Hi all, I am buying a mower for my 88 year old mother.
The last mower was a Victa which only lasted 10 months before the engine blew up and there is no replacement offered, so I am on the hunt again, unfortunately. I will be doing the mowing but she is purchasing the mower.
Her budget is around $500. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Please and thanks.
These are all very sensible suggestions.
local kid? 10 mowing sessions? I have no idea. Quick google search says 65 to 90 for 450m2.
Double block, with a 63 year old daughter (me) happy to mow for the exercise, but keen for a reliable mower.
get something self propelled.
I used my dad’s ryobi corded recently to mow their lawn. The thing was getting filled every 20 secs. The only way around it was to mow on the highest setting, and then gradually go down and down. Took about 30mins to mow their tiny lawn
get the lawn done regularly by a local kid for a good while.
Better check if your insurance covers any accident they may have…
88 Year old mother? Battery electric mower. Especially self propelled. I would look at ozito for 599.
She won't be the one doing the mowing.
Ah missed that. Right! lol.
Can pull the grass with bare hands!
or whilst doing squats…
36v Ryobi, will probably be a little outside your budget but you won't regret it.
The people who complain battery mowers are garbage are the ones who mow once a month and wonder why the mower struggles. If you keep on top of it, once a week in summer and once a fortnight/month over winter you shouldnt have any problems :)
Don't know why you're being down voted.
Which specific 36v do you have? I noticed some take 2 batteries vs 1?
I'm in the ecosystem and I'm surprised how much power they have.
At that frequency I'd rather pay a bit more and get a robot lawn mower…
Considering any half decent mower (electric or petrol) will be in that price range, your comment seems a little out of place, but thats ok.
2nd handed Honda Self propelled lawn mower (3 speed gearbox). Get one with a manual choke. Look for one with a chassis with no holes or cracks.
A well working one will start with the choke on with a super light pull.
They go for about $500-600 on Facebook marketplace
Yes, go for the Honda. HRU196 (push) or HRU216 (self propelled) are the best mowers on the market by far. But even the domestic self propelled would be fine for OP's needs.
My Honda lasted me about 25 years…
Bought for about $800, sold for $250…
New ones cost close to $1500.
Have finally gone electric (EGO).
How long do you reckon your EGO will last?
@John Doh: If Jesus had an EGO he'd still be alive today…
Don't you believe what you've seen or heard…
I bought Stihl electric self propelled and quickly went back to the Honda. Battery mowers have a long way to go, and the build quality is piss poor compared to Honda commercial range. Yes top of the range Honda is $1800, but for something that you will use for 20+ years and does a beatiful cut and never plays up, that's money well spent IMO.
Battery mowers have a long way to go
My EGO has not problems getting through our lawn and we have a large block.
My Ego certainly works well, but it is the battery that is failing to fully charge. It will finish charging, but when I press the button to test it, it's only half charged.
I've done the resets on it, but it keeps coming back. As with most electrical appliances, it is the battery that let's them down. And very expensive to replace.
As with most electrical appliances, it is the battery that let's them down. And very expensive to replace.
That's why I still haven't bought a Tesla.
Go electric for FBT Exemption
FBT Exemption
Full Body Tourettes ?
Depending on the size of the lawn consider Electric.
But otherwise, look at the Victa 18" Super Mulcher Petrol Lawn Mower, I have one and it is great for my large block. 5 year warranty.
I had the Victa 16" and after 10 months it died. The motor was made in China. 2 months of haggling with Bunnings and I just got a refund. What a process. :(
Surely if you are going to do it, use your own mower.
Buying an 88 year old a petrol mower would probably guarantee you'd end up doing it, she wouldn't even try. She might with a corded electric, they are very light, but long cords are a nuisance. Battery electric seems the obvious choice.
I will be doing the mowing but she is purchasing the mower.
Is she eligible for a CHSP assessment? They'll provide gardening and lawn mowing
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will be mowing and happy to mow, just require some mechanical expertise
you didnt say how big the lawn is
Id stay away from petrol, purely because the pull start may be a problem for you in a few years. If youre dead set on petrol make sure you run the fuel dry over winter when you stop using it and only run ethanol free fuel
You might get 5 years out of a battery until it starts to degrade
If you get a ryobi the switches are poorly made and its a simple fix, you can then buy a $20-35 adapter on gumtree and buy an 8ah aldi battery which will do most typical back yards
Thanks for the info. It's a double block . Possibly a quarter acre
The last mower was a Victa which only lasted 10 months before the engine blew up and there is no replacement offered
If factory warranty was denied - it must have been user error - which for 'engine blew up' sounds like perhaps it didn't have enough or proper engine oil in it? So whatever you buy, try and stay on top of the maintenance. $500 gone in under a year is less than ideal.
