Electric strimmer

[sweetheart]

On the subject of electric again.

Can anyone recommend a decent electric strimmer for a large garden? It has to be electric because I cant lift a petrol one ( we have a stihl but its too heavy for me).

I was using a flymo , auto feed twin strim electric about six years old but the shaft broke the other week. Before that I had a Black and decker single strim which was a real workhourse . I bought a Bosch which cost me fifty quid or so and is supposed to be a brush cutter and a strimmer but the brush cutter has sheared off . The cord isn't strong enough to go through even my little grassy bits! I haven't tried the strimmer cord yet but I suspect it isn't big enough for the job!

Any good suggestions?

[A.Lee]

The Viking range from Stihl are probably the best electric garden tools around. Anything cheap is going to be useless for thick grass/brambles, so i wouldnt even think of buying anything at less than £100.

I've got one of their electric hedgetrimmers and it is excellent - far better than the petrol Tanaka trimmer I have, though, of course, the electric only has a limited range, so only really useful for home use.

Alan.

[ARWadsworth]

Is it too heavy for your husband?

[sweetheart]

My husband has given up doing the garden. he doesnt like gardening. I bought the stihl for him ( at his request) but he wont go out and do it ( he says the Stihl is broken but wont get it fixed either. I dont think it is broken myself) so I have to do it.

[Roger Mills]

So just what *does* he do - besides moaning about fuel costs?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Listens to "How to play the Lesbian card" a.k.a. "womans hour", on radio

4 obviously.

[Robin]

Are you the same poster who asked recently in another group about ills - you and your husband having made wills which left everything to one another? If so I'm tempted to say you should (i) check the life assurance on your husband, mortgage etc is up to date and then (ii) point out to him the savings if he started gathering wild fungi for his lunch and dinner (and do encourage him to be adventurous).

[The Natural Philosopher]

Sadly its very hard to pick one that is guaranteed to be lethal.

[Lobster]

Electric? you sure...? I'm sure your husband would prefer if you got one of these instead:

Hmm, beginning to wonder if we're being trolled here...

David

[ARWadsworth]

vbg

Or course, but it is fun.

Cheers

[Spamlet]

No it isn't (Well it is for me as I'm not getting about much at the mo, but I used to find Death Caps quite frequenty and after the recent rain I expect they will be about fairly soon if not already: tell him to be careful.)

S

[brass monkey]

Yes, the deeper things get I reckon she/he's having us on. Candles (instead of leccy lights) haven't been mentioned yet, made from next doors sheep.

When I was a kid we used to ....................... and still have change from a farthing.

[Steve Firth]

No such thing exists.

If you want a well made strimmer/brush cutter that will cope with a large garden then I recommend the Ryobi Expand-IT range. It's a 30cc petrol strimmer with interchangeable heads and the advantage of a starter motor to make it very easy to start and stop. It's lighter than the Stihl and of decent quality. I use Stihl and two of the Ryobis on a small farm. My wife, who isn't large or muscular, uses one of the Ryobis and has told me that it doesn't feel heavy because of the well-designed shpoulder strap which has a large, comfortably padded strap with a quick-release mechanism.

The Ryobis can be found for £99 if you shop around or if you keep an eye open for sales on QVC they are sold for around £150 with a range of extra attachments (long reach hedgecutter, pruner, leaf blower etc). There's even a small mower attachment which is useful for maintaining turfed paths in a garden.

This is the model that We use:

I say, shop around for lower prices.

[sweetheart]

No, its not trolling. I suppose you find it funny but I don't. My husband is just one of those people who has given up on life since retiring early ( he is sixty).

Not as he did much before that. I have to admit, at least not for me.

By the way, he has bought me one of those sickle things. I am not good with it.

I am currently working on a) getting him to allow me to have a new carpet in the sitting and dining rooms ( this is a big deal because the sitting room is 20ft x12 ft and the dining room 10ft x 12 ft. and it will cost.

I have only asked for a cheap carpet. The current ones have holes in them and are thread bare. They were in the house when we moved in and are probably over thirty years old but he still thinks they are " alright"

b) getting him to fit a new sink and kitchen work surface ( mine is warped and the sink rusting and the rust is spreading and staining the work top )

But I did get my bathroom and its a lovely white new clean one now ;-) I am still waiting for him to re fit the toilet roll holder and to put up a towel rail and a shelf .

We don't even get so much condensation since I got rid of the shower screen over the bath and put a curtain there ( doubt those things are connected). I cant complain.

[sweetheart]

a) we have no mortgage. I paid it off early.

b) I dont have any life insurance on him either.

Yes I am the one who asked about mirror wills. I have decided not to write one. I have asked why we cant just have ordinary wills instead.

>

[sweetheart]

If ( I wont put it past him!) he gets that far , I will shoot him and shove him down the septic tank. I doubt anyone else would miss him. No I am not trolling. I am telling the truth - something I do not allow those who know us to be aware of.

[sweetheart]

You may think thats quite funny but you have hit the nail on the head. He sits and listens to stupid Radio 4 - womans hour, money box, money box live and all manner of other dismal programmes about people being in debt and the state of the nation and he has decided he have to do everything they say in those programmes.

He is becoming obsessed. he was always a bit difficult about money. What gets me really upset though is when he decides to give money away ( which he does sometimes to his sisters if they plead poverty - yet they are richer than we are) and I cant stop him. But he expects me to save and to make and mend .

But it is Radio 4 that is causing me angst.

[sweetheart]

Thanks, I will look but I do wonder if it might be heavy or difficult for me. But an electric starter might help. One of the things I have difficulty with on the mower I have ( yes I use a mower, not a sit on - hubby wouldn't let me have a sit on!) is that it has a pull start and can be hard sometimes.

[tony sayer]

Sounds like you've got the wrong newsgroup alt.marriage.counselling is thataway >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mind you, has anyone got the "just so" relationship;?..

[Jules Richardson]

I had an elderly weed-eater petrol strimmer and it is/was certainly tiring after a while - now replaced by a more modern "featherlite" model, and the difference really is amazing; I bet it's only half the weight, if that - and certainly no heavier than the electric strimmer that my dad had (which I think was a flymo, but could be wrong).

Some of the modern petrol ones really are extremely light, and I don't think prices are that much different than electric these days - maybe sell your stihl and use the proceeds to get a light petrol one.

cheers

Jules