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I can't see that anyone else has started a thread on the Forum, as regards advice on "which" Lawnmower to buy.
About two months ago (after 8 years service from my previous Petrol Rotary Mower, which cost me 70 quid - so I got my monies worth out of it), I checked/investigated the market and managed to pick up a McCulloch 3540PD from Argos in one of their Sales for £129.99.
Although it is only a 40cm (16 inch) cut, I find it ample for my lawn area which must cover about 1/7 of an acre. The 3540PD has the advantage over the 3540P model of being driven rather than having to push it, which I find much easier as all of the lawn is on an incline. Add to this the fact that the base is made of a thick plastic type material, so won't rust.
The machine has the usual 3.5 hp Briggs and Stratton engine, so should be more than reliable.
I reckon in the end mowing the lawn once a week was costing me about £4.00 on petrol, as the old machine was not running properly (or clapped out). Now cutting the lawn twice a week (less frequent stops to empty the grass box) it is probably costing me about 50pence. So the saving I am making will more than pay for the machine in its first two years.
Oh and the "old scrouge" that I am, managed to pick up two Blades in the Homebase Clearout Sale for £1.00 each which normally retail at £16.99 each.
This was my downfall with my previous mower as I had never replaced the Blade in the 8 years - however I did try to sharpen it and as a result the grass always looked like hair "with split ends".
Now, if it wasn't for the humps and odd mole hill, I have a half-decent looking lawn.

Surely someone must use a Lawnmower, with which they are happy - or has everyone on this Forum got only Fruit and Veg in their garden and no lawn??

I have a 40+ yr old Qualcast cylinder mower. Apparently it's the one that Percy Thrower recommended. I had it serviced recently and it's like new! I love it.

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Mark

Vegetable Kingdom blog

I love my push mower!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

Last year I did some big lawns, with a ride-on John Deere. Fabulous!

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Hi, this is my first post so if I manage to mess it up somehow....sorry

Anyway, mowers was the subject, I currently use Hayter mowers. I have a Hayter Harrier 41 which is my main one for nice stripey lawns, and a Hayter Ranger 3 in 1 (mulch, collect or discharge). I generally use the Ranger for mulching as it saves having to empty grassbags and there are no clippings to dispose of.

I think both are great, although I have to admit that I have had probems with them this year, but I do use these commercially so they take a lot of hammer, and wear and tear. But overall I can`t fault them they are just well built and easy to use.

I have also used the electric version of the harrier which was also absolutely fine.

Other mowers that I rate, although bear in mind these are large commercial mowers, are Scag Mowers. If you have a very large lawn these are brilliant.

Oh and I also have an old Bolens 33" Mulching Mower which is a bit clunky on gears, but is good on grass up to about 2 feet high and yet will produce a fine cut on short grass too.

Garden-Assistant.co.uk - Gardening, Advice, News, Features and Reviews

i've got a JCB mower ....... it's crap

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I have a very poor Flymo, it cuts ok, but its electric and it doesn't make my heart sing. I wish it would breakdown so I can go and get a proper mower.

I use a hayter harrier 46 - it's very good, but a bit big for our lawn. It only cost £30 though can't complain. It's now on its last legs though.

The only problem I have is now I have used a petrol mower I wouldn't want to go back to electric and have the bother of trailing cables - are the re-chargeable one any good?

I would imagine any rechargeable / battery operated mower would have quite a short operational period so would only be suitable for small lawns, but should perform reasonably well.

However if grass is long and wet the power produced by these mowers may be inadequate to cut grass cleanly, and battery life will be shortened due to the extra strain on the motor.

Robotic mowers which cut lawns without any effort by yourself, are fine on smaller lawns with well defined edges, but again you must have them cutting very frequently, as once the grass gets long they struggle to cope and you`ll be dragging out another mower to get back on top of it.

I think a short winded answer would be that a battery mower would be suitable if grass is short, dry and lawn is reasonably small and frequently cut.

But, I have to say in my opinion, you will get better results and a longer lasting machine with a petrol powered machine, so it may be worth picking up a small petrol mower.

Garden-Assistant.co.uk - Gardening, Advice, News, Features and Reviews

I have worked in the trade some years ago,apparently the dogs doodahs was a qualcast 21 inch cylinder fitted with a honda easy start engine,closely followed by a hayter.All the pro football clubs and a lot of golf clubs liked the qualcast mowers so much that when the engines packed in the would keep them and have a new engine fitted.Lots of manufacturers went over to using plastic bits on the more modern ones and weren't so good,apparently(I have an old suffolk punch from the 1960's.

hi all i brought a VIKING 450 (mavd by sthil)15 years ago petro pull start,beinga bit tight i have never had it serviced,but it goes 1st time every time when it runs out of petrol i give it a few oumps then 2 pulls at its oway good cutting and collection,

Whatever you decide, make sure you get the right t-shirt to go with it...



Mine's a Black & Decker electric jobby - wish I'd bought a petrol one now because I have to use shears on the plot...

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http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated 30th November

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We`ve just brought a Bosch Rotak 40 GC electric mower. £160. from B&Q.
We use to have a Mountfield petrol one as we have a quater of an acre of lawn,but it was a pain in the butt. Having to clean the engine and servicing.
I love the new one and I think it looks like a spider. The blade comes out behind the front wheels so you can mow upto the edge of a wall etc. And the blade height is so easy to change with just a lever.

I have an Atco 14inch cylinder electric lawnmower, self propelled, and it gives a beautiful cut. It also has a scarifier to replace the cutting cylinder when required.

I've just got a £40 push mower from Lidl. I love it, it's quiet, it's really sharp, the blades are adjustable, it gives my arms a workout but it's not heavy to push, it doesn't use any fuel/leccy and it's bright green

I do my lawns once a week and leave the short clippings as a mulch

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I have a Champion lawn mower with the ubiqutous 3.5 briggs and stratton. Its great and cost £35 from ebay. I can't fault it and like others have said I can't imagine going back to an electric mower with the cord and extension cable. It so much wider than a regular electric mower meaning its loads quicker and eaiser to cut my lawn and allotment paths. On max height setting it has a good 6"+ clearance meaning I can almost use it as a strimmer on really long grass and weeds. Needless to say it gets some abuse but (touch wood!) just keeps munching on through it all.

Does anybody else use the fuel additive you can get from DIY stores? I have been doing but I question if its a gimmick or not. I only refuel the can twice a year so do I run the risk of getting stale fuel? Also are there other beneficial chemicals/oils that mean its worth the extra?

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We bought one from focus (own brand petrol) 3 yrs ago for less than £100 in fact we got that & a lightweight strimmer for less than £150. Both are still working fine. The mower sit's in the yard under a tarp all year & last year I forgot to drain it but it still fired after 4 month's of a lousy winter. Suppose it depends what you want it's just a rotary no stripes & doesn't get used every day. Our last was a Briggs & Stratton engined one kept in the shed & serviced every year, ran like a pig & died after 2 years.

Has anybody seen "Which" best buys this summer.

The best electric mowers were the Wolf Power Edition 37E, The Bosh Rotak 40 the Flymo Multimo 360Xc and the Bosch Rotak 37Li did really well as a cordless mower.

I have the Bosch Rotak 37li cordless mower and it lasts for about 40 minutes as long as the grass isn't left to long initially. Its a great mower but would be better if it cut a little lower. Its very light weight.

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