The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

fox0512

my3cents wrote: »

Don't waste your time with the mulching kit, total waste of time in Ireland unless you plan to cut the grass twice a week.

^^^^^^^
and thats a fact....

I received an unwanted and much unloved Rover lawnmower last year. Very powerful motor, aluminium body, self drive (which was broken),about 12 years old and in need of a full service. Brought it to a place in DunLaoghaire (I'm assuming I can't name companies here) that looked totally like a lawnmower hospital place.

Great service and working fine now. The guys who serviced it and fixed it were great. I looked at the price of similar spec and quality self-drives like Honda and was shocked at the prices so just over 130 euro very well spent. I'm hoping it will last the next few years.

I phoned at least 5 different retail outlets who wouldn't service my lawnmower because they said from past experience, servicing models they didn't sell was too much hassle.

I'm nowhere near DunLaoghaire so it really seems like you have to seek out the specialists these days or else "throw-away" and buy new.

wimpybeaver

Hi All,

I have a question about hours done on a second hand ride on mower. I'm going to look at a 2 year old John Deere X155R tomorrow and seems like a good price to me, however it has 200hours on it and thats the only thing im concerned about. Apparently the guy who had it before, had 2 acres of lawn to cut so thats where the hours come in over two years. Anyway, I have no idea to be honest, but it that a lot of hours. From what I have read on that I can find, these engines should be good for 400-750 hours with good care?

My backup plan is a new Husqvarna TC138 for around the same prince the the 2nd hand John Deere.

Oh, I have about 0.7 acres, the back 0.5 lawn has a nice slope in the middle so its not all flat.
I would also be planning on getting a roller and perhaps a trailer for it over the next year or two for either model if that matters.

Thank you.

wimpybeaver

Hi All,

I have a question about hours done on a second hand ride on mower. I'm going to look at a 2 year old John Deere X155R tomorrow and seems like a good price to me, however it has 200hours on it and thats the only thing im concerned about. Apparently the guy who had it before, had 2 acres of lawn to cut so thats where the hours come in over two years. Anyway, I have no idea about how many hours is too much to be honest, but is that a lot of hours? From what I have read on that I can find, these engines should be good for 400-750 hours with good care?

My backup plan is a new Husqvarna TC138 for around the same prince the the 2nd hand John Deere.

Oh, I have about 0.7 acres, the back 0.5 lawn has a nice slope in the middle so its not all flat.
I would also be planning on getting a roller and perhaps a trailer for it over the next year or two for either model if that matters.

Thank you.

200 hours is not a lot for an engine. I had a briggs 17.5 hp engine in my ride on that had 800 hours and never gave any trouble. It is a lot for the mower as regards pulleys, belts and deck. You should check the condition of those.

its probably been used commercially. 100 hours a year even if he cut his 2 acre plot 20 times a year that's 5 hours a cut

wimpybeaver

Hi Suresanders,

Thats for the reply. I'm just back and went with a new TC138 instead. When I got there and checked it out the hours were actually 420 and not 200. Also, one of the tyres was punctured and the deck didn't look great to me (even if I'm only guessing with what to look for). Just didn't get a good feeling, so thought id be safe than sorry and go for a new one. I don't really need the bigger mower, was just an option to consider if it looked like a good buy.

Thanks Again

philstar

where can you see how many hours an engine has done?? is it only in modern engines??

my3cents

philstar wrote: »

where can you see how many hours an engine has done?? is it only in modern engines??

Its only bigger engines on more expensive mowers.

wimpybeaver

Like my3cents said, its not on all mowers. For example, the John Deere I was looking at is a much larger machine than the TC138 that I bought. And even though the TC138 is brand new, it has no clock on it for the hours.

Oh, usually, if a mower has one, it will be on the dashboard, easy to see ;-)

Shefwedfan

Hi, I post this on its own thread but never seen this. Looking for tractor lawmower for circa 0.5 acre. Was looking at Viking and the 43" mower which would come in at circa 3,500 which really is over budget

I have budget of around 2000 so I found Lawn King. Link below. Just wonderign are these ok?


http://irishmowers.com/lawn-king-ride-on-mowers.html

juniorballyc

Hello
Looking for some advice please. We are currently shopping for a lawnmower. W have been borrowing my mothers Honda 537 push mower but can't afford one. We have a large enough lawn circa 1/2 acre.
We are down to a Ibea 550 21" with Briggs & Stratton 750 series engine for €850 and in another shop we were looking at pro plus 22" with Briggs and Stratton 675 series engine for €600.
I know nothing about engines and hubby is just as bad...any advice much appreciated.

