New lawn mower advice...

[sovietspybob]

No matter how small the lawn was i'd want something cordless, it's 2018 not the 1970's, tech has moved on sufficiently that battery powered mowers are clearly the better option almost all of the time compared to a wired electric.

I've got a 46cm (18") Cobra petrol mower for the fiddly bits of my lawn, i paid the extra £20 to upgrade to the Briggs & Stratton engine. It seems really nice to use and gives a good cut but i've only had it 2 years so far so can't really say much about longevity but it does appear to be built well as still looks and works as well as it did when new. Think their range starts at about the £160 mark though so may be a bit expensive.

 

[Kaka]

I have a corded Bosch Ergoflex and it's been a very good workhorse and always cuts well. But I think I will go petrol next though as my next replacement.

 

[Oxide™]

I recently bought the WORX WG779E.2 40V Li for £190 for my small lawn

When I first used it my lawn was overgrown and I set it at the lowest height setting - needless to say I had to charge the batteries twice as each charge only did a third of the lawn and it struggled (around 5 baskets full in total)

Since I have been keeping on top of the lawn every 3 weeks it's been a dream - only 1 basket full and around 15 minutes

The key with battery mowers is to keep on top of the lawn at least every 3 weeks else they start to struggle.

Really happy with this mower keeping the above in mind

 

[Daaaavvveee]

I recently bought the WORX WG779E.2 40V Li for £190 for my small lawn

When I first used it my lawn was overgrown and I set it at the lowest height setting - needless to say I had to charge the batteries twice as each charge only did a third of the lawn and it struggled (around 5 baskets full in total)

Since I have been keeping on top of the lawn every 3 weeks it's been a dream - only 1 basket full and around 15 minutes

The key with battery mowers is to keep on top of the lawn at least every 3 weeks else they start to struggle.

Really happy with this mower keeping the above in mind

That's the same as what I was looking at. I already have 4 20v batteries from my Strimmer, Impact Driver and Drill driver.
Garden isn't huge, so would be ideal, I will change when my mower next dies.

 

[Oxide™]

That's the same as what I was looking at. I already have 4 20v batteries from my Strimmer, Impact Driver and Drill driver.
Garden isn't huge, so would be ideal, I will change when my mower next dies.

Nice one - which strimmer do you have and how does it perform? I was considering getting the WORX WG169E.2 strimmer too

 

[Daaaavvveee]

Nice one - which strimmer do you have and how does it perform? I was considering getting the WORX WG169E.2 strimmer too

That's my strimmer Homebase were flogging them for £30 a pop, so gave it a blast and its brilliant.

 

[CrimsonAvenger]

The WORX WG779E.2 looks like a good choice! Amazon out of stock and the DIY place is selling for nearly £250!

 

[Duke]

I bought a Qualcast cordless mower about 3 years ago for ~£175 and its still going well, am very happy with it. If I was buying a replacement the only thing different would be probably going for a Ryobi instead as I've got a couple of their power tools so using the same battery is handy.

 

[AHarvey]

Get yourself a Hayter, king of mowers!

Mine is a larger electric model, inherited from my wife's grandfather 8 years ago, he'd had it 15 years+ Never skipped a beat and has taken some serious use over that time. Solid metal body on mine instead of flimsy plastic but you don't notice any extra weight, and I spent quite a few years mowing lawns as part of my own business in my teen years.

When we moved to a larger property I'll either keep it or invest in a petrol one.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Picked up a WORX WG778E at the end of last season, use this with a cordless Bosch strimmer. Happy with both, not going back to cables, even the fiancee will cut the grass now!

 

[Jez]

Get yourself a Hayter, king of mowers!

Mine is a larger electric model, inherited from my wife's grandfather 8 years ago, he'd had it 15 years+ Never skipped a beat and has taken some serious use over that time. Solid metal body on mine instead of flimsy plastic but you don't notice any extra weight, and I spent quite a few years mowing lawns as part of my own business in my teen years.

When we moved to a larger property I'll either keep it or invest in a petrol one.

Was about to post the same thing, i had a string of mowers before i bought my current Hayter and it is really good.

 

[shadow_boxer]

Had my Bosch Rotak 34 (UK manufactured) mower for 4 years now and still going strong. Changed the blade this year and it still cuts nicely. Was a great buy for £80 think and has served our medium ish sized lawn well. Would love a decent petrol mower but for a relatively small lawn (250 sqm) prob not worth it.

