New lawnmower problems

Davesnave

You said nothing about the original mower being worn out, so worked on the info given.

I wasn't being sarcastic, just MSE. The problem in a throwaway world is that folks are encouraged not to investigate what's entailed in doing self repairs. I'd be doing you no favours at all if I agreed that a cable repair is beyond your comprehension.That would be sarcastic.I also added a rider above that some things really aren't worth the effort of learning new things where there's a significant element of complexity. I often decide that in relation to faulty equipment, but I investigate the problem first.

By the way, I was also the only person who answered your original question, and pointed you to the relevant legislation.

Silvertabby

roddydogs said:

You bought a new  mower just because you cut the cable?

Next door neighbour cut her cable, but first got a 'fix it' quote from a local lawn mower servicing agent.

Fortunately, she asked Mr S if he thought the quote (£50!) was reasonable before she went ahead with it.

He fixed it for £5, being the cost of a lawn mower cable connector, purchased from the very same servicing agent.

Mind you, he is a retired aircraft leccie - and is the first to say 'if you don't know what you are doing, don't do it'.

Davesnave

Silvertabby said:

Mind you, he is a retired aircraft leccie - and is the first to say 'if you don't know what you are doing, don't do it'.

Well, he'd be right, but in the case of a simple job like that, you'd only not know what you were doing if you'd done no research.

The making of a cup of tea's similar in complexity, and of course that could lead to serious accidental consequences too!

Justagardener

Very disappointed in some of the comments in this thread. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ripply simply asked about their mower and  not posters opinions on whether the mower should have been replaced or not.
Suggesting diy electrical work and putting mse before safety is more foolish than
asking a question. Manners cost nothing. Perhaps some mse posters cant even afford those. And mocking..well?!

Davesnave

Justagardener said:

Very disappointed in some of the comments in this thread. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ripply simply asked about their mower and  not posters opinions on whether the mower should have been replaced or not.
Suggesting diy electrical work and putting mse before safety is more foolish than
asking a question. Manners cost nothing. Perhaps some mse posters cant even afford those. And mocking..well?!

But no one said there was a stupid question.....

Nobody has suggested putting safety before saving money either. The suggestions have been entirely focused on doing research into consumer rights and basic electrics, then making an informed decision.

Finally, mocking? No. It's mocking when people say "Don't worry your little female head about such things. Take it to the repair man. He'll sort it for you." That sort of attitude was prevalent when I was growing up and it angers me, because so many bought into it.

Now the new mantra is: "This is electrical stuff and electrics are hard and very dangerous, but don't worry, we've made everything impossible to service or repair to keep you all wonderfully safe!"

British people are so busy keeping 'safe' now, it's not just the girls who are disadvantaged. Many children grow up unable to make judgements before taking small risks and then learning by experience, but it isn't the same in all countries. I think Norway's a little less dumbed-down.

Rant over. 

mollycat

Logged in specifically to thank above post by @Davesnave.

Agree 100%...well said.

Davesnave

mollycat said:

Logged in specifically to thank above post by @Davesnave.

Agree 100%...well said.

Thank you.

I'm genuinely very worried about the way British society is becoming so risk-averse.  We're told a little knowledge is dangerous, but so is ignorance. It's not the pretty sparks that kill when one slices through a mains cable with a double insulated tool, it's that innocuous piece of cable lying in the wet grass......

In 2014 I faced a similar dilemma to the OP. We were renovating and my office was the first for the chop. I looked on here about moving our BT Master socket and read dire warnings like "You can't; BT have to do it!" and "If you move it and BT find out there will be dire consequences!"

A bit more research showed BT would charge about £150. Hmmm....it didn't look too hard..... It wasn't.

Over the next 3 years that Master socket went walkabout. I had 2 temporary offices, so 3 moves to eventually move to where it is now, or in monetary terms £450 worth of BT 'service' avoided, not to mention the joy of waiting for them to turn up. BT still don't know I did all these illicit things with their socket, nor will they ever guess, but it was no thanks to some people on this site.

