Cutting the grass

[landsurfer]

There is a filum on youtube that shows molten alloy being poured into an underground wasp nest, allowed to cool then dug out ..... the size of the nests is amazing .... loads of tunnels and chambers.

[pete75]

....... unwise to use most 4 stroke engines on steep slopes.

I see your reasons for saying that, but I can assure you that after 22years cutting the grass here on STEEP slopes both up and down and sideways, the mowers I've used in all that time have been 4stroke and I've never ever added oil to them and never ever had an issue.

Our Stiga is perhaps the longest lived mower we've had. Two previous ........... first one cheapo from B+Q or somewhere, rusted out and mechanisms packed in, though the engine was fine. Second one was given away and is till in use as far as I know. Bought the Stiga as it was easier to use due to front wheel drive and being a mulcher was a bonus.

This photo is from 2012 not long after buying the Stiga. Photo from the roof of the bungalow.
Back Garden.JPG

I did wonder if the "not using 4 strikes on steep slopes" thing was an old wives tale or based on mowers from way back.

It's probably because of the one time ubiquity of small Briggs and Stratton engines. These have a crude , splash lubrication system which relies on extension to the bottom of the big end eye dipping into oil on each revolution and splashing oil round the engine. As the lubricant is taking from the top of the sump the level doesn't need to drop much for the system to stop working. Tilting the engine on a steep slope would alter the oil level and stop lubrication. A proper pumped system wouldn't have this problem as the oil pick up is close to the bottom of the sump.

[pete75]

I did wonder if the "not using 4 strikes on steep slopes" thing was an old wives tale or based on mowers from way back.

It's really down to the design of the sump and oil pick up / pump.

If the sump is deep then the oil will fill it no problem but it does make the engine taller. A shallow sump runs the risk of oil moving away from the pick up tube.
So I guess in summary; it all depends...

These days though you can get a perfectly good rechargeable mower - although cost is up there with the more expensive petrol ones.


(I'm waiting for good robot mowers to become cheap.)

Several thousand quid???

[Mick F]

I see your reasons for saying that, but I can assure you that after 22years cutting the grass here on STEEP slopes both up and down and sideways, the mowers I've used in all that time have been 4stroke and I've never ever added oil to them and never ever had an issue.

Our Stiga is perhaps the longest lived mower we've had. Two previous ........... first one cheapo from B+Q or somewhere, rusted out and mechanisms packed in, though the engine was fine. Second one was given away and is till in use as far as I know. Bought the Stiga as it was easier to use due to front wheel drive and being a mulcher was a bonus.

This photo is from 2012 not long after buying the Stiga. Photo from the roof of the bungalow.
Back Garden.JPG

I did wonder if the "not using 4 strikes on steep slopes" thing was an old wives tale or based on mowers from way back.

It's probably because of the one time ubiquity of small Briggs and Stratton engines. These have a crude , splash lubrication system which relies on extension to the bottom of the big end eye dipping into oil on each revolution and splashing oil round the engine. As the lubricant is taking from the top of the sump the level doesn't need to drop much for the system to stop working. Tilting the engine on a steep slope would alter the oil level and stop lubrication. A proper pumped system wouldn't have this problem as the oil pick up is close to the bottom of the sump.

Thanks Pete.
That makes complete sense.

[kwackers]

Several thousand quid???

You can spend that on a petrol mower

But no, I'm thinking 1-2K (at least for my garden).

[pete75]

Several thousand quid???

You can spend that on a petrol mower

But no, I'm thinking 1-2K (at least for my garden).

Is that for a ride on?

[kwackers]

Is that for a ride on?

The 1-2K?

My mower new is £1250 and that's a walk behind one (I didn't pay that, it came 'free' with the house).
You can get a cheap ride on for around the same price but when I was looking (whilst pondering buying the house) most reasonably ones were 2-3k.
Beyond that there are a number of esoteric brands that cost big money.

The 'good' automatic mowers are 2-4k but there's no way I'm paying that, I'm not completely convinced they're that good either.
Part of the problem is they're generic but in reality they'd be better specifically programmed for one's garden. I have toyed with the idea of making one as a project.
Superficially a bicycle hub drive might make a good motor unit and the batteries/controllers are easily obtainable. Stick a lidar unit on there and code it with some 'local knowledge' and the jobs a good un (apart from several months worth of fiddling around the edges - but that's where the fun is).

[Mick F]

We had automatic mowers some years ago.
Note the plural.

We had a small garden when we lived in Scotland last, and then a larger one when we first moved to Cornwall. Both were flat, and were almost fully lawned.

We kept half a dozen guinea pigs!
Great pets when the girls were younger. Had a rabbit or two as well.

Make a nice big pen from 2x1 timber frames, maybe 6ft square, and a couple of feet tall. Make it so it comes apart for stowage.
Put it on the lawn and put your GPs in along with a small hutch for them to run in and out of. They nibble the grass constantly as well as deposit little fertilising pellets. Next day, move the pen along a bit. Believe me, it works and you may never need to cut the grass again!

Mind you, the grass area we have now, we would need a hundred guinea pigs.

[pete75]

Is that for a ride on?

The 1-2K?

My mower new is £1250 and that's a walk behind one (I didn't pay that, it came 'free' with the house).
You can get a cheap ride on for around the same price but when I was looking (whilst pondering buying the house) most reasonably ones were 2-3k.
Beyond that there are a number of esoteric brands that cost big money.

The 'good' automatic mowers are 2-4k but there's no way I'm paying that, I'm not completely convinced they're that good either.
Part of the problem is they're generic but in reality they'd be better specifically programmed for one's garden. I have toyed with the idea of making one as a project.
Superficially a bicycle hub drive might make a good motor unit and the batteries/controllers are easily obtainable. Stick a lidar unit on there and code it with some 'local knowledge' and the jobs a good un (apart from several months worth of fiddling around the edges - but that's where the fun is).

That sounds better than most commercial versions which need a cable laying around the periphery of the area to be mown. If it works well it could be a new business opportunity.