Lawnmower recommendation please

Ganga

CliveOfIndia said:

Ganga said:

Do not forget if you buy a petrol mower ( which i would recommend ) you will have to have it serviced now and again ,the engine oil will need changing and the air filter will need cleaning ,not a hard job for any DIY,er . 

That's actually one reason why I prefer petrol tools myself (where the size of garden warrants it).  They tend to be more robust in the first place than electric tools, and they're an absolute doddle to service & repair for anyone who has a modicum of mechanical experience.

Even easier than my first car - which in itself was a piece of cake, having none of the electronic and computer wizardry you get on modern cars

Yes a litre or so of engine oil ,a spark plug and clean the  air filter ,an hours work to keep you mowing for another year.

Telegraph_Sam

Let me put in a pitch for electrics on the basis of using my Mountfield Empress rotary probably for more years than the majority of readers can look back on. Main plus points: The plug and go aspect even after long periods in the garage. Lighter to manoeuvre than petrol. The way they were built whenI bought I mine there was nothing to criticize re robustness - though things may have changed since then. The long extension cable (med-large garden) could be considered a downside until you work out the tricks and shortcuts in order to get the best out of it.Quieter than a petrol > less hassle from the neighbours.Apart from changing the cutting blades practically zero servicing.

Rhino666

Thank you for the responses. I am not at all relaxed with buying new; such a waste of resources and as some mentioned it seems mowers are not made to last nowadays.
I had a 1975 Hayterette as my first mower from 1990 until I sold it in great condition in 2011. It had no grassbox facility, so for the bigger garden I have now, not suitable. My current mower with a B&S classic 3.5hp engine has done a good job since but now has a running issue I have not been able to resolve. I do all my own servicing and would like to continue doing so.
 will keep an eye out for a Honda powered mower.       

Chickereeeee

Rhino666 said:

Thank you for the responses. I am not at all relaxed with buying new; such a waste of resources and as some mentioned it seems mowers are not made to last nowadays.
I had a 1975 Hayterette as my first mower from 1990 until I sold it in great condition in 2011. It had no grassbox facility, so for the bigger garden I have now, not suitable. My current mower with a B&S classic 3.5hp engine has done a good job since but now has a running issue I have not been able to resolve. I do all my own servicing and would like to continue doing so.
 will keep an eye out for a Honda powered mower.       

Concider the 'recycling' mowers, that chop up the grass into small bits and push it back into the lawn. It worked very well on my Toro mower for many years, and saved a LOT of effort. It will not work for all lawns, or even for the whole growing season, but if you have a large lawn that is not being kept to bowling green standards, it is a useful feature. If you have trees, it is also useful to chop up and recycle leaves at the beginning and end of the leaf-fall season. I had 22 trees in my last garden, and there were too many leaves to recycle in one go, at the peak. The mower could still chop them up though, and pick them up more efficiently on a second pass.

TELLIT01

Rhino666 said:

Thank you for the responses. I am not at all relaxed with buying new; such a waste of resources and as some mentioned it seems mowers are not made to last nowadays.
I had a 1975 Hayterette as my first mower from 1990 until I sold it in great condition in 2011. It had no grassbox facility, so for the bigger garden I have now, not suitable. My current mower with a B&S classic 3.5hp engine has done a good job since but now has a running issue I have not been able to resolve. I do all my own servicing and would like to continue doing so.
 will keep an eye out for a Honda powered mower.       

As you seem to be confident in doing your own maintenance, would it be practical to get a replacement B&S engine and fit that?

Ganga

Rhino666 said:

Thank you for the responses. I am not at all relaxed with buying new; such a waste of resources and as some mentioned it seems mowers are not made to last nowadays.
I had a 1975 Hayterette as my first mower from 1990 until I sold it in great condition in 2011. It had no grassbox facility, so for the bigger garden I have now, not suitable. My current mower with a B&S classic 3.5hp engine has done a good job since but now has a running issue I have not been able to resolve. I do all my own servicing and would like to continue doing so.
 will keep an eye out for a Honda powered mower.       

What is the problem with your Briggs & Stratton engine ?

Nebbit

When you say petrol 'push mower' bear in mind that this can be very heavy to push, specially when the ground is wet. A self-propelled mower is much easier to use, even if the machine itself weighs more. In my experience anything with a Briggs and Stratton engine will last for years, although currently I now rely on a 40 year old Qualcast rotary mower which I picked up for nothing from an elderly neighbour. Sites such as Freegle often have good mowers being given away. 

danrv

Rhino666 said:

My current mower with a B&S classic 3.5hp engine has done a good job since but now has a running issue I have not been able to resolve. 

Maybe the fuel diaphragm needs renewing.
My B&S powered Castel Lawnking started to 
run rough recently. Replaced the diaphragm and is fine now.
Other than that, it's been great. Bought new 
over ten years ago. 

Ganga

danrv said:

Rhino666 said:

My current mower with a B&S classic 3.5hp engine has done a good job since but now has a running issue I have not been able to resolve. 

Maybe the fuel diaphragm needs renewing.
My B&S powered Castel Lawnking started to 
run rough recently. Replaced the diaphragm and is fine now.
Other than that, it's been great. Bought new 
over ten years ago. 

I asked Rhino666 what was wrong with his engine ,one of the biggest problems with Briggs and Stratton engines used to be the spark at the spark plug ,when pulled over by hand the spark should be blue and bright ,when they appear yellowish they will not run right.
What you have to do is remove the recoil starter assy ,3 small bolts ,remove the one way ratchet starter which holds the flywheel in place ,once removed give the flywheel a smart tap on the side with a hammer and it should slide of the tapered shaft exposing the key.
The key is made of aluminium and tends to try to shear ,if it has marks on the side it should be replaced as it knocks the timing out a smidgeon causing the dull spark ,if no new key is available ( i think they will be cheap ) the key can be turned upside down so the timing is now ok ,rebuild and test ( I HAVE JUST GOOGLED THE KEYS AND THEY ARE ABOUT £3 A PAIR ). 

stuhse

Petrol rotary is the way forward, Honda, Hayter, Mountfield all good to the best of my knowledge/experince.  Most important feature for me is a roller at the back, not for stripes, but it enables you to overhang the edge of the lawn at the borders meaning you get right to the edge.  With 4 wheels if you get too close to the edge the wheels drop into the border and you scalp your lawn and blunt your blade at the same time.  Roller at the back prevents this and enables you to cut right to the edge and slightly over.