Need a new mower

Can I join in and use acres?!

My lawn is about an acre but I leave a lot of it to meadow. I have a walk-behind Honda, which just about copes with the steepness of the slopes. It takes me 2 hours to mow the back, and an additional half hour to mow the small front lawn with a little flymo...Can't get the big boy down the steps....

 

15 square feet Gary? Get a simple handpush mower. It will take you 10 minutes. It would take you longer than that to connect an electric machine. A new sharp handpush mower requires no real effort at all
A friend of mine has 6 acres and prob an acre of that is grass....hardly describe it as a lawn.

 

Looking at mowers today I really wanted another Honda having had one many years ago that was reliable. Unfortunately they are so heavy now it's just not practical for me and was pointed in the direction of Husqvarna's. I'm looking at petrol mowers and wonder if anyone has experience of these please?

 

Sheal, you asked for petrol mowers but for me cordless is fantastic.
More powerful these days and impressive performance
Here I cut my lawns twice a week, level even surface and easy but today I used it on my niece's new build grass. Very long and wet grass but it needed cutting. My mower dealt with it superbly.
The cordless is lightweight....I often lift it overhead (the child in me to show off alas :rasp......has a run time of 40 minutes and stripes the lawn too. Charges in 20 minutes. Quiet and easily manouverable.
The only downside I guess is the cost but good quality cordless mowers can be purchased for £200. My Bosch is now about £350, maybe a little more

 

I didn't have a problem with my Flymo strimmer, in ten years it didn't let me down. I do now understand where the bright orange colour comes from on both makes though, not a colour I'd have by choice. The dealer I spoke to today unprompted by anything I said picked out the Husqvarna over the Honda's, John Deere's and other makes he had there. The firm deals in farming machinery but also sell mowers. I must admit gut feeling says to go with this machine, the Briggs and Stratton engine is also swaying me.

Yes FC, it has to be a petrol mower. It's donkeys years since I had electric and having larger lawns in more recent years it's less hassle not having to trail a cable around and worrying about slicing it in two.

Sorry Verdun, I've considered battery powered but the running time (although 40 minutes is good) is not practical. I would have to re-charge halfway through mowing. Ooooo I love the idea of stripes though but on these lawns just a dream!

 

Good luck Sheal .....I am sure you will get exactly what you need
Is it the child in me who cherishes those stripes? But you did say you like them too Sheal

 

I don't think so @Verdun, as gardeners some of us like a good looking lawn and others don't mind a few weeds. A closer look at my new lawns means some hard work next spring.

I've bitten the bullet today and ordered the Husqvarna @Fat Controller, they didn't have one in stock but it's only a few days before it arrives. By the look of the weather forecast I'm not going to get the lawns cut for a while yet, I'll probably be out there Christmas day.

 

I hope not FC. I wasn't told about this mixing lark you mention. I've not had to do that before on previous mowers.

 

Bit confused here. I thought all Huskies in current production had 4 stroke engines. Therefore, no need to mix oil in with the petrol.

Do they sell different models in the UK?

@Sheal does the one you ordered have the Autowalk feature?

 

It should be 4 stroke, the old 2 stroke models were better for slopes but it’s all 4 stroke now so all you need to do is change the oil after a set period and the first change is around 10 hours or so depending on the engine but it will be in the hand book.

It’s worth a note that the run times on battery machines are only a guide.
If it’s wet and long times are cut down but for example if you compare a Bosch to a Viking you will find the Viking cuts a larger area in the same time so a dry day with a well kept lawn you can do a fair size lawn on one battery.