Lawnmowers

How big is your lawn? And do you mow all of it?
I don't like mowing. Years ago we decided to cut just the bit where we normally sit, plus some useful paths, and the edge of the vegetable beds.
When the old handmower gave up, I went looking for a new one. And why not a handmower again? It was bound to be better than the one we inherited with the house.
I confess, in those days I went straight to the internet. The one I bought was neither too cheap nor too expensive. It cut marvellously. The neighbour with his fancy electric machine was jealous!
So I'm afraid that nowadays I look askance at all those houses with handkerchief-lawns and a heavy petrol or electric mower.
I suppose people don't think about it anymore. They associate 'handmower' with blunt old things and hard work. Ours is easy and light, no trouble with leads or petrol cans, no expense after the first outlay.
So forgive me if I feel just a little bit virtuous ......

 

We've now got a small lawn, after leaving two lawns at the previous house, one of which was quite big. Mowing was a bit of a job, that thankfully my husband was (mostly) happy to undertake Our current one is mowed about once a week, but it's a nice easy job We've got an electric fly-mo, though we've discovered an old petrol mower in the shed

 

I like the feeling of openness having lawns. The lawn in my back garden is approx. 35 x 20ft, my front lawn approx. 50 x 50ft. I mow it all but find it hard work in the spring when the early growth is longer and more 'sappy'. I like the sound and finish that the old fashioned lawnmower gives but I would find one hard work now, I use a petrol rotary mower which I still have to push but find it easier.

 

Good for you, and NO noise on a Sunday morning!! I have one just the same!!

Val

 

My lawns are only sort of modest suburban size.

Front gets neglected because it usually fills with clover, much to the delight of the local bumblebees. The back lawn is usually kept neat but recently I've been experimenting with just letting it grow, and mowing paths into it. My son thinks its brilliant, wife hasn't objected and I like it, so it will stay like that for a while.

Lots of things like to live in long-ish grass, and things should live in gardens, otherwise its not a garden

 

I quite like mowing but you have to have the right mower for the job. I have a small lightweight flymo type without a grass collector, as I'm getting to be a bit of a wimp these days. Just need to mow often so that the clippings are small enough to not need raking up.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

there's s fella who lives up the back from us who has a petrol mower to cut the strip of grass in his little garden...what a plonker & the smell of it! i personally couldn't live with that awful smell we did had a flymo 'hover' mower for years & tbh i never liked it at all, big awkward clunky thing & all that faffing about with the cable, the lead always in the bloody way plus it gave the grass that slightly 'chewed' look which i really don't care for give me a push mower anyday! have you noticed they seem to be back in fashion again (so to speak), for years they sorta vanished (around here anyway) you'd neither see them for sale nor people using them ) but not now, now you see (& hear) them being used regularly ...perhaps just a sign of the times.

 

Honeybunny, if you can smell your neighbours petrol lawnmower then there's something wrong with it. It probably hasn't been serviced from new! There's no smell from mine at all.

 

i didn't know that Sheal i just assumed they must all smell 'orrible like his one does

 

That depends. Almost all newer petrol engines are four stroke and have electronic ignition and even fuel injection (even some of the tiny engines). Its because they are much cleaner and more efficient.

Older (and some smaller and cheaper) engines are two stroke. Two strokes engines are a bit smelly because they burn oil (the two stroke oil is added to the petrol, where as in a four stroke engine the oil doesn't (or shouldn't) get burned).

If you can actually smell petrol, then it is probably a bit faulty. It means that there's not been a complete burn, which can happen for lots of reasons, but in smaller engines it is often not economically viable to have the full range of modern engine management, so on cold start you often still have an old fashioned choke, which means that when starting from cold, there will be some petrol smell that should go away as soon as the choke is off once the engine has been running for a few seconds.

2 stroke engines are also usually more noisy than four stroke, but they often weigh less for the same power output.

If buying a new petrol mower, I reckon I'd go for 4 stroke. Its quieter, cleaner, and cheaper on fuel, but the two stroke ones I've seen are usually quiet a lot cheaper.