Thread: Lawnmowers - what to buy?

You can't go past a honda 4 stroke.

IMHO If you have never bought a mower before and you get one of these, you will never have to buy another one.

Originally Posted by Geoff Dean

You can't go past a honda 4 stroke.

IMHO If you have never bought a mower before and you get one of these, you will never have to buy another one.

yep.. the 5.5 horse Honda is great.. I have one on a masport utility, can't beat it. No catcher but thats a big in my book.

I have a Honda (4Stroke) after having a 2 stoke for many years

I would replace the Honda instantly with same, I use it as a mulch mower, and dont put out grass clippings any more

Used to loath Briggs and Stratton motors. But my brother gave me his old 4 stroke mower - not working, dead as a door nail. Pulled carb apart, cleaned all the gunk and corrosion out, put in a new plug, threw it all back together, (almost literally ) put some fuel in, and it fired up first pull

Seems they've come a fair way.

I bought a mulching mower a couple of years ago and it's great.

I loath using catchers, and my previous mower I'd never use it's catcher, but it always left a trail.

The mulcher has a plug to go in the back, and literally the grass vanishes real quickly as it gets chopped so fine.

FWIW, mine's a Victa 5HP B&S mower.

Oh yeah whatever brand you get, get a 4 stroke, much better than mucking about with oil in the fuel.

I changed over to a Rover B&S 5HP mulcher from an very old Victa 2 stroke last year. Definitely go with a 4stroke, apart from anything else there was an item on TV last week that said the emissions from a 2 vs 4 is like 10 to 1.

Things to watch.

1) you shouldn't lay a 4 stroke on it's side to work on the blades, apparently does bad things with oil leaking in the wrong places.

2) I'm not sure about the mulching thing. Due to the drought and slope of our site the grass is getting a bit ratty. The mulching mower seems to vacuum up the dirt between the grass tufts and spread it around in big clouds, probably making the grass even rattier. If used without catcher and without the mulching plug in place the body fills up with cuttings pretty quick.

3) The 5HP has plenty of power to mulch up a big pile of debris, thats not the same thing as mulching the lawn clippings while you mow....

4) The 5HP is pretty heavy. I've got a small grassed ramp with a 90 degree turn in it and the mower is a bit too heavy to manoeuvre easily on the slope.

5) You can't walk the Rover up steps. The rear wheels on the old Victa were positioned much further behind the body, allowing the wheels to 'climb' when pulled backwards up the steps. The new Rover's back wheels don't protrude enough behind the body and I have to lift it over steps.

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

I changed over to a Rover B&S 5HP mulcher from an very old Victa 2 stroke last year. Definitely go with a 4stroke, apart from anything else there was an item on TV last week that said the emissions from a 2 vs 4 is like 10 to 1.

It is my understanding that 2-stroke engines have been/are being banned in the US, certainly in outboard engines, for this very reason.

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

4) The 5HP is pretty heavy. I've got a small grassed ramp with a 90 degree turn in it and the mower is a bit too heavy to manoeuvre easily on the slope.

We bought a 5hp MTD 4 stroke some years ago and decided to go for the self-propelled. Best decision we ever made, as SWMBO does all the mowing.
Should have opted for the electric start as well, because I'm the silly mug that has to start it first off

I have a rover with a 4.5hp suzuki (2 stroke) engine and 4 blades. Powers through thick grass. And starts rather easily. The bloke we got it off reckons tilt it up on its side to the left for about 5 seconds then throttle to choke and it starts first go.

Jim's?

DON'T BUY VICTA 2-STROKE!

Their newer mowers have a totally useless automatic carburettor/throttle ... it revs up and down which makes for a most annoying sound, and bogs down at the slightest hint of long/wet grass.

I deeply regret not spending the extra (OK, double) money and buying a Honda.

I would buy a four stroke, !st on the list would be a Honda.

Buy a Honda self-propelled mower and a Honda 4 stroke trimmer. This will hurt your wallet but will pay in the long run. The main problem with mowers and trimmers is that they sit around a lot doing nothing (like some of the people who write on this forum). Then the fuel turns sour and somehow gets water in it, and you have to pull the cord 15 times and then it floods.

Honda's can handle this sour fuel because they're so well made and will tend to start first or second pull despite it. The rest of the mowers are mainly alloy frames that they throw a badge on and a Briggs and Stratton motor in. They go all right, and they tend to do the job, but every now and then you have to fiddle with them and hit and kick them and take the plug out and smell it and then wait three hours for the flooding to evaporate. Apart from that they're great.

Biggest problem with a Honda 4 stroke trimmer is the weight penalty...

Another vote for the Honda. I've had a 21" cut self-propelled mower for 15 years and it is just brilliant. I used to have a big lawn and it just ate it up. Very easy to start. My 12 year olds can start it.