The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

Rota lu mucca 69

Just got one of those 'electric cordless lawnmowers' (and strimmer), today.
This is after continuous problems with various regular petrol mowers over the years.

Expectation weren't high, after binning a corded flymo years ago that was a tangled orange mess.
They both came in a box that can be lifted without breaking much of a sweat.

Anyways after day 1, looks to have more plus points than minus.
Chopped the lawn which is guessing about the size five squash courts,
and all on one single charge, from a battery the size/weight as bag of sugar.
(This normally would empty the old mower’s petrol tank).

Here's what you get for your bucks:

x1 cordless mower (requires some self assembly)
x1 cordless strimmer (same)
x2 24v 4,000 batteries with 1hr quick charger
2yr guarantee.

Can anyone guess the price?

deezell

Do tell

A2LUE42

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Just got one of those 'electric cordless lawnmowers' (and strimmer), today. This is after continuous problems with various regular petrol mowers over the years.

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Expectation weren't high, after binning a corded flymo years ago that was a tangled orange mess. They both came in a box that can be lifted without breaking much of a sweat.

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Anyways after day 1, looks to have more plus points than minus. Chopped the lawn which is guessing about the size five squash courts, and all on one single charge, from a battery the size/weight as bag of sugar. (This normally would empty the old mower’s petrol tank).

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Here's what you get for your bucks:

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

x1 cordless mower (requires some self assembly) x1 cordless strimmer (same) x2 24v 4,000 batteries with 1hr quick charger 2yr guarantee.

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Can anyone guess the price?

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Just got one of those 'electric cordless lawnmowers' (and strimmer), today. This is after continuous problems with various regular petrol mowers over the years.

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Expectation weren't high, after binning a corded flymo years ago that was a tangled orange mess. They both came in a box that can be lifted without breaking much of a sweat.

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Anyways after day 1, looks to have more plus points than minus. Chopped the lawn which is guessing about the size five squash courts, and all on one single charge, from a battery the size/weight as bag of sugar. (This normally would empty the old mower’s petrol tank).

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Here's what you get for your bucks:

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

x1 cordless mower (requires some self assembly) x1 cordless strimmer (same) x2 24v 4,000 batteries with 1hr quick charger 2yr guarantee.

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote:

Can anyone guess the price?

Any hints?

kilburn

Thanks for your thoughts folks might take a look at the Husqvarna lc140s.

On the other brands I listed has anyone experience of these pro lawn, mcculloch, Qualcast & Mountfield.

Rota lu mucca 69

199 stg. for the cordless combo (as above), just need to find a way of sticking the power packs into a bike to give it an electric boost.
Have a feeling wont be buying petrol mowers/strimmers/hedge cutters ever again...

Rota lu mucca 69

This is the combo number at the agrous 4689128, reviews are generally 4/5.
Parts of the materals are slightly filmsy, but then that equates to lightweight,
as long as it doesn't try to churn any stray rocks it should survive.

Discodog

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote: »

This is the combo number at the agrous 4689128, reviews are generally 4/5.
Parts of the materals are slightly filmsy, but then that equates to lightweight,
as long as it doesn't try to churn any stray rocks it should survive.

It's a good price, which probably means a new model is on the way. Most good battery mowers are a minimum of 36 volts. I hope that it does you well but at around 12 inch width it's not going to suit most people

Rota lu mucca 69

Discodog wrote: »

It's a good price, which probably means a new model is on the way. Most good battery mowers are a minimum of 36 volts. I hope that it does you well but at around 12 inch width it's not going to suit most people

Yes 24v 4ah battery (x2), but the one that was going to buy originally (as advertised in weekend newspaper by large diy store) was only 18v, same price and just 1 battery.

Agree 33cm is smaller than previous petrol florabest/lawnlife (around 45cm), but they're laid up broken after multiple failed repairs and this gets the job done just as fast on single charge, due to a very very low weight.

