Discussion/advice...
When I bought my house, I owned an 18" Bosh electric mower - it had been over-kill for the garden at my rental... but it seemed a bit puny for the larger garden where I moved.
One evening, in the summer, after toiling with the electric Bosch mower... I opened a bottle of wine, and browsed Ebay. In my infinite wisdom, I bought a second hand ride-on mower... with a questionable clutch declared. I thought, numbed by good wine, "I managed to change the clutch on my first car - a lawnmower can't be more difficult/expensive than that - can it?" Then I had a vision of modifying this ride-on mower... by adding Knight-Rider lights.... and, because it was cheap, I failed to resist the stupid urge to buy it.
Once I got it transported home - the clutch failed immediately. Then I found that I couldn't find anyone to service/repair it... or find a cost-effective clutch to replace it with myself. During "lockdown" I did some research and found I could refurbish the clutch using a particular adhesive and a cheaply available after-market clutch surface. I managed to refurbish the clutch - but, in doing so, noticed the deck needed refurbishment.... so did that - stripping back all the paint then using a layer of Red Led followed by Hammerite... but... once the world started to function again... I no-longer had spare time to put it all back together... and it has languished in parts ever since. Perhaps - in a decade or two - when I'm retired - I'll achieve my dream of mowing my law while pretending to be Michael Knight... but, until then, I need to be a bit more practical.
The ride on mower was a spectacularly stupid idea from the outset... my bigger garden is only just big enough for it to make sense to ride around mowing... but it is big enough to be a real pain to cut with a corded electric... especially as my available time is limited and sporadic... so, often, the grass is long when I get around to cutting it. I settled for using my corded Electric Bosch - which was an acceptable compromise for a while. It now cuts for about 15 minutes - then sequels like a pig and makes burning smells... cutting the whole lawn takes me about 4 hours - excluding breaks. I don't think it's going to last until I've refurbished my ride-on mower.
I've noticed others, with similar sized gardens, seem to prefer "propelled petrol" mowers... they walk behind them (rather than ride-on). I've never used a petrol mower - propelled or otherwise. Any ideas/advice from old hands?
One of my concerns is that my lawn is 'lumpy'... so any mower I buy (without consuming wine, and throwing common-sense to the wind first) would need to cope with non-flat lawns... My grass definitely resembles "the rough" more than "the green" from a golf course. I might fix that some day - but it won't be any day soon. A friend recently splashed out and bought a high-spec autonomous rechargeable self-driving lawnmower... I envy him for having a robot doing his chores... but don't think they work properly yet... and they're prohibitively expensive today. Perhaps in a decade I will be able to buy a cost-effective robot to do it for me.
Back to sensible: I've found these candidates for self-propelled petrol mowers:
hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk
hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk
www.toolstation.com
www.toolstation.com
www.moleonline.com
What should I be looking for? The price difference between 18" and 21" cutting widths seems high to me... I'd prefer minimum effort to complete a mow - but the 21" Fox mower is £90 (37%) more than the 18" - but only seems to offer 17% wider cut. To me, that makes the top-of-the-range seem much worse value. I've not got good intuition about which brands are 'worth more' - but I assume some are. Is my intuition that the Hyundai will be more robust that the Hawksmoor or Fox mowers a good one? Are there other brands I should consider?
When I bought my house, I owned an 18" Bosh electric mower - it had been over-kill for the garden at my rental... but it seemed a bit puny for the larger garden where I moved.
One evening, in the summer, after toiling with the electric Bosch mower... I opened a bottle of wine, and browsed Ebay. In my infinite wisdom, I bought a second hand ride-on mower... with a questionable clutch declared. I thought, numbed by good wine, "I managed to change the clutch on my first car - a lawnmower can't be more difficult/expensive than that - can it?" Then I had a vision of modifying this ride-on mower... by adding Knight-Rider lights.... and, because it was cheap, I failed to resist the stupid urge to buy it.
Once I got it transported home - the clutch failed immediately. Then I found that I couldn't find anyone to service/repair it... or find a cost-effective clutch to replace it with myself. During "lockdown" I did some research and found I could refurbish the clutch using a particular adhesive and a cheaply available after-market clutch surface. I managed to refurbish the clutch - but, in doing so, noticed the deck needed refurbishment.... so did that - stripping back all the paint then using a layer of Red Led followed by Hammerite... but... once the world started to function again... I no-longer had spare time to put it all back together... and it has languished in parts ever since. Perhaps - in a decade or two - when I'm retired - I'll achieve my dream of mowing my law while pretending to be Michael Knight... but, until then, I need to be a bit more practical.
