Battery/Cordless Mowers vs. Petrol Mowers

I, also, wouldn't have thought a battery powered mower was of much use and would think that any gardener who used any form of electric mower wasn't particularly professional. (No reflection on your ability .)

I suppose that an electric is quite sufficient if you only do small lawns but if you want to work for someone with a large lawn you would have problems.

In the last forty years I have only had Hayter machines (with the American Briggs and Stratton engines) and my current one is 19 years old. I have it serviced every other year and it always starts first time.

The top four Best Buy brands recommended by Which? are:-
Honda (71%)
Mountfield (70%)
Al-Ko (68%)
Hayter (67%)

 

Or a Monday morning one.

Hayters are only two miles from us and used to have the Villiers engine for its mowers. They went over to Briggs and Stratton in the seventies. In the early 70's we had the Hayterette (one of the early rotary mowers) for cutting the rough areas and an Ambassador cylinder mower ofr the main lawns.

The Ambassador was a fantastic machine and gave the lawns a fabulous cut (it was used by lots of cricket and golf clubs). We eventually had to get rid of the Ambassador as the climate changed enough for the lawns to get too much moss for us to keep on top of it.

We now use a Hayter 56 (replaced by the Harrier 56) which is used by a lot of professionals. It's a self-propelled, walk behind, mower (a ride-on wouldn't suit my garden )

The only downside to it is that it's expensive (I got it at 45% off as one of my bridge partners was in senior management and could get 'staff prices') and heavy. It would be no good if you were trying to take it through someone's house to the back garden.

 

I've owned a Hayter Harrier for 19 or 20 years now, it's been very reliable except a couple of years ago the height adjuster rod broke, but the good thing is parts are still readily available and I was able to repair it for next to nothing. I'd buy one again (every spring I think it won't last another year!)

 

It also depends on how much you want to spend. As you go up the range in price you get more facilities.

A lot of larger rotary mowers have rear rollers. That way you get the striped effect on the lawn without needing to use a cylinder mower. Some of the smaller rotaries have rear rollers as an optional extra.

The better rear rollers are those that have a split roller. Instead of the roller just being one piece it comes as two pieces. This makes them much more manoeuverable because when you want to turn the mower the rollers pivot individually.

Charlie mentioned 'self-drive'. They are much more professional and take a lot of the effort out of using a mower. So should also reduce the time it takes to mow a lawn.

Hondas don't seem to do a rear roller rotary until you get up to 19" and Hayter seem to start a bit smaller.

Some mowers also have the option of a key start. This is just like putting a key into the ignition of your car and just turning it to start. Less effort and quicker. The mower will also have a pull start in case the battery for the key start is low on power. They normally recharge whilst mowing and can also be charged at home - the battery unclips (it's only a small thing) and you just plug its charger into the mains.

Go to a store that sells a lot of mowers (normal retail sheds may only have smaller ones) and have a look, feel what they're like to manoeuver, and ask lots of questions. Although the salesman should be very knowledgeable (at a good store) just keep in the back of your mind that they sometimes get a better percentage by selling one make instead of another. So visits to two places at least is a good idea. Try Googling 'grass mower dealers' and put your county at the end of it.

Also check the capacity of the grass boxes as the larger it is, within reason, the less times you have to stop and empty it.

So, the important things are: go to a mower dealer, pick the larger mower within your price range but it's best to have a rear roller rotary (split roller if possible), self-drive and good grass box.

A very important thing to do is also check what weight of machine you can cope with for getting it in and out of your vehicle.

A good mower dealer will also sell reconditioned mowers. These can be a very good buy. Any place that services and reconditions them should know a lot about mowers and give good advice.

 

I'm not as fussy as Charlie and just use the rotary everywhere. As I don't do any DIY on the machine it can get a little lopsided in its cut , but I just put up with it.

I've just grabbed a couple of photos. This is my main back lawn and you can see that the stripes are quite clear although they're done with a rotary with a roller on the back. You can also see that the mower was lopsided as it cut the right hand edge of the stripe slightly higher than the other




This is my main front lawn five days after it was cut and the stripes are still, just about, there.




I also have a wild area that the same mower can cope with when it needs cutting. It's left wild under late summer because we let wild flowers seed there. We get some lovely bee orchids.

 

It's a difficult situation. I don't know the product at all but it looks reasonable.

It won't give the lawns the striped effect but do your clients care? To get the stripes you need a rear roller. This increases the price and makes it heavier.

If you can afford it and handle the weight (getting it in and out of your vehicle) I would definitely go for a rear roller.

You may find it much cheaper to go for a reconditioned one from a good dealer.

Good luck.