Choosing Petrol Lawnmower
Sweep
Hi All
Can anyone give me advise on what I should be looking for when I
buy a petrol lawnmower.
I currently have a Flymow Hover mower and a dodgy disk in my lower
back, which makes lawn mowing a hard task for me.
The Hover mower is underpowered, pulverised grass builds up
on the underside of the mower making the thing progressively heavier
and harder to push, which I cannot easily do any more. Hence thoughts
of a petrol powered rotary mower with wheels (self propelled).
With all the different models/prices on the market I don't know what
criteria I should be using for selecting a model, can anyone help, I
have had a quick browse through some FAQs but if there is anything on
Lawn mowers I have missed it.
Another question please, since these things run on wheels, how would
I mow the edge of the lawn bordering flower beds etc , whould I have
to edge the lawn with paving slabs to run the wheels on ?.
My rear lawn is approx 40ft X 80ft and my front lawn 30ft x 40ft.
TIA
Paul
Jane Ransom
.freeserve.co.remove.uk> writes
>
>Another question please, since these things run on wheels, how would
>I mow the edge of the lawn bordering flower beds etc , whould I have
>to edge the lawn with paving slabs to run the wheels on ?.
>
We just run it along the edge of the lawn with the roller hanging 6
inches over the end so the horizontal surface is smooth right to the
edge. The only problem then is edging the vertical bit!!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
If you want to email me,
put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com
Chris Hogg
psp...@jspratt.freeserve.co.remove.uk (Sweep) wrote:
>Choosing Petrol Lawnmower
>
For what it's worth, I bought my first petrol mower a year or so ago,
based on zero experience. It's a rotary, not self propelled so it
needs pushing, with a 20" cut, which means fewer traverses than one
with a narrower blade. The one disadvantage I find is the
fixed-direction wheels. Fine, if you've a long straight lawn free of
obstacles, but they make it difficult to navigate around corners, as
the mower is also quite heavy. I see that some mowers now have
swiveling 'supermarket' type trolley wheels, which I imagine make them
much easier to manoeuvre.
I have no difficulty along edges of flower beds. The blade cuts to the
outer edge of the wheel span.
--
Chris
De-* virgin for e-mail reply
Rod
Sweep <psp...@jspratt.freeserve.co.remove.uk> wrote in message
news:3ac5a2aa...@news.freeserve.net...
> Choosing Petrol Lawnmower
>
> Hi All
>
> Can anyone give me advise on what I should be looking for when I
> buy a petrol lawnmower.
> of a petrol powered rotary mower with wheels (self propelled).
>
> With all the different models/prices on the market I don't know what
Why rotary?
Some rotarys have a roller at the back as Jane says but you still get the front wheels
running off the edge.
With a dodgy back and a relatively small area and low budget I'd probably be looking at a
reconditioned cylinder mower around the 200 quid mark. Quiet, user friendly, last almost
forever and do a much better job than a rotary if properly set and maintained. You don't
have to collect the cuttings if you mow frequently and don't cut too low. 3/4" to 1" is
plenty low enough.
Avoid those with a centrifugal clutch that needs 3 yards notice when you want to stop.
(Some old Ransomes and Suffolk)
You don't need one of the monsters that needs the physique of a weight lifter.
Look for something that'll do your job in about 3/4 hour or less.
Rod
Robert Singleton
Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Singleton
Newsgroups: uk.rec.gardening
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 8:24 PM
Subject: Lawnmowers
There have been various posts over the last few months about lawnmowers and
the merits of various makes and types... some swear by cylinder mowers,
others, rotaries.
For those who want some basic information...
CYLINDER MOWERS - will give you the best cut and the best finish to a lawn
BUT a good lawn starts with hard work and plenty of TLC. A cylinder mower
will NOT make a poor lawn look like a bowling green! A cylinder mower will
not cut long or wet grass. Nor should it be used around trees or in rougher
areas, unless you want to damage the cutting cylinder and/or the bottom
blade. You should also check the set of the cylinder against the bottom
blade before you mow. An incorrectly set cylinder will rip the grass, in
which case you might as well use a rotary! Cylinder mowers are in the long
run more expensive to service, as more things need to be checked. Some mower
service centres use "in-situ" grinders for sharpening, others take the
cylinder out and put it on a grinder. The latter is the better, if slightly
more expensive option, as the cylinder bearings can be checked for wear at
the same time. You will also get a better grind with this method... i.e. the
cylinder will be sharper and the bottom blade will be easier to match up. As
for what to buy... no machine below 20" in cutting width currently on the
market is worth bothering with. The new Suffolks and Atco/Qualcasts (all
basically the same machine, just different colours) are poor imitations of
lawnmowers. They are made of cheap pressed steel and the gears are now made
of a brittle nylon that has a tendency to loose teeth! If you can find
second hand/reconditioned Suffolk Colts (12"), Punchs (14" & 17"),
Atcos(14", 17" & 18"), Webbs or Ransomes then you will have a machine that,
cared for, will last 20-30 or so years. The jewel of handmowers, the
Ransomes Ajax, is a rare find these days... a good reconditioned one will be
about £120 but that will last you until the day you die! Other good hand
mowers are the old Webb Witch or the Qualcast Panther/Superlite Panthers. In
an ideal world, every cylinder mower would be backed up by a 4 wheel rotary
for roughcutting and for the first cut of the year.
