower and lays down lovely stripes.

[Scrump]

Mr Pointy said:

Acuity31 said:

What exactly makes it so much easier? Just the weight saving?

Weight, servicing, no rusting deck, much quieter, no messing about with fuel, no gummed up carbs. Just unfold it & squeeze the handle switch to get going. Finished in 10 minutes for a small lawn.

Sums it up well.

[Unreal]

I had a Honda mower for 16 years. It was unused for eight months of the year, was never been serviced, just oil and plug changes and lubricating moving parts. I've never drained the fuel and it never 'gummed up' or failed to start. For obvious reasons I would never look elsewhere but thank God my grass cutting days are over.

Edited by Unreal on Sunday 5th April 23:06

[Mikebentley]

I previously had Honda Izzy but now have a Toro which has been great for about 5 years.

[Belle427]

I bought a Hyundai petrol as it was reasonably priced and it has been fine for 4 years, the fuel hose was crap quality so i replaced it as it was collapsing but I had some in the shed.
I also have a Ryobi battery mower, eats the batteries if the lawn is slightly longer so more suited to smaller regular cuts.

[Ziplobb]

My 87yo father needed a new mower last year and we went out to buy a rotary self propelled. In the showroom were some Ego leccy ones. He was unsure at first but we bought one due to the weight. He has about a 1/3 of an acre all level so cannot do it in one go anyway so he splits it into three cuts and charges the battery inbetween. He is really pleased with it and he knows one or two things about cutting grass as he was a landscape gardner and for nearly 15 years was responsible for the lawns at The RYS in Cowes here on the Isle of Wight.

[PhilboSE]

Bill said:

Acuity31 said:

Small lawn nothing intensive.

Given this, I'd go battery. Or robot.

Yep. Battery really, small lawns take no time at all. And they’re so cheap! Just get one with a wide enough deck, and consider if you want to buy into a battery system (so you can buy other “naked” tools if needed).

Personally I’d recommend something with a bit more oomph than an 18V system.

[alabbasi]

Get something with a Honda engine that's self propelled.

[chris1roll]

My Honda HRB-something-or-other is 28years old this year.
Plastic deck is key to that lifespan.
I did service it a year or two back when I had to replace the starter cord, and the choke linkage is missing (must have got hooked off on a branch or something) so I give it a squirt of easy start to start it from cold - a couple of pulls and off it goes.
I've never drained the fuel or anything, and a jerry can lasts me 2 years and it runs on fuel that old just fine. (Only ever buy super though).

[jrb43]

Honda Izzy here. Which I bought following previous PH recommendations. It's been absolutely great. Only observation would be that the Honda approved service in year 1 was so eye watering that I've subsequently voided the warranty in favour of a local enthusiast so I'd be cautious in using that as a selling point.

Also, it hasn't added any joy to cutting grass so as soon as I can get a substantial robot mower past the CFO, I probably will...

[POIDH]

I've a plastic decked Husqvarna from the local independent shop. It was the cheapest they had from Husqvarna. It's 8 years old, I've only serviced and cleaned it every other year myself, it still starts on the first pull. I've sent the blade in to be sharpened twice and will do it again this summer.
I've a much smaller lawn now and think I might go back to the shop and see how much a swap to a battery electric might be.