Petrol Lawnmower Advice

PlacidCasual

PlacidCasual

PlacidCasual

Soldato
Joined
13 May 2003
Posts
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I'm considering a Suffolk Punch mower from Machine Mart but would welcome some advice.

I have a reasonable sized garden, maybe 1/3 of an acre , largely no slope but the turf is quite bumpy. An electric is not practical I don't think and I'd prefer the flexibility of petrol.

I have bought from the usual outlets in the past for cheap and not so cheap electric mowers but fancy something thats less hard work.

Do people have any advice or experience they could share.
 
The main thing I remember, from my dad's petrol mower, was that you need to look after the engine over winter - although they're air cooled, they can get condensation in the chamber.
 
You've been mowing a 1/3rd acre garden with an electric!?

My garden is around 1/8th acre, of which probably 2/3rds is lawn. I've got a fairly cheap petrol mower (forget brand - got it from my father in law) with a 19" blade, and a 190cc Briggs & Stratton engine - which is decent.

For a garden much bigger than mine (and without all the fruit trees and kids' play equipment creating obstacles), I would look at a sit-on really, particularly for rougher terrain.

E:
I'd say that mower you're looking at isn't really man enough for the size and nature of the ground you're using it for. 140cc and just a 18" blade - you'll be there all day.
 
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I would say a Honda IZY given your circumstances.

I ended up with a Hyundai HYM51SPE as I needed a larger cutting deck (I have an acre to tend). It's a bit rough around the edges but fundamentally is a great mower with great features as standard (key start, auto choke, 6hp motor, 7 stage cutting height with single point adjust, 20" deck, 70 litre bag).

I think at the time those features would have cost 1500 quid on a honda! (although some of them are luxuries). But with such a large lawn - every little helps.

Currently saving for a ride on regardless!

The neighbour also lent me his Husqvarna which was very good despite being a few years old. Very comparable to my Hyundai, but with better build quality as you might expect.

As with any petrol mower, maintenance is key (apols if this is teaching to suck eggs). I check oil levels with every use, and clean it above and under after every cut.

Put a stake in the ground around late October time for your last cut and drain the fuel and change the oil. Also, remove the blade, hone it and coat with oil to prevent corrosion.

Pretty minor maintenance but I see so many people with mower issues who clearly don't look after their gear.
 
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Thanks for the responses guys. It's given me a bit to think on. I have probably been a bit inaccurate with the information. This is a new house with a big garden but it's not all grass so 1/3 acre overestimates it. Also I haven't mowed it with an electric but have used them in the past.

I'll do a little more searching, before making my mind up.
 
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1/3 of an acre is definitely sit down mower territory.

I had 1/2 an acre and used a sit down John Deere (LT155 with an extended 45" deck) which would still take an hour at my absolute fastest. If you can cut the length just right then you don't even need to box the cuttings, the quality of grass clipping dispersal will mulch up the grass and finely spread it into the lawn.

It takes a small learning curve to figure out the right length vs mowing frequency but I started with a gorgeous lawn cutting twice a week then that got old after three years and I was happy with a nice lawn cutting once a week.
 
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21" Cut, john deere or Honda.

I have around a 1/3 acre at home and use a 21" john deere jx.
Some good savings can be made on used commercial models on Ebay.
 
I have 1/2 an acre, mostly grass and use a self-propelled gas mower, tory-bilt 21" with Briggs&Stratton

I see people with lawns half my size but sit on lawn mowers and it just looks plain ridiculous.

Besides, the exercise is good for you.
 
Buying a sit on with a 1/3 of an acre is just silly, far too small imho, Parents have 1/2 an acre and a Self-propelled viking with 48cm cut and B&S engine, takes no time to mow and hardly any effort.
 
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I think that is incredibly optimistic and doesn't take into account a load of factors, such as irregular shaped lawns, inclines, trees and other obstacles, emptying collectors if you collect etc.

It probably assumes you are mowing a flat rectangle of level lawn and are good to go with no prep or cleaning after.

Pretty much took me 4 hours to cut and strim the other day after a decent amount of growth, but I did have to clear up after the dogs etc first.

I have a bit more than 0.5 acre and it's definitely ride on territory.
 
Gayjin said:
I think that is incredibly optimistic and doesn't take into account a load of factors, such as irregular shaped lawns, inclines, trees and other obstacles, emptying collectors if you collect etc.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Plus, and I don't know about other units, my mower drives itself at about 2mph, rather than a proper walking pace. When I'm in a hurry, and fancy some exercise, I push it manually with a light jog - but that's on a 1/8th acre plot (~2/3rds lawn).

Can do mine in 40 mins including strimming, if it's only been a week or so since last cut. Took me two hours just for the mower bit for first cut of the year (I'd let it get too long :o ). I've got half a dozen fruit trees and some swings, climbing frames etc to work around, though.

In fact, there are a few pics here (before I got the strimmer, so those bits were left long);
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=26764588&postcount=125
 
Just grab an izy with the biggest deck you can afford, they are slow though.

Been trying out some new mowers at the moment ,'Weibang pro 53sv' , 21 inch cut and fast but not very
manoeuvrable, also come in at 49kg which makes it a pain chucking in the van :p
 
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