The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

monkeynuz

r3nu4l wrote: »

Thanks.
Tank is definitely full (of petrol, not diesel ). No idea if there's a tap on the fuel line, wouldn't know where to look and the damn manual is useless...

Follow the ful line from the tank and see if there's a tap along it.

Discodog

monkeynuz wrote: »

Just the very first thing to check although it shouldn't have run off fifteen minutes, is there a tap on the fuel line? And did you fill the tank up?

It was 15 feet not 15 mins

Must be fuel or the choke is still on.

If a mower or car doesn't start after a couple of tries with the choke on then close it & try again with the throttle wide open.

r3nu4l

Thanks monkeynuz and discodog. Yes, there was a tap on the fuel line...

I saw the damn thing earlier and wondered what it was. Its not very obvious what it is or even that its directly on the fuel line but once I turned it on, the sweet roar of the engine started up

Much appreciated. Honestly!

monkeynuz

Discodog wrote: »

It was 15 feet not 15 mins

Must be fuel or the choke is still on.

If a mower or car doesn't start after a couple of tries with the choke on then close it & try again with the throttle wide open.

Yes all right, bloody pedantic

Yes I misread the bloomin thing.

Charliebull

Castlegarden mower won't start

Had lad look at it, checked battery, solenoid, plugs, changed petrol, still no go,

Any ideas as to what else may be wrong

monkeynuz

Charliebull wrote: »

Castlegarden mower won't start

Had lad look at it, checked battery, solenoid, plugs, changed petrol, still no go,

Any ideas as to what else may be wrong

Is it trying to turn over or nothing at all?

Charliebull

monkeynuz wrote: »

Is it trying to turn over or nothing at all?

Was trying to turn over at first, now nothing at all

Shane732

Question:

Looking for a decent smallish ride on lawnmower - any suggestions?

Snake Plisken

Hi all my Petrol mower has given up the ghost(where the arm connects to the main body broke away on one side from rust) anyway the Mrs wants to get an electric mower that is light enough for her to use and will give a decent cut ( the garden is a medium semi-d garden, any recommendations? Thanks

Discodog

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Hi all my Petrol mower has given up the ghost(where the arm connects to the main body broke away on one side from rust) anyway the Mrs wants to get an electric mower that is light enough for her to use and will give a decent cut ( the garden is a medium semi-d garden, any recommendations? Thanks

Bosch, either battery or mains.

monkeynuz

Discodog wrote: »

Bosch, either battery or mains.

100% agree with discodog

Snake Plisken

Thanks lads, think I might go for the Bosch Rotak 34, seems to get good write-ups on Amazon, argos etc, two year manufacturers warranty and Argos are pretty good at replacing goods if there is any issues.

sporter1

Hi,
Briggs & Stratton push mower losing power,it starts first time but when cutting the grass it loses power, the grass is not very long so I don't think the blades need sharpening, it worked fine last week, any help would be appreciated

Happyman42

sporter1 wrote: »

Hi,
Briggs & Stratton push mower losing power,it starts first time but when cutting the grass it loses power, the grass is not very long so I don't think the blades need sharpening, it worked fine last week, any help would be appreciated

May have nothing to do with it, but I just replaced the spark plug in a strimmer here and it is like a new machine!. It was running for a while and then losing power and cutting out and generally behaving like a machine with a deathwish.

Has anyone any opinions on this mower? Has to be good with a Honda engine.? I usually mulch most of the time anyway I had a rover that I loved that lasted 10 years plus without any trouble. Bought a new one 2 years ago and it has given all sorts of bother so I'm done with Briggs.

Question is if I let the grass get a bit long will this mower be able to handle it or should I be buying a mower with a box as well. I can usually get to the lawns every 5 -6 days but in the summer I might be away for more than a week and the lawns can be left for 10 - 14 days

http://www.husqvarna.com/ie/products/lawn-mowers/lb-553s-e/

HigginsJ

Hope this is the right area. I got a new lawnmower today, filled up the oil & petrol. When I start it up white smoke bellows from a hole/pipe on the front left side of the mower. Is this just an overfill of oil/petrol or is there something wrong?

HigginsJ

HigginsJ wrote: »

Hope this is the right area. I got a new lawnmower today, filled up the oil & petrol. When I start it up white smoke bellows from a hole/pipe on the front left side of the mower. Is this just an overfill of oil/petrol or is there something wrong?

It's probably too much oil if it's a new mower. Can you check it with the dipstick on the top left side. Is the white smoke lasting long?

Willfarman

Deleted User wrote: »

Has anyone any opinions on this mower? Has to be good with a Honda engine.? I usually mulch most of the time anyway I had a rover that I loved that lasted 10 years plus without any trouble. Bought a new one 2 years ago and it has given all sorts of bother so I'm done with Briggs.

Question is if I let the grass get a bit long will this mower be able to handle it or should I be buying a mower with a box as well. I can usually get to the lawns every 5 -6 days but in the summer I might be away for more than a week and the lawns can be left for 10 - 14 days

http://www.husqvarna.com/ie/products/lawn-mowers/lb-553s-e/

I bought a new rover last year and I love it.

Willfarman

Willfarman wrote: »

I bought a new rover last year and I love it.

