Petrol mowers
How much difference do four centimetres of deck make?
Both of these are self-propelled four-stroke mowers with rear-wheel drive, a four-in-one deck and a 60 litre catcher. One is wider, larger in displacement, and publishes a weight and a gearbox maker. The other publishes less and is lighter on the wallet. Neither publishes the figure the category is regulated on.
| Compared on | 55 cm, 5.2 kW | FX-RM5196 |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting width | 55 cm | 51 cm |
| Displacement | 224 cm³ | 196 cm³ |
| Engine output | 5.2 kW / 7 PS at 2 800 rpm | 6 PS |
| Cutting heights | 30–80 mm, 6 steps | 25–75 mm, central adjustment |
| Catcher volume | 60 L, two-layer bag with a level indicator | 60 L |
| Drive | Rear-wheel drive, named gearbox maker | Rear-wheel drive |
| Weight | 35.1 kg | Not published |
| Guaranteed noise | Not published | Not published |
A tick means one listing published something the other did not, or published a better figure. It does not mean the product is better, and the column is not a score out of anything: a maker who says less loses lines here without losing a comparison. The two verdicts below are where the page is settled.
BRAST wins almost every published row, and two of them matter beyond the numbers. A named transmission maker on a self-propelled mower is a repairable gearbox rather than an anonymous one, and 35.1 kg is the figure that tells you what happens when the drive is disengaged and the machine has to be pushed or lifted into a shed.
FUXTEC cuts 5 mm lower — 25 mm against 30 — which is the only row it wins and it is not a trivial one. A mower that cannot go below 30 mm cannot take a lawn down for an autumn cut or a spring scarify, and the lower setting is the one that gets used at the two ends of the season.
Broadly, within the same engine type, and it is not the same claim. One of these publishes both — 224 cm³ and 5.2 kW at a stated 2 800 rpm — and the other publishes a horsepower figure with no displacement-to-power relationship stated. A kilowatt figure at a named speed is the more checkable of the two.
Nothing here explains it, and it is worth stating plainly. A guaranteed sound power level is the declared figure petrol mowers are compared and regulated on, and both of these listings omit it. This site records that as a tie because the silence is a fact about the shelf rather than about either machine.
Yes, for one specific reason: a single-layer fabric bag clogs with dust and clippings until air stops passing through it, and a bag that cannot exhaust air stops filling. A two-layer construction with a level indicator addresses the commonest complaint about collecting mowers, and only one of these publishes it.
55 cm, 224 cm³, 5.2 kW, rear drive, 60 L, 30–80 mm, 35.1 kg
The widest deck and the only published weight in this family: 224 cm³, 55 cm, 35.1 kg, with assembled dimensions and both wheel sizes given.
Best for: A large open lawn where width and engine matter more than the machine being easy to put away
51 cm, 196 cm³, 6 PS, rear drive, 60 L, 25–75 mm
A 196 cm³ rear-wheel-drive machine at 51 cm, with a 60-litre box and a central height range — the most completely specified listing in this family.
Best for: A large lawn where the width is wanted and the specification needs to be readable before buying
The live figure beside a product went and asked the shop for it the moment this page opened; any amount written into the text has not moved since the sentence was drafted, and it is the first of the two that counts.
