The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

My shoulders are causing me bother so I will need to replace an old pull start mower with a button start. It usually takes about an hour to cut the grass with a petrol mower, front and back so I am not sure if I would be better going petrol again rather than battery, would there be something out there that suits for €500 or so or do I need to up the budget?

The back is about 50ft x 60ft with much smaller ones on the side and front, the front is quiet steep.

Will they work if there isn't access between the two gardens, I would have to carry it out the front?

kc78 wrote: »

My shoulders are causing me bother so I will need to replace an old pull start mower with a button start. It usually takes about an hour to cut the grass with a petrol mower, front and back so I am not sure if I would be better going petrol again rather than battery, would there be something out there that suits for €500 or so or do I need to up the budget?

This will do the job, quite well priced, the Briggs and Stratton InStart engines are very good, battery is a detatchable power tool type, just bring it in and charge.
https://www.sweeneygrassmachinery.com/product/gardencare-lmx46sp/
I got a Cobra 53cm cut electric start with a bigger version of this engine, the pull start was getting a bit much for the operator, (swmbo). I do the real mowing of course, sitting on my arse on the tractor.
The kind of cordless mower you would get for €500 might just about be able to run for an hour on a single charge, it depends on how heavy the cut is. I'm having doubts about these cordless mowers. Unless you get a very high capacity one, I can see all the medium range ones scrapped after only a short few years due to failing battery capacity, until you're recharging it twice or three times to finish what used to take one charge. Then you discover a replacement battery pack is half the price of a new mower, if you can even get one. A well minded petrol mower will work for twenty years, and there's older than that out there still working.

deezell wrote: »

This will do the job, quite well priced, the Briggs and Stratton InStart engines are very good, battery is a detatchable power tool type, just bring it in and charge.
https://www.sweeneygrassmachinery.com/product/gardencare-lmx46sp/
I got a Cobra 53cm cut electric start with a bigger version of this engine, the pull start was getting a bit much for the operator, (swmbo). I do the real mowing of course, sitting on my arse on the tractor.
The kind of cordless mower you would get for €500 might just about be able to run for an hour on a single charge, it depends on how heavy the cut is. I'm having doubts about these cordless mowers. Unless you get a very high capacity one, I can see all the medium range ones scrapped after only a short few years due to failing battery capacity, until you're recharging it twice or three times to finish what used to take one charge. Then you discover a replacement battery pack is half the price of a new mower, if you can even get one. A well minded petrol mower will work for twenty years, and there's older than that out there still working.

Thanks, this is the type of thing I was looking for should make life much easier

BrownFinger wrote: »

Need a replacement part for my harry mower.
Does anyone know the the part the blade bolts into is called ?
I'd call it the spindle but not seeing what i need.
Sheered the two locating spuds off mine using a dethatching blade.
Have it bodged for the moment .

Usually called the blade boss, blade adapter or mounting boss. Harry mowers also know as Active mowers. Mounting bosses can be generic, but having said that, there's a lot of variation. A Harry/active dealer would be a good start. The exact model of mower might help find the parts list, the part no., then a search will produce generics if it is used on other brands.
Bodge can work. My 20 something year old Stiga 55 spent half its life with the spuds sheared. I drilled the spuds and filled them epoxy, up into the blade hole, then tighted it well. Still good when I sold it.

brianon wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I got a mower (PRO LAWN 46CM 139CC HYUNDAI SELF PROPELLED PETROL LAWNMOWER) from Woodies just over a year ago. Was running fine. Yesterday after about 3 minutes of cutting there seemed to be a 'not very loud' bang/puff of air (not sure how to describe) and the mower immediately started running slower. The rpm of the blade seems about half. The mower itself moves about half speed and even the loudness of the mower seems lower.
I've little to no mower experience. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas. It had petrol (had just topped it up with new petrol) and oil.

Any help appreciated

Were you pushing mower in around trees or hedges ? Possibly governor spring has been caught ?
Or did it happen in open lawn

brianon wrote: »

Thank you for the reply. It happened in open lawn i would say. Near hedge but certainly no branches or not in hedge. Slightly longer grass is about it.

Check if the crankcase breather hose has popped off. If it's still running its unlikely to be anything serious or terminal, though a blown head gasket might be responsible. It might still start and run, until the compression leak got too great to start.

fryup wrote: »

are Honda's better engines than Briggs & Stratton? or are they on a par to each other?

Honda would be the best at all levels.

fryup wrote: »

that's why they're more expensive?

They don't make the GCV consumer engines in China, so perception is a premium Japanese made product, though all GCVs are produced in Italy and US, for their respective markets, and elsewhere, so no cheap slave produced engines, thus higher price.

deezell wrote: »

They don't make the GCV consumer engines in China, so perception is a premium Japanese made product, though all GCVs are produced in Italy and US, for their respective markets, and elsewhere, so no cheap slave produced engines, thus higher price.

Whenever possible, I'd go for the Honda, currently we have a 1724 ride on and and automatic Izzy, with electric start + a Honda strimmers. So far , only problem was with a bearing the strimmers. We also have a a Castlegarden push mower with a B&G engine, which I we bought in 1984. It has the heavy plastic deck, so no rust problems. It was out of use for about 3 years in this time after been buried under a load of hay bales in the shed, and took awhile to start, but I got it going and its running ever since. When I have some rough out of control growth, it's my "GoTo" machine. I change the engine oil in all my machnes regularly, and that helps.So while Honda would be my engine of choice, nothing wrong with B&S engines either.

On the in-laws Mountfield ride on, the steering was getting very heavy in the straight ahead position, and when I checked the track bar it was hitting the disc above the drive pulley ( clutch /brake ?? ) but turning the steering wheel left or right, took the bar well away. Given that its very unlikely that the engine has moved forward , it has to be the axle (or its attachments ) have moved back. The axle itself only has a centre bolt, allowing it to move verticall, but not horizontally. I have to find the time to jack it up, remove the wheels and see exactly whats going on with it, but has anyone had this experience before? And not neccessarily confined to Mountfield, as most ride ons have the same kind of configuration.

fryup wrote: »

and B&S make theirs in sweatshops?

'Course not. All their Chinese made stuff is built in trade unionised, free speech, free collective bargaining, government interference free private factories.