On 27 Aug 2020 22:41:07 GMT, Tim+ wrote:

snip

2) If B&S go to the wall, how reliable will the supply of spares be?

Spares? Haven’t bought a B&S spare in the last 30 years for mine.

Yup, they can be pretty reliable and you may not need service parts if
you don't use it often / hard enough. Hold a spare for it and the
chances are you will never need it [1]. ;-)

I did
once treat it to a new spark plug but it was probably unnecessary. ;-)

And was a generic part in any case. ;-)

The point is, many people *do* consider things like access to spares
and customer support when buying new (especially) and when spending
any sort of real money.

snip

[1] And who do you think might bail out a company (as a going concern)
making IC engines with the world going electric?

Robotic battery powered mowers seem to be the future.

Electric certainly is and has been the case for domestic garden gear
for a long time now (mowers, hedge trimmers etc). Now many are going
battery-electric as people like to cut the cord (literally and
figuratively g), including professional climbing saws etc.

At the other end of the picture ... a mate gave me a couple of open
frame 3kW 4/ generators (where Honda or Honda clone engines seem to be
the default) because he does a lot of work for schools and they are
cutting down the noise levels that are acceptable during school hours
(so he had the get the quieter 'suitcase' type).

Many traditionally 2/ hand held tools (like strimmers) are going over
the 4/ style [2] engines because of noise and emissions.

Most RC models are electric now days.

Cheers, T i m

[1] I have a spare engine for my CB250 motorcycle for that reason. ;-)

[2] They have valves like a 4/ but use lubrication like a 2/.