Imagine the main 36v (43cm) ones are even better, but also slightly costier 350-500+. There's one fast-growing brand that enables battery swaps between bikes and their powertools range. The future is electric.

fryup

Mower worked fine last week...but this week it won't start

Pull the cord and it comes on for 3 seconds and dies, pull again and nothing??

any suggestions??

its a B&S 5.5 quantum

Discodog

fryup wrote: »

Mower worked fine last week...but this week it won't start

Pull the cord and it comes on for 3 seconds and dies, pull again and nothing??

any suggestions??

its a B&S 5.5 quantum

Blocked carb, fuel filter.

my3cents

fryup wrote: »

Mower worked fine last week...but this week it won't start

Pull the cord and it comes on for 3 seconds and dies, pull again and nothing??

any suggestions??

its a B&S 5.5 quantum

I'd replace the spark plug. Don't know how many times I've had issues where a machine will start just for long enough to rule out the plug so I didn't replace the plug only to waste hours to discover the problem really was the plug.

Cleaning may help but replacement would be a lot lot better.

However lots of other stuff it could be and on that engine hard starting and poor running can indicate the valves need adjusting.

deezell

fryup wrote: »

Mower worked fine last week...but this week it won't start

Pull the cord and it comes on for 3 seconds and dies, pull again and nothing??

any suggestions??

its a B&S 5.5 quantum

Assuming that if you wait a while it will start for the couple of seconds once more, the it has to be fuel starvation. Float valve at the base of the carb may be blocked. It might be getting enough fuel to start the uses up the reserve. Eventually enough fuel seeps in to start briefly again.

Rota lu mucca 69

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote: »

This is the combo number at the agrous 4689128, reviews are generally 4/5.
Parts of the materals are slightly filmsy, but then that equates to lightweight,
as long as it doesn't try to churn any stray rocks it should survive.

So I should just take your reassurance on this and buy it? :pac::pac::pac:

Rota lu mucca 69

Deleted User wrote: »

So I should just take your reassurance on this and buy it? :pac::pac::pac:

Depends really on the environment. If it's an uneven, unkept lawn with occasional large stones, stubbs or branches perhaps not. Also not suitable for any commercial use. Various reviews also state it's not good on wet grass.

On the other hand, 2yr warranty (for domestic use) and it's lighter/more nimble than one of those upright hoovers. Lifted it up a flight of steps with just a couple of fingers. Previous to that had to set up ramps at 45o incline to get the 30kg florabest up the 4 meters. It also operates at very low decibels for a mower.

There's another similar e-brand out there that states it can run it's single standard 5.0ah battery in 'over 50' of it's power tools.

Discodog

Rota lu mucca 69 wrote: »

Depends really on the environment. If it's an uneven, unkept lawn with occasional large stones, stubbs or branches perhaps not. Also not suitable for any commercial use. Various reviews also state it's not good on wet grass.

On the other hand, 2yr warranty (for domestic use) and it's lighter/more nimble than one of those upright hoovers. Lifted it up a flight of steps with just a couple of fingers. Previous to that had to set up ramps at 45o incline to get the 30kg florabest up the 4 meters. It also operates at very low decibels for a mower.

There's another similar e-brand out there that states it can run it's single standard 5.0ah battery in 'over 50' of it's power tools.

Irish grass is rarely dry. Plus you would need to cut very regularly. Even my Honda slows when cutting moss.

deezell

Discodog wrote: »

Irish grass is rarely dry. Plus you would need to cut very regularly. Even my Honda slows when cutting moss.

If you're cutting moss you're cutting too low. Raise blade and shake a bit of iron sulphate over the moss. It'll die off and the grass will dominate. If you have the energy scarify the dead moss. Moss is a plague if you live near a bog.

blackbox

deezell wrote: »

If you're cutting moss you're cutting too low. Raise blade and shake a bit of iron sulphate over the moss. It'll die off and the grass will dominate. If you have the energy scarify the dead moss. Moss is a plague if you live near a bog.

