please advise me on type of lawnmower

SailorSam

I looked around a lot and i've just bought this one, it's got plenty of good reviews
http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/garden-power-tools/lawnmowers/electric_rotary_lawnmowers/Mac-Allister-1300W-35cm-Lawnmower-11987501?skuId=12498207

I got it a bit cheaper when B&q had one of their weekend offers

MrsE_2

That's the last one - that lasted a year

missPinky

Hi

I also second the rotary hover lawn mower if the grass is long. Our garden is about similar size to yours and the grass was about 25cm tall and i got this lawn mower:

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-hlm012011-hover-lawnmower-1000w/213-1709.prd

Brill but don't make the same mistake make sure you buy one with a box to collect all the cut grass other than that it is a wonderful mower. Don't have to worry about stripes and its great for exercise as well.

MrsE_2

What would you do with a long skinny garden?

115 foot long, as wide as the house plus 3 foot near the house tapering in to about 14 foot at the end.
A mature willow tree in the middle at the bottom.
West facing.
I have a small & a medium shed near the house & a scabby patio.

Guess what I need is a big shed near the bottom.

I AM NO GARDENER, I want as maintenance free & cheap as possible.
I just bought a mountfield petrol mower, anyway I like grass.

Got fencing to the right looking down & (my neighbours) hedge to the left - in the interests of being neighbourly, I cut my side, but I hate it!!!! I would love a fence there.

There is a path half way down the garden running by the hedge, which is skinny & unuseable because of the thick hedge, but I think that could be better placed.

I would like a large pergola, maybe 50p shaped, butted up against the fence side, as that gets more sun, so large it almost splits the garden, so it could be patio, lawn, pergola, lawn for rougher stuff like washing rota, shed, grandsons trampoline, then willow area at the bottom.

How does that sound?

Any ideas/tips for lawn shape & path direction?
To make it look less like a ribbon!

demystified

MrsE wrote: »

I AM NO GARDENER, I want as maintenance free & cheap as possible.
I just bought a mountfield petrol mower, anyway I like grass.

Ever thought of getting a contractor to cut the grass for you? Should be about £15/hour, once a fortnight would be a minimum during the season. Sounds more like your thing.

surfsister

MrsE wrote: »

I have a long skinny garden, the grass is just shy of 100 foot long & only as wide as the house plus 3 foot to get around the side near the house & its even narrower at the bottom as it tapers.

Lawnmover history - the past 6 years!
Had loads of things to buy when I moved in, bought the cheapest petrol I could find, between £50 & £100.
Lastest a few years, my ex husband was good at that sort of thing.
It broke just after we seperated.

Someone gave me their old electric one, boyfriend was using it & it died (while I was on holiday), so he replaced it with another electric lawnmover, from b&q, about £100.

Boyfriends son was cutting grass at the weekend & it smoked, overheated & is dead. The lawn was very long, he didnt have it on the longest cut & he was doing a full stripe, neighbour says he does a half stripe when its really long.

Im rubbish at tools & stuff, I dont think I could maintain & work a petrol mower.

My budget is £200 MAX. Would love to spend less & happy to fleabay a second hand one ideally.

Is an electric cabled one ok for my lawn or is this why they are breaking? Or was it a cheap one used badly? My lawn isnt smooth & my front is worse.

Would a battery one (the cordless type) suit me better or would they not be able to cope with my garden.

I really dont think I can mix the fuel & start & maintain a petrol one.

Do I have to have petrol for my garden?

This is my 4th mower in 6 years!!!! I want this one to be the right type & last!!!!

hi there in same position as you and I've found a petrol mower is a must anything else won't last long. unless you can get it short maybe pay a gardener just once to get it short.

When mine is long I cut one strip very slowly on highest cut then go back half along that cut strip and half uncut strip so mower is taking less strain, takes ages but gets it short to start with. When mower starts to choke I stop to let it calm down then do a bit more. When it finally stops I give up then do a bit more the next day.

Good luck!!

anotheruser

Sounds like you let the grass get a bit too long.
Anything over about 10cm / 5" is too long. I have a Bosch Rotak which works fine and I expect it to last for years.

> Make sure you clean it after every use.
> Regularly empty the collecting bin. Don't run it until it sounds weird because it's full.
> Fold up the wire nicely to keep it in good shape.
> DON'T run over it with the mower.
> Buy a spare blade now and leave it in the shed for another year. You don't want to be stuck with no blade after they refresh the line.