As someone who uses a 21" push mower to mow a full acre of kikuyu - I'd warn you off SP mowers. Yeah it's nice when it works well - but major fault point, adds a lot of weight, cost & unless you have nice straight runs can be a PITA as much of a help.
As a 63yr old of either sex I commend you for mowing yourself. Oddly in these 'tip me a mower' threads folks never state the type of grass they have & if they must/prefer to catch, mulch or just cut the grass. Is a key variable.
Also is the yard free of obstacles? e.g tree roots, bits of concrete, stones etc - as again often overlooked - but many cheaper mowers will have bar blades - which don't tolerate hitting things all that well - swingback blades are much more forgiving but often not on mowers - particularly non-petrol models. Something to be aware of.
For your budget, 2nd hand quality petrol mower thats in good condition should run you $300 on Gumtree, FB etc - I suspect 18-19" will suit your strength, 21"+ can be weighty, But you need to bursh up on petrol maintenance as I suspect that was the root cause of the Victa's demise.
Battery has different learning curve - this is a good model, fits your budget - get atleast one more pair of 4aH batts when they're on special (usually ~$40 each). Again though you will need to learn how to use to get best results i.e not charging hot batteries, don't cut when grass wet, don't let overgrow then cut low (an Aussie specialty!) etc.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-pxc-36v-2-x-18v-460mm-brus…
Thanks Daniel for your advice. The mower warranty was repair only. I maintained it 100%, just as I have done with every mower for the last 45 years. The report said it was beyond repair as it had blocked filter , black insufficient oil, piston damage inside etc. I haggled with Bunnings for 7 weeks as I know my mower wasn't like that when I dropped it off. Their repair service process was flawed and they gave incorrect dates for my drop off, has no paper trail and incorrect repair documentation given out to me. Anways about a week after I last visited they called me and said they would refund me because the manufacturer said it couldn't be repaired. Not sure what happened, very weird. It was a made in China engine, so perhaps that was the issue.Prior to this they were completely rude to me. The mower had shocking reviews online.
Mum's block is just a flat double size block of mainly grass and nut grass. No obstacles at all. Yes, I am thinking to buy something second hand after this experience. I am a fit, strong 62 year old and enjoy the mowing for extra exercise. :)
Once again, thanks for your help.
@taddros
Good on you for pushing back on the warranty process….takes a lot of neglect to really block an airfilter, good practice is to remove and bang out every few mows - the oil level would have been the killer. Oil will be black pretty early in its use, you said it was only a few months old - so that its even low is odd. But thats definitely what killed the engine - and oil level they will always blame on the user (which is fair enough) but all this is by the by. Very odd that they'd dodgy stuff as really nothing in it for Bunnings to do such things.
Nearly all Victa engines, including their B&S are made in China, not a bad thing for many of them - but a few are still USA as well.
I don't doubt it had horrible online reviews, alas Victa has been largely junk for many a year now - a few of their commercial mowers are ok but consumer level stuff is very ordinary.
Anyway sorry to discuss all that - I only do so as it's something to bear in mind as maintaining your mower is a big part of it - with a decent mower and a lil elbow grease you can easily get 10-15yrs from it.
Keep a look out for good condition 19" Hondas on Gumtree, FB marketplace - look for something some retireee has doted over and starts easily. Ask them to leave cold and start it from cold. If it does not start easily and look well maintained, walk away. You should be able to get for $200-300. Will only need blades sharpened, airfilter changed, oil changed all once a year and do a very good job.
Again great work mowing yourself - and avoid self propelled, will just be extra hassle and not needed on flat ground.
Thanks a million for your advice. Yes I had a Honda once and it was an absolute gem until one of my son's decided to pull it apart. I'll look out for another mower and maintain it. :)
How big is the lawn? how often do you mow?
Tiny lawn, get a corded electric. Smallish lawn mown regularly, get a battery mower.
Alternatively, $500 might get the lawn done regularly by a local kid for a good while.