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• PRO

  Phil Voice June 10, 2008 at 7:33am

  Hi Phil
  
  Take a look at the Mowdirect site - I love the Honda engine, imo there is not a better piece of engineering for reliability. However, Honda have a bit of a reputation for clogging up if the grass is damp.
  
  They need robust treatment when engaging the drive too and the drive is prone to failure if the drive is not engaged correctly. I covered this in a recent article - How to engage your lawn mower drive.
  
  The Hayter is, in my opinion, the best deck with a much wider discharge chute.
  
  £300 seems a little low on budget but it does depend on how much you are going to use the machine and what size lawns you will be dealing with.
  
  The link to Mowdirect is an affiliate link and if you do buy a lawn mower from there then I get a small commission.
  
  You may find these articles that I previously put together some use.
  
  How to charge out your machinery
  
  Which Mower
  
  Buying a new lawn mower
  
  Choosing a new lawn mower
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  Andrew Fereday June 10, 2008 at 3:54pm

  I actually went for one with a rear roller but without self-powered drive, which might sound a bit unusual at first but I'll explain why...
  
  I have found that lawns are almost never nice neat squares, so when you want to manoeuvre the lawnmower around the edges of the lawn, a powered lawnmower can be quite tricky - they seemed to run away from me too many times if I tried to use the drive so I ended up dropping off the drive and pushing it manually. This is much much easier with the lighter (and more nimble) unpowered mower.
  
  I also used a powered Honda at one of my clients' gardens which is has a mild gradient on the lawn and quite wet soil underneath. When the grass was even slightly wet, the lawnmower wheels wouldn't grip and just left great big track marks all along the lawn. Cutting with the mower with the rear roller the following week left a much cleaner lawn and you always get the stripes on the lawn which people do really like.
  
  The downside, of course, is that once the edges have been mown, you have to push the lawnmower around which can be quite tiring and very sweaty in the heat of summer. But, for me, to get the best cut on a lawn it has to be a mower with a rear roller - that is, unless you're actually going to roller the lawn after cutting (not recommended for domestic gardens!).
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  Classic Gardens June 10, 2008 at 8:11pm

  The mower i use is a lawnflight pro roller
  The reason i changed to this model was it was the only mower i could fnd on the market which had a mulch attachment to it.
  It works a treat and i have cut my waste by about 70% as it was mainly grass clippings that i was taking away.
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  Phil Luscombe June 11, 2008 at 10:23pm

  Thanks for the tips, I have bugeted up to £500 but will revise that to what ever it takes to get something that will last. I already have a great 17'' cylinder petrol mover for my own lawn but that would be no good for work, though for certain lawns may be nice. Need to spend 500 -700, like the roller idea.
  
  Cheers.
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  Sefton Paine June 18, 2008 at 9:59pm

  I seem to have gone through quite a number of mowers in my time with my business, but one I still have is my Honda IZI. It has a very easy pull start, it's height adjustments are very sturdy (This is the part which breaks on the cheaper machines), admittedly, it does, like many people have said, clogs up if the grass is wet, and it can be quite a heavy machine. Hayters are also very good machines, a have a tiny Hayter Hawk which has a very easy, single lever height adjustment and a very close cut. My good friend who owns a mower shop is currently recommending the ALPINE, which is Italian and uses the Honda Engine and a new brand called MURRAY, which is a hard machine at a good price. Mountfield - best of the bad bunch, Flymo (Petrol) - terrible height adjustment, Partner - similar problems.
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk February 17, 2009 at 7:56pm

  you can get a hayter harrier 19" ? power-drive with roller on internet now for £539 delivered. ive used one for 2 yrs second hand for loads of lawns -- only height adjuster broke unusually(heavey handed staff) but was fixed for £55 pound locally ...............4.5hp briggs petrol with 'hayter electric gizmoed bit on' engine and metal deck !!-great mower for money......watch out for cheap briggs and stratton mowers---------------engines ok but mowers not usually.
  
  honda engines great. - should get a 5.5hp but dont buy a castle-garden(250) (on plate/stamp)
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk February 17, 2009 at 8:04pm

  http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/LAWNMOWERS__500_549.html
  
  try this sorry £569 with new 6hp quantum engine !! , (without roller ) try search other sites though ive seen roller one with maybe a 5hp on it ........
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  steve loftus February 17, 2009 at 8:18pm

  hayter 48 no doubt we have 11 rear rollers,variable speed drives on the new ones,get the pro if you can,extra handle supports and front nudge bar,shop around online,£700 should get one,find a shop withfree delivery and haggle
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk February 17, 2009 at 8:40pm

  yes that pro looks nice..........................tempted if if i need it this year!!!
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  steve loftus February 18, 2009 at 9:31am

  normal service items for a year of cutting with the hayter 48 would be.........oils/filter/plug,blade sharpening(start each season with a new one),maybe a drive belt,if you dont go for the pro model,just make a couple of struts for the handles to make them twice as strong,check out hayter pics to see where to mount them,i have done all our 48 mowers,even older ones,as we are always lifting on and off trucks,stops handles twisting.