i've a hayter harrier given to me 19 years ago, by someone who knew i would look after it . it had been her late dads. just got a service manual from [getanymanual] ( buyer beware ) and that says use octane 77 . what's that then. somebody in here said best use only esso premium
also could i use 5w 30 fully synthetic . its not had an oil change in years . again somebody in here said they doubt the engine oil in mowers would ever really breakdown
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I'm only using E5 in my car until everyone else tries the E10. I've heard that because of the ethanol content of E10, it's not a good idea to leave it in a tank, unused, for several months.
AIUI, there's no difference in the calorific value of lower and higher octane fuels. The only difference is the anti-knock. Would you know if your mower's 'pinking'?
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Sat 14 May 22 at 22:30
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I have had a Hayter for 20? years. If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for the Queen.
I use bog standard 95? octane petrol. I have read that since they changed the formulation recently, one should use E5 as the fuel is likely to sit in the tank over Winter.
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>>one should use E5 as the fuel is likely to sit in the tank over Winter
RTFM ~ it'll say drain the tank o'er winter! Not that I've ever dunnit :)
I use a cordless mower these days = quiet, no oil or petrol required, indeed I haven't touched the thing, maintenance wise, in the 2 years I've haddit.
What's not to like??
I have biggish garden too, a turd of an acre.
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" quiet, no oil or petrol required, indeed I haven't touched the thing, maintenance wise, in the 2 years I've haddit."
Bit like an EV then.
A bloke I know of just paid £39 for his first year's service. And that included the free AA cover. For his car, not his mower :-)
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>>Bit like an EV then.
Proper job my ansome!
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>> >>Bit like an EV then.
>>
>> Proper job my ansome!
>>
What battery mower do you have Dog?
I was thinking of a battery mower but some of the reviews suggest that they only work with well manicured lawns and the batteries don't last. I would rather the opinion of someone robust who uses one on a sizable lawn.
I am not a keen gardener and the lawn is "clumpy" and slopes. A 1200 watt electric mower struggles. Also there are a number of obstacles in the garden and the cable gets tangled or Mrs Z cuts the cable (thank goodness for RCDs).
I am looking for a replacement - my experience with "cheap" two stroke petrol mowers has not been good with failures to start and broken starter mechanisms.
The other alternative is spending money on a 4 stroke self propelled, self starting mower which may have more power?
Thanks
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My rusty 20 year old Mountfield B&S SP finally expired 2 weeks ago, and I decided to try a battery mower on the basis of, if it could not cope with the rear lawn I could then use it for the smaller front lawns which are better (but not well) manicured. So far I have been impressed. The battery life exceeds my personal working capacity (time + Effort) and it copes with the fairly neglected sloping rear grass, provided it is not wet. I have chosen to keep the grass a little longer than before to minimise scalping of any bumps.
So what did I choose? a 36V (2x 2.5Ah batteries) with 37cm cut Einhell. I chose the smaller width of cut version as it appears to have the same motor as their bigger ones, allowing greater abuse potential? Toolstation had 2 special offers on at the time, so it cost about 215£ with next day delivery.
I would not work on sqm cut, just how long it takes you to cut, cf the manufacturers published run time.
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>>What battery mower do you have Dog?
It's a Worx WG743.1 36V. I've had it almost 2 years now, and it does everything I want.
I had a petrol 21" Masport (made in NZ) mower at ye old cottage, a really great mower, but too big (and heavy) for here, so I sold it to the purchaser of said cottage, and used the money to buy the Worx.
I don't do manicured lawns, and although I have a 1/3rd of an acre here, a lot of it is trees/shrubs, 4 mancaves, 2 large fruit cages, and 2 raised beds for the strawbs.
I actually have 4 separate areas of lawn (PITA this place is!) and have to recharge the batts once to do the whole lot. Charging takes about 1.5 hours so no big deal really.
I have no slopes or clumps here, but I did notice the Worx struggled a bit on wet or long grass when I first got it - simples, I don't cut wet or long grass any more :)
Honda make excellent petrol mowers, mine was 10 years old when I flogged it on Gumtree, and still going strong.
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>> I use a cordless mower these days = quiet, no oil or petrol required, indeed
>> I haven't touched the thing, maintenance wise, in the 2 years I've haddit.
>>
>> What's not to like??
Er? The cost?
My Hayter is rumbling along, and as long as it keeps rumbling along, I will keep it. I think I had it serviced once, way back in the first year or two of ownership. I think I may have changed the oil once, possibly twice. Sharpened the blade at the same time and that's it.
