Sit-on mower, what type?

[Coolhurst]

We're new to having a garden and our lawn is of a size that would be best tackled with sit-on mower. But not sure what to look for when buying having previously lived with pocket-sized London gardens. Its on a slight slope and measures around 1/4 acre I'd guess. Any particular sized engine we'd need? Mulch or Collect? Size and type of blade? Any brands better than others (but budget is tight so no fancy Honda's et al unfortunatley). Any guidance welcome.
cheers, Brian.

 

[EddieM]

at 1/4 of an acre, you don't really need a sit on, a self propelled would be ok, it a little more work. As with anything, you get what you pay for.

 

[Thermo]

go to a decent mower shop. theyll give you the best advice to suit your needs

 

[xerxes]

That's quite a small area for a sit-on mower. Whatever model you're interested in, check that it is manoeuverable in all the places you want to take it. Maybe you could persuade a local dealer to demonstrate one for you; if you're not going to service it yourself, make sure you can get service conveniently near, and think about how you're going to transport it, or get it collected.

Mulching or collection depends on what you prefer. Collection can add to the length of the mower; it can create a nuisance clearing blockages if the grass is damp.

Consider a secondhand mower if you can find one. I can't give much advice on makes. I have a Kubota which cost, erm, rather a lot but is decently built and very cheap to operate on red diesel.

 

[roberta1000]

As suggested above 1/4 acre isn't all that large for a decent ride-on and the smaller rode-ons are just not worth bothering about. a good 21" or 24" sort of sized self-propelled rotary will be all you need. Since you are considering mulching I assume that your lawn is not bowling-green standard hence the rotary. I like Hondas but there are others too. Try to get a mower where the walking speed isn't directly proportional to the blade speed - Hondas have hydrostatic but there are others.

If you collect the grass you will need to do something with it and over the year you will get quite a bit from 1/4 acre (and it isn't really much good for composting unless you also have tons of other stuff and lots of time to piddle about with it. So either mulching or just cut it often and let it lie. Many mulching mowers don't do much of a job of making the cuttings disappear but I'm not an expert.