Thanks a Mill

my3cents

juniorballyc wrote: »

Hello
Looking for some advice please. We are currently shopping for a lawnmower. W have been borrowing my mothers Honda 537 push mower but can't afford one. We have a large enough lawn circa 1/2 acre.
We are down to a Ibea 550 21" with Briggs & Stratton 750 series engine for €850 and in another shop we were looking at pro plus 22" with Briggs and Stratton 675 series engine for €600.
I know nothing about engines and hubby is just as bad...any advice much appreciated.

Thanks a Mill

I learnt this many years ago when I did commercial grass cutting on large housing estates, when faced with a choice of mower always go for the largest engine on the smallest deck.

Each inch of deck width adds a massive amount of extra stain on an engine when you are cutting grass that is getting a bit long so I suspect if you look up the HP (horse power) output of the engines you'll find the 750 is the more powerful.

Now if you can cut the grass say every 4-6 days no problem you'll never be pushing your mower to the limit but if like many of us you have to go a couple of weeks between cuts for various reasons including weather then you'll notice the benefit of the larger engine.

Edit> Another feature to look for as you are cutting a lot of grass is a discharge shute that can be safely jammed open or at least opened up a bit so if push comes to shove you don't always have to box all the grass off.

my3cents

my3cents wrote: »

I learnt this many years ago when I did commercial grass cutting on large housing estates, when faced with a choice of mower always go for the largest engine on the smallest deck.

Each inch of deck width adds a massive amount of extra stain on an engine when you are cutting grass that is getting a bit long so I suspect if you look up the HP (horse power) output of the engines you'll find the 750 is the more powerful.

Now if you can cut the grass say every 4-6 days no problem you'll never be pushing your mower to the limit but if like many of us you have to go a couple of weeks between cuts for various reasons including weather then you'll notice the benefit of the larger engine.

Edit> Another feature to look for as you are cutting a lot of grass is a discharge shute that can be safely jammed open or at least opened up a bit so if push comes to shove you don't always have to box all the grass off.

plus one on the bigger engine. moved up from a 675 series to 850 and it was the best thing i ever done. the mower cost me €950 though

Discodog

my3cents wrote: »

I learnt this many years ago when I did commercial grass cutting on large housing estates, when faced with a choice of mower always go for the largest engine on the smallest deck.

Each inch of deck width adds a massive amount of extra stain on an engine when you are cutting grass that is getting a bit long so I suspect if you look up the HP (horse power) output of the engines you'll find the 750 is the more powerful.

Now if you can cut the grass say every 4-6 days no problem you'll never be pushing your mower to the limit but if like many of us you have to go a couple of weeks between cuts for various reasons including weather then you'll notice the benefit of the larger engine.

Edit> Another feature to look for as you are cutting a lot of grass is a discharge shute that can be safely jammed open or at least opened up a bit so if push comes to shove you don't always have to box all the grass off.

Totally agree. I love my 16 in Izy with a "tuned" 5.5 hp engine

OP. I would get a 21" Honda Izy.

monkeynuz

Discodog wrote: »

Totally agree. I love my 16 in Izy with a "tuned" 5.5 hp engine

OP. I would get a 21" Honda Izy.

+1 on the tuned Honda, very little beats a Honda in full flight, just run the engine in a bit before increasing the revs by 100-200 rpm.

philstar

is kohler a good make of lawnmower engine ??

my3cents

philstar wrote: »

is kohler a good make of lawnmower engine ??

Historically they have made excellent engines, but unless you specify a model number and what its on its hard to say.

cathy427

What is the recommended way to dispose of an old lawnmower??

Its just a cheap push one - working away but the deck is rusted and all holes.

cathy427

cathy427 wrote: »

What is the recommended way to dispose of an old lawnmower??

Its just a cheap push one - working away but the deck is rusted and all holes.

A recycling centre will take them.

Citizenpain

cathy427 wrote: »

What is the recommended way to dispose of an old lawnmower??

Its just a cheap push one - working away but the deck is rusted and all holes.

Adverts.ie .. You'd be surprised

cathy427

Citizenpain wrote: »

Adverts.ie .. You'd be surprised

Thanks

Free or look for a contribution to wine o'clock?

