Recommended lawn mower?

Vern1961 · 18 Apr 2017 at 01:32

Our Bosch/Qualcast Rotak gave up the ghost at the weekend so, rather surprisingly, found myself ordering a manual replacement from the Rainforest. I won't post a direct link to avoid upsetting the powers that be, but the model is an Einhell GE-HM 38 S-F.

Reasons for choosing manual?
The lawns aren't that big.
Energy saving.
Should burn a few calories cutting the grass.
Easier to weave around the trees and bushes I've planted out the front.
No lead to cut, or electrocution worries when slightly damp.

Assembly was a doddle apart from the grass basket which required fitting to a frame not covered in the instructions. Got it worked out though and up and running. Very easy to push and has cut as good as if not better than the Rotak on the unfinished section. Fairly solid build and actually appears to be made in Germany (unlike a Bosch fridge-freezer purchased last year which shows being manufactured in Turkey).

DXP55 · 18 Apr 2017 at 13:07

I have a hover flymo and it was a pain picking grass up so bought a Flymo rotary with wheels and collecting basket - The flymo hover is good at grass cutting the wheeled one is totally useless at cutting but on higher setting picks up cutting from hover great -- On low setting wheel one digs in at front and can't push it - it's rubbish.

Werewolf · 18 Apr 2017 at 13:19

We always use a petrol mower (anything with a briggs and stratton engine is easy to maintain), our current one is about 6 years old and the only issue we've had with it was the carburetor gasket needed changing last year (about £3 for the official part).

We also use a scarifier occasionally, which when we did it for the first time this year (after cutting the grass) ended up picking up more than the mower did

I now need to apply moss killer and more grass seed

EddScott · 26 May 2017 at 15:27

Thinking about a manual for my garden - it's not very big.

Or a wheeled electric. Think petrol mower would be OTT.

james.miller · 26 May 2017 at 15:32

I've got a bosch rotak 40 ergo and it's a great electric mower. the grass bucket is a bit of a pain in the arse to empty but it's big enough to to be much of an issue.

bulletv1 · 26 May 2017 at 15:40

I have a Hayter Spirit 41 (Petrol). I love it but kind of wish i'd bought the auto drive instead of the push so i can be lazy.

bremen1874 · 26 May 2017 at 15:54

For that area a Rotak 34 would be plenty. Even the 32 would handle it, but the 34 is the lowest model with the easy height adjustment.

I've been happy with mine and will buy another if/when this one dies.

#Chri5# · 26 May 2017 at 17:09

I grabbed an Aldi special last summer as having gone from a postage stamp sized lawn to one much bigger, needed something bigger and with more power.

They had some in earlier this month but might be harder to track down now

https://www.aldi.co.uk/43cm-1800w-electric-lawnmower/p/094374150976900

Has been great for £80 (with a 3 year warranty)

I believe it's the same mower as the Cobra GTRM43 which is around £140 : http://www.cobragarden.co.uk/GTRM43_Lawnmower.html

Sparx · 26 May 2017 at 21:36

I got this a month or 2 ago, brilliant petrol mower! Only £140 as well.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Lan...d3352/Einhell+GC+PM46+Petrol+Lawnmower/p30543

Rennie Petersen · 20 Aug 2017 at 05:16

I like the Flymo "hover" (they don't really hover) mowers, but I modify them and then pull it instead of pushing it. If anyone is interested in such deviant behavior, here's a blog post describing how I modify these machines:

http://renniestechblog.com/index.php/opinion/23-how-to-customize-a-flymo-electric-lawn-mower

oneilldo · 1 Nov 2017 at 15:51

Do the robotic lawnmowers share the marker cables or are they proprietary?
The reason I ask is my garden is small but I am going to be getting the turf redone soon and considering future proofing my lawn by getting the marker cable put underneath the turf when its redone
I'm not sure if I can justify the current high price for a robotic lawnmower for a small lawn but may in the next year or so.

Thanks

panthro · 2 Nov 2017 at 06:57

I bought the same one from homebase. £80 I think and it seems to work well. My garden is 80m2 and I don't need a petrol mower. Can cut the grass in 10 mins.

Skiddley · 2 Nov 2017 at 08:44

We've got about 600sqm of lawn. Strugged on for a few years with a Bosche Rotak 43 (I think), and now have an Izzy.

The rotak is fine tbh - it was just the cable getting in the way that was the issue with the Rotak, more of an annoyance than anything else.

Blackjack Davy · 18 Jan 2020 at 18:49

If you're talking cheap electric Bosch Rotax are about the best. Slightly more upmarket anything with a Honda engine, aluminium deck should be fine, electric start if you want the convenience and self propelled if you want to take the effort out of it. Depending on your budget of course. Avoid flymo like the plague.

NVP · 18 Jan 2020 at 19:11

My Bosch Rotak started struggling last year and instead of replacing the blades I picked up a decent petrol one (brand is MTD if I remember right)

I can't believe how much more powerful the petrol ones are, the difference is night and day. I'm taking care of this thing, it's gone from taking me an hour to mow the rear garden down to 20 mins.

413x · 19 Jan 2020 at 09:09

Electric mowers . Never for me.
Gf suggested an electric for new house, but I said no. I find the cord a massive pain.

Also, petrol can chew up grass that is a meter tall. So if garden gets wild it's great

Bloodrayne · 21 Jan 2020 at 14:01

Edit - ignore this...

Bloodrayne · 21 Jan 2020 at 14:56

Edit - ignore this too (thread merged)...

Bloodrayne · 21 Jan 2020 at 14:59

Vern1961 said:
Our Bosch/Qualcast Rotak gave up the ghost at the weekend so, rather surprisingly, found myself ordering a manual replacement from the Rainforest. I won't post a direct link to avoid upsetting the powers that be, but the model is an Einhell GE-HM 38 S-F.

Reasons for choosing manual?
The lawns aren't that big.
Energy saving.
Should burn a few calories cutting the grass.
Easier to weave around the trees and bushes I've planted out the front.
No lead to cut, or electrocution worries when slightly damp.

Assembly was a doddle apart from the grass basket which required fitting to a frame not covered in the instructions. Got it worked out though and up and running. Very easy to push and has cut as good as if not better than the Rotak on the unfinished section. Fairly solid build and actually appears to be made in Germany (unlike a Bosch fridge-freezer purchased last year which shows being manufactured in Turkey).

@Vern1961 It's a couple of years later - how did you get on with the manual mower?

I am doing away with my Honda Izy for a variety of reasons (lawn probably isn't big enough for it, more effort to maintain, etc). I have previously had a Rotak 370 battery powered lawnmower that was too weak for anything more than a bit too long (this was a few years back) and went through the two batteries charge really quickly, so I wondered if recent versions had improved? Are GTECH any good?

Alternatively, is there a rule of thumb when it comes to manual mowers? My lawn is not perfectly flat...

Kaka · 21 Jan 2020 at 18:54

Bloodrayne said:
@Vern1961 It's a couple of years later - how did you get on with the manual mower?

I am doing away with my Honda Izy for a variety of reasons (lawn probably isn't big enough for it, more effort to maintain, etc). I have previously had a Rotak 370 battery powered lawnmower that was too weak for anything more than a bit too long (this was a few years back) and went through the two batteries charge really quickly, so I wondered if recent versions had improved? Are GTECH any good?

Alternatively, is there a rule of thumb when it comes to manual mowers? My lawn is not perfectly flat...

How often do you mow and what height do you prefer your lawn at?