Lawn Mower Recommendation

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Lawn Mower Recommendation

networkn

Networkn
32862 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15453

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#189618 6-Jan-2016 15:06

Hi

I am looking to replace our rubbish 4 year old Lawnmaster 158cc mower which doesn't cope with long grass or wet grass that well.

I spoke to the lawn master people who's response was mow your lawn every 10 days, but our lifestyle isn't really allowing for that right now.

As a kid we had a nasty old mower than I use to mow knee long grass with and it almost never stalled or got clogged up, seems like all the new ones can't cope at all.

Apparenly 190cc engine doesn't handle long grass better than a 158cc. I just want something really powerful that copes with long or wet grass, isn't stupid expensive, and isn't too heavy to push around etc.

Does such a beast exist? I don't really need to mulch as we have a german shepherd and he will just drag grass inside anyway.

We have an 80m2 section of grass which is flat.

Consumers recommendations seemed to indicate their two top petrol mowers were all 140-150cc.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 8

MikeB4
18775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12765

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#1462398 6-Jan-2016 15:11

Mr Green, does a great job and worth every dollar :)

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

networkn

Networkn
32862 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15453

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1462399 6-Jan-2016 15:12

I am seriously considering it. I am so annoyed right now with the technical guys from Lawnmaster who were just so unhelpful. I don't feel like giving my money to any more lawn mower companies.

MikeB4

MikeB4
18775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12765

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#1462433 6-Jan-2016 15:24

We switched from mowing our own when I could no longer do them and my wife too busy with work. Best decision we made, frees up a big chunk of time in the weekend and they do it even if we are away.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

networkn

Networkn
32862 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15453

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1462434 6-Jan-2016 15:25

MikeB4: We switched from mowing our own when I could no longer do them and my wife too busy with work. Best decision we made, frees up a big chunk of time in the weekend and they do it even if we are away.

Well to be fair it only really takes 20 minutes to do if we do it regularly, and maybe an hour if I let it get really long.

Would free up space in the garage incl a weedwhacker.

MikeB4

MikeB4
18775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12765

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#1462437 6-Jan-2016 15:30

You could get a energy efficient ride on mower

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#1462438 6-Jan-2016 15:34

Probably not suitable for your sized lawn, but have a look at the robotic ones, husqvarna do one. Apparently they are very good and a big time saving, but probably best for small simple lawns

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#1462439 6-Jan-2016 15:35

MikeB4: We switched from mowing our own when I could no longer do them and my wife too busy with work. Best decision we made, frees up a big chunk of time in the weekend and they do it even if we are away.

It is good exercise though.

muppet

2642 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1660

Trusted

#1462441 6-Jan-2016 15:39

I went from an old 2 stroke banger that was impossible to start but, once it started, it cut anything, to a brand new 4-stroke wide-cut, self propelled mofo. I have ~1 acre of lawn to mow, it makes me weep.

Anyway, I found the same. The new mower, while it does a fantastic job of helping me cut the lawn much faster, doesn't handle long grass as well as the old banger did. On the up side though, it's a lot easier to use, starts every time and uses so much less petrol I'm still amazed.

The secret seems to be 2 stroke vs 4 stroke.

4 stroke = less petrol, less hassle etc, but less power because you're only getting a power stroke a quarter of the time.
2 stroke = more petrol, more smoke, harder to start, but you're getting a power stroke every second time.

I'd be looking for the biggest 2 stroke you can buy.

This advice isn't grounded in any science though, so like typical GZ advice, it's probably utter c**p.

Audiophiles are such twits! They buy such pointless stuff: Gold plated cables, $2000 power cords. Idiots.

OOOHHHH HYPERFIBRE!

Dulouz

887 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 384

#1462452 6-Jan-2016 15:40

I have a Victa alloy deck mower which works well. I recommend purchasing an alloy deck over a steel deck. The cheaper steel deck machines will rust out if you don't clean them properly. Alloy decks are worry free.

Amanon

MikeB4

MikeB4
18775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12765

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#1462453 6-Jan-2016 15:46

muppet: I went from an old 2 stroke banger that was impossible to start but, once it started, it cut anything, to a brand new 4-stroke wide-cut, self propelled mofo. I have ~1 acre of lawn to mow, it makes me weep.

