Lawnmower time

[Vir Campestris]

We've had a pocket handkerchief for the last years, but this one's a little larger - about 50x25 metres.

I'm not really into stripes. Suggestions for a mower please?

Andy

[Bob Minchin]

Sheep and fence off a small patch for some mint to let them know who is boss!

[Nthkentman]

We've had a pocket handkerchief for the last years, but this one's a little larger - about 50x25 metres.

I'm not really into stripes. Suggestions for a mower please?

A reputable manufactured rotary petrol. Keep it sharp and the blades balanced properly Your choice if you need mulching of cut sward, or not into a bag or vac attachment Wash it off properly after use or it'll rot Don't go for *anything* with a plastic base...Just don't. Electric mowers are for the occasional garden lawn mowing Sunday enthusiast,

[Adrian]

We were in your position last year.

A small ad for a mildly used Viking (Stihl) 17" rotary got jumped at. We were ambivalent about stripes, too - but this one has the roller, so

On balance, with somewhat lumpy ground in places, I think it scores over wheels, since it doesn't drop one rear wheel into a hollow and scalp the hummock.

[Clive George]

My plastic-based honda begs to differ. However this may well be more expensive than the ones you're thinking of - they save steel for their cheaper models.

[Vir Campestris]

Yes. I have one of those, and it isn't going to be up to it.

(And sheep are just too much work. They spend all their time working out new ways to die)

Andy

[Brian Gaff]

A goat?

Brian

[Tim+]

My Qualcast mower has a plastic deck. In 20 years it has acquired a small crack that I've plated over to stop it spreading. Still working well and hardly ever cleaned after use.

No rust yet! Plastic decks aren't all bad.

Tim

[John Rumm]

Having had the rear wheels fall off my Hayter Hunter 41 at least three times so far (needing replacement of the plastic partial under tray) I would have to concur!

[Huge]

We have about twice that. I bought a ride-on. Since it was 21 years ago, I don't think any specific recommendations apply, but I have a few thoughts;

- Buy a Japanese one. Our is American, and the "technology" is all Dark Ages. And Imperial nuts & bolts. Briggs & Stratton engines are an embarrassment.

- Ride-ons are a ridiculous amount of money. Even second-hand, assuming you can get one.

- Given the previous point, look after it. Our is ridiculously unreliable. It sheds nuts and bolts all the time. I bought a welder specifically so as to repair all the vibration and fatigue induced failures. Hopefully a more modern one will be better designed.

- Buy one that picks up the grass. Otherwise you'll be walking grass into the house all summer and your wife will kill you. You might want to pick up the grass in some places and not in others to reduce the problem of ...

- You'll need somewhere to dump the cuttings. We have a *big* compost heap (actually, two. One adding, one subtracting.) Put them downwind of the house. Rotting grass cuttings are *stinky*.

- Bear in mind where you need to be able to drive it. They are hard to get into (and out of!) small spaces and may have a limited turning circle.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I used to agree (having repaired a good many friends' ones).

However, if you go to a proper lawn mower stockist rather than the sheds, you'll find induction motor mowers (rather than the cheap universal motors used in most electric mowers), and I now rate induction motors better than petrol ones - they have exactly the right torque profile for mowing grass (whereas the cheap universal electric motors are exactly the wrong torque profile, and petrol is somewhere in the middle). Note that the power rating of an induction motor mower will often be somewhat lower for the same output power or cutting width, as they're more efficient.

When I last bought one, the induction motor mower was the most expensive of the choices (electric universal, electric induction, petrol). However, it doesn't need the servicing that a petrol mower needs, nor brush replacing of a universal motor (although most universal motor mowers are designed to be chucked out when the brushes wear out).

However, induction mowers were getting harder to find (people won't pay the extra, not understanding the difference), and it was some years ago since I last checked the market and bought one.

[Spider]

And, anyway, they only give you stripes when you've knitted their wool:~}

[Martin Brown]

Would be easier if you were since the rear roller allows it to be self propelled and it will also support a larger grass box. You don't say if your new lawn is bowling green flat or mountaineering steep.

Mine has a bit of both. Adjustable cut depth petrol mower is my choice - I got mine from a local farm supply shop. The DIY sheds tend to have cheap & nasty smelly ones that will last one or two seasons at most.

[Tim Streater]

This doesn't follow. Mine has four wheels and is self-propelled.

This may well be true.

[mark.bluemel]

Some years ago we stayed at a farmhouse B&B. On mentioning to the farmer's wife at breakfast that we'd seen one of the sheep on the lawn, she commented something to this effect "Sheep have two aims in life: one is to be where they shouldn't and the other is to die.".

[David.WE.Roberts]

Back in the day when I researched mowers the choice of rear roller or four wheel was not to do with wanting stripes - you still get stripes(ish) with a mower with four wheels.

The reason to chose a mower with a roller was if you wanted to cut close to the edge or if you had awkward curves such as beds within parts of the lawn.

The roller allows you to 'hang out' the rear of the mower over an edge and cut the grass instead of dropping one wheel and digging in.

Alloy decks used to be the best - not fragile like plastic and not rusty like steel.

My 'Harry' mower has done sterling service but AFAIK is no longer produced.

It has a plastic rear roller which I managed to smash quite comprehensively by picking up a stone in the blades.

Cheers

Dave R

[Clive George]

You can get self propelled without a roller. It's pretty common :-)

[Andrew Gabriel]

If you want good stripes with a 4-wheeled mower, set the cutting height slightly differently on each side. Done it by accident with my brother's small mower a couple of times!

[John Rumm]

Was there not some EU directive on motor noise that was going to prompt a general switch to induction motors?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Sounds like the EU.

There's one coming which limits the power of vacuum cleaners, but I can't imagine any of the bureucrats use a vacuum cleaner, so if it takes twice as long, what would they care?