Following from my earlier post on my new lawn, I am now on the shopping
trail for a lawnmower. Bearing in mind we have between 1/3 and 1/4 acre
under grass, we are looking at biggish, rotary petrol powered machine. And
further to advice received here, one preferably with mulching option.
Have you any advice as to what kind of spec we should go for? Is 52 cm (21
inch) cutting width overkill? Would a narrower beast do the trick? Should we
go for 3.5 or 6 hp engines? Any other spec aspect we should bear in mind?
I would imagine manoeuvrability and weight would be considerations too. I
won't ask about prices, as we are in teh Euro zone, and once I get a fix on
the spec, I can go and shop around.
Many thanks :-)

--
Cat(h)
The world swirls...

g'day cat,

for me go for the 21" cut and the bigger horsepower, that's been my
experiences.

len

snipped
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happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
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go for the biggest engine you can afford ;-) ... it will make the job more
relaxing. for the size of lawn you mention i'd reckon that a 19" cut is
about right: after this size, prices jump alarmingly for not much in the
way of less work to do. my advice would also be to buy a hayter machine (if
you can get one where you live). they're slightly more expensive than most,
possibly cheaper than a honda, but by god they're well made. whatever you
do, don't try and save a few quid at the outset - you'll regret it later!

"atwifa" wrote in message
...
go for the biggest engine you can afford ;-) ... it will make the job
more
relaxing. for the size of lawn you mention i'd reckon that a 19" cut is
about right: after this size, prices jump alarmingly for not much in the
way of less work to do. my advice would also be to buy a hayter machine
(if
you can get one where you live). they're slightly more expensive than
most,
possibly cheaper than a honda, but by god they're well made. whatever you
do, don't try and save a few quid at the outset - you'll regret it later!



Thank you and len for the advice. I have found a competitive supplier after
a little research, and will go shopping Saturday. I agree with your
suggestion on going for a slightly narrower cutting width re. price.
Thanks again!

--
Cat(h)
The world swirls...

On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 04:49:15 +1000, len gardener
wrote:

g'day cat,

for me go for the 21" cut and the bigger horsepower, that's been my
experiences.

I too have a substantial 'lawn' - and I've used an assortment of
lawnmowers over the years ( all gleaned from the local tip - £5 a
throw ).
I've found that blades of 19" and above sound fine in theory, but
unless you have the horsepower to drive it, and a reasonably level
lawn, it can take half as long again to cut the grass than with an 18"
blade.
3.5HP seems fine for blades up to 18" on rough or heavy lawns - I'd go
for at least 5HP for a mower with a bigger blade for the same lawn
type.

Similarly, if you have a lot of nooks and crannies you might find that
machines with powered wheels can be a bit impractical - as well as
adding to the weight of the lawnmower.

Never used a mulcher, so can't comment on its effectiveness.

A decent machine is a hefty expense - so perhaps a good idea would be
to hire a couple of different machines over a weekend and see which
suits your situation best.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Cat wrote:


Thank you and len for the advice. I have found a competitive supplier after
a little research, and will go shopping Saturday. I agree with your
suggestion on going for a slightly narrower cutting width re. price.
Thanks again!

The supplier should advise you, but one thing to be aware of is if your
lawn has much of a slope then an ordinary 4 stroke engine will be no
use. Either buy a 2 stroke (which I did) or a 4 stroke with pressurised
oil feed (expensive). The danger is going up a slope starves the engine
of oil.
Happy mowing.

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"Broadback" wrote in message
...
Cat wrote:


Thank you and len for the advice. I have found a competitive supplier
after
a little research, and will go shopping Saturday. I agree with your
suggestion on going for a slightly narrower cutting width re. price.
Thanks again!

The supplier should advise you, but one thing to be aware of is if your
lawn has much of a slope then an ordinary 4 stroke engine will be no
use. Either buy a 2 stroke (which I did) or a 4 stroke with pressurised
oil feed (expensive). The danger is going up a slope starves the engine
of oil.
Happy mowing.


I won't have to go mad. My lawn is as flat as a pancake :-)
Thanks for the tip anyway.


--
Cat(h)
The world swirls...