Sorry it's a long post!
Hi all going on from my what mulching mower thread, I'd thought I'd start a new one on what I have just bought. The sthil comes with an optional mulch kit that includes a multi purpose blade. At first I wanted a mower I could just flip a lever between collection and mulch, this narrowed my choice down to the toro recycler and honda hrx or a izy versamow. All three come with canvas bags, something I was hoping to avoid as the mower will be used, I'm sure for wet weather collection. The toro at nearly 22 inches I felt was just two big for my needs, the hrx too expensive to buy new for the approx 5 hrs use per week, over 3 days. This left the izy, I was very close to buying, I was even more close to buying a 18 inch version that is apparently a limited edition! At £600 just about in budget.
By now I had discounted the other mower I had in mind, a stiga twinclip ( a mountfield sp5 is also a close relative) , mainly because no one close by seemed to stock it, even if there web site says they are dealers, if they don't have the machines they certainly won't have spare parts in stock. So that left me with a realistic choice of the sthil or the izy. Both of which have dealers close enough nearby. (All shut for looking at them at the mo )
I've looked at the sthil range before so know what I'm getting, and I use an izy 16 - it fits in the van with my lawn tractor ( nothing else would ever fit )rest of the week. What made me go with the 448 more than anything else, even dealers close by, spare parts easy to get on line, the unbreakable strimmer I have had for 10 years, fantastic hedge cutters and reputation was the weight of it. At 27 kg its 6 kg lighter than my already easy to carry izy. We will see if they are easy to move in and out of the van. With every multi use mower there would be downsides, this will be getting used 50 50 on collection and mulching. Will the engine, 10cc and nearly 1hp less than the small izy hinder its mulching ability? Its light weight should mean it will drive fast enough.
Its getting delivered this week so we shall see! At £440 delivered inc mulch plug im not in for a big loss if I have to sell it in a years time if I carnt get on with it, I've spent more on mower repairs! ( although I've not got money to burn I'd ad, this is only the 3rd new mower I've bought in 16 years ) I thought this thread might come in useful to others as I carnt find any other write ups on it
I'll post again when I've cut some grass with it!
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Which version (448T, TC or VC) did you go for, and was there any specific reasons for going for that version?
Good post. Look forward to the update
Ian I've gone for the basic T
Could have spent 25 more for the mono handle but didn't think it was worth it, apparently its easier to empty the box - I plan to mulch half the time.
The VC I could have got for £465 , 65 more than i paid for my T. At the time of purchase I didn't see the point of the extra expense for variable drive and the worry of something extra to break. I didn't realise it actually come with the 650 briggs engine instead of the other two's 575 briggs. Hopefully I wont miss the extra 0.1 hp !
James, thank you for your kind words,
I'd love to update it but it was sent out without oil!
Even though it was advertised with " special offer free oil " reminds my of the joke about Russian cars in the 70's ... your car is ready sir.. next month you can have the engine and the seats you can have in January.
I'm not impressed with the dealer, maybe I should have paid more and bought from a local ish shop rather than a big on line retailer. Anyway they are sending some oil out, I could have put some generic oil I have in , but would rather wait for some decent stuff in case of any warranty problems down the line. Also the mulching kit is on back order....why are companies allowed to sell shuff they don't actually have ?! Looking like at least 2 weeks from my order that I'll get it how I wanted.
First impressions? It looks like it's made of lego! And I can pick it up one handed ( it has a central bar ) 😀
Have you had a chance to try your Stihl 448 out yet Edward, and if so what are your thoughts?
Ian.
Hi I have but only in collection mode, as i still haven't received the mulch kit ( it's a multi use blade and mulch plug for info )
Short wet and dry grass its excellent on my weekly cuts so far . Longish wet grass on a fortnightly cut also very good with no clogging or dropped grass. I will know more later this week when it gets some rougher cuts! So far so good but it's not really had a workout!
Ok its had some much harder work to do, 3 week old wet through grass, cut without the collection box on, eventually the grass blocked the shoot, which is what I wanted to happen and I carried on mowing , diy mulching! Anyway it struggled I little at times, ( never sounded like it was going to cut out though ) as I expected but cut the grass fine leaving no clumps, in places it needed going over twice. This is without the mulching blade. Very happy with its performance.
Next day.At last the mulching kit came. It's very similar blade to stiga twinclip blade, a blade above a blade. Easy to fit with the stihl mower being made to tip backwards. Would be quick enough to change between jobs, but I'm going to leave the multi blade on permanently.
The plug itself carnt be used with the mower box on. I was hoping it could be for my " stealth mulching " plan - some customers might not get the mulching idea as much as others. Hence my thoughts on getting a Honda or a toro above. Well I'm just going to have to educate them!
Used the new blade with the collector on yesterday afternoon on longish very wet grass and it was fine and dandy packed the box till it was crammed full - the indicator is a nice touch. The box felt as heavy as the mower!
Easy to empty as well with the clamshell opening.
I'm sure it sounds quieter with the new blade as well, although its had a first 5 hour oil change as mentioned in the briggs booklet that came with the mower.
I'll post an update when I've got some grass to mulch, but so far so good
Hi Edward, any updates now after almost a month? Would be very interested to hear how it's performing re mulching and general cutting/collecting.
Hi so far so great! Once a week collection and mulching no problems, fortnightly mulching is also good, unless you need to cut the grass short, I experimented once and had to run over it 3 times. I've been using it in very wet conditions the last 2 weeks and it's been great. It has struggled a few times on really soaking wet long grass , to mulch, but I'd say so would any other mulcher. - I just gave the worst bits another pass.
I like the way the basket folds open to empty into a wheely bin, I thought it would be a gimmick I'd only use once but its been awesome and all mower should have it! The full indicator also is really good, didn't think I'd bother with it, but you just carry on mowing till you run out of grass or it tells you it's full.
Everyone is different and so are ours lawns but for what I use it for ( a mixture of collection and mulching over 3 afternoons a week) I still think I've made the right choice.
My only worry would be in the hands of someone who is not paying the bills and it been used all day every day, but at the price you can replace every year!
The weight of it - or lack of it, and the price are worth a go!
Thanks Edward, appreciate that 👍
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