Repair Guide

Top 5 Lawn Mowers Spring 2014

If you’re looking to invest in some new gardening equipment this spring then this top 5 guide to buying a new lawn mower is just for you. I have over 20 years experience of servicing garden machinery and cleaning equipment and I intend to share with you my knowledge of robust well built lawn mowers that will not only give you years of faithful service (when looked after properly- Blog coming soon!) but also help give your lawn a wonderful carpet like finish.

As you may or may not know there are many different types of lawn mower depending on your garden size, power supply and the finish you look to achieve, if you are unsure about the difference between your self propelled and your cylinder mowers it is perhaps worth giving some attention to one of my previous blogs here.

What I really want to do today is to look at some quality lawn mowers from across the board with a price range of £120-£450. All mowers featured can be serviced when required and unlike many cheaper or imported lawn mowers, you can get spare parts!

RRP £209.00

This is a self propelled petrol lawn mower from a well established and much loved historically British brand. Mountfield lawn mowers are now made by GGP, an Italian owned company and this particular model the SP414 has a 100cc 2.6hp engine and a 15 inch cut ideal for small to medium sized gardens. Being self propelled means that mowing is easier as the lawn mower itself does much of the work driving itself along. The height is adjustable too. The deck is plastic, so it’s light and will not rust but perhaps lacks the durability of the more expensive steel or aluminium deck machines. That said this is a great unit and shopping around these are available from as little as £175- a bargain!

Pro: Low Price, light weight and easy to handle.

Con: Engine could be more powerful, no rear roller.

RRP: £350.00

This is an excellent piece of equipment from the British lawn mowing institution that is Hayter. Hayter mowers have been used by garden enthusiasts and professional since 1946. This offering is the push version of the 41 series, this isn't self propelled like the Mountfield above, but does have a larger grass bag capacity and a rear roller so achieving the coveted striped lawn finish is (almost) childsplay. With a 5hp engine by Briggs and Stratton and an aluminium deck this mower certainly has class. Compact and light weight this lawn mower is easy to manoeuvre and has a 16” cut width, ideal for medium size lawns. The Hayter Spirit range also includes various other versions like Autodrive. If you shop around these mowers could be available as cheap as £290.00.

Pro: Well built, quiet reduced noise deck.

Con: Premium price.

RRP: £499.00

The Honda IZY’s are a great range of lawn mower and if you’re looking for a rotary mower and you’re not too fussed about a rear roller then you’ll struggle to find something better. The Honda’s as you might expect use their own range of engines, and again as you might expect they are good! The engine on this model is a 4 stroke 135cc complete with easy start technology; you will find they start first time, every time with very little effort. This model also has the largest cut out of the machines we have talked about so far; 18” that should cut down your mowing time or cope with larger lawns. Add to that a large grass bag, steel deck and adjustable height and you have a fantastic, robust piece of gardening equipment that will last years to come,

Pro: Good engine, large cut.

Con: Steel decks can rust over time.

RRP: 229.98

Another lawn mower made by GGP, this model is a B&Q own brand and like the Hayter also comes equipped with a Briggs and Stratton engine, albeit a slightly less powerful version. This mower comes with a lot of spec for the price including a steel deck and large18 inch cut like the Honda. The MacAllister HP46 is ideal for medium sized gardens and although the build quality doesn’t quite live up the Honda it is less considerably lower in price and still a robust unit. If you're looking for a rotary lawn mower that will last and your budget doesn't quite stretch to the hefty price of the Honda, then this unit could fit the bill. The Macallister HP46 lawn mower also includes adjustable height and a large capacity 55ltr grass bag.

Pro: Low price for the specification, large cut.

Con: Engine could be better, no roller.

RRP £200.00

We haven’t looked at an electric lawn mower yet, and for some with smaller gardens or a preference for not keeping or dealing with fuel at home this is a great option, the other advantage of electric lawn mowers is the weight, they are considerably lighter that petrol units, this particular mower weighs just 12.5kg. The Bosch lawn mower has what it describes as an ‘Ergoflex System’ this essentially enables easier steering and control of the mower. The 1800w motor is adequate and about what you would expect for a lawn mower of this size, however it is boosted with Bosch ‘Powerdrive’ technology for increased torque. It has an 18” cut and a 50ltr grass box capacity and includes grass combs so you can mow right to the edge of your lawn, this along with the ability to fold down the mower for storage means it has a few tricks up it’s sleeve. 

Pro:Light and easy to handle

Con: Removing the grass collection box could be easier.

I did say Top 5 lawn mowers but I couldn’t resist including this gem from Qualcast…

RRP £129.99

Now, it’s not much to look at but this is one of the best selling electric lawn mowers in the world. Qualcast is another old time classic British brand, however recently some of the newer models aren't quite up to scratch and are essentially re-badged imports, but not this one. Ideal for small gardens the Qualcast Concorde has a modest 32cm cut and an average size 23ltr capacity grass box but don’t let that put you off, you will be hard pressed to find a better lawn mower for the smaller garden. This is the only cylinder lawn mower featured in this blog, cylinder mowers have four blades and provide a striped carpet like finish. The motor is an energy efficient 400w, but it still has enough power to get the job done. This quiet compact lawnmower also features a 12 meter cable and is super easy to assemble and store.

Pro: Great price with great results

Con: Only suitable for smaller lawns

That concludes my lawn mower guide and review for Spring 2014. I hope to have covered most of the bases and budgets, I really think this little list has something for everybody and includes some of the best lawn mower brands around.

I should probably take a moment to suggest some types of lawn mower that should be avoided. Many cheaper own brand machines from the big DIY stores are Chinese imports and while the price is attractive the likelihood is that after a year or twos use they will require a spare part, regardless of how good your lawn mower is the occasional spare will always be required. This is where the cheaper models fail, I speak to people time and time again who are rightly frustrated that a minor part required to fix their mower is not available rendering the machine useless. An easy tip is when you're shopping for your new purchase; check the plate (normally located on the deck near the rear wheels or roller) and if the country of origin is PRC (China) just avoid it. If its GGP or Europe then usually you will be fine.

Lawn mower spares and parts are available from SparesGiant.com