Lawn Mower Help

Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
BT180 said:
Thanks. This thread is a 4 year old grave dig, but in any case, the Honda is still going strong. Haven't even serviced it or changed the oil yet! Probably should get around to that though.....
Click to expand...
Ooops! We have one that's about 13 years old, I only changed the oil once but it uses a bit now and requires regular top ups

My grandfather still had a scythe when I was a kid. I had a few goes at it but you had to watch out if anyone was walking towards you or you might accidently chop their legs off.

scyth.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mr Crudley

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
droenn said:
Imported or local distributer? Bit of googling tells me that Australia really has limited options. Out of easily available ones, the Flymo H40 is "ok"
Click to expand...
I got mine from Gumtree from a Chinese gentleman at Lindfield. They are quite pricey on Ebay but you never know your luck.
If you were to stick with a push mower for a long time then I'd still think it would almost be worth it as an investment.

I nearly bought the Flymo H40 and it does sound good also. Would be on my shortlist along with a Morrison mower. I have a soft spot for them. I had one of their petrol Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke cylinder mowers for a house with chooch grass and it went like a steamtrain. The Harley Davidson of 4 stroke lawn mowers.

http://morrisonoutdoor.com.au/products/outdoor-garden-products/lawnmowers/hand-mowers/handmower-400
 
Mr Crudley

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
Flow-Rider said:
My grandfather still had a scythe when I was a kid. I had a few goes at it but you had watch out if anyone was walking towards you or you might accidently chop their legs off.
Click to expand...
You are not going tol ose your ankles with that, are you, not at all :)
Perfect for those fancy dress parties where you just have to be the Grim Reaper too
 
floody

floody

Wheel size expert
BT180 said:
Thanks. This thread is a 4 year old grave dig, but in any case, the Honda is still going strong. Haven't even serviced it or changed the oil yet! Probably should get around to that though.....
Click to expand...
Plenty of time for servicing.

My mum's self-propelled OHV Honda has been in our family since about 1988.
Dad changed the oil in about 1999.
Still going strong, though just starting to puff a hint of blue smoke on cold start or when you gas it up from idling for a long time.

An accurate post apocalyptic film would probably have everything powered by scavenged Honda OHV mower/stationary motors. When Honda get things right, they get it pretty much faultless.
 
droenn

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Looking at getting a Stihl RMA 460 - the Flymo pushy boy is out of its depth now. I've been hiring a Stihl RMA 510 every couple of months, but its not going to be cost effective much longer.

Anyone got one, or a good electric alternative?
 
beeb

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I have what must be the pre-facelift version of this Ryobi 36V unit linked below. Works really well, similar high-RPM cutting to a petrol 4-stroke mower, but waaaay more torque if it bogs down. I would say the quality is mid-range overall. It look very plasticy, and one of the switches in the handle has been a bit intermittent from new when trying to start the motor turning (fine once turning for some reason) - but in the interest of fairness - I have also cut some horrendously overgrown and wet lawn, long fibrous and/or woody overgrown weeds, hosed the mower down top and bottom several times, run it over dozens of 2-3" rocks, and it just keeps trucking. I'd possibly look at another brand for slightly better overall build finish if I had to replace it, but I've been amazed by the abuse the thing has survived. I don't have a huge patch to maintain, but I'm sold on electric. No fuel mixing, no pull start, no fumes, no heat, and very quiet. No ear-muffs needed, which is actually a really good feature IMO. I can mow late in a summer's evening, know I'm not pissing off the neighbours, and not have the fresh cut lawn get scorched during the day. For a battery use example - I can mow the nature-strip which is roughly 8m long, edge it (this often uses the most battery), and whipper-snip around the lamp post and it uses about 1/5th of a 5.0Ah battery.
 
Haakon

Haakon

has an accommodating arse
i thought lawnmowers were like coat hangers - they sort of just are there, no one actually ever buys one!
 
droenn

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
@shiny I saw the EGO range a while back but wasn't sure about the brand - just did some reading and they seem well regarded. Come in a bit cheaper than Stihl as well. Distributor used to be 5 mins away, but Bunnings saw an end to that. Luckily still available in Fyshwick.

Ryobi ones would be good if you've got the drills etc as well - none of the brands seem to be cross-compatible though, you buy into a single ecosystem of tools which is a bit annoying.
 
beeb

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
droenn said:
Ryobi ones would be good if you've got the drills etc as well - none of the brands seem to be cross-compatible though, you buy into a single ecosystem of tools which is a bit annoying.
Click to expand...
Even then, the 36V batteries don't really work with most of the Ryobi tool range as most of them are 18V. Shit from a compatibility point of view, but the bigger 36V(+) batteries are definitely the go for things like mowers. Ego and Stihl and that were really just bringing theirs to market when I bought my Ryobi setup (probably 2.5 years ago now...) so I just bought what was readily available at the time.
 