4 WHEEL ROTARIES - General workhorse for the garden, especially for rougher
areas. The better the quality of the deck (body) and engine, the longer it
will last. Try to avoid the very cheap pressed steel machines available in
the DIY superstores... the designs (and manufacturers) change on a regular
basis and spares are not always as easy to get hold of as you think!
"CHAMPION" is not a make... it is a sticker used by the diy stores... one
year it may come from the USA, the next from somewhere in the EC. They also
tend to use the smallest engines available, 3 or 3.5hp. On a 30m x 30m lawn
that means the engine is working hard, and therefore more is prone to go
wrong. PARTNER is made by Flymo which in turn is owned by electrolux... IMHO
they should stick to making refrigerators. The decks are made from a cheap
plastic and the whole machine has a cheap and wobbly feel to it. Spares are
also expensive. Look for anything made either from ABS plastic or aluminium
with a 4hp or more engine. Briggs & Stratton, Tecumseh or Honda are all good
engines, though Honda parts can be pricey. In the 15"/16" range go for
Mountfield Emblems, IBEA 4204s, Hondas, Harrys, Hayters, etc.but as with the
cylinder mowers keep away from ATCO/Qualcast machines. Also steer clear of
Partner, Champion, and pretty much anything made in the USA. Larger 4 wheel
rotaries, think Hayter Ranger, IBEA 4704, Harry, Honda and you can't go far
wrong.
REAR-ROLLER ROTARIES - Invented as a compromise, so you can have the stripes
one would associate with a cylinder mower, allied to the greater
practicality of a 4 wheel rotary. Firstly, any 4 wheel machine that has a
flap of rubber or a "roller kit" that you can add to get a stripe is a
gimmick and should be left well alone. As with the 4 wheelers, a good solid
ABS plastic or aluminium deck is a must. Keep away from anything that is
made of pressed steel, as it won't have the strength to carry a decent
roller on the back. Of the small rotaries (16") only the IBEA 420 range has
a steel roller, all the others have plastic rollers. Of the plastic roller
machines, the Hayter Harrier 41 is OK. Keep away from the Mountfield 16"
Empress... the plastic decks are prone to crack, and the general design of
the machine makes it difficult to service. Again don't touch anything with
an ATCO/Qualcast sticker. Poorly made and as expensive as the Hayter or
IBEA; therefore poor value for money. For larger machines there are only a
few worthy options... Hayter Harrier 48 (19") and 56 (22") are probably the
best value machines, solidly built and will last for ages. Big Hondas are
also very good, but also very expensive. If you have the money, get the
Honda by all means, but you are paying a premium for the name alone.
No doubt there will be some of you out there who may have machines that I've
not said the kindest things about, and they have given you years of trouble
free service. I'm just going by what I know having spent the last 18 years
in the trade. I no longer work in the trade and have no vested interests,
but I do have very strong opinions.
The most criminal act was when ATCO, having been bought by BOSCH (yes, those
of you with new mowers have German machines!) bought out Webb and ditched
their designs... after all, what manufacturer wants a design that will last
tens of years when they can sell a poor machine that may last 5 to 7 years!
Alastair J. Smith
cheapy electrics sub £100 can get a bit of a shock from the price of petrol
rotaries.
The best way to cope with mowing the edge is to buy a rear roller machine
which you can easily balance on the edge of the lawn. However roller
machines are UK spec only which reduces the number of manufacturers machines
to choose from and excludes any of the budget machines. Also roller machines
only really benefit lawns not gardens.
Alastair Smith
"Sweep" <psp...@jspratt.freeserve.co.remove.uk> wrote in message
news:3ac5a2aa...@news.freeserve.net...
Sweep
Jane Ransom wrote>
> Our mower does not have wheels and has a big roller at the back.
> We just run it along the edge of the lawn with the roller hanging 6
> inches over the end so the horizontal surface is smooth right to the
> edge.
Chris Hogg Wrote>
> The one disadvantage I find is the
> fixed-direction wheels. Fine, if you've a long straight lawn free of
> obstacles, but they make it difficult to navigate around corners, as
> the mower is also quite heavy. I see that some mowers now have
> swiveling 'supermarket' type trolley wheels, which I imagine make them
> much easier to manoeuvre.