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>>Er? The cost?
I had a, um, lovely 21" Masport petrol mower (made in NZ) at the olde cottage, cost me 500 notes!
I sold it to the chap who bought the property for £250 .. the mower not the owse :)
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Someone gave you a mower because they new you would look after it and you haven’t given it an oil change in years? That’s mechanical cruelty
Briggs and Stratton and I suspect other small engine manufacturers recommend an oil change after every 50 hours of operation or more frequently in harsh conditions like a lot of dust. I normally do mine at the beginning of the season. You can get engine oil formulated for mowers. Treat your poor old mower
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For the benefit of those who don't know how the irrational quoting system on this forum works, Mr Norwich is replying to Mr Slowdown Avenue's original post, not my post.
Why don't the powers that be use a more logical system?
And they wonder why people drift away and don't come back.
Last edited by: Duncan on Sun 15 May 22 at 09:20
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>> For the benefit of those who don't know how the irrational quoting system on this
>> forum works, Mr Norwich is replying to Mr Slowdown Avenue's original post, not my post.
>>
>>
>> Why don't the powers that be use a more logical system?
>>
>
Perhaps something a forum layout that is less confusing, more modern etc is too expensive?
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Bought my current petrol mower 10 years ago.
Recommended a service every year at £50/ 60 to keep it in top condition!!!
The mower was under £250!
I change the oil every 2 years and run it on V-Power - same as the car.
If it fails it fails - a new one of similar spec is around £275/£300 so no repairs
it will just be replaced.
I know it is greener to repair BUT not at the prices quoted by the local outfit.
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I look after a petrol mower, they are surprisingly expensive to service and buy spares. I do try and get one with an electric start, much easier.
But electric is much better, just binned the 2 stroke strimmer for an electric one. Far better than 2 stroke ones, heath-robinson rubbish. If the area was smaller I'd go for an electric mower.
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What on earth is so confusing,
Reply to the post you are addressing - not the last one.
To see the post to which another post refers just tap the little upward arrow.
Most people have been on this forum for years and I’ve personally seen this explained dozens of times over the years. It’s entirely logical and it works just fine.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sun 15 May 22 at 09:46
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My Mountfield SP470 must be 15-20years old and has had rusted holes in the deck for the last 5 years. The BS has always been easy to start, not sure if the oil has been changed in 10 years, the only maintenance has been keeping the blade sharp and a replacement of the lh threaded bolt.
Just purchased a cordless 36v 3Ah EINHELL,primarily for use on the front - Lets see how it goes - so far so good.
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>> Most people have been on this forum for years
>>
And how many are left? Three of us, isn't it?
There's you, me and that other bloke, woss is name?
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>> And how many are left? Three of us, isn't it?
>>
>> There's you, me and that other bloke, woss is name?
Must be something we said.
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>> What on earth is so confusing,
>>
>> Reply to the post you are addressing - not the last one.
Agree.
It actually works rather well when there's more than one sub-thread as it keeps both discussions separate and allows them to have their own pace and identity. Less need to rely on memory and thread scrolling than on, say, Cyclechat where every new post is at the bottom of the thread.
>> To see the post to which another post refers just tap the little upward arrow.
Or if you want more granular detail view threaded instead of flat.
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i know its shameful that i've not replaced oil in years but it still looks ok and it rarely needs atop up. but will 5w/30 be ok
and what is petrol octane 77
i always empty fuel for winter and keep it in the dry garage .
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SAE 30 oil is what you need. - we are talking 4 stroke engine I assume.
Not heard of 77 octane. Do you mean 97? Bog standard 95 octane will be fine
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77 Octane wil be low quality gasoline in Eastern Europe of from the moon.
Compression ratios in mowers are very low so any petrol is fine.
I suppose some old machines might not enjoy E10 as it can corrode brass jets I think.
As for oil as.long as there is some circulating and it's reasonably clean it won't matter much.
Pretty sure my Honda mower has 10W40 in it. Multigrade isn't that useful since mowers aren't used at cold temperatures. SAE30 is freely available if you prefer in any garden centre/Halfords.
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the only reference i've found to octane 77 is a garage in Billericay.
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>> I suppose some old machines might not enjoy E10 as it can corrode brass jets
>> I think.
It also rots rubber seals and diaphragms.
And E10 only has a short shelf life.
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petrol mower fuel - bathtub tom
