SWMBO wants a new lawnmower - upside is that she'll cut the grass :-)
Wants a "decent" one - petrol, 4-stroke, reliable, easy pull-start,... Seems to think that Briggs & Stratton engines aren't up to much, and she seems to think she wants a Honda?
So, anyone got a Honda who can comment? Or anyone got a fantastic walk-behind mower they can recommend? Not going to skimp on price if we can identify a good one...
Cheers!
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We've recently got a Honda, self-powered with a roller, so although the cutter is rotary it makes stripes.
It's simple to use, not too noisy, doesn't seem excessively thirsty and starts easily. A bit of a lump to heave round between stripes, but you don't have to do that of course.
If the grass is long when you cut it you have to keep emptying the hopper thingy which is a bit of a chore. But no doubt you know all that.
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I can echo ACs summary; we've got a Honda Izy mower and it's been faultless. Easiest mower to start we've owned, though the grass collector is perhaps a tad small. I think it has an 18" blade, and it's self propelled in the sense that I have to propel it!! Easy enough to manoeuvre and it seems well put together. I think it was made in France, which surprised me.
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If you go to the honda site, there is (was?) a £50 off if buying at a shop (as opposed to online).
We have an expensive B&S powered mower. But if buying again I'd go for a Honda. My neighbours one has been much better than mine.
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Ever heard the expression "Buy cheap .......... buy twice"?...................
I bought my 19" cut Honda HR194 in May 1985 (£315 then) and have used it every season since - this is its 29th year! It has a relatively easy life nowadays with our smaller lawns but, in the early 90s, I attacked a meadow with it in order to create a football pitch for the boys .......... they are now grown men!
This year, I took it out of the shed, filled up with fresh petrol, spun the motor a few times to recirculate the oil, switched on .......... and it fired up first time.
Problems/reliability? It kept cutting out suddenly about 10 years ago, and needed a replacement coil; I changed the blade about 7 years ago; I've changed the spark plug about 3 times in its life, and I change the oil annually at the end of the season.
Mine is the old-type alloy decked model; it is self-propelled but most of the time, I just push it. Some years ago, Honda introduced the 'Izy' as a cheaper range and I know they experienced some problems with weaker areas where the handles joined the body of the mower; this has most likely been cured now. I guess mine would find its equivalent in the more expensive range at about £1000.
Would I buy another Honda - yes ..... but at the rate that this one's going, it'll probably see me out!
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My father's 1973 Hayter Hayterette (Briggs & Stratton 4 stroke) 18" rotary is still going strong. I inherited (!) it in 1992 when he moved to a flat.
New blades and filters every 4-5 years, oil change every year. Starts second pull if you prime it first...
Let#s see : 40 years old.. almost as old as me :-)
Alloy deck, push it yourself.. All original incl exhaust except plugs,filters, cord and blades..
Last edited by: madf on Mon 3 Jun 13 at 08:15
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>> Alloy deck,
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That's the important bit. Mild steel rots away after a couple of years, so any other good points are wasted because the thing has collapsed.
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I wouldn't obsess about the alloy deck. I had a Mountfield Emperor with a hole in the cast alloy deck caused by a stone. The steel decked Honda I have had for the last 10 years is ok - I just scrape the wet grass out from underneath to slow the corrosion.
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"My father's 1973 Hayter Hayterette (Briggs & Stratton 4 stroke) 18" rotary is still going strong."
We used to use a Hayterette of that era to mow the strips of grass between rows in a soft fruit plantation; they were a tough old machine ideally suited for rough grass. They were described as a 'mulching' mower as there was no facility for collecting the cuttings and, compared to a Honda, they could best be described as 'a bit agricultural'.
I've just had a look at the Hayter website, and the design has barely changed in all those years; Hayter quite fairly describe it as 'a tough machine for tough jobs'.
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Do they still make Masport mowers down-under Nick?
I bought one 15 years ago and it was a blinder - best mower I've ever owned.
