Petrol mower

Mark M

Mark M

Mark M

Soldato
Joined
6 Jan 2006
Posts
3,437
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Ive seen a few thread on here where the Honda Izy is recommended but I was wondering if there is anything else out there worth looking at as the Izy is quite a bit over my budget. The lawns are pretty big and the back is on quite a slope at the top of the garden so it will need to cope with that and I'd want self propelled I imagine?
 
I got an Oleo Mac self propelled which is still going strong. When I did research I concluded there are a few things to look out for which were important to me.

1. A quality engine. This is one reason why the Hondas are so popular but Honda engines are used in other makes. The one I looked out for was Briggs and Stratton who make good quality engines at the lower end of the market.

2. An aluminium deck will have less likelihood of rusting away if you're rubbish at keeping it clean.

3. Check the driven wheels. IMO rear is better than front because as grass collects and weighs the back end down a front drive loses traction.

4. As big a grass collection bag and wide a track as you can afford as it takes lots of time off doing a big garden.

5. Mulching can be a good feature in drier months as it makes mowing quicker and puts nutrients/moisture back in the soil.
 
My B&S is not very good. It's frequently serviced, and seems to eat diaphragms. It takes about a million pulls to start, so I always take the air filter off before even trying starting it and spray carb cleaner inside. It usually then starts on the first pull.

It runs rough as well, always has done since new. I'll buy Honda next.
 
My b&s is about 15 yrs old, the body has rusted to pieces but the engine keeps on going, 3 primes and one good pull. It's not been serviced in 5 yrs. Maybe that's the secret?
 
Maybe it is. I want to upgrade it, but it has a polymer deck so I suspect it'll last far longer than I want it to!
 
Thanks for the help, will check out few of them over the weekend.

With regards to size...is bigger always better? I dont know the size of the gardens in all fairness as I dont have a tape measure big enough but I suppose I could pace them out and get the rough yards...but would a bigger cutting blade always make it easy or does it make it much more bulky and heavy to push around?
 
Sanli mowers also run Honda engines and are very good, and robust

I have an LSP42 runs like a dream, starts pretty much first time every time, unless its been cold. Only think I will say is the spark plug gets carbon'd up pretty quickly (2/3 months and it needed cleaning)

EDIT: It looks like Sanli have started producing their own engines now
 
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Hayter are good mine is a Harrier and has a B&S motor, i have had it the best part of 10yrs and it starts first turn of the key.
 
Mark M said:
With regards to size...is bigger always better? I dont know the size of the gardens in all fairness as I dont have a tape measure big enough but I suppose I could pace them out and get the rough yards...but would a bigger cutting blade always make it easy or does it make it much more bulky and heavy to push around?
Click to expand...

In my opinion it's not so much the size but the layout. If your lawn is pretty regular in shape with no akward curved borders, trees to go around or other obstacles then bigger will always be quicker and therefore better, doubly so for a self propelled machine.

If you do have lots of odd bits then yes bigger is heavier and more akward. I use a grass strimmer as well to go round my fruit trees and circular borders etc. and keep the giant petrol mower for covering swathes of straight lines quickly.
 
I have a mountfield I think they are a budget brand to be honest but still a lot better then the low end B&Q stuff, Mine is 6 years old and starts on the first pull every time, It does have a tiny bit of surface rust here and there but I've had my moneys worth out of it for sure
 
I wouldn't touch anything with a modern Briggs 'n Chuck-em engine - plastic camshafts and all! Honda all the way, a plastic deck is also great as it never rusts and has no paint to peel off.
Mine is actually an ancient electric start "Electrolux" branded one - battery is long gone but if it's being awkward (lives outside all winter) Then I jump start it off the car.
12v car battery > 6v mower battery! That spins it up good and fast, never takes more than a second or two to start!
 
I have a old (2004) B&S flymo self propelled

It weighs a tonne, I bought it used of auction site and they still sell for the same amount.

It has not once let me down. I tipped it up recently to clean underneath and I did tip some gunk into the diaphragm it seems. I cleaned it up and it ran fine but ordered another for about 2 quid and it runs better than ever. Brilliant mower not even checked the oil in that time. lol
 
Our Viking MB 650 VM has been spot on, that has a B&S engine, starts first time, every time.

Wasn't cheap for a 19" deck self propelled mower, around the £600 - £700, but it has a metal deck, used to cut around 1 acre of grass, so it gets a good workout, seems indestructible.
 
you want to get a proper Lawnmower ;)

restored this small one over the weekend works like a charm for 64 years old although this is a small 2 stroke villiers engined mower.

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should get a photo up of my B30 Atco i recently got to refurb now thats huge. :)

best rollers ever on the ATCO'S / Qualcasts etc with the large metal rollers
 
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