Well, it's not like there's any shortage of clippings and cuttings and so on in most places. Hell, most people pay for someone else to take the stuff away. In my neighbourhood, 220lt green "waste" bins are collected every fortnight, usually one place in three has them out. If I lacked mulching and composting material, I'd just ask the neighbours if I could take the stuff instead.
Would depend on the budget too. I think anything Briggs & Stratton powered is ideal for home use. Victa is good, so is Masport. I'm not a fan of 2 strokes as most (if not all) have the exhaust facing under the machine. I have a cheapy Victa B&S powered unit i use commercially for steep hills and un-even ground (those that want the grass cut instead of the lawn mown). I also use it for some manucured jobs. Depends on the size of the lawn. If you have a larger block a commercial Honda (self propelled) unit might be the go, but i don't know many permaculturalists with a large lawn. :wink:
g'day zillah, the sanli looks ok on paper so to say, understandably so long as the briggs motor is made in the USA it will be the best of the briggs's, as for the mower itself time will tell? one sold at auction cheaper than your price check here: https://www.oztion.com.au/-Sanli-Power-Cut-Lawn-Mower-/auction/3094958.aspx one would wonder what they are doing being sold at online auctions? not the place known for quality product. also their price is in the range of discount pricing but then that could be due to the maker trying to get them introduced into the market place, quality always comes at a price in my experience. budgets can often lead to false economy. if you need a heavier duty utility model for tough cutting then stear clear of catcher models. but with the sanli one would have to have a real time look at it to see if there is any quality there. the search was flooded with lots of sanli's on "e-bay". len
Yeah, if i had to choose between sanli and talon I would go with Talon... Talon have a small commercial range available now...
zillah, it is a chinese production no ethics in their products all relies on all but slave labour to compete so bet the b&s engine isn't USA made, and talon realy isn't a anything it is a mock up using mostly victa chassis cheap b&s engines and rover cutting disc, built as a badge machine, as far as i can see talon is just that a badge, built for discounters market. sun in-law own one only couple years old a dog of a mower my 1/4 century old engine starts a whole lot easier and with less smoke, it is a cheapy briggs he has. lots of sanli's being flogged at discounter stores and online auction. one wonders why they are using B&s when it looks like they make their own engine?? len
I was just talking to a guy who said Sanli was a Kmart import. Not sure of the facts behind that but it sounds about right. Yeah, i would agree Len, Talon is pretty crappy too. But for those looking at budget over quality they are better than sanli IMO.
I've had a Victa B&S 3.5HP fro 15 years and treated it very bad. (Ie. slack on oil changes, run over fruit tree prunings, etc.) Not sure about the current Victas, but if they're anything like mine I'd say go for one of them. Just my 2c worth...
Yeah I have a victa about 8 yrs old, mowing here can take a bit of doing (still more newspaper mulching needed) and rubbish equipment don't last long around here on the farm. Just serviced it, main problem I have is ripping out the spark lead all the time against trees and bushes, it's a pain, try and look to see if that issue has been addressed in other models.
I bought a Talon a few years ago. Its the biggest piece of crap ever made. It has fallen to bits and I'm constantly trying to fix it. I dont have any lawn, its used for slashing down the "weeds".
Re: The lawn is my fertiliser factory. I have a Honda 4 stroke that has mowed an area as big as Australia. It still starts first go. It is old (10+ ys?)
Re: Best lawn mower,,,Is it Victa ? yep michaelangelica, you buy quality you get reliability and endurance great hey? our masport 500 is nudging 22 years with 4hp b&s starts real easy blows no smoke, we change the oil regular and keep the filter clean for that it gives is fantastic service. dunno what we'll do if it ever falls over hey? don't know that masport make this good model anymore with adjustable steel ball bearing wheels. might out last me huh chuckle, something the discounter models can't do. len
Nearly a Victa Distributed (and warranted) by Victa..... The enviromower. https://www.victa.com.au/index.cfm?p=9592516C-6FBA-42E8-845AB0A16B50058D I bought mine in July last year after moving to the Upper Hunter Valley. Cost of $399 from Bunnings, however do to distribution by Victa, they are available almost everywhere. Instant starting, lightweight, no inconvenience of storing, mixing (2ST), or fueling, quiet and clean operation; so much so that i carry my 5 month old daughter around in the marsupial pouch whilst mowing (who said that blokes can't multi-task!!). The only disadvantage with this mower is run time.On a normal suburban block; 1 front, 1 back plus verge, i was able to cut the whole lot on one charge (on the highest and second highest cut settings). General run time on a single charge is 80-90 minutes. Full charge takes 12-16 hours, 80% charge in 6-8 hours. Since October 2008 however, i now live on a house block of 1/2 acre (2000m^2), which presents some challenges when limited to only 80-90 minutes of run time. My solution has been: mow the lawns in small doses! Which i have found also helps my sanity. It is very easy to charge the battery overnight using offpeak power, remove from charger before leaving for work. Then i simply spend 45mins-60mins after work on most evenings cutting a particular area of lawn. This leaves my weekends free (and battery power available) to prune trees, and mulch (using the mower) whatever green materials i have available for the veggie garden. Alternatively, additional batteries can be purchased (~ $85) which would boost your total cut time. In summary, for the average sized suburban block, which is mown regulary (ie weekly/fortnightly), this mower is ideal. Cheap to run, easy to maintain (store battery fully charged,keep it clean and blades sharp) and outright purchase price comparable to a quality 4ST mower.
Got to say my best lawn mower is the horse. Used him for 20 years now still going strong. Good clean cut plus the occasional bit of fertilizer. Can't beat him. Self starting. My neighbours have gotten very use to seeing my horse on the front lawn.
some of us don't have the skills or area to support a large animal, but i agree in principle. like many of the others have said, "what lawn?" there's not much left here and i can't wait to get rid of the last of it but Ma won't do it yet. she uses a Honda to mow, she can start it and run it. other than having to replace the carb a few years ago and regular blade sharpening, new air filter and oil changes it has run well. it runs on unleaded gasoline (no mixing needed). i use electric hedge trimmers on the green manure patches two to three times a season and loppers to cut back the trees or shrubs that get too big. i don't like battery packs so we have enough extension cords to get to the areas i need to chop. as i don't spend all that much time doing this each year i really enjoy how this is going. much better than mowing.