The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

Hi there Stiga 5092 owner, hoping someone can help. What are the sensors/safety features that prohibit starting the mower? I must have knocked something out as I Cant start it and by start I mean the engine doesn’t even turn for the last few days. It was going fine and when I stopped I couldn’t restart it

So my thinking was some sensor or safety feature must be effected any advice?

thanks I’m advance

good catch I should have clarified I checked that out already

Thank you for this - interesting to note I felt that the brake pedal seems off someway and not operating properly when I tried earlier so I guess that’s the issue some how and that aligns with your guidance above

will take a closer look at it tomorrow

cheers for the advice

I'd recommend smallengineparts.ie, it's an Irish company, it's less likely to be total Chinese shyte, they would sell these to people with serious price strimmers like yourself, and you would have a warranty as a non commercial use customer. Other respected Irish parts sellers like Atkins, Forest & Garde, sell these as specific Stihl replacements, (though it fits other brands), and charge around €90+, so the one I linked is well priced. Amazon doesn't necessarily mean quality, many products are just 'drop mail' suppliers for Ali sources.

I've read about your issues before with strimmer gearheads. I've done masses of work with all sorts of strimmers and never damaged the bevel gears. I have had issue with the casing on one, but that is a well know fault and mostly fixed with a jubilee clip. I did several weeks really rough work last year with a bramble head https://www.amazon.co.uk/295504-0-Universal-Mulching-Brushcutter-Husqvarna/dp/B00RZH0V4G/ on a cheap 5yo chinese 43cc machine and did it no harm.

So what exactly are you doing to damage them? I assume you aren't running it with material wrapped around the top of the head (tends to melt the head in bad cases rather than damage the bevel gears but can burn up the grease quickly) and top the gear grease up occasionally?

Great conversation. It would seem to reinforce my belief that that gearheads on the cheaper strimmers, or maybe I should say cheap replacement gearheads, are definitely at risk from an impact strike. The energy stored when the blade is spinning at full revs unloaded is considerable, stopping this blade dead against a root or a thick branch transfers all this to the casing and gears, which will spilt a poorly manufactured product. Perhaps your Stihl spun the blade on the shaft a few times from impact, until it loosened the grip of the bolt and thrust plate/washer. Good news anyway.

Hi all

Appreciate some advice about a replacement blade adaptor.

So I’ve a ‘pro lawn’ 51cm petrol lawnmower - a woodies special from 10 years ago. B&S 675EX engine. They no longer sell them and woodies have been less than helpful, no reply from the company

It’s been through the wars and owes me nothing. But I’ve hit the blade off something and caused the nipples on the blade adaptor to be damaged so I need a new blade adaptor and while I’m at it I was hoping for one that would suit a common blade type (Oregon or something similar).

I contacted a lawnmower parts shop and the (very helpful) chap I was dealing with said that they blade adaptors are lawnmower specific. I’m not sure why I’m finding this hard to accept. I know there’s different types but I would’ve thought there’d be one I could find that would work.

It fits into a 21.8mm (⅞ inch) crankshaft and has a 4.7mm flywheel key. Pictures attached.

Really appreciate any help or guidance. Seems an awful shame not to be able to repair this and I really don’t have the money for another lawnmower. Thanks all.

That exact holder with the oval retainer lugs is often imaged in searches for Hecht mowers, a clone of Cobra mowers. Frustratingly, parts seem confined to sales in the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, as I had been trying to obtain well priced parts for a Cobra, and they wouldn't deliver here. Delivery from UK sources for Cobra also rare since brexit.

Can I suggest that the holder is not so badly damaged that you couldn't repair it. A decent application of a cold chisel and hammer will reform the lug protrusions to mate with the blade holes. Fix the holder to the blade off the mower with a suitable nut and bolt and tighten down with the blade holes aligned over the holder nipples. Place on the jaws of a vice and whack the ovals edges with a 10-15 mm cold chisel to reform the metal down into the blade holes. A mm or two protrusion is all you need. The holder plate is mild steel, so will take a good whack without splitting. I'd assumed the plate had came away from the shaft in the first photo, my bad, but it appears to be still all in one piece?

I see several entries on the Woodies site for that holder, same picture for different mowers sizes, I'm guessing its the same. Delivery only, €10 +€5 postage

https://www.woodies.ie/catalogsearch/results?query=Blade+adapter

Do people think it is worth staying clear of multi-tools like this? I used this exact one over the weekend and found it to be surprisingly good as a strimmer, albeit a bit heavy.

https://www.corebuild.ie/proplus-5pce-33cc-multi-function-petrol-garden-tool

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/mountfield-hp185-46cm-139cc-hand-propelled-rotary-petrol-lawn-mower/340rj

For anyone in the know would that be a decent lawnmower for a small front and back garden? Old Harry lawnmower I was using gave up the ghost a few weeks ago and my heart (and back) is broken from using a strimmer to do the job in lieu. Alternatively if the lawn is small enough (35-40m2 roughly probably) would I be as well off to look at a battery mower to do the job and if so would anyone have any reccs for a budget between 200-300 quid.

Otherwise the ego equipment is really good. Ego battery powered lawn mower.

Clarke of Cavan have a year old (but probably two seasons) one for €9000. For an acre. Its a bit like buying a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but you're getting a commercial machine. If your acre is inclined to be soft, and it is a lawn, not a paddock, be aware of the extra weight and compaction of this machine. Something lighter might be better, and the running cost of a petrol machine will be trivially greater than the saving using agricultural diesel.

Lifting wet grass and blasting it through the bagging chute is all about the velocity of the blade tips and the amount of turbine built into the blade shape, how much like a propeller it is. Some mowers may have extra fans atop the blades. My 50 inch cut Viking (now branded as Stihl) only sticks if the grass is very wet and I go too hard, or if its covered with damp leaves at this time of year. A Honda like this 25hp 48" versamow might be a good buy for under your budget, they have some serious models with mulch on a lever that let's you select it on the fly. https://monaghanhire.com/products/honda-hf2625-hme-ride-on-lawnmower-25hp

I suppose you could inspect the grass chutes to see which one is the biggest. Others here might have good advice on sticky or otherwise baggers. For €8k you're looking at the premium end of most brands,

Ideally change the oil and oil filter now so old oil isn't sitting in the engine. But you'll need to start it again to warm the oil up to change it. Most people don't bother changing the oil now but its best practice.

You could use a liter of Aspen fuel to run the engine and leave that in overwinter as it doesn't degrade like normal petrol.

Again you don't have to but air filter and spark plug are worth replacing each year.

RE: Aspen Fuel - Aspen 4

https://tennysonlawnmowers.ie/index.php?route=product/category&path=103

It is however expensive at nearly €10 a liter (about €40 for a 5l can).