Petrol mowers.

TheMarlin

My mowers have died. My faithful old Honda’s self propelled system packed up, and my Mountfield mower is now hunting (revving unevenly). 

Time for a new one. 

Looking for a petrol mower, 20” or so cut surface, self propelled, something that’ll last - quality is more important that price. 

I was in Costco today looking at the new Mountfield with a Honda engine, but plastic parts look cheap.  
https://www.costco.co.uk/Garden-Sheds-Patio/Garden-Power-Tools/Lawn-Mowers/Mountfield-160cc-20-51cm-Self-Propelled-Petrol-Lawn-Mower-Model-SP53H/p/283860

Any recommendations? Any good deals about?

Cheers

Marlin

ROOG

Second hand Petrol cylinder mower off gumtree for best quality cut, or new if you have the wedge

steveledzep

Why not get them fixed ?  Only a carburettor clean/setup on the Mountfield I guess.

spark240

Yeah we need a new one as well....I’ve had the Hayter for about 20 years now, been repaired no end of times, usually the height adjuster fails, plus I could do with a slightly larger diameter for less up and downs !

Most will probably have some poor quality bits on them to stay cost competitive I guess.

TheMarlin

steveledzep said:

Why not get them fixed ?  Only a carburettor clean/setup on the Mountfield I guess.

Honda is an uneconomical repair. Already had two quotes. Cheaper to buy a new one. 
Mountfield is old now, and could also do with a new blade, so guessing it’ll be pointlessly expensive to fettle. 

RiftAmps

TheMarlin said:

steveledzep said:

Why not get them fixed ?  Only a carburettor clean/setup on the Mountfield I guess.

Honda is an uneconomical repair. Already had two quotes. Cheaper to buy a new one. 
Mountfield is old now, and could also do with a new blade, so guessing it’ll be pointlessly expensive to fettle. 

Why not watch a few YT videos and learn to repair it yourself? I service/maintain my own petrol mower, even did a full engine rebuild on the last one.

 Worst case scenario is you f’up and it’s in the exact same condition as it is now.

jdgm

http://www.suffolkpunchlawnmowers.co.uk/petrol-lawnmowers-3/

LastMantra

How much you want to spend? 
Can spend a grand, or mower, on a really good one.

revsorg

If you're mowing a huge lawn it wouldn't be practical but our lives improved when we upgraded to a mechanical mower.  Our neighbours spend an hour making a dreadful noise and smell while I seem to be able to get the job done quicker.  You get a bit more exercise.  Can't remember the make but ours is some precision German thing.  Here are some recommendations :

http://lawnmowerlarry.co.uk/best-manual-push-lawnmower-buyers-guide/

ThePrettyDamned

How big is the lawn? We switched from petrol to an electric one and it's amazing - cuts well, weighs nothing, doesn't smell bad.

As a backup we have a push mower which is also really good - cuts well and gives you a workout. 

ESBlonde

On resale groups you often see lawn mowers being sold as running but deck rusted out. An engine swap is quite easy and gets you a few more years. Also people leaves petrol in the carbs over winter and struggle to start them when all they need is a carb clean or refurb to have essentially a nearly new mower.

TheMarlin

I have a regular sized front lawn, and large rear lawn. Hence desired cutting width. 

Tried electric, but cables are a frustration, particularly as my rear lawn has many obstacles (mature trees, wooden gazebo, veg/weed patch etc. i’ve cut the cable withy old electric mower several timed.  My neighbour has had a succession of battery powered mowers that he piously gloats about, but he’s yet to find one that survived more than two years.  He’s very environmentally active, but utterly fails to weight up the massive environmental damage caused in the manufacturing and recycling of the batteries in his deceased mowers. I don’t believe for a second that a a few cans of petrol a year are more damaging than those useless deceased battery mowers of his 

It’s got to have a large cutting diameter, self propelled, and petrol powered

spark240

TheMarlin said:

I have a regular sized front lawn, and large rear lawn. Hence desired cutting width. 

Tried electric, but cables are a frustration, particularly as my rear lawn has many obstacles (mature trees, wooden gazebo, veg/weed patch etc. i’ve cut the cable withy old electric mower several timed.  My neighbour has had a succession of battery powered mowers that he piously gloats about, but he’s yet to find one that survived more than two years.  He’s very environmentally active, but utterly fails to weight up the massive environmental damage caused in the manufacturing and recycling of the batteries in his deceased mowers. I don’t believe for a second that a a few cans of petrol a year are more damaging than those useless deceased battery mowers of his 

It’s got to have a large cutting diameter, self propelled, and petrol powered

Agreed...

m_c

Something from the professional Honda range if you want reliability that usually lasts for years and years.

Other option is the cheapest you can find that ticks the desired boxes, and run it till it dies.

First option will cost you more up front, but they are built to last provided you don't abuse them too much.

Second option is far cheaper, and I've seen cheap mowers that have lasted for years with next to no maintenance, but I've seen them not worth repairing after only a couple years.

Emp_Fab

TheMarlin said:

steveledzep said:

Why not get them fixed ?  Only a carburettor clean/setup on the Mountfield I guess.

Honda is an uneconomical repair. Already had two quotes. Cheaper to buy a new one. 

Seriously ?  It's uneconomical to repair the self-propelling mechanism and better to scrap the whole Honda mower for something new but vastly inferior ?

I think perhaps you're asking the wrong people for a quote....  perhaps people with a vested interest in selling you a new mower ?  ....Please don't say they offered to take your in part-exchange too !

TheMarlin

Emp_Fab said:

TheMarlin said:

steveledzep said:

Why not get them fixed ?  Only a carburettor clean/setup on the Mountfield I guess.

Honda is an uneconomical repair. Already had two quotes. Cheaper to buy a new one. 

Seriously ?  It's uneconomical to repair the self-propelling mechanism and better to scrap the whole Honda mower for something new but vastly inferior ?

I think perhaps you're asking the wrong people for a quote....  perhaps people with a vested interest in selling you a new mower ?  ....Please don't say they offered to take your in part-exchange too !

Was an old Honda. Parts no longer available. It served me well.  I’m drawn to another Honda.  The new Mountfields don’t look hardy.  

LastMantra

Does it need to lift the cuttings?

I was asked to recommend a new mower for my sister. This was probably 10 years ago. Ended up with a Husqvarna. Still going strong. Was about £500 new.

welshboyo

I've got a John Deere (yes they make mowers as well as hunking great tractors) - its about 5 years old now but I still haven't killed it yet - Kawasaki engine on it, never missed a beat.

Lodious

We have a Honda Izy which is16 years old. The deck rusted through, but as @ESBlonde said, it's dead easy to swap out for a new one. The mover cost about £220, and the local Honda dealer wanted £120 to service it (just for a standard annual service!). Servicing is dead easy, so the dealer is obviously charging crazy labour rates. If they are charging similar rates for fixing the self propelling mechanism, it's no wonder it's not economical to fix. Can you buy the parts and do it yourself?

Mowers are great fun to work on as they are simple and its easy to get access to everything. You don't need specialist tools either. 

I picked up 3 service kits in B&Q for £9.99 each, I've serviced it once in 16 years and it still runs perfectly. 

TTony

Whatever you get, get a mulcher.

Saves huge amounts of time emptying the cuttings onto a pile  that gets bigger and bigger through the summer, and the lawn benefits too.

TheMarlin

Bought another Honda. Job done.