Citizenpain

cathy427 wrote: »

Thanks

Free or look for a contribution to wine o'clock?

I bought one off of adverts for 20 euro a few years ago . New house awful garden . Just wanted to keep it tidy. No bag ,deck in bits . Decent small b&s engine on it. Not so decent when I finished with it. I Put it on adverts when I was done with it for free .
Was collected in 24 hours

Meursault

hi All,

I was hoping one of you might be able solve an issue that I am having with my ride on mower. There appears to be some kind of electrical fault with the ignition. when i try to turn on the mower, nothing at all happens. it is completely dead. however, when i open the bonnet, and move the wires connecting to the ignition it starts fine. i assume it is a loose wire or something, but what i am worried about is the last time i did this (yesterday), when i did the usual thing of fiddling with the wires to get it going, i noticed smoke came from the engine, so now i am slightly worried. anyone any idea of what this could be? am i going to hard on the ignition or something? i dont want to continue with this trick for starting the mower, if it means i am going to damage the engine.

Thanks

smithcity

I am looking at buying a lawn mower for arounf 3/4 of an acre. I am wondering if anyone has any expierence of the make Victa, are they any good. Below is the main part of the add

Victa Ride on mulching mower, 42" deck with twin blades. Hydrostatic lawn mower with Briggs and Stratton 15.5 horse power engine.

gooner99

I posted in a standalone thread, but found this mega thread and figured I may get more or different suggestions here. I need to replace my old castlegarden mower which was a 21" alu deck with 3 speed drive with a b&s engine. It's worked well for 12 years until last year when the self drive packed in. I've been doing quite a bit of reading and it seems that it's best to stick with aluminium decks. I have seen the honda xenoy pro mowers, but don't seem to find much info from owners on the net, so no idea if those type decks are good or bad. My terrain (about 0.5 acre) is pretty mixed, flat & smooth, hilly & rough. The 3 speed drive on the castelgarden I mostly used in 3rd speed and it did feel a bit weedy at times on hilly ground even after adjustment, so maybe a variable drive would suit me better (not sure, as have never used one with variable drive). Another thing I found was that the castelgarden was a bit on the heavy side and not as easy to manoeuvre (but maybe a trait of alu decks in general). The single height adjustment on the castelgarden also seemed to wear after a few years and was quite hard to adjust at the end. The B&S engine while very reliable became harder to start as the years went on (I changed the oil,air filter and plug yearly myself). I'd imagine the ability to bag would be a must in Ireland if you can't gett cutting every few days due to the weather. Budget would be around the 1k mark, as I plan to sell my ride on which only cuts about half of my grass due to the terrain. Thanks guys.

gooner99

How would you guys rate this machine?

https://www.donedeal.ie/gardenequipment-for-sale/rover-861m107-petrol-lawnmower/12334383

80s Child

Howdy,

Can I ask what you think of these:

http://touch.adverts.ie/petrol/honda-lawnmower/10270214

https://www.donedeal.ie/gardenequipment-for-sale/honda-powered-lawnmower/11605484

I'm interested in a solid mower that will last me a good few years. I've about 1/3 of an acre to cut with a fairly moss ridden back garden at the moment!

CJhaughey

Honda plastic decks are prone to cracking, check very carefully where the exhaust is and where the reinforcing is for the front wheels.
Engines are typically bulletproof but the decks let them down.

80s Child

CJhaughey wrote: »

Honda plastic decks are prone to cracking, check very carefully where the exhaust is and where the reinforcing is for the front wheels.
Engines are typically bulletproof but the decks let them down.

Ok, I haven't a clue to be honest. I'm looking for something around 500e, solid, no frills or anything, just something that'll cut and do me for 15 years!!

Is this attainable??

CJhaughey

80s Child wrote: »

Ok, I haven't a clue to be honest. I'm looking for something around 500e, solid, no frills or anything, just something that'll cut and do me for 15 years!!

Is this attainable??

With proper servicing any mower can last a reasonable time, buying a cheap steel deck and not cleaning it regularly will almost guarantee it will rust out.
Mowers need regular servicing, oil and filters and the deck all need to be attended.
I would recommend an alloy deck with a decent engine, Honda or Kawasaki are my choice but others like Briggs and Stratton.
I have a John Deere 21" with a Kawasaki FJ180 engine and it will cut as long as I am able to walk behind it.
Asuka/Kaaz machines are good and strong.
Probably harder to buy at this time of year though in your price range.