 

[CrimsonAvenger]

Picked up the WORX cordless mower and strimmer twin pack from Argos for £179.99 - used the mower yesterday. Very impressed. Thanks to posters for recommendation (y)

 

[bazzabear]

Any idea if that Rotak is a belt driven machine? Having spoken with my father he has stated that the garden is 60ft. I don't spend much time in it unlike he does

Really sorry, I didn't spot this thread again until now.

I have to admit, I don't know if it's belt driven. It's this one:
https://www.mowermagic.co.uk/acatalog/Bosch-Advanced-Rotak-750-Rotary-Lawnmower-BOAROTAK750__.html

Although I bought it for about 2/3rds the price there from Costco. Possibly a bit big for your needs anyway.

Still very pleased with it, having been using it all this year. Light, picks up very well, and doesn't struggle even with thick bits (where the dogs have piddled and given the grass a boost!)

 

[Kainz]

Thanks all for the replies. I hadn't checked this thread in a few days (forgot!) and in the end my dad and I went for a Bosch Rotak 32R over the Einhell I mentioned earlier. The latter my local Toolstation were being odd about for their delivery dates (citing July!) and I was tiring of looking at mowers in general at the time. Grabbed a 32R for £75 and it did a good job on our lawn on the first cut after some much fiddling around with the cutting height. I just didn't want to spend £150+ on something we'll use a few times a year on a medium sized lawn.

I remember when I was a kid, back in the 80's my dad had some light blue steel/square deck bladed electric mower from Qualcast. That thing was an absolute BEAST and lasted until the mid 90's before it's motor packed up. It had no grass collection but it would chomp through anything and was so robust in construction. They really made superb mowers in the late 70's and 80's. My Flymo experience has hugely disappointed me - I've had lego builds less flimsy than my previous mower.

 

[Kutter]

have a look at Reel mowers, especially the fiskars one if you can get it in the UK.

https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Stay...1528681284&sr=8-2&keywords=fiskars+reel+mower

 

[toprock]

Thanks all for the replies. I hadn't checked this thread in a few days (forgot!) and in the end my dad and I went for a Bosch Rotak 32R over the Einhell I mentioned earlier. The latter my local Toolstation were being odd about for their delivery dates (citing July!) and I was tiring of looking at mowers in general at the time. Grabbed a 32R for £75 and it did a good job on our lawn on the first cut after some much fiddling around with the cutting height. I just didn't want to spend £150+ on something we'll use a few times a year on a medium sized lawn.

I remember when I was a kid, back in the 80's my dad had some light blue steel/square deck bladed electric mower from Qualcast. That thing was an absolute BEAST and lasted until the mid 90's before it's motor packed up. It had no grass collection but it would chomp through anything and was so robust in construction. They really made superb mowers in the late 70's and 80's. My Flymo experience has hugely disappointed me - I've had lego builds less flimsy than my previous mower.

Great choice, I don't even find the wire much faff, just plug into an extension lead and cut from right to left, the wire never gets in the way.

Which setting did you go for? I cut on 4 at the moment, as had no rain all month, so shorter grass will struggle.

 

[Kainz]

Great choice, I don't even find the wire much faff, just plug into an extension lead and cut from right to left, the wire never gets in the way.

Which setting did you go for? I cut on 4 at the moment, as had no rain all month, so shorter grass will struggle.

Ours is on the lowest setting, I think that results in a 2cm cut? I just hope we have no issues with this guy, however build quality is a lot better than the Flymo.

 

[toprock]

You might find 2 too low, for grass health, can cause patches.

 

[Bloodrayne]

Hi all,

I have an aging electric Qualcast lawnmower than has given me good service but is now perhaps ready for retirement, and I wondered if there were any suitable suggestions for replacements?

Having had wired electric mowers for my whole life I recently tried the Bosch Rotak Li-On range - and these were not powerful enough for my needs (it was a 370LI Ergoflex - so not cheap!), even with two batteries it struggled to do front and back lawns in the same day, and for longer grass (first cuts, etc) it noticeably struggled in patches. It also took up more garage space than the Qualcast due to the way it was constructed, although this is a minor niggle...

I've had petrol mowers recommended to me for performance/power, but all seem a bit weighty and I would like something that my partner/child could use as well so that I'm not stuck being the sole lawnmower... So any lightweight petrol recommendations welcome, or alternatively, any superb electric versions!

I am assuming that manual mowers are right out... but really don't know enough on these, is it something that is feasible to have for weekly cuts and then wheeling out something more powerful for cuts when there has been a growing spell?

Ta!