Petrol Lawnmower Recommendations

mrb123

We've just moved house and I now have a rather bigger lawn to deal with. I'm pretty sure that our current electric mower is not going to be up to the job.

The new lawn is probably about the size of a tennis court out the back and there is more lawn at the front of the house too. The shape is not entirely uniform and there are a few awkward corners and nooks and crannies. The lawn is however pretty flat.

The first decision seems to be whether a push mower will be ok or whether I need a self propelled one. Someone I work with has recommended Honda mowers although they seem to carry a bit of a price premium over some others.

I'd be grateful for any advice or recommendations that you might have. Budget would be somewhere between £200 and £350 I suppose. Obviously I'm after something that is going to last well, do the job and not be a pain in the @rse to use.

A bit of initial Google research has turned up the following, but I'm open to any advice. Thanks in advance.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mountfield-sp ... wodu3oLsg#
Mountfield SP53H. 51cm blade, self propelled, Honda Engine. £299.99.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mountfield-sp ... ower/9722f
Mountfield SP185. 45cm blade. Push mower. Briggs and Stratton engine. £249.99

https://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/prod ... gIjPvD_BwE
Honda HRG466PK. 46cm. Push mower. 5 year guarantee. £341.00.

kingstongraham

Get the gardener to bring his/her own.

daniel_b

We bought a Honda, circa 9 years ago when we moved house, and went from a postage size piece of lawn, to something similar to what you have.

At the time I bought a Honda push along petrol mower, and it's not missed a beat - we just keep the oil topped up, and clearly feed it petrol, though it's pretty frugal - not even taken it for a service or even cleaned the spark plug in that time :oops: , maybe a bad idea, but it's only costing us circa £20 per year as it stands - can't really argue with that.

No knowledge of the other brands you listed - think I even saw a petrol mower in Lidl the other day!

ryan_w-2

Hayter, thread closed.
The Spirit or Harrier are excellent. Get the autodrive model if budget allows.

Hondas are fantastic too.

Matthewfalle

Chally 2 does the job perfectly.

Wheelspinner

Get some sheep.

figbat

Honda have a good reputation, for good reason.

I have a self-propelled Hayter Harrier which is nigh-on indestructible. I leave it over winter without a moment spent 'laying it up' - I just mow the lawn, stop the engine and park it in the shed. Come spring all I do is add some fuel and pull the string - I'm disappointed if it takes two pulls to start, and it rarely does. Once every blue moon I'll clean the spark plug and sharpen the blade.

Also, self-propelled is definitely the way to go; having had a push-along before this one, I'm never going back (and my lawn sounds about the same size as yours). The wife even uses it now and then.

22stu

We've just replaced a SP Mountfield with another near identical SP Mounty!
About 6 years of zero maintenance took it's toll but can't knock them for that.....

surrey_commuter

great to see I am not the only one who does not maintain petrol lawnmowers

solosuperia

I have a Mountfield, that is so old all the identification has worn off. getting on for 25 years old it has never been serviced!
Briggs & Stratton engine, the blade is about 41cm. My lawn sounds about the same size as yours and the 41cm blade is plenty big enough and of course means the whole outfit is a little smaller.
The plastic casing is largely held together with Duck tape, but it starts first pull.
Once every five years or so I clean the spark plug.
Mustn't forget mine has a rear roller....... Good for that lined look.
I do tell it in the spring if it messes me about it will be replaced!!!!

mrb123

Thanks for the responses so far.

Good to hear some decent feedback regarding the Mountfields.

I do like the look of the Hondas and the Hayters but they're obviously priced at a premium and to get a decently sized/powered self propelled model might take me a bit over budget.

meanredspider

I've been researching mowers recently and I don't think you can go too far wrong with either brand

ETA - it might be worth researching the availability of spares for each. I've just been quoted £1100 to repair a mower mostly because spares aren't available for the engine. I think I only paid £1100 for it 5 years ago.

singleton

I've just bought an ATCO Quattro 19S Self Propelled and it's great.

FishFish

A push mower will be fine for your wife.

Zendog1

Another vote for Haytor. I bought a Harrier 20 years back when like you moving to bigger garden.
Never been serviced and when it's been left over winter sometimes takes two pulls to get it started!

Self propelled is the way to go - they are heavy beasts to push.

Like with bikes - it's usually worth paying that bit more for quality.

