Hover mower not cutting cleanly - leaving tufts

[NY]

Our Flymo hover mower has stopped cutting properly. It cuts the grass short (*) but it leaves longer tufts, probably where the grass is growing more densely, instead of cutting it to a uniform length.

This started before we had the blade sharpened last autumn, by which time the cutting edge had become very blunt. So we had it sharpened but this has made no difference. I've checked that the blade has been refitted with "grass side" closest to the grass, and with the cutting edge in the correct direction - ie when the blade rotates, the cutting edge is at the leading edge.

The blade sounds as if it is rotating fast enough, though it's difficult to judge this by sound alone. The blade is fairly flat, though the tips of the blade, where this cutting edges are located, are bent slightly upwards ie further from the grass.

Any suggestions?

(*) For example, after several months of not cutting the lawn over the winter, the grass was fairly long, and the mower took off the majority of this at the first cut.

[Chris Hogg]

I never quite understood the hover mowers, although I've never examined one closely. In a conventional rotary mower with wheels, the blade and tips are angled so that a current of air is drawn upwards and expelled out into a collecting bag. The upward-moving air also helps lift the grass, allowing a better cut. But the opposite must happen with a Flymo. The air must be thrust downwards to create an air cushion. This will inevitably tend to flatten the grass. But I guess they work OK otherwise no one would use them.

I wouldn't worry too much. Most lawns look a bit scruffy after the first Spring cut. A second cut should tidy it up and bring it back to what it was at the end of last Autumn. Failing that, look on the Flymo web site at the FAQ.

There may be an answer there. Have you got the blade set at the right height, for example, after having it sharpened?

[Tricky Dicky]

When we had a hover mower the angled blades bent down to the grass, sounds to me like it is upside down?

Richard

[Chris Hogg]

This video of the Flymo vital parts and it's assembly does indeed show the blades angled down at the tips.

[NY]

Hmmm. It does look as if my blade is angled the opposite way, though it's definitely stamped "grass side" on underside which is closer to the grass. I wonder if it's gradually got bent upwards with use and the shop that sharpened it didn't notice or bend it back the correct way (or say that they can't do this and that it needs replacing).

Would a bent blade cause this symptom? Presumably the grass is cut to the length of the lowest part of the blade, no matter whether this is nearer the hub or the tip.

[michael adams]

At a guess, using a rotary blade at a slow enough speed acros the grass should ensure that it's all cut to the same length. What may be happening is that some clumps are bendng over and being missed by the blade completely. Presumably this can happen if the stem closest the ground isn't strong enough to support the abundant top growth, which is bending away from the mower. Maybe lightly raking or brushing the grass into the intended direction of the mower might help. Then once its all the same length this should no longer present a problem.

michael adams

...

[Tricky Dicky]

On our old hover mower the height of the cut was determined by spacers betw een the blade and the the fan, at its highest setting, no spacers, the blad e was tight against the fan. Rotary mowers like this depend on the peripher al speed of the blade to do the cutting how sharp the blade is of little co nsequence. I sharpened the blade but noted no difference in the quality of cut.

Richard

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

I had a Flymo for years. With the grass side of the blade facing the errr, grass, the tips of the blade were angled up. It worked well until I sharpened the blade with my trusty file and did not balance the blade. Then it started to smoke. The pikey scrap men took it away.

[Tricky Dicky]

Although not the model we owned but the blade was very similar and the blade fitting diagram clearly shows the angled tips angled down towards the grass.

Richard

[Brian Gaff]

I gave up on hovers, and tis was one of the reasons. the height varies with speed, and as grass tufts or is very wet in places the thing used to bottom out with a tendency to tear grass up by the roots or in other places stall completely. I'd have thought they might have found a fix for this by now. Mind you most electric mowers do tend toward this as they do not have enough torque to keep the blade spinning when on wet or tufty grass. I now have to employ somebody to do my lawns, and the always use petrol mowers and strimmers for this very reason. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

The hub is moving slower than the tip though. In the one I had there was a plastic centrifugal fan in the middle and no cutting was supposed to be done t near it. Certainly the ends were always angled down so this cut first. This though seemed to be the reason for it slowing up as per my original message. the grass collector was a joke as well as most of the grass just dropped on the lawn when wet.

I think in this country a floating mower or one with a large hot air dryer on the front is needed. brian

[Muddymike]

Are the air ducts and fan clean and clear of debris? The 4 stroke Flymo I used years ago needed regular cleaning to keep it cutting properly.

Mike

[tabbypurr]

Higher speed or sharper blade would fix it.

NT