> I have no difficulty along edges of flower beds. The blade cuts to the
> outer edge of the wheel span.
My lawn has curvy edges and a large tree in it, lots of swerving
about, thats why I orginally bought a Hover mower. Swiveling wheels, a
good idear.
Alastair Smith wrote >
> The best way to cope with mowing the edge is to buy a rear roller machine
> which you can easily balance on the edge of the lawn. However roller
> to choose from and excludes any of the budget machines. Also roller machines
> only really benefit lawns not gardens.
Thanks
Rod wrote>
> Why rotary?
I find that the wind frequently blows small twigs off the surrounding
trees onto the lawn, the Hover simply smashes them up, but I think
they would quickly do damage to a cylinder mower. I am also worried
about damage due to the odd bit of raised concrete path/paving stone.
Each year I have to plow my way though a patch of rough grass left
after I have removed the Daffodil patch.
Alastair Smith wrote:
> What's your budget? I ask this because people who have Flymo's or any of the
> cheapy electrics sub £100 can get a bit of a shock from the price of petrol
> rotaries.
Yes I am aware I am looking upwards of GBP 180, but I feel its worth
it to avoid dragging around cables and extensions.
Robert Singleton wrote , quite a lot all very useful, just printed it
out.
Thank you all.
Paul
Trevor Barton
>In article <3ac5a2aa...@news.freeserve.net>, Sweep <pspratt@jspratt
>.freeserve.co.remove.uk> writes
>>
>>Another question please, since these things run on wheels, how would
>>I mow the edge of the lawn bordering flower beds etc , whould I have
>>to edge the lawn with paving slabs to run the wheels on ?.
>>
>Our mower does not have wheels and has a big roller at the back.
>We just run it along the edge of the lawn with the roller hanging 6
>inches over the end so the horizontal surface is smooth right to the
>edge. The only problem then is edging the vertical bit!!!!
I've found that the rear roller on my rotary ower leaves a layer
of compacted grass that eventually clogs up the lawn underneath even if
the surface is OK. It's also a rotary and I wonder if a rotary will do
that because it tends to flatten the grass in the cutting action unlike
a cylinder which probably tends to lift the grass as it cuts. I also
tend to always go in the same direction in the same place, though, and
perhaps that's a bad idea and I ought to be alternating direction?
Trev
--
Trevor Barton
Huby, N. Yorks. UK.
Remove X from email address to reply.
Jane Ransom
Barton <t...@tmjabarton.Xplus.com> writes
>>>
>>Our mower does not have wheels and has a big roller at the back.
>>We just run it along the edge of the lawn with the roller hanging 6
>>inches over the end so the horizontal surface is smooth right to the
>>edge. The only problem then is edging the vertical bit!!!!
>
>I've found that the rear roller on my rotary ower leaves a layer
Ours is not a rotary mower, it is a cylinder mower - I should have made
that clear, sorry :)
I've never understood people using rotary mowers on lawns (as opposed to
patches of short grass) as I am sure that they 'tear' the grass rather
than 'cut' it.
Klara
spratt.freeserve.co.remove.uk>
>Can anyone give me advise on what I should be looking for when I buy a
>petrol lawnmower.
Whatever you buy, make sure you check how easy it is to empty the
collecting-box. I find the mowing painless, but the emptying really
difficult and hard on the back...
Klara
In Gatwick basin
remove nospam to e-mail
David Simpson
<ran...@deadspam.com> writes
>In article <slrn9cf0v...@cow.tm-jabarton.freeserve.co.uk>, Trevor
>Barton <t...@tmjabarton.Xplus.com> writes
>>>>
>>>Our mower does not have wheels and has a big roller at the back.
>>>We just run it along the edge of the lawn with the roller hanging 6
>>>inches over the end so the horizontal surface is smooth right to the
>>>edge. The only problem then is edging the vertical bit!!!!
>>
>>I've found that the rear roller on my rotary ower leaves a layer
>
>Ours is not a rotary mower, it is a cylinder mower - I should have made
>that clear, sorry :)
>I've never understood people using rotary mowers on lawns (as opposed to
>patches of short grass) as I am sure that they 'tear' the grass rather
>than 'cut' it.
>
will slice the grass cleanly whether its on a cylinder or on a rotary
shaft, the difference between them is a cylinder will cut uni
directionally across the whole cutting head rather than the rotary which
will cut multi directionally.
--
David Simpson
Jane Ransom
<david....@chapellhouse.demon.co.uk> writes
>>I've never understood people using rotary mowers on lawns (as opposed to
>>patches of short grass) as I am sure that they 'tear' the grass rather
>>than 'cut' it.
>>
>Why would you think that Jane? surely a sharp blade cutting at speed
>will slice the grass cleanly whether its on a cylinder or on a rotary
>shaft,
I have looked at flymo blades and don't think they are particularly
sharp. We have one for cutting the awkward areas of the garden and when
I compare the 'cuts', there is no comparison - even with a new flymo
blade. You do the same. The top of the 'cut' blades of grass is just not
'clean' with a flymo.