I have an 18" Honda Izy now which is as-good-as the Masport was, apart from the steel deck on the Honda.
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If you've got the cash, buy a Honda. However, I have a small gardening round on which I use Mountfield mowers, now on their 4th and 7th season, with Briggs engines and with mild steel decks. They do about 180 hours per year, get serviced every year and I paint the decks inside with Hammerite as part of their service.
I've had one breakdown in 10 years caused by dirt in a carb.
Sounds a bit smug, doesn't it? Yes, I'm ready for a second breakdown any day now.
Last edited by: hawkeye on Mon 3 Jun 13 at 10:38
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I will second the Mountfield, B&S rec. 12 years no servicing - starts readily - one replacement rubber primer bulb.
Although I think current models use their own engine?
If I spent on servicing what one of my friends does , I could have had a new mower every 3 years! Always buy in November when the shed wish to clear stock!
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>>I'm ready for a second breakdown any day now
Praps you need a holly day.
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I do not know if this make is available in your location.
I have a Qualcast/Suffolk Punch / Atco. 35cm/14inch version
The Atco is much more expensive .
It is a powered traditional cylinder mower.
The cutter speed is linked to thev drive speed so you cannot walk slowly AND have the cutter at full speed.
Seems well made and quite heavy.
Few,if any seem to have a split land roller like my old classic push mower
www.qualcast.co.uk/cylinder/classicpetrol.html
(A bit worrying that they show a model that is years out of date !!!)
The current model is much neater having a petrol tank on top of the engine.
www.probertencyclopaedia.com/photolib/household/Qualcast%20Suffolk%20Punch%20Petrol%20Cylinder%20Mower%20(PD).htm
The " cartridge" is easily removable for sharpening.
There were ( are) three cartridges. Normal / standard 5 blade, 10 blade and the scarifier.
Each cartride is £100+
www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/garden/reviews-ns/best-lawn-mower-brands/qualcast-lawn-mowers/
I note SWMBO is the power so why not one of these?
www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/how-many-different-mowers-do?id=2074886%3ATopic%3A160343&page=3
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...like my old classic push mower.
...and mine. Although I think Henry has the Ajax Mk4 to my Mk5. (Mine was made in the same year as me, which trumps any technical differences as far as I'm concerned. Plus I already have it and it didn't cost me anything.)
There is also in my shed an Australian-made rotary, with a steel body and B&S 0.375 engine. Horrible, noisy thing but it deals with the rye stalks that the Ajax just rolls over. It's had one service in 13 years but seems to keep going regardless.
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>> ...like my old classic push mower.
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>> ...and mine. Although I think Henry has the Ajax Mk4 to my Mk5.
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I am a Mk5 owner. I bought it new 40+ years ago.
The quality is really good. I hate to think how much it would cost new today.
Split rear roller and gear driven not chain etc etc
Photos and prices ( suck teeth ?)
www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/forum/restoration-ransomes-ajax-mk5
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>> Seems to think that Briggs & Stratton engines aren't up to much,
>> and she seems to think she wants a Honda?
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Hmm. A good friend of mine bought a Honda about six years ago. Would it start when he got it home.....?
Took it back and swapped it for a Chinese B&S engined object which has worked flawlessly since.
I also have a cheap B&S engined rotary. runs perfectly and thrives on neglect. I pull the plug at the beginning of the season and bull it up with a wire brush. That is the sum total of its maintenance.
As far as I can make out, those chinese-built B&S engines seem to be simple and bulletproof.
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Nick in NZ may well have rather more grass than my pocket handkin sized UK new build house spec - about 20m*15m. Even that was beyond any of the battery electrics available when we moved in in 1998. Odd 'cos Dad had a 1965 Atco powered by a car battery that would do the large lawn of a thirties built substantial detached.
I had two cheapish DIY warehouse generic petrol rotaries. The first had a B&S engine the second some generic Chinese unit.
