I'm moving to a house with some lawn which will eventually need to be mowed. It's only a very small area and can't really justify spending around $400 on a mower.
Found this one in the Big W catalogue. Looks ok to me. Any feedback before I buy it?
Specs stated: 118cc engine. 16" steel deck. 35-litre soft catcher. Limited stock. Limit of 1 per customer.
PS im a LTRFTP (Longtime reader, first time poster) do be nice!
Cheers, B
With 4 stroke mowers you don't need to mix fuels
No oil mixing, but still a lot more maintenace than corded electric. And noise, weight.
Are you joking or what? All you need to do is a 20 minute service every year or two….. What is the "alot more maintenance" you're referring to? You would spend way more than 20 minutes a year buggering about with a stupid power cord everywhere you go
LOL Maintenance… ?? I have a 800 sq mr block and use a 4 stroke mower… Maintenance…I have to put petrol in it! That is all I have done to it since new 6 years ago…
I would wonder how a battery powered mower would be after that?
I might change the oil in it soon but that is a 5 minute job.
Ohhh… the uninformed..??
Ok, only "a lot" compared to electric. Still …
Are you not supposed to top up and change the lube oil occasionally? Clean the air filter, adjust the plug gap? Clean the crud from the cooling fins,
They are crude motors, not like modern EFI car engines. Though the 4-strokes are at least quieter than the horrid old 2-stroke I used to use.
me too!
i bought a cheap and cheerful talon 4 stroke mower 6 years ago…. I havent done until maintenance on it at all and its still going strong!
(maybe i should change the oil because of its loyal service thus far now that Im thinking about it…. but i honestly thought it would blow up a year or 2 in!)
the difference between petrol and electric is this:
my 2 stroke victa commando still starts first pull after 22 years.
actually, i've got a whole collection of petrol mowers. people put them out for kerbside collections when they foul up the carby with stale fuel. i've got a couple of backup mowers + enough spare parts to last for yonks, all for free
Yeah, I'd much rather be replacing dead battery cells than topping up some 91 octane four stroke fuel, that rare, humble and unusual kind that most vehicles use too…
I work at a lawn mower shop, and I can promise all of you that this mower is a piece of junk. We get mowers like this brought into our shop every Saturday by people who just bought them from bunnings or BigW and can't get them started. That is a Chinese engine, so if you need parts for it no mower shop is going to want to know you. I find it very doubtful that it does have a 3yr warranty as many of the comments on this thread claim (usually these ones have 1yr at best). However, even if it does have a warranty that long good luck finding someone to fix it, because BigW certainly don't have the capacity too. 16inch cut is tiny unless you have a very small yard and those cloth bags are rubbish. My advice would be to buy a Victa or Massport with a Briggs and Stratton engine. It would be probably twice the price, but you will get 10-15 years instead of 1-5 like you will with this one.
very true… !!! its built NOT TO LAST!
I work at a lawn mower shop, and I can promise all of you that this mower is a piece of junk. We get mowers like this brought into our shop every Saturday by people who just bought them from bunnings or BigW and can't get them started. That is a Chinese engine, so if you need parts for it no mower shop is going to want to know you. I find it very doubtful that it does have a 3yr warranty as many of the comments on this thread claim (usually these ones have 1yr at best). However, even if it does have a warranty that long good luck finding someone to fix it, because BigW certainly don't have the capacity too. 16inch cut is tiny unless you have a very small yard and those cloth bags are rubbish. My advice would be to buy a Victa or Massport with a Briggs and Stratton engine. It would be probably twice the price, but you will get 10-15 years instead of 1-5 like you will with this one.
it will last about 20 uses then die.. its how they are built… your better off with an OLD 20 year old second hand mower that was built to last .. you'l get about 2-3 years from a second hand refurbished mower!
Standard price for a cheap mower.
Care to show us more deals around this price?
Cool. Thanks for the feedback :)
Been using a corded electric for few years and was eyeing cordless but ended up picking this as well. Haven't tried it yet but hope the fuel hassle outweighs the cord hassles.