Anyway, I found the same. The new mower, while it does a fantastic job of helping me cut the lawn much faster, doesn't handle long grass as well as the old banger did. On the up side though, it's a lot easier to use, starts every time and uses so much less petrol I'm still amazed.

The secret seems to be 2 stroke vs 4 stroke.

4 stroke = less petrol, less hassle etc, but less power because you're only getting a power stroke a quarter of the time.
2 stroke = more petrol, more smoke, harder to start, but you're getting a power stroke every second time.

I'd be looking for the biggest 2 stroke you can buy.

This advice isn't grounded in any science though, so like typical GZ advice, it's probably utter c**p.

Two strokes are noisy and generally don't last as long as 4 strokes. Four stoke using 95 or 98 petrol is better and the fuel lasts longer sitting in the can.

I have found the cheaper mowers tend to last as long as the costlier ones with the exception of the mowers with alloy bodies that don't rust. Most mowers I have
dumped at the landfill still had good motors but stuffed wheels and or bodies.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

muppet

2642 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1660

Trusted

#1462454 6-Jan-2016 15:49

MikeB4:
Two strokes are noisy and generally don't last as long as 4 strokes. Four stoke using 95 or 98 petrol is better and the fuel lasts longer sitting in the can.

I have found the cheaper mowers tend to last as long as the costlier ones with the exception of the mowers with alloy bodies that don't rust. Most mowers I have
dumped at the landfill still had good motors but stuffed wheels and or bodies.

Yea I use 98 and even add in a fuel stabiliser to keep it fresh for as long as possible. I got an alloy one too, aware of the issues the steel ones have with rust.

I just find that, even though it's a great machine and I wouldn't go back, it doesn't handle the really long, thick grass as well as the old banger did.

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

RunningMan

9184 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4834

#1462469 6-Jan-2016 16:12

Probably stating the obvious, but is the blade nice and sharp - it can make a big difference.

richms

29098 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10208

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1462493 6-Jan-2016 16:55

My current mower has a blade that is a giant disc with 4 swinging blades on it, the last one just had a metal bar that seemed to be combination propeler/fan and blade so it actually pushed the clippings thru.

Current one constantly clogs. It has a "smart chute" which is BS, have to have a coat hanger to hold it open since the hole when in side discharge is so small it just clogs.

Richard rich.ms

Geese

1028 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 53
Inactive user

#1462495 6-Jan-2016 16:58

networkn: I am looking to replace our rubbish 4 year old Lawnmaster 158cc mower which doesn't cope with long grass or wet grass that well. I spoke to the lawn master people who's response was mow your lawn every 10 days, but our lifestyle isn't really allowing for that right now.

The last place I lived at had 1000m2 of lawn to mow, and my partner had a recently new at the time Lawnmaster 158cc. On occasion, on the weekend it would rain meaning 2 weeks until next opportunity and the grass would be "long" as it grew really well there. I would get about 1 metre ahead and motor would almost cut out so I would have to quickly push down on handle to lift mower off the ground....
wait for it to chug back up to full noise and do another metre. I got so sick of this I mowed the lawn without the catcher and once the catcher was off, it mowed it SO much better.

networkn: Apparenly 190cc engine doesn't handle long grass better than a 158cc. I just want something really powerful that copes with long or wet grass, isn't stupid expensive, and isn't too heavy to push around etc.

Does such a beast exist?

After putting up with the above mower for a very short time, I bought a new Masport 480 Utility, with 190cc side valve motor. Utility means it fires the grass out the side. Firstly, like what I said above about the mower not bogging down without catcher - with side throw it is chucking the grass straight out the side so that reduces the load. The difference between the 2 was unbelievable! I could leave the lawns close to a month and mow and it would power through it never struggling once. It would however leave big windrows of grass, but that was ok to me as it turned a 2 hour job into a 30 minute job. It is a heavy duty thick steel chassis, not too heavy (I would pick it up and carry up stairs to next part of section).

Photo to come... its quite poor resolution and focus and perhaps hard to gather height, but if you saw it firsthand it was very long.

Mark

1653 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 555

#1462497 6-Jan-2016 17:04

I got one of these :

Very therapeutic mowing experience ... 4 hours of therapy to do my lawn with that :-)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 8