I agree with the clippings staying on the lawn. Not only does it keep
moisture in, but it helps mulch the lawn and is a whole lot easier than
dragging a full catcher around, both attached to the mower and not.
Four blade mowers seem to deal with thicker grass a lot better for a
given h.p, I have just bought a new side discharge mower(one of those
Yard Boss MTD US built mowers, a good mower) and it has the exact same
engine as my old mower, but half the blades. It bogs down a fair bit
easier in longer or wet grass, and the cut is not as consistent. I
actually like my old mower better, I did modify the deck with a jigsaw
to open up the discharge port a bit though!
As for power, my mowr is a 3.5 hp, and I have about 350 sq m to mow and
a bit of a slope to it. It does just fine if I don't mow it wet or let
it get knee high!
Just my findings...

Regards, Andrew.

len gardener wrote:

g'day han,

it will come down to the torque that one or the other engine may
develop at a certain rev' range, put simply the more torque for less
revs will be the ideal. on your size lawn you may not notice a whole
lot of difference but then if money is no option go for the bigger
horsepower.

for me lawns are resource wastefull, gardens are much more
sustainable, but if one wants a lawn then the best outcome is to leave
the clip on the lawn, makes them more water wise and the need for
fertilisers and chemical treatments is reduced.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/