Yeah they are a great mower but just been told I need a new engine and its past the guarantee. I'd like to try honda for a change

HigginsJ

Deleted User wrote: »

It's probably too much oil if it's a new mower. Can you check it with the dipstick on the top left side. Is the white smoke lasting long?

That seems to be it ok, left it run and stopped after about 5 minutes.

HigginsJ

HigginsJ wrote: »

That seems to be it ok, left it run and stopped after about 5 minutes.

Check the oil level after the engine gets cold. That will tell you how it is

HigginsJ

Deleted User wrote: »

Check the oil level after the engine gets cold. That will tell you how it is

I'll check it out this evening, thank you

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Has anyone any opinions on this mower? Has to be good with a Honda engine.? I usually mulch most of the time anyway I had a rover that I loved that lasted 10 years plus without any trouble. Bought a new one 2 years ago and it has given all sorts of bother so I'm done with Briggs.

Question is if I let the grass get a bit long will this mower be able to handle it or should I be buying a mower with a box as well. I can usually get to the lawns every 5 -6 days but in the summer I might be away for more than a week and the lawns can be left for 10 - 14 days

http://www.husqvarna.com/ie/products/lawn-mowers/lb-553s-e/

Anyone have any opinion on the engine as compared to a Briggs 675 190 cc

18MonthsaSlave

OHV is almost always better than sidevalve so Honda should be better.
Speed Governor is better on Hondas.
Carb might be a bit better but not much in it.

That has become a seriously expensive machine. I remember when that body was badged a Norlett and painted white.

They're not particularly foldable for transport.

You need to cut the lawn regularly as they don't mulch especially well in spite of the expensive blade systems they've used over the years.

Personally, while I respect the engineering and we've owned them for over twenty years and seen them in all sorts of guises from Tecumseh engined to B&S four stroke to Zenoah two-stroke I wouldn't buy this machine; I'd buy a Masport mulcher instead; same basic machine design except a few cm narrower. alloy deck too, very light and sturdy with foldable handles.

http://www.masport.com/outdoor-garden-products/lawnmowers-1/mulcher-al

walus

HigginsJ wrote: »

That seems to be it ok, left it run and stopped after about 5 minutes.

A little bit of smoke at first start of the engine is normal. It needs to burn off the lubricant that was used to protect the insides of the engine from the moment it leaves the factory until its first start.

The above assumes that you know it is a 4-stroke engine and you do not mix fuel and oil to run it.

18MonthsaSlave

18MonthsaSlave wrote: »

OHV is almost always better than sidevalve so Honda should be better.
Speed Governor is better on Hondas.
Carb might be a bit better but not much in it.

That has become a seriously expensive machine. I remember when that body was badged a Norlett and painted white.

They're not particularly foldable for transport.

You need to cut the lawn regularly as they don't mulch especially well in spite of the expensive blade systems they've used over the years.

Personally, while I respect the engineering and we've owned them for over twenty years and seen them in all sorts of guises from Tecumseh engined to B&S four stroke to Zenoah two-stroke I wouldn't buy this machine; I'd buy a Masport mulcher instead; same basic machine design except a few cm narrower. alloy deck too, very light and sturdy with foldable handles.

http://www.masport.com/outdoor-garden-products/lawnmowers-1/mulcher-al

Thanks for your advice. That link doesn't seem to work. Is it a dedicated mulcher. I cant seem to find one on their site. Is this it http://www.mowers2go.co.uk/machines/masport-mulcher-600-petrol-mulching-lawnmower/

monkeynuz

18MonthsaSlave wrote: »

OHV is almost always better than sidevalve so Honda should be better.
Speed Governor is better on Hondas.
Carb might be a bit better but not much in it.

That has become a seriously expensive machine. I remember when that body was badged a Norlett and painted white.

They're not particularly foldable for transport.

You need to cut the lawn regularly as they don't mulch especially well in spite of the expensive blade systems they've used over the years.

Personally, while I respect the engineering and we've owned them for over twenty years and seen them in all sorts of guises from Tecumseh engined to B&S four stroke to Zenoah two-stroke I wouldn't buy this machine; I'd buy a Masport mulcher instead; same basic machine design except a few cm narrower. alloy deck too, very light and sturdy with foldable handles.

http://www.masport.com/outdoor-garden-products/lawnmowers-1/mulcher-al

Although the Honda engine on suresanders link is the overhead cam engine gcv.

monkeynuz

monkeynuz wrote: »

Although the Honda engine on suresanders link is the overhead cam engine gcv.

What do you reckon about the engine. I mulch every time bar the first time in spring and maybe the last two cuts. I'm out mowing every second evening because I have 4 different lawn areas. I do one each time. 30 minutes with the mulcher does a big area. I wanted something a bit better at mulching than a combo. The rover is fine. It's just if a lawn gets to 7-8days without a cut in July it struggles.

18MonthsaSlave

monkeynuz wrote: »

Although the Honda engine on suresanders link is the overhead cam engine gcv.

where are the valves located? to the side of the barrel or above it? irrespective of whether there is a ohc or not if the valves are above the barrel it is an ohv engine.

18MonthsaSlave

if your last mower was a rover then the feel of the masport will be very familiar. it'll just be a dedicated mulcher whereas the rovers are rear discharge.