The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

Thats it, I got it at end of year sale for 200 quid a few years back, it does the job but one blade with only one side if you know what I mean so not great

Will end up buying a bigger one soon

The strimmer is great

I read that the automowers are limited to a slope of 50%, thats how Husqvarna measure the angle, which is a slope of 26.6°, 1 in 2. A 45° slope is 100% by that reckoning. The 353 4 wheel drive claims 35°, 70%, or 7 up in 10 horizontal forward, (TAN 35°, to bring you back to school maths). I don't know if there's any thing other than the tracked robotic things I've seen being used on road embankments than might best these, but 45° would require an extraordinary low center of gravity not to tip over, especially given that the rotating mass of the motor and blade might be inclined to flip the mower on a certain perpendicular turn, like a gyro, if you were using it left to right. You'd definitely need 4 wheel drive if you mowed up and down a 45° slope, and I think you'd need tracks, it would probably just slide down on damp grass. Any chance you could get a demo? Husky info below.

https://www.husqvarna.com/ie/support/husqvarna-self-service/how-to-optimise-an-automower-robotic-lawn-mower-installation-for-steep-slopes-ka-01431/

Great if you have the time to wizz around a site on a regular bases. Often no collection and not mulchers so needs regular cutting before the grass gets too long but fast cutting makes that easy. I'd love one on my odd shaped site but I'd have to cut every week and maybe occasionally more often to keep it looking really good. Con is price for a good one is a more than a similar sized bagging ride on.

thank you gents. Interesting take on the true cut Deezell has thought of it that way. You both on price and a collection bag is handy.

Blade belts should be SPA profile (13wx10d) on ride ons, (SPZ or SPZX (cogged) are extensively used on walk behind wheel drive belts). SPA are better tgan standard A due to the clutching when blade engaging, either by electric or jockey wheel. They're an extra 2mm deeper than standard A Vee of 13x8. The clutching can twist the shallower belt, or pull a chunk from it if its not a wrapped belt. It will wear quicker too, slip under load and wear the pulleys.

Fully wrapped SPA can be expensive as a genuine part, but reputable engineering suppliers like Fox engineering or Reliance will have SPA in the exact size for your machine. Some of these are rare, slightly off standard, such as the SPA1507 used in the Stihl/Viking/Alko 48" synchronous decks. These belts are often priced at €60+ as a genuine part. A standard Vee belt might be a tenth of that but won't last. I paid €15 in Fox for an exact SPA1507 match to the original part no. belt. Mower manufacturer use part nos. and odd sizes to obfuscate and make it difficult to get fair priced equivalents. Try finding the actual size of the Stihl 61707042150 belt. It's never printed on the old one. (Its technically 1507 by 12.7mm wedge)

Probably someone stuck on a cheap A profile belt. You'd get away with it, but heavy loading would eat it, and clutch starts would bite a lump out of it. I've literally just replaced my blade belt with a proper wrapped equivalent, I previously replaced it with an Internet one which was SPA profile but not wrapped (bare rubber visible on the sides between the top and inner cord plys). It lost it's mojo fairly rapidly after a season, couldn't keep it up in heavy cutting and would slip. There was a barely attached chunk on the inner hanging off, so time to change. I was dropping the deck anyway to replace the steering rack and pinion. My own fault, I neglected to grease it, the grease I could see on it was actually congealed with dust and not lubricating the teeth. The pinion teeth on Stihl/Viking/Alko/MTD and some others is helical cut, its sliding vertically past the rack teeth when you steer, so a dry pinion will eat the rack. Check out the old ones, all chewed up.

Technical query: I have a Castelgarden XDC 150 (33 inch cut), bought new, June last year. Great mower - so much faster than the walk behind I had.

Because of shrubs & trees in the garden, I have to reverse quite a lot. To cut while reversing, I have to lean forward to keep the reversing button pressed and then steer it with one hand - all while looking backwards. This is very awkward (at my age, at least).

I found a solution - use a thin pin to keep the reversing button permanently pressed in - now I can cut and steer while reversing with a lot less effort & much more comfort. The reversing button stays pressed in even when I am moving forward.

Apart from any safety issue, am I causing any damage to the mower by keeping that reversing button permanently jammed in?

Thanks, in advance.

To clarify, when reversing, if I release the reversing button while the blades are are engaged, the engine cuts out immediately. By permanently jamming the reverse button in place, it solves this problem, with no obvious downside to the operation of the machine. Having the reversing button pressed seems to have no impact when driving forward.

