Choice of home mower

I have two mowers that vibrate so much bits drop off them:- a Stiga Pro 51S (with a bent crankshaft - bought a duff one by mistake!)- a Mountfield Sp470 (with a bent crankshaft - hit a bit of iron railing last week, just stopped dead!)So now I am looking for a new mower that won't follow the same fate. I have about 1800m^2 of grass to mow and it slopes a long way down to a river, the slope varies between 11 and 17 degrees. Life being busy, the grass frequently gets long (it's up to 16" in places now) and I want a mower that will cope with that, ideally even if damp.Ideally if I'm buying new I would like a Honda engine (I've had Honda motorbikes and generators) or at least something with a cast-iron cylinder liner and proper bearings. I want it to last the next 20 years and I am thinking a light weight 4 wheel mower will be easier to handle on a slope than a heavier roller one (though in some ways a roller might ride better over holes and humps). And as an engineer I want it to be a thing of beauty and a joy forever....Speed-wise I'm assuming a mulching mower is best (it's 100m from the far corner to my compost heap) but I am assuming with long, wet grass I may sometimes want a collector so I'm thinking of:- Stiga Turbo Pro 50S Honda engine and friction blade mount (does it really help?) - will it go uphill without a 4-speed gearbox?- or Stiga Turbo Pro 55 4S (4 speed, same engine as above but 53cm not 48cm - is it powerful enough?)- or CastelGarden XSW55 MHS (bigger 190cc Honda engine, nice big wheels for when I have to drag it uphill through loose gravel - but is there any dealer support in the UK? - and no crankshaft guarantee)- Rover 880MH3F (Honda engine, catches or mulches - but is there any dealer support?)- Hayter Ranger 3 in 1 (only a B&S 650 engine)Any comments? Is mulching as good as manufacturers make out or does it only work if one cuts very frequently?ThanksRoger

In my experience Stiga aren't at all good, fragile and as someone else pointed out they don't drive too well. I had a snapper for a while and that was fun but seemed to undesteer terribly with the slightest provocation!

I liked the sound of the new Etesia Pro someone wrote about on here but the £2k price tag put me off!

I use a Ferris Hydrowalk (36" cut) for rougher ground, excelletn on slopes and will cut really long grass all day. They're on Ebay all the time, i got one for £350 and it's still going , but expect to pay around £1,000 for a really good one.

Another budget alternative is a Victa, two stroke so slopes are not an issue, built like a tank so virtually indestructable and they drive really well. Swing back blades so really safe on rough ground. Most are cut only but they do do collectors, but to be honest I wouldn't bother. Get a Victa Pro550 (24" cut) as I did at auction for £80 ex council and use it 'til it dies. Spend the change on good wine and women! They're also on ebay all the time.

Replies

PRO

Phil Voice August 3, 2009 at 9:35pm

Hi Roger

Welcome to Landscape Juice.

I owned one of these snappers for many years - they are fantastic powerful workhorses. The single blade provides great suction and it will cut down very log grass. Good leaf sweeper too.
Graeme @ BGS August 3, 2009 at 10:00pm

Hi Roger,

Seriously consider purchasing a second hand Scag 36" Flail Mower or similar. You can get mulching blades fitted (rough and fine cut flail head options are all available) and will leave a lovely finish. It may be a little big for the garden of your size but they offer unbeatable manoeuvrability and reliability. You wouldn't know what to do with all the spare time on your hands if you did purchase one! :-)

Search out for a localish supplier and ask for a demo in your garden.
Roger Moss August 3, 2009 at 10:48pm

Thanks - interesting...there's one on Ebay at the moment. Would a Snapper cope with a 1 in 4 slope? We had someone roll a dumper truck here last year - fortunately they weren't hurt.

Philip Voice said:
Hi Roger

Welcome to Landscape Juice.

I owned one of these snappers for many years - they are fantastic powerful workhorses. The single blade provides great suction and it will cut down very log grass. Good leaf sweeper too.
Graeme @ BGS August 4, 2009 at 6:57am

With the grounds conditions you mentioned partiucularly the 1 in 4 slope plus height of grass - check out the Scag.
Roger Moss August 4, 2009 at 8:22am

Thanks, tempting but probably more than I was hoping to pay, unless I can get one on Ebay!

Graeme @ The BGS Group said:
With the grounds conditions you mentioned partiucularly the 1 in 4 slope plus height of grass - check out the Scag.
Graeme @ BGS August 4, 2009 at 8:44am

They do come up on Ebay - Really depends upon your budget but expect to pay about £1400 for a fairly good second hand model.
pete August 4, 2009 at 9:11am

Hello Roger, just to tell you from my experience - the Stiga 55 4S has a Honda 190 OHC engine, (and an avs) - I bought one six weeks ago and so I'd love to be saying positive stuff about it but while everything else so far is fine the drive is useless - that is it won't go forward in anything but ideal conditions without me coaxing it, I'm so dissapointed as a couple of lawns I cut are quite a size. My first mower was a Hayter 3 in 1 and that was a thing of beauty and a joy to me ... until I used it too much on slopes - think that was the reason - and it faded away. That Scag 36" flail mower looks the business, there's one on e-bay now, but I might bite the bullet and research ride-ons if I were you ... used a Dixon zero turn with a Kohler Command engine for a few years, slopes no problem although could slide if too wet, - did his main lawn in patterns ... great fun!
Robert Smale August 4, 2009 at 3:10pm

In my experience Stiga aren't at all good, fragile and as someone else pointed out they don't drive too well. I had a snapper for a while and that was fun but seemed to undesteer terribly with the slightest provocation!

I liked the sound of the new Etesia Pro someone wrote about on here but the £2k price tag put me off!

I use a Ferris Hydrowalk (36" cut) for rougher ground, excelletn on slopes and will cut really long grass all day. They're on Ebay all the time, i got one for £350 and it's still going , but expect to pay around £1,000 for a really good one.

Another budget alternative is a Victa, two stroke so slopes are not an issue, built like a tank so virtually indestructable and they drive really well. Swing back blades so really safe on rough ground. Most are cut only but they do do collectors, but to be honest I wouldn't bother. Get a Victa Pro550 (24" cut) as I did at auction for £80 ex council and use it 'til it dies. Spend the change on good wine and women! They're also on ebay all the time.
steve loftus August 6, 2009 at 1:22am

hayter condor,30" rotary deck,tractor style tyres 11hp £1000 on ebay
Roger Moss August 6, 2009 at 7:13am

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I don't want to spend that much at the moment, particularly with a 4-stroke engine that may run out of oil on a 1 in 4 slope (or would it be OK if I filled it high enough?) - and though I can see the sense in a 2-stroke, I don't really want to breathe the fumes, it's bad enough breathing the pollen without adding an oil mist.
I am tempted as a stop gap for this year by a Rover 18" mulching (£100 on Ebay) or an old Snapper (£48 on Ebay so far).

steve loftus said:

hayter condor,30" rotary deck,tractor style tyres 11hp £1000 on ebay