After a good 9 years I have decided on a new lawnmower. You can find out in my test report why I chose FUXTEC and how the new garden tool is doing so far.
It's been almost 9 years since I moved to the country. The house also had a piece of land with a lawn. Buying a lawn mower was one of the first things we did back then. I had researched for a long time and finally decided on a petrol lawn mower with a cutting width of 53 cm. Because on the one hand I wanted to mow as much lawn as possible in as little time as possible and on the other hand I didn't feel like pulling a long cable behind me.
My old lawn mower actually still works. It starts well and does its job. However, it is no longer as good as it was in the first few years. I have often come into contact with field stones or lawn curbs. Therefore, a certain imbalance can always be felt during operation. The engine is now also much louder. Sometimes there is a popping sound, almost constantly a clinking sound. I regularly replaced the air filter, changed the oil, treated it to a new mowing blade and also had the carburetor checked. But it doesn't really run smoothly anymore. Too bad.
Another problem has also arisen: My son, who is 8 years old, is now old enough to mow the lawn and he really enjoys doing it. But whenever the grass catcher needs to be emptied, it kills the engine and the lawnmower then has to be restarted. With my model, this can only be done using the well-known cable pull, which has to be torn. A reliable method, but a difficult task for children (or even some women). That's why I wanted a lawn mower with electric start. Push button, done!
My requirements for the new lawnmower:
- Gasoline engine instead of electric drive with a cable
- The widest possible cutting width, as we have a lot of lawn to mow
- simple e-start instead of conventional cable pull method
- I also always wanted to have a mulch ejector
- if possible, German brand with German support (for spare parts)
Like me onFUXTEC came
During my research I came across the brands Bosch, Einhell and Fuxtec. I actually have a lot of trust in Bosch because I've been using numerous Bosch products in the home and garden for years, but they actually only had electric lawnmowers on offer. Einhell is used a lot by one of my neighbors and I haven't heard anything bad from him about it, but they don't have an electric start mower. And I already knew Fuxtec from my direct neighbour, who bought a Fuxtec lawnmower two years ago.
During my research on the FUXTEC lawnmower website and on Amazon, I found out relatively quickly that Fuxtec met all my requirements for high-performance lawnmowers. The design also appeals to me a lot.
My choice finally fell on the FUXTEC E-Start FX-5196eS for 449 euros in the FUXTEC online shop (more expensive at Amazon!).
UPDATE 2022 : The lawn mower is already available for 319 euros! That's another 130 euros less than I paid in 2022!
Delivery and assembly
Fuxtec's online shop is very clearly structured, which is why the online order went smoothly. I was even a little surprised by the delivery time, since the package arrived on the 2nd day. So there was nothing to complain about here either.
At home, a 90% pre-assembled lawn mower awaited me:
The German-language operating instructions were easy to understand and the few missing screws were fitted within a good 15 minutes. All that was left was oil and petrol in the tanks and then we could start.
The first practical use
Instead of pulling the (also existing) cable, I was able to start my lawn mower with the electric starter for the first time. And it worked perfectly right away! A push on the yellow start button was enough and the 6 hp motor started up with a loud roar at first, only to "catch up" shortly afterwards and bubbling evenly to itself. Comparable to my car. ;- )
I immediately noticed the slightly higher weight of the lawnmower. The new model is now significantly larger and wider so I had to walk fewer lanes of my lawn so I was prepared for that. But that shouldn't pose any problems for anyone, because this lawn mower is self-propelled. A pull on the lever provided is enough and the lawnmower moves quicklyWalking pace all by itself.
Small interim conclusion and cleaning
The first few weeks went very well. The Fuxtec lawn mower starts right away, produces an excellent cutting pattern and is also highly recommended in its overall handling.
I particularly like the option of being able to clean the editing room with the "Easy Clean" function.
Simply connect a garden hose to the water connection provided, turn on the water and clean the interior of the cutting unit with a lot of pressure.
Another plus for me is the huge catch basket! Nothing is more annoying than constantly having to pause because the grass catcher box is full again. The catch basket is specified by Fuxtec as 60 liters and that is a size that you will not find in comparable models so quickly.
I also like that the central part of the basket is made of flexible, foldable fabric. So it can be stowed relatively space-saving. The grass catcher on my old lawn mower was also quite large and unfortunately made entirely of rigid plastic, so it always took up a lot of space.
Conclusion after a good year
My Fuxtec lawn mower is still doing an excellent job. He starts easily. I haven't had to charge the electric starter once. Even the sectional view is still very good after a good 100 hours of operation.
The only thing I noticed was that this lawnmower uses significantly more petrol than my old model. I think this is due to its heavier weight and self propulsion which I always enjoy using.
There are hardly any negatives to complain about so far. Only the design of the outer shell should perhaps be reconsidered by Fuxtec, because no matter how chic it looks, it offers so much space for dirt of all kinds. Clippings and dust like to settle in the many small cracks, grooves and holes.