Lawnmower advice needed

Thanks for that advice Davo. I have been thinking about getting a mower for quite a while and I was originally going to get a cheap $300 Bunnings or Big W mower, but then I decided to spend more and get something decent. A few people have said to get the Honda because that is what all the contractors use, but the Honda that I am looking at is the cheapest Honda with the GCV160 motor, which is different to the motors that the contractor mowers use. On the other hand I will probably only use the mower for an average of an hour a week.

I must admit the main reason I like the Masport, apart from its features is that it looks good, which I know is not a valid reason for selecting a mower. If the difference in price between the Masport and one of the contractor type Hondas was only $100 I would almost certainly go with the Honda.

The GCV160 looks like a good motor, but I'm not sure how it compares to the Briggs and Stratton motors. I've had a look for some information on the B & S motors, but it seems harder to find any detailed info.

Fozzy, what's your lawn like? How big? Flat or sloping? Is it a straight up and down mowing job or lots of manoevring? Many low trees to mow under? Any rocks, roots or other obstacles the blades might hit? Have you thought about whether to catch or muclh? How important is noise, fumes, reliablity?

Re B&S engines:

You can sort of figure out how the engines rate here - http://www.briggsandstratton.com/dis...sp?DocID=66939

If you get the model number off the actual mower, you can download manuals here - http://www.briggsandstratton.com/dis...sp?docid=67021

You've probably found all the Masport manuals on their site.

Davo

Thanks again Davo,

The lawn is mainly flat, although there is a slight slope. I have about 200 m2 of new buffalo turf and about 100 m2 of newly seeded rye grass. Noise, fumes and reliability are all important. I think the area should be straight forward to mow, no trees or rocks, but there are some curves around the garden beds.

Because it is a new lawn I will need to catch the grass, but I may want the option of mulching later on. Both mowers I'm looking at have the option of a mulching plug that I could possibly get later on, but I have heard that mulching is not good for buffalo grass.

I'll have a look at the Briggs and Stratton link.

Well, your lawn sounds like a straightforward mowing job - the Masport would probably be suitable if there's no likely rocks etc. Did you read Shannon's comment from page 1 of this thread about mowing close to walls?...

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I guess for me the biggest down side has been that the cutting diameter is not in line with the wheels - meaning that when mowing to retainer walls (which I have a lot of) the cut is a wheel width away from the edge - this was my error in not seeing before I bought, and it is only a minor thing as are all of the negatives here.

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There was something in the Masport manual about that. Not sure if he's tried it yet. But his comment about vibration worried me...

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On the down side - It has as much vibration as my 15 y.o. Rover, being double the horsepower it is a little on the heavy side (that is in comparison to the 3hp rover though, I think most of the 5 - 6 h.p mowers are much the same)

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I didn't notice any vibration with the Honda the other day - but I wasn't looking for it either. Might start it up this arvo and see what it's like.

A good move might be to call your local Masport dealer(s) and see if they can show you one running. Then do the same with the Honda dealers.

Davo

Thanks again Davo,

I did read Shannon's comments. I'm going down to the 2 mower shops on Saturday morning to have another look at both of the mowers. At this stage I'm leaning towards the Honda.

The Honda engine is sweet and almost vibe free. Does all bu very long grass at half throttle, don't need muffs (<75dB) I hired a logsplitter in the weekend with a B&S engine on it. It vibrated the bejeesus out of the whole frame. Noisy poxy thing. I do not think that there is any comparison to be made.

Honda has done about 150hrs now. I've put 4 high-lift blades on it - suck the chrome off a towbar. Heaps of power, starts always. But...it's only a mower, guys. Just do it.

D

BTW our lawn is unudlating, and about 5000m2. Takes 2-3 hrs, big H makes it easy.:D

Thanks TassieKiwi,

What model Honda do you have?

Started the Honda this arvo - there is some vibration - but it's what I'd describe as "slight". If you stand still with your hands on the handle, you can feel it. When I increased the engine speed, it stayed the same. Once you start pushing, you don't feel it anymore.

As far as fumes go, I parked it outside near a wall to create a windless area and stood at the handle for about 5 minutes with the engine running at various speeds. I couldn't smell any fumes. To smell fumes, I had to crouch down, put my hand under the exhaust pipe and cup my hand so it directed the flow to my face about 10" away.

When you're at the mower shop, tip the mower up and have a look at the blades - they come to about 8-10mm of the edge of the body. Then tip it back onto its wheels and look down from the top at the alignment of the edge of the body with the wheels - this will give you an idea of how close you'll be able to mow to vertical edges.

The underside of the Honda looks very simple. The mulching attachment just fills in the space where the catcher would go and maintains the curved shape. The combination of low and high lift blades seem to be what makes the mulching effective.

Good luck with it... Davo

I used to have a Bolens mulching mower, it had a single blade that cut and pushed the grass up into the dome, from here the blade changed shape (twisted) and created a downdraught in the centre cutting the 'cuttings' again and forcing them into the lawn.
Worked well and was a big solid bar about 2" wide by 1/4" thick, obviously bent with the aid of some heat and sharpened.
Pulled it off and sharpened it twice a year and balancing was never an issue.
Haven't seen one like it for a long time.

Hi Guys,

Just thought I'd let you know I took the plunge on the weekend and bought the Honda. I've used it twice so far and it seems pretty good. A mate who has one of the new Masports had a look at he was quite impressed.

All I remember is '19D'. And Red.:cool:

Good for you fozzy, you'll be a happy chappy.