Looks pretty good. Can't go wrong at that price. I'm presently doing up my old 2 stroke Victa and probably would have been better of buying that one, if i didn't enjoy pulling things apart so much.
Can't go wrong with that price. It would last you more than 2 years. Mine also bought from BigW for around $199 - similar engine size and with hard catcher - more than 2 1/2 yr ago. Only service once last year to replace the blade.
never buy a soft catcher
Why is that, presumably because it can tear?
90% of contractors using Honda's have soft catchers. I own a Honda myself (used to be a contractor) and never had any dramas with it.
Prettttty sure the quality of a soft catcher from honda and one from a no-name big W brand would be like comparing a 5 star gourmet meal with a frozen pizza.
But with most mowers its how you use (and abuse)them that determine how much of a life span you get out of it. Would be good to hear what sort of warranty this cheapo mower comes with.
For a small lawn, you are better off with electric - e.g. the $134 Ozito.
Quieter, lighter, easy start. Cord is less hassle than petrol, unless its really big or you have a lot of trees on the lawn :-) Not so good in the wet though.
This mower is not small though - should easily do a 1/4 acre block.
It is extremely cheap - leads you to wonder how long it will last if used on a big block.
but CHEAP!
I've seen these instore… sure, they are not a Honda but look at the price again!!
Bargain +
The area I have to mow is only around 3m by maybe 10m, it's completely flat and there are no trees or anything there… maybe the electric would be the way to go.
Thanks gang :)
wow thats a small area, have you tried using scissors?
…..if it' not that big lawn….then get rid of it and replace it with artificial/ synthetic grass…and have a real piece of mind for next 10 years…(min)..
My 2 cents
We have a 2 year old who plays there— not sure if I can handle all her crying from 'carpet' burn. Thanks tho :)
I had a small useless courtyard area (3m x 4m) and I put some artificial grass down (ontop of concrete) and put a cubby house on it and my daughter absolutely loves it. She goes out barefoot and plays for ages with it. Even got a couple of potted yukka's that she waters.
She uses it more than just about any of her other toys, great investment.
Seems to be selling out. None available Cumberland Park or Torrens Park in SA.
Mower with 4 stroke Briggs and Stratton engine is $179 from Masters. Worth the extra IMO.
Anyone know how good the one from masters is?
Link: www.masters.com.au/product/900033472/909-16-petrol-mower
hmm thanks for that.. the $229 briggs and stratton 144cc one from bunnings is no longer listed.. and i believe that one had a soft catcher too -.-
i wonder why this big w one is $20 more than it was the first time it instasold out
Bought $134 Ozito Mower last month.. spent ~$40 for 25m heavy duty extension cable..
Real Powerful in my opinion. Hopefully it can last for a while..
Don't forget to put oil in the sump before you start it. Big W Top Ryde has stock
I have a corded electric and it would definitely be less hassle to pour in some fuel and pull a cord than winding out a giant reel of extension cord and trying not to run over it having to push it one handed at times so that the other hand is free for pulling the cord about. Then it gets caught on something and pulls out frequently. Then you have to walk all the way back and unplug the cord and plug it in around the other side of the house. I have a small amount of grass front and back and dealing with the power cord takes a significant percentage of the total time spent mowing the grass. I'd rather pour in some fuel and just go for it. The ozito one also stalls frequently on any kind of large tuft of weeds. Then you have to stop and flip the mower over and pull the grass out from the blades, which is I guess slightly dangerous without unplugging it. It's also small and I have to bend over forwards a bit just to operate it. The chassis of the mower is plastic so it flexes which can make it suck for doing edges as the blade can scrub.
Overall, it makes it far more work. Using a more expensive, rigid, larger and battery powered electric one would eliminate most of these issues but you could buy several petrol mowers and plugging the mower in to charge it would be no less effort than pouring in some petrol. And the battery going flat would leave you unable to mow at all. Even the expensive ones would not last long compared to a petrol one either. So It'd be far more money, shorter life and similar effort.
Thanks for that. Cheers :)
The ozito one also stalls frequently on any kind of large tuft of weeds.
