Need Advice On A Lawn Mower

[petesbrew]

My flymo hand mower seized up a couple of years back, big time. I put it out with the council cleanup and replaced it with a cheaper hand mower.
Bad Move.
I tell you cheap handmowers are shit. Not enough weight to hold it down, plastic wheels that don't have enough traction to get the rollers going properly.
I threw the f$$king thing across my yard yesterday in frustration. I tell you it felt good, I hurled it another 2 times.

anyone got a small electric mower? Any good? My front yard is so small it's not worth going petrol.

 

[Bribie G]

An Ozito electric mower from the Green Shed is perfectly good for small yards - I think they are about $120 but I bought one for around $99 3 years ago. They come with proper catcher. I had one when I lived at A and it was perfect for the little rectangle of green out the front.
However when I moved to B, Where the yard was big enough for a marquee plus a full camping site for my brew day at Easter :lol: the Ozito couldn't hack it so I gave it to the daughter who's in a townhouse, and I just went back the the GS and got the cheapest "Racer" petrol model. Has a genuine Briggs and Stratton Engine, just one year old and starts first pull. I just got it serviced at the mower place and all good. It was only around $200.

A


B


The trick with the electrics is to plan your cutting "pattern" and always keep the cord under control and in view. If you can have a mate or SWMBO spotting you they can feed the cord out to you - you work nearer to the power point then gradually mow further and further away.

 

[komodo]

Honda.

I have a honda line trimmer and the thing kicks arse. I've got it out for the first time this season on the weekend. I left the plug loose after the end of the season and this time I unscrewed the plug fully gave a spray of some CRC pulled the cord twice screwed the plug in and away she went.
Its so quiet I can use it for house without getting the shits up.

Dad has a honda lawn mower and I have some serious mower envy (mind you I think I'm more jealous of is husqvarna ride on)
That thing kicks arse. Its a cast chasis but its still light. Being 4 stroke it starts first time every time and no need to faff around with 2 stroke mixes. No smoke. Quiet. Just brilliant.

I've got an older Rover 4 stroke Easy Start with a 20" cast alloy deck. I'm forever sharpening blades and replacing them. Replacing the blades is a fricken pig of a job it seems to weld them in place making it neigh on impossible to release them. Other than that its a dream. Occasionally it needs the plug cleaned - mind you thats probably because I mix the sump oil into the fuel when I change it annually to get rid of it.

Basically I don't think you can go wrong with a 4 stroke mower with a reputable brand name motor (briggs and stratton, honda etc) provided it has a cast chassis. These pressed steel POS mowers going around aren't worth the hassle. You see them every council hard rubbish with the motor having torn the chassis or the chassis being all bent and twisted.

As far as I can see provided you change the oil with some regularity (once every year or two), make sure the air filter is clean, keep sharp blades, good/clean spark plug and avoid hitting too much in the way of burried stumps, large rocks etc. a decent lawn mower basically should out last the bloke (or lady) using it in the average domestic back yard (say <1200sq/m) type situation. I really cant see someone replacing a decent lawn mower more than once every 15 years anyway.

 

[petesbrew]

Honestly, i should just have a go at hooking up my powerdrill to my barrel mower

 

[barls]

go honda pete you wont regret it, had mine now 4 years love it.
also have a still electric trimmer works great.
btw nice grave robbing

 

[J Grimmer]

6 months ago i would have said go honda but recently need to replace one myself and could not go past John Deer Push Mowers seriously a lot of mower for your $$$.

 

[Kai]

My flymo hand mower seized up a couple of years back, big time. I put it out with the council cleanup and replaced it with a cheaper hand mower.
Bad Move.
I tell you cheap handmowers are shit. Not enough weight to hold it down, plastic wheels that don't have enough traction to get the rollers going properly.
I threw the f$$king thing across my yard yesterday in frustration. I tell you it felt good, I hurled it another 2 times.

anyone got a small electric mower? Any good? My front yard is so small it's not worth going petrol.

I love old threads

I'm using a hand mower, it was the right price (free) and an ALKO model (same as the brand on the compression bucket on the old spent grain dewatering unit from Little Creatures, to make a brewing-related segue).

For maintenance, all it needs is pulling the old grass from the axle and a little WD-40 on recalcitrant mornings.

I've learnt to communicate well with it to reach the best results for all involved. I agree to mow my lawn before it's over 3-4" high, and it agrees to brutalise it into submission with the help of some well-acclimatised brawn.

Much harder to push when you have two two-year-olds 'helping' though.

What I love most about a hand mower on a small lawn though, is it's quiet.

 

[Dave70]

Seriously.
A tethered goat makes not only an efficient mower / mulcher / kitchen scrap disposal system but a great talking point and pet. Kids love them.
Why not get a dairy goat and there's your milk and ricotta taken care of.

And if it doesn't work out, like when my neighbors goat over the back got into the next door neighbors immaculately presented azaleas and trampled and ate the lot, you can kill it and convert it into a spicy Indian or Moroccan curry dish.
Try doing that with your Briggs & Stratton.

 

[petesbrew]

I love old threads

I'm using a hand mower, it was the right price (free) and an ALKO model (same as the brand on the compression bucket on the old spent grain dewatering unit from Little Creatures, to make a brewing-related segue).

For maintenance, all it needs is pulling the old grass from the axle and a little WD-40 on recalcitrant mornings.

I've learnt to communicate well with it to reach the best results for all involved. I agree to mow my lawn before it's over 3-4" high, and it agrees to brutalise it into submission with the help of some well-acclimatised brawn.

Much harder to push when you have two two-year-olds 'helping' though.

What I love most about a hand mower on a small lawn though, is it's quiet.

I tell you the Flymo was so much better built than this bunnings cheapy... can't remember the brand right now.
The flymo has set height adjustments, when the cheapy has to be finely tuned. As I said before, it felt good throwing the f##king thing across the yard.
As I'm garage free, and my shed is taken up by bottles & brewing gear, a small sized mower for a small yard is a priority.

Hehe, yeah old threads are great.

 

[petesbrew]

Seriously.
A tethered goat makes not only an efficient mower / mulcher / kitchen scrap disposal system but a great talking point and pet. Kids love them.
Why not get a dairy goat and there's your milk and ricotta taken care of.

And if it doesn't work out, like when my neighbors goat over the back got into the next door neighbors immaculately presented azaleas and trampled and ate the lot, you can kill it and convert it into a spicy Indian or Moroccan curry dish.
Try doing that with your Briggs & Stratton.

Pretty slack killing a goat with a Briggs & Stratton.

 

[Dave70]

Pretty slack killing a goat with a Briggs & Stratton.
View attachment 49268

Not to mention messy and time consuming.
You think clearing a stuck sparge is a pain in the arse..

A branch shredder with at least a 5hp engine would be the minimum I'd shoot for.
Plus some garbage bags and dark clothing I wasn't particularly fussy about burning.

 

[petesbrew]

Not to mention messy and time consuming.
You think clearing a stuck sparge is a pain in the arse..

A branch shredder with at least a 5hp engine would be the minimum I'd shoot for.
Plus some garbage bags and dark clothing I wasn't particularly fussy about burning.

I dunno.
Yes the branch shredder will be quicker, but I'm thinking it would make mince... I don't think mince is the best cut you'd go for in an indian/moroccan curry. The briggs & stratton should leave bigger chunks.