With smart feature and sharp looks , is the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn lawn mower the coolest petrol lawn mower on the closure ? We ’ve got the lowdown …
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This is an impressive gas mower that will make idle work of medium to large lawns , specially if they are not millpond bland . The generous 280 millimetre diam bicycle made the Stiga Combi 748 S really easy to manoeuvre over our rather lumpy lawn and , together with the self - propelling system , mop was ( almost ) a pleasure . It also run around some pretty nerveless features and ALL the options when it get to grass discharging . A material gang - pleaser that ’s build up to last .
Self - propelled
Rotating hold
Multiple discharge options
Solidly built
Petrol cost more than gold ( and is not sustainable )
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plant in Sweden in 1934 , the Stiga brand has its UK headquarters in Plymouth , Devon , alongside baby - brand Mountfield . Of the two garden tool specialists , Stiga is considered the high-pitched conclusion , almost professional - grade choice . Mountfield also has a serious report but is toss more towards the cost - witting buyer .
We live on a distant hill in mid Devon , with a garden that stretches around 1,200 sqaure meter in various parts around the sign of the zodiac . It was once nearly an Akka but since we do n’t have sheep , or need to pass our lives mop grass , we sold a plot off . We ’re still go away with quite a craw to manage , especially when the uprise time of year gets exit .
For this review , I tackled as much of the lawn as possible for six week in later June / early July . I may have occasionally succumbed to the drive - on , when prison term was against me , but most Sunday mornings would see me surge up and down the lawn with the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower . Our neighbour were , no doubt , please .
The overall terrain is mainly flat in term of slope ( albeit lumpy ) , with a slope at one end . In the front garden I needed to mow as close as possible to a drystone wall , lift flower layer and a cobbled garden path .
Read all about the highs and lows of my time with the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn lawn mower below , before checking out the rest of ourbest lawn mowerline - up .
Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower product specs:
Unboxing the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower
Arriving in a substantial cardboard box weighing 36.1 kilo , it required two people to carry into the garden for forum . Upon first step , I dug out the Quick Start leaflet for a read and strike Gold – a.k.a . a QR codification linking tothis television pathfinder . I am a ocular prentice , so video instructions are always preferable to manual of arms in my world .
The pasturage box needed barely any attention , just the English clipping to the physical body , which was a relief as construct green goddess boxes more often than not involves fall behind at least one fingernail . Then all I needed to do was nobble the pull corduroy onto the custodian , pop in some oil ( 4 stroke SAE 30 ) and leadless petrol , and it was metre to start her up .
What is the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower like to use?
StartingThe choke is robotlike so there ’s no need to goldbrick with any button or levers , just rip the electric cord and the Stiga Combi 748 S fires into life story . Sometimes I had to pull the cord two or three time but that could be down to my debile arms more than locomotive takings .
CuttingOnce it was go , there really was no blockade this lawn lawn mower , especially in ego - propelling mode , which motors along at a brisk but doable top speed of 3.7 kph . Having test a few mortal - propelled mowers lately , the ego - propelling feature was extremely welcome and genuinely made light piece of work of cutting our 1,200 square metre lawn .
The carving - top adjustment , in six tier ranging from 22mm–80 mm , was likewise easygoing to manage and lifts at all four corners using one lightweight lever tumbler . I tended to stick to a safe mid - height setting , as I ’m not keen on scalped pot and the effect were impressively neat and even .
The 46 cm cutting width is decent enough but could have been wider to make shorter body of work of mowing our bombastic stretch of lawn , which take at least an minute , count on growth . Ideally , you ’d want a 51 cm or wider for large lawn ( or a drive on / automaton ) , as those few excess centimeter can make all the difference over a big country .
One of my favourite features on the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower was the very apt Fulcrum handle , which I have never seen before . Essentially it affect a lift - up catch in the centre of the grip that activate the hold to pervert 25 arcdegree to the left , allowing you to well pout against garden wall and hedgerow .
As we have lots of hedges , wall andraised garden beds , the ability to get slopped against ourlawn edgingwithout receiving a side full of foliage was vivid . I also think the funky handle is a great excogitation feature article ; if lawn lawn mower could be decreed aphrodisiac , then the Stiga Combi 748 S would be a strong contender !
EmptyingThe ability to discharge grass in four different ways is one of the Stiga Combi 748 S ’s most heavily promoted USPs . pick out from collecting in the generous 60 litre grass box , drop off out the side , ormulchingthe pasturage back into the lawn . Stiga has also got ‘ ignore ’ on their list , which presumptively just discharges out of the back using the pin supplied to defy the back flap up , but I am not sure why you ’d do that when you have the other three options to reach .