I live nowhere near a bog and moss is still a plague!

.

Discodog

deezell wrote: »

If you're cutting moss you're cutting too low. Raise blade and shake a bit of iron sulphate over the moss. It'll die off and the grass will dominate. If you have the energy scarify the dead moss. Moss is a plague if you live near a bog.

I have been cutting grass commercially in Ireland for 20 years.

Ardent

So it looks like I broke the timing belt in my castlegarden. To replace it, I need to first remove the main blade shaft pulley (see photo).

Problem - blasted thing won't come off! Do I need a puller for this? Anyone with advice on how to tackle it?

Ardent

So it looks like I broke the timing belt in my castlegarden. To replace it, I need to first remove the main blade shaft pulley (see photo).

Problem - blasted thing won't come off! Do I need a puller for this? Anyone with advice on how to tackle it?

deezell

Ardent wrote: »

So it looks like I broke the timing belt in my castlegarden. To replace it, I need to first remove the main blade shaft pulley (see photo).

Problem - blasted thing won't come off! Do I need a puller for this? Anyone with advice on how to tackle it?

Can you try attaching the photo again. Is this a Castelgarden twincut?

Ardent

So it looks like I broke the timing belt in my castlegarden. To replace it, I need to first remove the main blade shaft pulley (see photo).

Problem - blasted thing won't come off! Do I need a puller for this? Anyone with advice on how to tackle it?

Ardent

Sorry for the triple post. Large image issues.

Yes it's a twin cut. This is one of two pulleys that sit on top of the plastic cover that houses the timing belt.

deezell

Assuming it's a twincut, must be to have a timing belt, the pulley needs to come off to remove the serpentine belt cover for access. It has a woodruff key in it, so squirt some penetrating oil on top and leave for a while. Then replace the pulley retaining bolt without the flat washer but with couple of spring washers to make up the space, and while levering up the pulley from underneath with a flat steel, maybe a small tyre iron, strike the top of the bolt as hard as you dare. It should start to shift down the shaft after a few wallops. A touch of a blowlamp on the pulley will help also. Once it starts to move you can take out the bolt and follow it down with a small socket or a cut bolt. Don't damage the threaded hole in the shaft.

Ardent

Thanks for that, I'll give it a shot in the morning. Let you know how I get on.

deezell

You can also place a socket over the bolt head without any washers and whack it. The bolt will centre the socket nicely, but you risk breaking the socket ( unless it's a black impact socket). You can improvise a puller using the holes in the pulley and some bolts and a strong piece of box steel, but the first method will work with patience.

Ardent

Yup I'll try a nail bar while gently striking the bolt.

Zzippy

So our robotic mower was installed this morning. It's a Husqvarna Automower 430X. The lads who installed it used a cable laying machine to lay the guide wire around the lawn perimeter, a nice tidy job. It's been running for about 8 hours now, about 6 hours cutting and 2 hours charging I guess, and first impressions are really good. The grass was a bit long to start with but it's handling it fine. I'd say it's covered about 30-40% of the lawn in that time, and with the random pattern the lawn is looking very raggedy, with long patches and short bits where it's been cut, but that will improve over the next couple of days. Where it has cut is a uniform length and looks really neat, even on the highest blade setting. After a week or two I'll lower the blades progressively towards a nice short cut by June.

After a good look at the lawn, there is plenty of moss and perennial weeds, so I'll give it a feed and iron sulphate over the next few weeks, and report back over the summer on how the mower is going.

my3cents

Sort of wonder how the Iron Sulphate might affect the mower its quite corrosive when damp and your new mower is going to be sitting in it almost 24/7?

deezell

Last thing you'd want is warranty voided on one of these mowers. I'd always leave the lawn a full week after sulphate treatment, but I usually do it in March when growth is slow, mow it high for another couple of weeks. A week is usually plenty time for the crystals to dissolve an dissipate.