Lawnmower - reasons not to buy?

[marchogaeth]

My daughter needs a lawn mower for a relatively large area of grass. Buying on a budget (no money!). Her job means she doesn't have hours to scour local sources of secondhand/recon. I have no idea - we have sheep.

Is this Ok?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/mountfiel...wn-mower/46936

Any help and advice gratefully received.

[Scarlet]

Hmm, my thoughts would be (I’ve been looking for a petrol mower for sometime to get to the areas that I can’t reach with the ride on) that a self propelled one would be better? ......but I’ve not got much of a clue with tools.

[4Shoes]

Mountfield tend to be good solid machines. Read the reviews.

To me it is the engine and deck. Mountfield Engines have a good reputation, but any mower with a steel deck and a Briggs and Stratton or Honda Engine would work.

The down sides for this model are the plastic deck, cut width (bit limiting) and is a push job.

All these would be ok if there are no stones and you keep on top of the grass. But should you let the grass grow under your feet, I have found a self-propelled model set at highest setting a dream to get it back into sorts.

[nickdub]

Being older I'd always go for a self-propelled mower with a metal deck. Pushing something through wet grass is no longer my idea of fun, and I don't trust plastic decks to last .

A Briggs and Stratton 3.5 Hp engine is good reliable base unit, though if you can afford something bigger that's obviously an advantage. I'd have a quick search on Ebay - you can get new stuff which has been returned or are just old stock at reduced prices - I bought a new petrol chainsaw for £55 on their fairly recently .

[DannyK]

I've had a B&D with a plastic deck for 23 years without a problem. Also had an excellent Honda, until stolen, with a plastic deck. Wouldn't steel have a tendency to rust?

A narrow mower is lighter and easier to manoeuvre.

If grass is flat you should be ok with a pusher.

[nickdub]

Horses for courses I suppose, I've got some sloping grass and a lot of it has trees in it - a push mower, which I have used sometimes, makes the job much harder - as for plastic decks, I'm probably just old-fashioned ;-)

[veggiechicken]

Marchogaeth, I have a 4.5 Honda engined, self propelled, Castel Garden lawn mower, sitting in my garage doing nothing. Last time I tried it (about 4 years ago) the self propelling bit didn't work and I lost interest in it. May not be too difficult to fix if you understand machinery (I don't).
Can't find the actual model but its one of these LAWN MOWERS - Petrol - Self propelled
Will need a service but its yours if you want it and can pick it up from Cardiff.

[marchogaeth]

Thanks VC -very generous of you. I am passing the offer on. She's in Oxford so it will depend on being able to collect it but very kind of you. I guess it's not going anywhere so time is on her side to pick it up.

[nickdub]

Usually the self-propelled mechanisms are pretty robust and easy to adjust. Sometimes the drive belt to the wheels can slip, or sometimes the control cable to engage it just needs tightening a bit. I suspect some oil and 15 mins fettling time would get it going no problem.

[marchogaeth]

Marchogaeth, I have a 4.5 Honda engined, self propelled, Castel Garden lawn mower, sitting in my garage doing nothing. Last time I tried it (about 4 years ago) the self propelling bit didn't work and I lost interest in it. May not be too difficult to fix if you understand machinery (I don't).
Can't find the actual model but its one of these LAWN MOWERS - Petrol - Self propelled
Will need a service but its yours if you want it and can pick it up from Cardiff.

Usually the self-propelled mechanisms are pretty robust and easy to adjust. Sometimes the drive belt to the wheels can slip, or sometimes the control cable to engage it just needs tightening a bit. I suspect some oil and 15 mins fettling time would get it going no problem.

The offer is gratefully accepted VC, as is the advice, Nick.

[veggiechicken]

That's great, M. Happy that it will go to a good home - and I'll have a bit more room in the garage for more "clutter".
PM or email me when you're ready and I'll dust it off. No rush!!!

[Stan79]

There are some ridiculous bargains on ebay at the moment... i've just bought two Hayter mowers for £40 and sold the first one on for £80 after half an hour of cleaning it and getting it running.

I'm in South Oxfordshire and if she gets VC's one and needs a hand getting it up and running i would be happy to lend her a hand if she wants to run it over. She would probably be coming past our front door (nearly) on the way back from Cardiff!