After having lived in flats for the last 12 years, I really have no idea about anything lawn mower related. Plot size is around 1/4 of an acre so I think petrol is probably best rather than an electric corded mower. no Any brands to avoid - anything in particular to look for?
Lawn Mower Recommendations (petrol)
- Thread starter daz
- Start date
Depends on your budget mainly, but few things below:
- metal rather than plastic body (as generally more robust, rust not an issue as can be stripped back and painted)
- Widest cut and most powerful engine you can afford (as means it will cut more at a time, and more power means it won't clog / slow down)
- Pick a branded lawnmower (so that you can get spares easily), e.g. Mountfield or McCulloch are decent lower-mid range brands, with something like Hayter as a premium brand.
- Either a Honda engine (a lot more expensive but more reliable), or Briggs and Stratton engine (cheaper, less reliable, but very easy to fix) - anything else generally isn't worth considering.
- metal rather than plastic body (as generally more robust, rust not an issue as can be stripped back and painted)
- Widest cut and most powerful engine you can afford (as means it will cut more at a time, and more power means it won't clog / slow down)
- Pick a branded lawnmower (so that you can get spares easily), e.g. Mountfield or McCulloch are decent lower-mid range brands, with something like Hayter as a premium brand.
- Either a Honda engine (a lot more expensive but more reliable), or Briggs and Stratton engine (cheaper, less reliable, but very easy to fix) - anything else generally isn't worth considering.
I'd largely agree with the above, but would add:
- Larger deck will largely mean shorter mowing times but consider the impact if you have a lot of "fiddly bits" and contours as a heavier mower is more of a pain to manouevre
- Honda's range is recommended if the budget allows. Failing that you can't go too wrong with anything with an engine choice as above
- I'd give Hyundai a look as an leftfield suggestion. Rough around the edges but great value for money and a workhorse - mines been great for the last couple of years.
Soldato
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If you can afford it aluminium decks rather than pressed steel as they don't rust or break so easily. Hayter mowers are generally a good compromise between the very expensive hondas and the cheap 'n' cheerful crap you'll pick up in B&Q or the like. Half decent mowers aren't cheap but are light years ahead of the cheap rubbish in terms of performance and reliability. If you're going for a B&S engines look for their Quantum range. Pay a visit to a specialist garden machinery seller rather than the local DIY superstore.
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As it happens I'm at home today waiting for delivery of our new mower. We ordered a Al-Ko 42BA.
Personally I wanted a mulching feature to chop up the grass and put it back on the lawn.
A suitable collection capacity, ours has 55 or 65 litres
and a steel deck (body)
I was keen on a mountfield (couldn't afford Honda or Hayter and a cylinder was expensive) but the gf preferred the Al-ko as Which? gave it better reviews.
Obviously can't comment on reliability, ease of use etc but time will tell.
I saw that Tesco do petrol mowers, if you want low budget and almost certainly Fully star out all swearing you could get one of those.
Edit: Fed-ex guy just turned up - happy days. For the record ours was £215
Personally I wanted a mulching feature to chop up the grass and put it back on the lawn.
A suitable collection capacity, ours has 55 or 65 litres
and a steel deck (body)
I was keen on a mountfield (couldn't afford Honda or Hayter and a cylinder was expensive) but the gf preferred the Al-ko as Which? gave it better reviews.
Obviously can't comment on reliability, ease of use etc but time will tell.
I saw that Tesco do petrol mowers, if you want low budget and almost certainly Fully star out all swearing you could get one of those.
Edit: Fed-ex guy just turned up - happy days. For the record ours was £215
Soldato
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- Orpington.
If you get self propelled get rear wheel drive. FWD seems to be becoming common now and it really struggles on anything but a completely smooth flat lawn. Also makes sharp turns more of a pain as lifting up the front to turn removes the drive wheels from the ground...
I have a Honda HRX which coincidentally came back from the dealer after a service today. It's expensive but I paid the extra as some of the features help me with some health issues.
I'd recommend an entry level Honda Izzy if budget allows, They're expensive but they will last a long time with a little bit of care.
If not then try and get a mower with a Honda engine or failing that Briggs and Stratton. Look at Torro and Hyter for example.
I went for an 18inch, 21 was very tempting and would cover ground well on my back lawn but would be difficult to manoeuvre on my front lawn so you have to think about the compromise there.
One of the most common issues with any small garden engine is gumming up of the carb. With this in mind I'd recommend a mower with a fuel tap. This allows you to turn the fuel off just as you're finishing and let the engine burn off the remainder of the fuel in the carb.
Edit: Assuming its a flat plot of land by the way? No steep slopes?
I'd recommend an entry level Honda Izzy if budget allows, They're expensive but they will last a long time with a little bit of care.
If not then try and get a mower with a Honda engine or failing that Briggs and Stratton. Look at Torro and Hyter for example.
I went for an 18inch, 21 was very tempting and would cover ground well on my back lawn but would be difficult to manoeuvre on my front lawn so you have to think about the compromise there.
One of the most common issues with any small garden engine is gumming up of the carb. With this in mind I'd recommend a mower with a fuel tap. This allows you to turn the fuel off just as you're finishing and let the engine burn off the remainder of the fuel in the carb.
Edit: Assuming its a flat plot of land by the way? No steep slopes?
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we have a old flymo with a briggs and stratton engine.
We bought it for pennys on ebay in 07, it was a 05 year of manufacture.
Never changed the oil, but have had to do a couple of carb rebuilds probably due to poor fuel, its self propelled and i would settle for nothing less we have a 140ft garden and sometimes if you have left it a few weeks its hard enough even with self propelled.
If i was you though i would look at spending 500 quid on a used ride on.
We bought it for pennys on ebay in 07, it was a 05 year of manufacture.
Never changed the oil, but have had to do a couple of carb rebuilds probably due to poor fuel, its self propelled and i would settle for nothing less we have a 140ft garden and sometimes if you have left it a few weeks its hard enough even with self propelled.
If i was you though i would look at spending 500 quid on a used ride on.
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£300 ish should see you with a mower that lasts 10 years. My last one was second hand, cost £80 and lasted till the engine fell out from rust.
Get something self propelled with a briggs and stratton engine. Everything else is really just features. It's just a rotating blade.
Get something self propelled with a briggs and stratton engine. Everything else is really just features. It's just a rotating blade.