The ride on mower was a spectacularly stupid idea from the outset... my bigger garden is only just big enough for it to make sense to ride around mowing... but it is big enough to be a real pain to cut with a corded electric... especially as my available time is limited and sporadic... so, often, the grass is long when I get around to cutting it. I settled for using my corded Electric Bosch - which was an acceptable compromise for a while. It now cuts for about 15 minutes - then sequels like a pig and makes burning smells... cutting the whole lawn takes me about 4 hours - excluding breaks. I don't think it's going to last until I've refurbished my ride-on mower.
I've noticed others, with similar sized gardens, seem to prefer "propelled petrol" mowers... they walk behind them (rather than ride-on). I've never used a petrol mower - propelled or otherwise. Any ideas/advice from old hands?
One of my concerns is that my lawn is 'lumpy'... so any mower I buy (without consuming wine, and throwing common-sense to the wind first) would need to cope with non-flat lawns... My grass definitely resembles "the rough" more than "the green" from a golf course. I might fix that some day - but it won't be any day soon. A friend recently splashed out and bought a high-spec autonomous rechargeable self-driving lawnmower... I envy him for having a robot doing his chores... but don't think they work properly yet... and they're prohibitively expensive today. Perhaps in a decade I will be able to buy a cost-effective robot to do it for me.
Back to sensible: I've found these candidates for self-propelled petrol mowers:
![hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bqsvlgtsd2/products/282/images/19540/p1-hyundai-powered-51cm-20-petrol-electric-start-lawnmower-r-or-p5100spe__04138.1682430092.386.513.jpg?c=1)
P1 Hyundai Powered 51cm / 20" Petrol Electric Start Lawnmower | P5100SPE
The P5100SPE is a 196cc self-propelled petrol lawn mower from P1PE (Position One Power Equipment). Suited for medium to large lawns, the P5100SPE is the ideal solution for gardeners whose lawn is on a slope. Available now.
![hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bqsvlgtsd2/product_images/favicon.png?t=1622637269)
![hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bqsvlgtsd2/products/242/images/18874/hyundai-2051cm-196cc-self-propelled-petrol-lawnmower-or-hym510sp__42478.1682416165.386.513.jpg?c=1)
Hyundai 20"/51cm 196cc Self-Propelled Petrol Lawnmower | HYM510SP
The Hyundai HYM510SP lawnmower features a large 510mm cutting with and 6 different cutting heights from 25 to 75mm. With mulching, rear and side discharge this lawnmower is suitable for most garden sizes. Available now.
![hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bqsvlgtsd2/product_images/favicon.png?t=1622637269)
![www.toolstation.com](https://cdn.aws.toolstation.com/images/141020-UK/250/85833.jpg)
Hawksmoor 125cc 46cm Briggs & Stratton Self Propelled Petrol Lawnmower
Get a garden to be proud of all summer long by cutting your grass with this Hawksmoor petrol lawnmower. Powered by a 125cc Briggs & Stratton 4-stroke engine, the mower’s self-propelled rear wheel drive does the hard work for you – it’s easier to push and manoeuvre, making light work of larger...
![www.toolstation.com](https://cdn.aws.toolstation.com/images/141020-UK/250/13640.jpg)
Hawksmoor 166cc 53cm Honda Self Propelled Petrol Lawnmower
Take all the hassle out of cutting your grass by using this high-spec petrol lawnmower from Hawksmoor. Powered by a robust and reliable Honda 166cc 4-stroke engine, this mower comfortably tackles larger lawns with the minimum of effort.With a choice of seven cutting heights from 25-75mm, it's...
![www.moleonline.com](https://moleonline.com/media/wysiwyg/mole_valley_logo.png)
Webb Lawnmower Supreme Self-Propelled 46cm
MoleOnline.com is the new website of Mole Valley Farmers the Agricultural Supplies and Equipment Merchants
![www.moleonline.com](https://static.moleonline.com/media/favicon/stores/1/download.png)
What should I be looking for? The price difference between 18" and 21" cutting widths seems high to me... I'd prefer minimum effort to complete a mow - but the 21" Fox mower is £90 (37%) more than the 18" - but only seems to offer 17% wider cut. To me, that makes the top-of-the-range seem much worse value. I've not got good intuition about which brands are 'worth more' - but I assume some are. Is my intuition that the Hyundai will be more robust that the Hawksmoor or Fox mowers a good one? Are there other brands I should consider?