Nothing against Honda - never tried one.

orraloon

Masport. Pro choice.

meanredspider

If we're talking pro choice, we're talking ATT. Possibly a bit out of the price range though...

http://turfbusiness.co.uk/featured/mowe ... wimbledon/

Quins

Hayter 48 for me, live on a small holding , loads of lawn and some rougher allotment, 20 years of hard work, absolutely fantastic kit. Had it serviced and blade sharpened every couple of years, replaced it about 3 years ago with another updated model bought used on eBay, superb. It has a roller so you can have stripes in the lawn. If you have a lot of grass you will need a decent area to put the clippings ( ours go in the hedges , pigpen and compost bins) . Plus consider a wheelbarrow with big garden sack in it to empty the grass basket, you'll get about 3 grass baskets full before you have to empty the wheel barrow.

mrb123

Quins wrote:

Hayter 48 for me, live on a small holding , loads of lawn and some rougher allotment, 20 years of hard work, absolutely fantastic kit. Had it serviced and blade sharpened every couple of years, replaced it about 3 years ago with another updated model bought used on eBay, superb. It has a roller so you can have stripes in the lawn. If you have a lot of grass you will need a decent area to put the clippings ( ours go in the hedges , pigpen and compost bins) . Plus consider a wheelbarrow with big garden sack in it to empty the grass basket, you'll get about 3 grass baskets full before you have to empty the wheel barrow.

Clippings shouldn't be a problem. Round our way we have full size wheelie bins for garden waste emptied fortnightly in the summer.

mrb123

http://www.gardenmachinerydirect.co.uk/ ... gKVc_D_BwE

Found this Hayter which is within budget and seems to tick a lot of boxes. Anyone got any views?

flasher

Hayter, bought mine 25 years ago, one service about 5 years ago, and still going strong, it's got a Briggs and Stratton engine, which I guess is the most important thing.

roger_merriman

If your buying new, what about some of the newer battery mowers? for my wee urban garden I have one that does the job well, and my sister who has much larger rural garden has one which copes fine with lumpy awkward land.

I love the quietness and frankly not having to get fuel etc.

meanredspider

roger merriman wrote:

If your buying new, what about some of the newer battery mowers? for my wee urban garden I have one that does the job well, and my sister who has much larger rural garden has one which copes fine with lumpy awkward land.

I love the quietness and frankly not having to get fuel etc.

That's what the ATT ones I referred to earlier are. "QuietMark" approved - it's becoming more and more important. I've just bought a battery powered hedge trimmer. Batteries are still expensive though and there's next-to-no chance a domestic battery mower will still be running in 25 years from now - the batteries don't last and the tech is developing too fast. The heavy duty mowers run a generic battery.

mrb123

I don't doubt that battery technology has massively improved, but as MRS says, it's unlikely that those mowers will still be going strong in 20+ years, whereas even just the replies to this thread have contained accounts of petrol mowers of that kind of age.

From the replies received here and other advice I've had, I think I'm erring towards either a Hayter or a Honda. I'm now just trying to decide between push or self propelled and whether a 41cm blade will be sufficient or whether I need something a bit bigger.

meanredspider

Should it last 20 years, how old will you be and will a push mower be something you're happy to use? If you're 25, then no issue. If you're 55, it might be a different story.

Personally, I think I'd get something with a B&S engine as I think they will have the parts available. The petrol mower I just bought has B&S. The electric hedge trimmer is Honda (couldn't resist a "free" 56v battery and charger). That said, I might go Pellenc in the long term - such is the quantity of hedge...

cld531c

I have a Mountfield (10 years old next month) still going strong, garden approx 1/4 acre with lots of edges.
Been great, and when I broke the handle (dont ask) got a replacement for circa £30 from Amazon.
It seems you can but all the spares and they are not pricey.
If I were to but anither though I would go for one with a roller, stripes look much better with one!

orraloon

Steel body rather than alloy - can be welded if damaged. Rust not a problem with minimal care.

Masport (pro choice as above ) are Briggs & Stratton powered.

And yes, self propelled if you have more than a postage stamp to maintain.

seanoconn

Honda - Bullet proof. Al-Ko, decent copy if you're looking to save money.

solosuperia

Self propelled wins every time.........
I mow the lawn very regularly......... Because it is so much easier.
The whole thing can be fitted in when you have that amount time it is not worth starting something else before dinner or what have you.
Forget that self indulgent thought "it will be exercise".
It will be a pain in the ar5e, it will become a downward spiral, you do it less therefore it becomes that much harder and takes longer.
Perhaps I should apologise now for painting you with the same brush as myself......

pinno

What you need is one of these. You buy it for £50 quid and then splash a bit of paint on it:

mrb123

Pinno wrote:

What you need is one of these. You buy it for £50 quid and then splash a bit of paint on it:

Doesn't look very aero.