# Lawn Mower



## firediamonduk (Dec 24, 2013)

So you guys are the best for advice 

Just moved into my first house after living in flats since i left home so never had to deal with a garden before 

Have a decent size garden so need a decent mower. Never been a fan of electric ones but petrol ones are a fair bit more expensive.

I am looking for something that is going to last me a while, not going to cost the earth and something that would be able to cope with long grass as i am a lazy git and would be likely to leave it between cuts 

Any advice or links welcome


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

My advice as a first time garden owner too... Don't leave your lawn too long between cuts, it makes it look crappy as hell! This year I plan to cut every week and hope it helps!


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## jamman (May 6, 2002)

Buy a goat

Will keep the lawn nice and short and when/if you get bored you can eat it


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## firediamonduk (Dec 24, 2013)

jamman said:


> Buy a goat
> 
> Will keep the lawn nice and short and when/if you get bored you can eat it


 :lol: :lol: :lol: If i was going in that direction a cow would be better, more meat + fresh milk


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

If you leave it a long time between cuts then you'll find the grass stays wet, even in summer, which makes it harder for the mower to cut. Electric mowers with smaller motors will struggle with that and they are more likely to burn out before long. Therefore you need to be looking at a mower with a more powerful motor. It will cost you more but that's the price you pay for being a lazy git.
Also trying to cut long damp grass with an underpowered mower will make cuttings collection less efficient and you will be continually having to stop and empty the grass box.
Avoid budget end brands, they are less likely to last long. Black & Decker used to be a reliable mid market brand (had mine for years so I don't know what they're like now).


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

For the lazy, "if I must", gardeners amongst you, I can recommend the flunk.... sorry, Flymo (tapped it out - my phone can't cope swypeing that).

They can cope with long grass as they float on top of it before sinking down when eventually buzzed submissively short. Use an oscillatory pendulum motion swinging it in arcs with arms outstretched - makes for a good workout and helps dodge over the high bits. Always walk backwards in order not to leave footprints.

The basic model has the bonus of not having a box to empty either for even less work. Just leave the clippings evenly spread across the lawn as feed. Nature knows best!

In time you'll feed the grass green and encourage moss which makes for a lovely soft springy underfoot feel.

Be the envy of your neighbors who are out every day spending a fortune sprinkling lawn feed, slug pellets and running spiked rollers only to end up with a hard parched stubble that can cause injury in a fall, saying, "How do you keep your lawn so lovely, green and soft?"

The shrewd know don't we? Less effort the better. You know it makes sense :wink:


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## JorgeTTCQ (May 7, 2002)

Hi,
Have a look at this:

http://www.selandscapeconstruction.co.uk/services/artificial-grass-essex/

The best artificial grass quality in UK.

Cheers


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Honda Izy....job done


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

leopard said:


> Honda Izy....job done


Does that come with Vtec... YO?


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

NickG said:


> leopard said:
> 
> 
> > Honda Izy....job done
> ...


No,just the 'tec'


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## fut1a (Dec 28, 2006)

I have a 29 year old Hayter with an aluminium body so it doesn't rust. It was more expensive when I bought it but it has paid for itself over and over again.

I have had to replace a few parts over the years like a broken cable and a couple of plastic clips. It gets serviced every two years by a company that collects it and then drops it back off. I think the service cost about £40.

My next door neighbour has used it a few times too because he keeps buying cheap ones and then has to replace them and he has only been my neighbour for about eleven years.


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## gcp (Aug 8, 2002)

Izy ok but they rust, be lucky if ours lasts 5 years.


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## firediamonduk (Dec 24, 2013)

Cheers all,

A friend has got an electric one which he is going to give me for some beer tokens for now, then might look into a flymo or something. They seem reasonably cheap and are a well known brand. Will see how the one i am getting gets on and decide if i need a petrol one or not


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## clewb (Aug 8, 2014)

You could apply for this? They want feedback and you get a lawn mower seems ideal. I love the idea of these as well. Fits in with your laziness just let it do it's thing and you can come enjoy the garden when you like. (I used to cut our garden at home on a ride on, three quarters of an acre still took 2+ hours.).http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/ro ... wn-mowers/


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

I got a flymo hover jobbie in my last house which had two fairly sizeable stretches of grass. The hover stuff was good as it was a bit rough. It's cheap and plasticy which means it falls apart fairly easily, but parts are cheap too.

I've had to replace the impeller after hitting a bit of iron, and I've switched to a metal blade instead of the plastic one. That needs replacing after too many stone hits. I've also mowed through the cable, but just fixed that up with a junction box and some electrical tape. And then a few months in the new house being at the back of the garage and being "nudged" by the wife's parking meant a new frame. I think only the motor is original now... 

Hover is a real benefit if you have sloping gardens, which I did. So much easier.

Tip from the people who treat our new lawn is don't cut your lawn too short, it leads to clumping. Ideally keep it regularly cut to about 2 inches.


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## drjam (Apr 7, 2006)

Come on, this is a car forum, you need one of these:


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## A3DFU (May 7, 2002)

John-H said:


> Use an oscillatory pendulum motion swinging it in arcs with arms outstretched - makes for a good workout


And wrecked knees!!

I have a friend who needs knees sorting on a regular basis; I'm sure half of the time because of using a Flymo 

I own/use an electric Bosch mower since over 10 years; not expensive and it does the job very well on my larger than average lawn. It never needed any maintenance or replacement parts in its 10 years of service.

https://www.bosch-garden.com/gb/en/gard ... 199956.jsp

I even used it on my friend's very unkempt lawn recently to great effect :roll:

As others said before: never let your lawn grow too long (even though the Bosch copes admirably) but it's a sure fire way to a bad lawn. Lawns should be cut at least once a week during the grass growing season.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

:lol: :lol: :lol: Took you long enough! :lol:


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## firediamonduk (Dec 24, 2013)

Had my first attack at the grass with a petrol strimmer over the weekend, pretty sure my arms are twice the size they were when i started lol

get the mower off my friend next weekend so that should give the grass a chance to recover from my strimming before i attack it with that as well... 

Def like the idea of a ride on lawn mower but garden isnt really big enough for me to justify it unfortunately :lol:


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Petrol ones are good in combination with a rotary clothes line and a rope


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Petrol with a roller.

What's the point of a lawn if it doesn't have stripes? [smiley=bigcry.gif]


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## bobclive22 (Apr 5, 2010)

Exactly, stripes you want.

I recently bought a cheap mower for my rental property, it had plastic blades can you believe, these lasted 1 mow, I thought of a strimmer, so cut 3 pieces of spring steel wire bent an open loop on one end and clipped them on in place of the plastic blades, took mower on field opposite to my house with long extension and tried mower, ripped through long grass with no effort. These cheap mowers are sold everywhere, even flymo make them. Replacement blades cost about £5 for 10 but can last only minutes, a small stone or piece of wood will destroy them, there are NO wire replacement blades sold on the net, the mowers are not bad it`s the plastic blades that are the problem.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

My cheap Flymo has a metal blade and seems very good at removing stones from the lawn and punching holes in the fence in the same action


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

John-H said:


> My cheap Flymo has a metal blade and seems very good at removing stones from the lawn and punching holes in the fence in the same action


My rotary has done that twice, but through a pane in the conservatory... :roll:


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

My flymo metal blade needs replacing after it had a fight with a rock. Still cuts, but looks pretty mullurd in places.


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