I need a new mower.

[ban-all-sheds]

Can anybody recommend a petrol rotary mower, about 45cm cutting width?

Being self propelled is not a priority.

Budget (hopefully) £200-300.

And is it a bit like cars, that £x spent on a used quality make gets you a better bit of kit than £x spent on a brand new one?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I have a bigger than usual area of tough grass needing cutting, I went through a series of hover, powered cylinder and self propelled mowers, until I bit the bullet and bought a used small tractor mower. It used to be a struggle, take up most of a day and use a lot of fuel. Now I can have it done in 30 minutes and on less fuel, with no effort.

 

[Burnerman]

My usual call for the Honda Izy.....available in 16, 18 and 21 inch cuts, self driven or push.
If you check out eBay there are firms offering reconditioned Izys with new decks which is the Achilles heel of these machines. The engines are very strong, excellent starters and only need a yearly oil change to keep them that way. The rear axles are long lasting too.
Make sure any purchase comes with the grassbox, they cost £100 new!
John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I have a bigger than usual area of tough grass needing cutting, I went through a series of hover, powered cylinder and self propelled mowers, until I bit the bullet and bought a used small tractor mower. It used to be a struggle, take up most of a day and use a lot of fuel. Now I can have it done in 30 minutes and on less fuel, with no effort.

I don't really need that kind of machine - the area doesn't justify it (250-300m²) and I'd struggle to get to some parts of it with something that size that I had to sit on.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

My usual call for the Honda Izy.....available in 16, 18 and 21 inch cuts, self driven or push.

I've never had problems pushing my old mower, and I've got a fair number of places where I need to go backwards and forwards, so I'm inclined against the extra weight, more to go wrong, and engine-power diversion of self-propelling.

If you check out eBay there are firms offering reconditioned Izys with new decks which is the Achilles heel of these machines.

Been reading about that here. Bit of a PITA - my old mower was aluminium, so I only ever scraped off the crud for reasons of smoothing the flow of grass cuttings. Still - a bit of cleaning and Waxoyling once a year won't kill me.

a yearly oil change

Fortunately I've got very little 2-stroke mix left in the can right now to throw away!

 

[bernardgreen]

Self propelled mowers that get into the smallest of spaces

 

[ban-all-sheds]

reconditioned Izys with new decks which is the Achilles heel of these machines.

Are the polymer deck HRXs any good?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Self propelled mowers that get into the smallest of spaces

And they make new mowers for you, and at the end of the season you can eat them.

 

[Burnerman]

I believe the HRX is a hydrostatic drive machine......the gearbox isn't the most reliable in the world and repairs are hideously expensive. Obviously the deck doesn't rust!
If I recall, the HRX is roller propelled which doesn't suit all applications.
John

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

One of the mowers we tried, a self propelled one, drove itself via the rear wheels. It was hopeless except on very dry, very short grass, so a waste of time here. In wet weather it become very wet here and the moisture takes days /weeks to dry out. Not this year though, there seemed not to be much wet stuff.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Another reason for me to avoid self-propelled then - I could grow rice in my garden in the rainy season.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Briggs & Stratton?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Hmm...

I asked here because I know that sometimes Which? can over/under-rate the importance of some features, and sometimes have odd ideas (e.g. they say that a BMW 3-Series is a large car), and it's good to get other opinions but they really don't seem to like the Izy. Doing a comparison with others in the same price range:

shows that there might be discrepancies between test methodologies (and therefore scoring??) over time.

And they tested the Honda 4 years ago, so the current model could be different.

Does anybody know if the criticisms of the Izy back then still apply?

Conversely, does anybody know if their Best Buy, the John Deere R40 is still the same as it was in 2016?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

 

[Burnerman]

So much choice out there.....
Let me address some of the Izy criticisms out there before moving on. Apart from the rusting deck:
The grass collection isn't that brilliant as the bag seems to only get half full. I get through this to some degree by 'tweaking' the engine speed to throw the grass further back. The engine is factory set slow to avoid emissions and noise but I agree, grass collection isn't the best.
Superior points of the Izy, apart from superb starting and reliability:
The height adjusters are tough and well made. No plastic or monkey metal here, which is a big deal when the machine ages. On many machines I have to lock the height adjusters into place to make the machine usable.
The handle adjustment is also metal, unlike many others with plastic ratchets which don't grip from new and wear out quickly.
Same applies for the 'pull and go' handles - no plastic, no snapping and excellent control of the cables....few other machines have thought this out properly. Likewise the throttle lever.
The rear axle drive is strong and doesn't give trouble, similarly the drive belt. This is an achilles heel on many machines.
The grass box is a metal frame with a fabric outer - again no plastic to fail.

Briggs engines are fine - the very cheap ones were built to a price and didn't last long. The carburation is generally inferior compared to the Honda and the tickover may not be as smooth. The starter recoil isn't as well made either.

John Deere stuff is generally good and the parts supply is excellent. The C series have too much plastic and consequent failure. They use Briggs engines.

Chinese engines power many 'shed' machines. They are getting better and with care can last quite well. The apparent value for money is astonishing.

If you look at the machines the landscape gardeners are using, its Honda most of the time. I get many machines in for repair over the season and the Honda still gets my vote every time for longevity and general reliability. No industry abuses the equipment more

Hope this helps!
John

I'll just edit this.....I loan (read hire) machines out if an owner needs one when theirs is getting sorted. I have a 21", 18" and 16" Izy for this and they always come back for more. (Apart from one which was run over by a truck