Gosh, was that another rant? Where the hell's the blushing smiley? That's another thing they've dumbed-down here. The rot set in when the rolling eyes smiley went missing; apparently it was too easy to offend snowfl people with it.;)

DiggerUK

I like fixing things up, it's money saving and a fabulous excuse to fanny around.  I still have a 1986 blue Black and Decker electric chain saw, I'm always saying "next time it breaks I'm gonna buy a new one" just not yet.

Anyway, for the OP; as you got  it off Amazon send it back. Tell them the problem and tell them about the overheating plug. They should collect yours when replacement is delivered, the 'elf 'n safety worry about the plug should focus their mind.

We had a problem with a dehumidifier when delivered by Amazon and that's what happened..._

01afraser4

Davesnave said:

Justagardener said:

Very disappointed in some of the comments in this thread. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ripply simply asked about their mower and  not posters opinions on whether the mower should have been replaced or not.
Suggesting diy electrical work and putting mse before safety is more foolish than
asking a question. Manners cost nothing. Perhaps some mse posters cant even afford those. And mocking..well?!

But no one said there was a stupid question.....

Nobody has suggested putting safety before saving money either. The suggestions have been entirely focused on doing research into consumer rights and basic electrics, then making an informed decision.

Finally, mocking? No. It's mocking when people say "Don't worry your little female head about such things. Take it to the repair man. He'll sort it for you." That sort of attitude was prevalent when I was growing up and it angers me, because so many bought into it.

Now the new mantra is: "This is electrical stuff and electrics are hard and very dangerous, but don't worry, we've made everything impossible to service or repair to keep you all wonderfully safe!"

British people are so busy keeping 'safe' now, it's not just the girls who are disadvantaged. Many children grow up unable to make judgements before taking small risks and then learning by experience, but it isn't the same in all countries. I think Norway's a little less dumbed-down.

Rant over. 

Personally, I have to agree with Justagardener and I feel that you've come across as rather condescending.

While you've undoubtedly provided some helpful suggestions and feedback, comments like "There are two basic types of people on this Earth and Ripply is one of them." makes your good advice seem patronising.

I'd be quite apprehensive about asking for help and advice again if I was faced with some of these comments.

Davesnave

 f

01afraser4 said:

Davesnave said:

Justagardener said:

Very disappointed in some of the comments in this thread. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ripply simply asked about their mower and  not posters opinions on whether the mower should have been replaced or not.
Suggesting diy electrical work and putting mse before safety is more foolish than
asking a question. Manners cost nothing. Perhaps some mse posters cant even afford those. And mocking..well?!

But no one said there was a stupid question.....

Nobody has suggested putting safety before saving money either. The suggestions have been entirely focused on doing research into consumer rights and basic electrics, then making an informed decision.

Finally, mocking? No. It's mocking when people say "Don't worry your little female head about such things. Take it to the repair man. He'll sort it for you." That sort of attitude was prevalent when I was growing up and it angers me, because so many bought into it.

Now the new mantra is: "This is electrical stuff and electrics are hard and very dangerous, but don't worry, we've made everything impossible to service or repair to keep you all wonderfully safe!"

British people are so busy keeping 'safe' now, it's not just the girls who are disadvantaged. Many children grow up unable to make judgements before taking small risks and then learning by experience, but it isn't the same in all countries. I think Norway's a little less dumbed-down.

Rant over. 

Personally, I have to agree with Justagardener and I feel that you've come across as rather condescending.

While you've undoubtedly provided some helpful suggestions and feedback, comments like "There are two basic types of people on this Earth and Ripply is one of them." makes your good advice seem patronising.

I'd be quite apprehensive about asking for help and advice again if I was faced with some of these comments.

I'm sorry you feel like that. I've come across Ripply before, so I'll admit I was teasing her a little and she took the bait!. She has tackled much harder things in the past; a garden full of old concrete or tarmac being one of them, if I remember correctly.

I apologise to Ripply for not living up to the standards she expects from me and I promise not to tease her again.