New lawnmower

r377

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2019
Location
Adelaide
Hi guys,

In the market for a new mower, i have a medium to medium / large yard. Orig wanted to pay $300 but now it looks 500- 1000 to get a decent one. You generally get what you pay for.

At the moment narrowed it down to Victa Corvette 300, Mustang or the Honda Buffalo premium $900. Heard everyone loves Hondas

Honda-HRU196M2-Lawn-Mower.jpg


mustang



corvette
 
You'll never regret buying Honda, but if budget is an issue, Briggs & Stratton is pretty much as good, and a lot cheaper. Both have the useful feature that if they're running low on oil, they stop rather than burning themselves out like a lot of the Chinese crap around. I got quite a cheap mower with a B&S motor from Bunnings, and it hasn't missed a beat in 3 or 4 years.

Funny, though, when I saw the title of this thread, I thought you were talking about electric shavers for a moment 😀
 
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Got a Honda, about 20 years old now, still looks pretty new and has been cutting the grass pretty consistently during that time. Haven't been exactly religious with the servicing either... it did have a few years of no work too when the kids were young and I just ran out of time to cut my own grass. No drama.

Also had a B&S handed down to me, which was fine after a few years of work, just a bit less powerful so gumtree took care of that one... the best mower I've had for the best finish was a cylinder B&S that I grew up using (mowing was my family chore...). They do a great job but the rotary mowers get close enough for me (I'm not meticulous - just trying to not be "that neighbour" with the verge disaster) and are better at dealing with the big weeds when I've left it too long between mows...

Looking at prices for new Hondas, I find it a bit difficult to imagine they are quite that much better. However, they are still pretty good...
 
Not sure I would shave with that :unsure:

Mow down a 3 day growth you reckon?

Just remember the first law of wet shaving - NO PRESSURE!
 
Got a 25+ yo Briggs and Stratton still going strong

have u checked out the electric mowers at Bunnings? Got one for my mum and there amazing, if my b&s ever dies I’m replacing it with an electric mower.. there around $600 I think but no oil, petrol, plugs or pulling the chord needed (y)
 
A lot of random brands use briggs n Stratton engines on their mowers. Can get a good engine cheaply that way
 
I have had the victa corvette for about 5 years now and I am very happy with it still.
I'm sure the Honda is great, but I couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a lawnmower. More money for shaving soap this way.
 
Buy the Honda, I have a victa with with a Briggs and Stratton motor and it is hands down the most poorly designed piece of crap mower I have ever had the displeasure to use, I regret ever being given it. The air intake is directly above the ejection point for cuttings and is constantly getting clogged with dirt, the oil runs into the fuel on any lean of over 5 degrees and it needs an oil changed every couple of uses or it runs like an absolute pig. This was not the cheap Victa either as it was around the $800 10 years ago.

TLDR Run away from the victa and buy the honda. victas motto is for thinkers and tinkers which is because they designed them to a low price point and require constant maintence.
 
I've got a Victa with a Briggs engine, it's now 15 years old and still start on the 2nd pull.

The chassis though? it's cracking and splitting everywhere with nuts / bolts and plates holding it all together.

Don't dismiss the Briggs engines, especially if they are the higher end models.

But yep, Honda is Honda.. it will always be #1.
 
I have a tiny amount of grass. Front yard might be 10m2, plus the nature strip about as much again. I usually run over the nature strip of my neighbours if it looks a bit long - just being a good neighbour.

Ryobi One 33cm is my tool of choice. The 4Ah battery charged up is only half used, even with a second pass over my own sections. It doesn't enjoy long and/or wet grass, it's light and plasticky, but I love it. So easy and quick to deal with, no running around for fuel, 2-stroke or having to maintain a 4-stroke.

Also have the line trimmer. Just swap the battery over, keep going.
 
I have a tiny amount of grass. Front yard might be 10m2, plus the nature strip about as much again. I usually run over the nature strip of my neighbours if it looks a bit long - just being a good neighbour.

Ryobi One 33cm is my tool of choice. The 4Ah battery charged up is only half used, even with a second pass over my own sections. It doesn't enjoy long and/or wet grass, it's light and plasticky, but I love it. So easy and quick to deal with, no running around for fuel, 2-stroke or having to maintain a 4-stroke.

Also have the line trimmer. Just swap the battery over, keep going.
No need for a mower as I happily use my Ryobi 18V line trimmer with a 5Ah battery and it gets the job done easily. I admit its not as close or even as the mower but good enough. (y)
 
I have a tiny amount of grass...
Back in the days when I was still working as a blacksmith, a customer who sort of dragged me into a big project in Fremantle that he was driving (This one) had a similar postage-stamp lawn. His solution: get me to make him a scythe, including a snath (handle) to fit him. Interesting project, as I had never made one before, but he reckoned it was quicker than using a whipper-snipper from the tool hire shop.
 
... dragged me into a big project in Fremantle that he was driving (This one)
That's a friggin big project.
he reckoned it was quicker than using a whipper-snipper from the tool hire shop.
there are great videos on YouTube of guys scything against machinery. It is as fast as a whipper snippet, if you know what you are doing.
My grandmother used a manual (motorless) push mower for her small lawn in Darwin.
 
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