Mind you, unless the rotary blades are set properly, I suppose you could
say the same for the blades of grass cut with them as well!
David Hill
opposed to using a Billhook, no matter how sharp you will never get as good
a cut as with secaturs.
same with rotary mower...
Saying which I use rotary 99% of the time, but not to get a realy fine lawn.
--
David Hill, Abacus Nurseries, South Wales,
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk
Trevor Barton
>In article <FkWVzHAk...@chapelhouse.demon.co.uk>, David Simpson
><david....@chapellhouse.demon.co.uk> writes
>>>I've never understood people using rotary mowers on lawns (as opposed to
>>>patches of short grass) as I am sure that they 'tear' the grass rather
>>>than 'cut' it.
>>>
>>Why would you think that Jane? surely a sharp blade cutting at speed
>>will slice the grass cleanly whether its on a cylinder or on a rotary
>>shaft,
>
>I have looked at flymo blades and don't think they are particularly
>sharp. We have one for cutting the awkward areas of the garden and when
>I compare the 'cuts', there is no comparison - even with a new flymo
>blade. You do the same. The top of the 'cut' blades of grass is just not
>'clean' with a flymo.
>Mind you, unless the rotary blades are set properly, I suppose you could
>say the same for the blades of grass cut with them as well!
The Mountfield M3 petrol mower I have cuts OK, and it's certainly
better than the old electric rotary we had. T think that it probably
depends on the speed of the blades. I've other issues with it,
apart from the roller, though. It is particularly poorly
engineered from the maintenance point of view - the B&S engine is fine,
but the mountfiled parts of the system are poor - for example non-captive
nuts on the inside where you can't get a wrench to them. It was advertised
at the time as their first mower designed using computer-aided design.
Well, I think it was designed by the young graduate that they bought in
because the old bloke that they had used to design for years before
that couldn't cope with computers or CAD. Sadly, it shows in the design.
Too complicated with not enough thought to either production or
maintenance. Also, later versions of the mower I've seen in the shops
have been changed in almost all of the particulars I have issue with!
Trev.
David Simpson
<ran...@deadspam.com> writes
>In article <FkWVzHAk...@chapelhouse.demon.co.uk>, David Simpson
><david....@chapellhouse.demon.co.uk> writes
>>>I've never understood people using rotary mowers on lawns (as opposed to
>>>patches of short grass) as I am sure that they 'tear' the grass rather
>>>than 'cut' it.
>>>
>>Why would you think that Jane? surely a sharp blade cutting at speed
>>will slice the grass cleanly whether its on a cylinder or on a rotary
>>shaft,
>
>I have looked at flymo blades and don't think they are particularly
>sharp. We have one for cutting the awkward areas of the garden and when
>I compare the 'cuts', there is no comparison - even with a new flymo
>blade. You do the same. The top of the 'cut' blades of grass is just not
>'clean' with a flymo.
>Mind you, unless the rotary blades are set properly, I suppose you could
>say the same for the blades of grass cut with them as well!
>
considered flymo's as being pretty toys for the postage stamp estate
gardens (due apologies to all flymo fans:).
I think the difference is in the way the mowers are used, get behind a
cylinder and you feel that you want to do the job properly, use a rotary
and you tend to thrash up and down at speed. The rotary tends to cut
most things as well whereas the cylinder will baulk at too long or too
wet so I guess you plan your mowing more with the cylinder and have to
take it more carefully. Also we have imprinted on our minds the quality
lawn having nice stripes at which the cylinder is the king at producing,
the rotary will always struggle to match that.
I also have a large double ride-on which is now too big for the garden
as we've cluttered up with ponds and beds and things so that will have
to go, I'll probably change it for a big cylinder which I have always
fancied having but as I'm away a lot the rotary tackles the sporadic
mowing better.
--
David Simpson
Alastair J. Smith
"Jane Ransom" <ran...@deadspam.com> wrote in message
news:yKPWtKAP...@jandg.demon.co.uk...
> Ours is not a rotary mower, it is a cylinder mower - I should have made
> that clear, sorry :)
> I've never understood people using rotary mowers on lawns (as opposed to
> patches of short grass) as I am sure that they 'tear' the grass rather
> than 'cut' it.<
Rotaries are the easy convenient mowers of the late 20th century and cost
less whilst doing the job quicker. Cylinder mowers are the classic quality
machines that suit a lawn with an owner who has time to appreciate them and
can afford them.
Say goodbye to them as they are a dying breed (cylinder mowers).
Rotary mowers cut the grass just fine, especially if you have a garden and
not a lawn.
Alastair Smith
don't confuse a hover electric mower as a rotary.