Need a cheap petrol lawn mower

charlie4561, Oct 28, 10:59am
I have bought a 1/4 acre section and my electric flymo isn't going to be enough, so I reckon I will need a petrol lawn mower. Not looking to spend too much. Which one of these lawn mowers should I get!

Warehouse Firebrand, with what appears to be a Honda OHV engine:
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Firebrand-Lawnmower!SKU=1316092 Mitre 10, Cobra. This has a Briggs and Stratton engine and is made in New Zealand by the Morrison company http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/power_garden_tools/lawnmowers/cobra_petrol_lawnmower_124663/

Warehouse EAZI Mow - really cheap at least
http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/EAZI-Mow-17-Inch-Petrol-Lawnmower!SKU=1511724

morrisman1, Oct 28, 11:04am
do not touch that chinese rubbish from the warehouse, get something with a proper briggs engine on it, then you wont be left with a door stop in 2 years time. If you can pay another $300 then you get yourself out of the rock bottom range and can get something quite alright. There are some husqy ones with steel decks but with the big briggs engine for around $600. Far far better machine than those base models.

morrisjvan, Oct 28, 11:08am
I've got the cobra, only a steel body and no washout connection, but the stone-age briggs & stratton is super reliable andgets the job done , I would suspect ( i could be wrong ) that the o.h.v motors on the others would be chinese copies.

icemans1, Oct 28, 11:32am
when will people learn! ya buy a lawnmower from a lawnmower shop

icemans1, Oct 28, 11:33am
x1
you could always get a reconditioned one

stevo2, Oct 28, 5:11pm
x1
I would be buying a second hand lawnmower for the same money.
I needed a lawnmower for our beach bach so I went to a lawnmower shop and bought a 2nd hand ex Trade-in.
I bought a 2nd hand Masport 21" with an Alloy body and a Tecumseh motor, from a lawnmower shop for $150. It gets used every 2nd weekend and has never let me down at all.
I've just been asked to repair a 'Cheapy" (Morrison Vinaro)for someone that is only 2 years old and the motor has sheared off the chassis

sifty, Oct 28, 7:34pm
Yep I would look at alloy body, decent wheels and well known/proven motor with spares availability.

Would far rather have a decent used one than a shiny new cheapie.

jasoo, Oct 28, 7:38pm
"Mitre 10, Cobra. This has a Briggs and Stratton engine and is made in New Zealand by the Morrison company"

Morrison isnt made in NZ, made in china.

charlie4561, Oct 28, 7:49pm
Yeah the one I looked at had a label on the deck saying something like Morrison, Wiri Auckland, September 2012 and a serial number, so I assumed it was made in NZ.

chebry, Oct 28, 7:53pm
My Morrison was made in NZ yes it is that old and still runs well

charlie4561, Oct 28, 7:53pm
Thanks for the input all. I should point out that I am just going to be using the mower once or twice a month on the one property, so not giving it huge use.

Will also be cleaning it well after each use and not mowing wet grass either, so I expect a steel deck should last a fair number of years.

berg, Oct 28, 8:47pm
Lawnmaster made by Steelfort in Palmy. Solid cast alloy body, big wheels front and rear, good quality catcher and reliable old B&S donk. Can also have second pair of blades fitted for a finer cut. Trick is, shop around. I found a place in Masterton who's standard price was $200 cheaper than normal mower shop. Got that price as a quote then went to Bunnings who also sell them and used their "beat anybody's price by 10%" deal to wind up with a mower at almost cost. Pays to spend a bit of time looking round

johnf_456, Oct 28, 9:58pm
he sure is, hopefully he's sees this thread and offers advice here.

2sheddies, Oct 29, 1:19am
x1
Is your section all flat! Because if you have to mow on a slope, 4 strokes can suffer oil starvation problems, and quite possibly cease to function fairly rapidly! In this case, a 2 stroke is your best option, as they will mow on any angle. Just thought I would mention this incase, as it's one other thing to be mindful of. Happy mowing! :)

petal_91, Oct 29, 1:21am
Are two stroke mowers still for sale new! Don't recall seeing any around at Mitre 10 or whereever in a long time.

petal_91, Oct 29, 1:24am
Scratch that, here's a 2 stroke available at Bunnings. Thought they'd have banned the nasty polluting things by now!
http://www.bunnings.co.nz/products_product_masport-2-stroke-lawnmower_2650.aspx

hutchk, Oct 29, 1:30am
Agreed. Bought one of these a couple of years ago and it's a great mower for the price - really good on picking up wet grass too.

elect70, Oct 29, 3:09am
I boughtnew Mi1 0vinarowth 3 hp b&s motor5 years agostill goes Ok, had new muffler & blades .

johnf_456, Oct 29, 6:18am
Bump for Ant / mint machines

twaymouth, Oct 29, 6:34am
The place we are renting came with an old cast aluminium Lawnmaster, must be nearly 20 years old now but still works perfectly, has a solid moulded plastic catcher, large wheels and a 4 blade disc. Definitely recommended.

guest, Aug 22, 12:43am
We bought a Briggs and Stratton lawn mower, reconditioned 10 years ago when we emigrated here. It has just given up the ghost, but my husband has serviced it and has now stripped it down to see if he can fix it.. its been brilliant and we have 3 acres, and used on at least an acre of it each week.