Or is there some negative impact that I am not aware of?

I've checked out the manual, it's as simple as you say, hold it down. Out of curiosity, check if it disables other blade cutout actions, such as standing up off the seat, lifting the bag etc. Regardless of these, you might be better off to replace it with a switch. I've checked the parts, it a simple single pole push switch, I'm not sure if it's push to make (close contacts) or push to break (open). It appears to be just push fitted in. If you prise it out and measure the cutout hole, then replace it with an ordinary toggle or rocker switch or perhaps a push to make push to break toggle. Here the spares image of your reverse switch, (£42!)

You could replace it with a push fit rocker switch from an autopart shop, something like this one from The Range,

Thank you so much, Deezell, for your research. Keeping the reversing switch jammed in does not interfere with other safety features (getting off the seat or lifting off the bag).

Yes, I will follow your recommendation to replace it with a toggle switch. It's a neater solution to the problem. And cheap!

Thanks again.

Looking for self propelled lawnmower for a fairly large garden with a budget of €400.

Would anyone have any recommendations?

It is Amazon Prime day and they have this on offer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WORX-WG779E-2-Cordless-battery-Batteries/dp/B075FYDHF8/ref%3Dsr_1_5?crid=32X5RQH3VK7AO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mdPj1_KvpcQ_gZSNuLi-B35OiiAhGqUjhAxqF109fbsJzR0-5EYpP6AEteBXeBSlzcjI96dWk4PrRw-gqiJtUmtqmScw_PigglibNHPUrqdDULxwOu91qR2qzm4DlKiLRamU5ghc5-bk5lRhNULPiRovVpz2-sBZoaKArjb95Gtcy4pb_fxbHHzfO5tf5d1_UPhgNapmrHwizOOkHW-KYldhpQXk0H0IiCbQHVg5U_g.TVCv2YnHv8lxcCWj19AkBQTr7P-skK4XUwsZjqQZsBc&dib_tag=se&keywords=cordless+lawnmower&qid=1721220281&sprefix=cordless+lawn%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-5

Are Worx cordless lawnmowers any good?

Alternatively, Screwfix has the following Titan cordless.
https://www.screwfix.ie/p/titan-tti836lwm-18v-1-x-5-0ah-li-ion-txp-brushless-cordless-34cm-lawnmower/326vx

These brands are new to me.

I've no experience of blower mowers, but all mowers use the blades as a fan to blow the grass into the bag. The mower in that (American?) ad you tagged is nothing special, aside from the side blower and the extra width of the deck at 58", the mower itself is a basic ride on frame, 23 hp engine and rear wheel drive

The 50" Stihl 6127 or Alko with same size engine would be a more affordable option at €6500 . Around 10-11 grand here for the 48" JD, the bigger 54" deck would surely add an extra 500, and the powered side bagger €2-2.5K. The wider cut does not have a larger engine, so will cut at roughly the same max rate.

Its a domestic mower, you'll get some commercial quality for a spend of €12-13 grand. You'd get two of the 50" Stihl 6127zl for that, with massive build quality, but not a lot of Kubota

Castelgarden are part of the Stiga group. Stiga originally a high end Swedish brand, bought by Global Garden Products, who owned the mid budget Italian Castelgarden brand and others. The brands and machines merged, with Castelgarden becoming a higher budget brand, Stiga became more affordable and the machines shared many parts. GGP changed to Stiga group some time ago. The current best offer I see is for the XC 53 isTopline Murtaghs, other Topline may have this.

https://www.murtaghs.ie/p/castelgarden-castelgarden-lawnmower-steel-deck-self-propelled-21--/xc53s?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4_K0BhBsEiwAfVVZ_3EdHh42o4eL0q7qJ7hn1vE4FpN8w6nIORyq7-VQY7rw7sHHqL80ExoCZUUQAvD_BwE

There's a very good Stiga 51cm also in Tirlan,

https://www.tirlanfarmlife.com/shop/product/Lawnmower-Stiga-Combi-753-S/9118542?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4_K0BhBsEiwAfVVZ_zQ0m5WMkGxU0Rc9ieEBAzoBxv90kj6ue0YH1RgFWcEp5jQhPepQzBoCtDUQAvD_BwE

and also a bargain priced budget 51cm Webb in the coop superstores at €299,

https://www.coopsuperstores.ie/collections/lawnmowers

even less if you use this coupon.

Stiga brand and Loncin are good engines. Agrieuro a long time on the go and plenty here have bought from them, ride ons included.