Self propelling Petrol Lawnmowers

[Scarlet]

How fast does yours go?!

I recently got myself a mower to get to the edges along my new hedge and to tidy up around my fruit trees and mow between my veg beds qhich are a bit too small for the ride on. I borrowed a friends and I managed great.

Unfortunately a couple of weeks back I went to our local garden machinery man and bought a brand new mower....I did explain what I wanted it for.

Yikes!! I have to run with it it's so fast and there's no way I can go around bushes. absolutely disastrous. I've just tried it the once. There's no way to slow it down.
What would you do?

[Jay22]

Don’t squeeze the handle too tight Scarlet, try gently squeezing at first until you get the pressure that’s good for you! When I first used ours I was the same!

[bikermike]

get rollerskates!

(seriously, there should be a throttle control. If not, then it may be a governor, or an idle screw in the carb/fule injection unit. Check the manual)

[nickdub]

I'm with the others, ought to be a way of adjusting the speed of the engine down a bit - if you can find someone who likes motors then it oughtn't to be more than a 15 minute job to get it a bit more manageable

[Stan79]

What’s the name and model?

[Scarlet]

I can't see anyway if adjusting it.

I can't just put less pressure on the handle - there's a safety feature bar at the back that has to be pulled up to the main handle in the middle and the "go" bar at the front that also has to be pulled up at the same time. My hands are very small I can barely reach, so holding the one in just a bit and the other fully isn't an option.




Not sure if you can see....sorry it's in the shed and the handle is over the wood chipper - so you may not be able to work out the photo!!


It's a Mountfield SP53 Elite.

[nickdub]

What I do with mine (which is old but similar in design) is to tie some string round the auto-stop handle to bind it to the main one so that stays permanently "on", until I undo it. Makes it easier to use and to my way of looking at it the slight diminution in safety by disabling this feature is acceptable.

There are probably some screw adjusters on the carburetor which you can alter to affect the speed of running of the engine - I'll let someone-else comment in detail, as I don't mind fiddling with them on my own machine, I'd be a bit chary of advising anyone-else what to do.

[veggiechicken]

I used to have one like that, Scarlet. IIRC it had a tortoise and a hare slider on the side that you could adjust according to your speed. I was always a tortoise.

[Scarlet]

Thank you! OH has emailed the guy who sold it to me. I'm hoping he responds.
If it was just to cut a flat square lawn I think I could just about run around, but it's not a square, I want to go around things and we have loads of "pot holes" up the top from when the bull and cows got in when the ground was wet. They sunk.

[Stan79]

The Mountfield website says it’s a single speed model. So you might have to get your running spikes on... or take it back and exchange it for a variable speed model.

[Snadger]

I have a Honda IZY. On that, I just keep the 'Dead mans handle' fully on with my left hand and just use the other lever as my second grip. I can then just engage or disengage to control speed.

[Scarlet]

The Mountfield website says it’s a single speed model. So you might have to get your running spikes on... or take it back and exchange it for a variable speed model.

So mad at that...he knew what I wanted it for I have a mower for large areas of grass. I wanted something to be able to go around the trees, along my hedge and around my fruit bushes. It's not something you can run around doing. I'm really fed up.

[Nicos]

Go and give the bloke what's what Scarlet....it's not what you told him you were looking for...he should never have sold it to you

[Stan79]

Someone more knowledgable than I should be able to clarify but I believe you can take it back as “it’s not fit for purpose” under consumer law. The supplier has to be given the chance to correct the problem before giving a refund but it sounds like he should have sold you a lightweight adjustable speed version!

[SarrissUK]

Some sales people really have no idea how important it is to sell the right thing to customers, something that fits their requirements. Do take it back Scarlet - you'll regret it if you don't, and you'll be pleased you did, once you've done it. Makes me so frustrated that sales people don't think