Neither lasted more than two or three seasons.
I'm not keen on mains electric, too much faff with cable, but eventually settled in a Bosch Rotak 34 which has done admirably for last six years. Just ordered first replacement blade.
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I have a 6hp mower with an overhead valve Briggs and Stratton engine (they're still usually sidevalve) which is in its 12th season of excellent service, with only the occasional oil, plug and air filter in the way of attention. It has an alloy deck and - importantly in my opinion - a clutch and automatic brake for the blade, so it isn't forever stopping at obstacles or having to be re-started every few minutes. This does cost, however.
For years I've been intending to replace it with something similar but powered by Honda, as is my wont. However, there has been a lot of fuss over here about Honda-engined mowers in recent times. The Hondas are actually made in France, I understand. People have had trouble with carburettors and drive mechanisms apparently. My friend and next-door neighbour bought a large mower/brushcutter a couple of years ago, powered by a Honda GC190, which has given carburettor trouble. Another friend bought a Honda-powered mower just a few weeks ago from Carrefour and had almost instant problems with the engine. Carrefour at first told her to take it to a local specialist and they would pay but she found they had a backlog of similar broken-down machines to deal with. When she told Carrefour they instantly refunded her money - which in France is almost unheard of.
Local specialists here now all seem to sell a Chinese brand called Weibang. Good luck to anyone who goes that way.
Anyway, all this is really to say I would buy another Briggs and Stratton OHV engined mower with no qualms at all.
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>> a Chinese brand called Weibang. Good luck
>> to anyone who goes that way.
They really need to research their brand names a bit better, don't they? Trying to sound all Germanic and reliable, I suppose. That one has really made me chuckle.
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Job done, with help from your feedback. Picked herself a Honda something or other with an alloy body. She also saw an Italian one called Testarossa with a plastic body and a Honda engine but I talked her out of it. Italian lawnmower for goodness sake?!
Asked the Honda salesperson for a discount of course. He rang his supplier/importer only to be told "we don't discount in winter because we don't sell many". ?!?!?!??! Perverse logic if you ask me! Anyway, the salesman gave us about 10% off his price, good on him.
Anyway, we don't have huge grounds - SWMBO paved over most of the back garden last year - so we've probably bought a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but she's happy, and as we all know, that's the most important thing :-)
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Excuse my ignorance, but is there much to be gained from a petrol mower vs an electric one?
I understand that there is the cable to deal with, but apart from that is there much difference in performance?
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Yes.
Even a small petrol will have a far stronger performance in longer or wet grass. 95% of the time the construction of a petrol one will be far better too to withstand knocks better.
Every Sat at our local tip people are unloading broken electric mowers by the skipful... rarely see a Honda petrol in there.
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I never bothered with a petrol mower always seemed too much faff. I got given a electric one still running after 5 years. I suspose it depends on how much you like cutting the grass, I'm quite happy to let it grow much longer than most people. I think it looks better longer.
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>>I suspose it depends on how much you like cutting the grass
Or, how much grass y'all gotta cut ;)
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I suppose that's another one, but I've never had a great deal to cut.
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I miss my petrol lawnmower. It feels like a gap in my life. My electric one works ok but y'know it's just not the same. At least I still have my petrol strimmer.
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>>I've never had a great deal to cut.
Very wise - the bigger your roof, the more snow falls upon it (olde Persian saying) ;)
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We have half an acre to cut. Two lawnmowers - one rotary , one cylinder.. one 40, one 20 years old - do teh job with no hassle.
Cost pennies to run and service.
Like beer and sex (see other threads) keep you young..)
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I do our arf acher with an 18" Izzy, Last year I only collected the grass cuttings once, on the first cut.
Grass seems to be much better this year due to wot I dun last year, so much so in fact that I've had to collect the grass cuttings at every blimming cut so far this year but, everything is growing sooo well due to the late Spring, they tell me.
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Help me choose a lawnmower?! - Armel Coussine