Haakon

Haakon

has an accommodating arse
I have a Bunnings cheapy with a Briggs 4 stroke I found in the scrap metal pile at the local tip. Just had water in the fuel and a gummed spark plug - a bit of a clean out and a belly full of synthetic Shell oil (its all I had on hand...) and it runs like a champ.

Needed a new $15 blade a little while back though, so the expenses are creeping up on it....
 
Cyclomaniac

Cyclomaniac

Likes Dirt
I have the EGO 52cm mower, trimmer, hedge trimmer and blower. All are excellent and will never go back to petrol. The mower feels like a toy but does a great job, equal or better than the 4 stroke 5hp Rover mower I had. It doesn't pick up leaves as well as I would like but there is a hi lift blade available. No good for very short lawns, designed for Americian lawns. The battery lasts for over an hour. No problems after about two years except one of the batteries kept cutting out with overload lights flashing. They gave me a new one no problems. Kept the old one as a spare.
The hedge trimmer is good but not for heavy duty stuff and is a bit heavy compared to Stihl. Could be because it was bought second hand and is clapped out. The blower rocks, sold my Stihl as it didn't compare. Line trimmer is great, the head holds 2m of line and lasts over a year for me. Never once had it jam up or need fiddling with.
Sorry, just a bit of a Ego fanboy.
 
clockworked

clockworked

Like an orange
droenn said:
@shiny I saw the EGO range a while back but wasn't sure about the brand - just did some reading and they seem well regarded. Come in a bit cheaper than Stihl as well. Distributor used to be 5 mins away, but Bunnings saw an end to that. Luckily still available in Fyshwick.

Ryobi ones would be good if you've got the drills etc as well - none of the brands seem to be cross-compatible though, you buy into a single ecosystem of tools which is a bit annoying.
Click to expand...
Dewalt flexvolt stuff does. All the lower power stuff works on the bigger batteries. My chainsaw battery would power my worklight for about a million years
 
S

shiny

Go-go-gadget-wrist-thingy
@droenn from 1st Oct Ego is doing a battery giveaway with $800 plus spend.

https://egopowerplus.com.au/redemption

As mentioned you have to buy into a particular eco system which is annoying, I already have Milwaukee batteries and the small Stihl batteries used on their small garden tools but Ego seems to be earning a good rep for quality tools, the 36v Ryobi tools look good too.
 
Mr Crudley

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
I have an almost 20 year old Victa 2 stroke Rapier.

Goes fine and I just wash and dry out the filter every 2 years or so. I haven't bought new blades and just sharpen them to a point with a big file at, the start of spring. Just keep the fuel mix correct and it keeps on going.

I'm in Club Ryobi for the whipper snipper and attachments. Had the made in Japan petrol one once upon a time and it lasted well. The petrol made in China ones are rubbish and just don't last and unfortunately not worth fixing since it bound to die from something else.

I am great with batteries in that they will be flat and not charged right when I need it.

So I have the 240Vac RLT1238 electric one and a damn long cord. Put on the 3x 2.5mm corded Triton head and it is pretty awesome. Toss that Ryobi bump head pronto.

The RLT1238 is made to China standards too and will die once the heat softens up the plastic body and either the motor mounts or axle get off centre then it gets noisey and dies. They have a 4 year warranty and I used it 3 times in three years. If it was in an alloy body then I would be a lot better. Stupid cheap design that I'd gladly pay more for if it came in an alloy or steel body.

Mrs won the best garden in the area award which we still haven't picked up due to Covid. I don't know how that happened but there you go.
 
Haakon

Haakon

has an accommodating arse
Aldi have electric and petrol mowers next week.

The 4 stroke chainsaw is back too, looks like a new model on the one i have. I love 4 stroke for a chainsaw :)
 
droenn

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Haakon said:
Aldi have electric and petrol mowers next week.

The 4 stroke chainsaw is back too, looks like a new model on the one i have. I love 4 stroke for a chainsaw :)
Click to expand...
"why don't you just get the ALDI one?" was heard in this house... but I just picked up a new EGO :)

cheers @shiny, just doing my free battery claim now too!

After using a battery mower, no way I'm going back to noisy and smelly petrol ones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top