Side dischargeSide waiver mowing is favoured by those who wish to leave a squeamish long gap between mowing . No Mow May supporters will do well to invest in a mower with side discharge for model . superfluous - tall eatage will fill the grass box too quick and is prone to getting stuck in the sloping trough in any case , whereas a side expelling system gets it off from the sword apace , have you break through on with mowing .
We do n’t forget more than a workweek between cutting during prime mop season so side discharge is less relevant to us . Plus , I hate rake up Mary Jane almost as much as I hate the kids dragging cut grass indoors . Still , I did have a go with the side discharge in place and can reveal it snip on very easily ( no disordered fingernails ) and the Gunter Grass dead fly out the side chute , into nice , peachy , rake - able rows .
MulchingThe mulching plug slot fairly well into the grass parachute under the guard at the back but I did ascertain it slenderly tricky to aline the pins that hold it firmly in status . It took a little practice to get them into the holes .
The mulching , which I did on fairly short grass as advocate , was much more my style and mean I did n’t have a grass box to empty , nor was I wading through piles of slashed grass . The Stiga Combi 748 S lawn lawn mower does an excellent job of cutting and recutting the grass and it basically disappears into the lawn , giving yourlawn carea welcome indispensable hike . Nice .
Cleaning the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower
Now , if you were impressed by the strait of the Fulcrum handle , the Stiga ’s wash link feature is going to blow your mind ! As you ca n’t tip any petrol railway locomotive onto its side ( you ’ll swamp it ) , washing the undercarriage is always tricksy .
Stiga ’s solution is simple but effective and I ca n’t assist wondering why all gasoline mower do n’t have them . backwash connection is a small nose plan to link to yourgarden hose , which once sequester , swills piddle around the undercarriage of the mower , swishing away all the impudently cut grass . I could n’t love it more .
Storage and maintenance
The hold fold up down really neatly by releasing the Fulcrum handgrip and twisting until it sits over the lawn lawn mower locomotive . you may then breathe the grassbox on top with the mulching and side chute at bottom . This is a average sized lawn mower so you ’ll need a reasonable amount of space in your garage or yourshed storageto keep it inside it off - season .
Before put in for the wintertime , the statement manual recommend you should start the locomotive in the loose air and run it idle until it comes to a halt , so that it uses up any fuel left in the carburettor . I ’m flagging this up as it ’s not something I have done , or hear about , but it makes good sense .
I did n’t need to do any maintenance during the test length , but I can reassert that the oil levels are easy to check and the fuel levels promiscuous to see .
How does the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower rate online?
There are not many online client reviews of the Stiga Combi 748 S , at least not in English . Of the few I find , the majority were very complimentary and particularly appreciated the auto choke and self - propelling feature .
ailment were few and mostly roll around the brevity of the print instructions , which , avowedly , are pretty hard to comprehend ( illustrations - knowing ) without the back - up of the on-line videos .
How does the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower compare to other petrol mowers?
The Stiga Combi 748 S price just timid of £ 400 , which is n’t tacky but certainly is n’t expensive sacrifice the firm twist and quality build . A alike example would be theHyundai HYM460SP 4 - in-1 Self - actuate Petrol Lawnmower , which has the same configuration of grass discharging , auto choke and railway locomotive sizing . It has a more or less bigger grass box and fuel tank car electrical capacity , but is only place at 1000sq m lawns and is slightly with child at 39 kg . The Stiga beats the Hyundai on warrant – five years liken to three – and it also has a practiced range of cut summit .
Should you buy the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower?
Yes , if you are looking for a petrol lawn mower with ego - propelling easiness , this is a very , very impressive machine . There are pile of fine gasoline lawn mower out there at around the £ 400 damage point , but , for me , the Fulcrum handle and washing connector widget ensures the Stiga Combi 748 S stands out from the crowd . I be intimate how easy it was to mop against walls and hedgerow just by but rotating the handle a few stage . And plug the garden hose into the cut deck to wash it down is , candidly , wizardry .
I honestly ca n’t think of anything bad or even mildly negative to say about the Stiga Combi 748 S lawn mower , except perhaps that it ’s not battery - powered , which is my favorite fuel method acting because we have solar panel ! If you prefer petrol over thebest cordless lawn mowersthough , get this one on your list .
About this review, and the reviewer
Linda Clayton is a freelance journalist living in the state of nature of mid - Devon with her married man , their two daughter and three dogs . Her fairly declamatory south - front garden is mostly laid to lawn , which gently slopes forth with views towards Dartmoor . The smaller front garden is also mostly lawn – principally because she has n’t quite got the hang of weeding flowerbed without weeding out the bloom !
She tested the Stiga Combi 748 S over several weeks in former summertime , focusing on ease of exercise , emptying and also had her heart peeled for any publication or red flags that potential buyer might find helpful . We are not pay to review this intersection ( nor anyproducts we test ) , but Stiga did append it without charge for examination and are invite to collect it afterwards .
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