New lawnmower problems

ripplyuk

I mowed through the cable of my lawnmower recently so I had to buy a new one. I was initially going to buy another Flymo one but after reading reviews, I decided to buy a Spear&Jackson one because everyone was saying how light it was and easy to push. It’s not! I can barely push it and it’s exhausting. Mowing the lawn now takes an hour whereas previously it took about 15 mins. I’m not doing anything stupid like mowing long, wet grass. It just won’t move and the engine sounds like it’s about to give up with weird groaning noises. 

I’ve used it for the second time today and the plug was roasting hot afterwards. Something definitely isn’t right. Does anyone know what could be wrong or what I can do about it? It was bought from Argos but I no longer have the box so I’m not sure if they’d accept me returning it as faulty. I don’t even know what the fault is. 

Silvertabby

I apologise if this comes across as 'granny's eggs', but have you removed all of the internal transit packing/bolts?

Apodemus

Silvertabby said:

I apologise if this comes across as 'granny's eggs', but have you removed all of the internal transit packing/bolts?

That was my immediate thought, too!  I’ve looked at one of these “unpacking the box” YouTube videos on Spear & Jackson lawnmowers and the guy’s mower was easily rolling around on the floor as he was setting up the handles, so it doesn’t look like the OP has missed anything.

What did strike me, though, was that this seems to have been a new mower purchase simply because of a damaged cable!  There might just have been a more MSE solution!

roddydogs

You bought a new  mower just because you cut the cable?

Davesnave

ripplyuk said:

I’ve used it for the second time today and the plug was roasting hot afterwards. Something definitely isn’t right. Does anyone know what could be wrong or what I can do about it? It was bought from Argos but I no longer have the box so I’m not sure if they’d accept me returning it as faulty. I don’t even know what the fault is. 

This is really a consumer rights question and nothing specifically to do with gardening, so I didn't bother with it at first. However, I've read  the Consumer Rights Act a few times and I'm pretty sure it doesn't say you lose these if there's no box!

Haven't read them again, but here's some info:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-citizens-advice-works/citizens-advice-consumer-work/the-consumer-rights-act-2015/

Personally, I always keep packaging until I'm sure a product meets my requirements. It's common sense.

Davesnave

roddydogs said:

You bought a new  mower just because you cut the cable?

  There are two basic types of people on this Earth and Ripply is one of them.

I can't say more for fear that the Hounds of Hell will hunt me down!

ripplyuk

Silvertabby said:

I apologise if this comes across as 'granny's eggs', but have you removed all of the internal transit packing/bolts?

What bolts? 😕 I didn’t realise there was any. The instructions didn’t mention that.

I removed all the packaging and followed a YouTube guide to assemble it. 

ripplyuk

roddydogs said:

You bought a new  mower just because you cut the cable?

Not completely. The old mower was worn out and I knew it would have to be replaced soon anyway. Cutting the cable was the final straw. However, I wouldn’t have a clue how to fix a cut cable and I imagine taking it to a repair shop could cost almost as much as the mower itself did. It was cheap (£56 from amazon warehouse). 

ripplyuk

Davesnave said:

roddydogs said:

You bought a new  mower just because you cut the cable?

  There are two basic types of people on this Earth and Ripply is one of them.

I can't say more for fear that the Hounds of Hell will hunt me down!

What sort of person am I then @Davesnave? 

Davesnave

ripplyuk said:

Davesnave said:

roddydogs said:

You bought a new  mower just because you cut the cable?

  There are two basic types of people on this Earth and Ripply is one of them.

I can't say more for fear that the Hounds of Hell will hunt me down!

What sort of person am I then @Davesnave? 

One that says " I wouldn't have a clue how to fix a cut cable...."

Some people look for ways to solve problems and the remainder pay through the nose to have someone else sort them out.

There's probably a dozen videos on You Tube showing what to do in the event of a cut cable.

OK there are more difficult problems which can arise, where someone might look for a practical solution and decide it was too complex for their skills, but at least they'd have looked.

ripplyuk

@Davesnave I didn’t need to look. There’s no way I’d risk messing about with electric wires and I’m not sure recommending YouTube is a good idea when someone is not qualified or confident to do that. If it had been an expensive lawnmower then I’d have got it repaired but with a worn-out cheap one, it seems like false economy. 

You are someone I always admired on MSE because I’d never seen you give any judgemental, sarcastic or snide remarks towards anyone, which these forums are riddled with. Please don’t start now.