I only had it stall when I don't empty the catcher. Its small and fills up very fast if the lawn hasn't been mowed for a few months :-)
My uncle starts his mower with a drill, and after the battles I've had this year with my almost new Rover, I'm going to join him.
That's cool! So was it homemade or bought?
This is the same mower as http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/58759 where it was $128 and I was a happy customer.
I used it today and it is still doing a great job. No issues with the soft catcher -it works well and has been issue free.
yes same mower.
yay thats this years fathers day taken care of. boy was this heavy to lift into the car. I almost popped a spleen. :'(
think its around this price or when on sale. cool tho
comes with 3year warranty not sure on details just read off side off box
is it worth getting this or just a 2nd hand b&s engine'd on ebay?
I'd personally go with the one from BigW because of this.
comes with 3year warranty not sure on details just read off side off box.
I work at a lawn mower shop, and I can promise all of you that this mower is a piece of junk. We get mowers like this brought into our shop every Saturday by people who just bought them from bunnings or BigW and can't get them started. That is a Chinese engine, so if you need parts for it no mower shop is going to want to know you. I find it very doubtful that it does have a 3yr warranty as many of the comments on this thread claim (usually these ones have 1yr at best). However, even if it does have a warranty that long good luck finding someone to fix it, because BigW certainly don't have the capacity too. 16inch cut is tiny unless you have a very small yard and those cloth bags are rubbish. My advice would be to buy a Victa or Massport with a Briggs and Stratton engine. It would be probably twice the price, but you will get 10-15 years instead of 1-5 like you will with this one.
No matter how valid your point you don't need to post exactly the same thing 3 times?
i reckon!
I purchased a sanli($200) mower a few years ago from Kmart the mower shop had the same mower for $250. My point the mower shops sell the same mowers with a greater mark up. If a mower shop mower fails they fix it, if your Big W mower fails they will give you a new one or a refund your cash.
lawn mower cut grass, buy something cheap that will cut the grass. enough said.
Sanli actually make a fake 4 stroke honda engine, I dont think they are licensed.. these are known as chonda's.. Exact copy but alot of parts replaced with lower quality ones or even plastic so limited life.. I pickup a free lawn mower the had a dying b&s 450 classic engine, purchased a new genuine b&s 450 classic engine from ebay for $160 delvered, unbolted old engine, bolted new engine.. perfect.. Will definitely last longer than a Sanli..
Didn't read the thread comprehensively, but just inserting my experience re. buying a $180 Briggs and Stratton from Masters. The brand name is "909" - the gimmick is that all their stuff has a 909 day warranty. Mower died after about 6 weeks and 3 mows. They stuffed me around a bit with the warranty return (see below) but eventually returned it and got full credit on another mower that cost $20 more. This is another 909, not Briggs and Stratton, and has been going great for about 6 months. In short, now that I know how the system works, I'd have no doubt that the warranty will be honored, so you'll get at least 909 days worth of mowing out of this mower.
Long story about the warranty. I rang the store, explained about the fault, thought that I was talking to someone at the store, and they said no problem I could bring it straight in and get a new one or a credit (I later found out I had been talking to their national call centre). Took the mower in to Masters the next day, as soon as I talked to the guy in charge he said that I'd been misinformed - I had to call the company 909 and get them to authorise the return. So I took the mower home again, called 909, the guy got me to check a few things over the phone (the fault seemed to be with the deadman switch) and he authorised the return. Everything went smoothly from then.
Got one at $110 because of a damaged carton. Got a 1L four stroke oil and a 5L plastic fuel container for around $20 total at Bunnings. Started on first pull and it was a little under powered but I had only a little patch of lawn to cut. It took me ages to start it up again after I have finished mowing and washed the mower.
Fingers crossed that it will start up again on my next mowing.
I am not familar with perol powered motors. The idea of mixing fuels and aintenance puts me off. It is too manly for me. I don't want to pull power cords, etc.
I bought a cordless electric mower. Granted, the one I bought was $500-ish. I am happy with it.
You could also consider a hand push mower. I have never liked those, because I let the grass get too high before getting my lazy ass out there.