Which Flymo

Hi there I need a new mower and only have a small lawn, about 3 metres by 7. A fair amount is covered by a climbing frame, although the grass does grow under that. My question is this, having decided to go for a rotary mower, should I go for a hover, or one with a roller. I do like stripes, but are the wheeled mowers too annoying to manouvre around the climbing frame There are some good flymo offers on at the moment, I am looking at either this

----------------------------------- Ed, Your links didn't work just now. However, I bought a new Flymo Hover type grass cutter about a year ago, and for my way of using it, it was important that the cutting blade was metal. I found that the real cheapy types had a plastic blade - no use in my opinion for dealing with minor (and not so minor) shrubs at the edge of the grass.

Thanks Malcolm

I think google has broken my links, these are the two...

We bought the 350ex as it was a good deal compared to everywhere else. Flymo seem to have a strange range at the mo in that they seem to cater for the very large gardens (and likewise the cost goes up) but the choice for small/medium gardens seems limited.

Not having had a lawn or a lawn mower for a very long time I was surprise to find out that

a: quite a bit of the grass gets left on the lawn (where it had to stay as I don't have a rake) b: what isn't on the lawn or in the mower is actually all over the mower especially where the base curls up and in various nooks and crannies which resulted in a lot of huffing and puffing and mumbling to myself when I found out I had to actually clean it after use!

Wether it's by design or my hoovering style of mowing I don't know.

It was a laugh watching the other half trying to start it this weekend though as she didn't realise you had to pull a lever and press the button. I bet she didn't clean it when she'd finished either.

Thanks!

When you say 'quite a bit of grass is left', is it noticeable? I alredy have a small flymo (with poxy plastic blades that keep breaking), so if this leaves grass on the lawn too there is little point me upgrading

cheers Ed

do yourself and your lawn a favour and buy a cheap qualcast cylinder mower with grass collection. that way, in 4 - 5 years time, there won't be a thick thatch choking the grass whilst providing a perfect living quarters for moss which will choke also out the grass.

might also be the perfect time to get a compost bin for the cuttings ?

RT

If your lawn's good enough to stripe, do that, leaving an area around the bottom of the climbing frame which you finish with shears.

If I were you, I wouldn't go anywhere *near* anything that has "Flymo" and "Turbo" in the description. I had one of these, a "Compact Turbo". It was *absolute penc*.

Trouble is I have a shingle/loose stone path, so the second a cat or fox or even a son kicks a stone onto the lawn and it gets between the blade and the cutting edge the cut is ruined. Must have a rotary I am afraid

of. Seriously, the air was *blue*, every single time I used it. Grass builds up underneath the thing, and further reduces its efficiency. The grass box is small, and despite claims made, needs emptying frequently, *and* you need to lift the flimsy lid up to see what's happening. It's heavy and awkward to manoevre (ISTR there are wheels at the back, it's not a true "hover" mainly 'cos it's so lbeeding heavy. It does not cut grass longer than 1/2" on a dead flat and smooth surface at all well. It's a big heavy lump of awkward plastic. The on/off switch is a complete PITA. The grass box is awkward to put in, it can get stuck at an angle, and the lid won't go down, and you have to fiddle about with the lbooydy stupid thing. It's heavy and awkward to manoevre - did I already mention that? That lbooyd switch, too, did I mention it? Flippin' heck, now I'm feeling *very* thirsty. Try cuting your lawn with nail- scissors, then going over it with a cold domestic iron to get stripes, it'll be *far* less frustrating. Flymo compact, indeed, absolute abstrads. Get a Performance Power Electric Cylinder Mower PWR600CMA from B&Q or a similar offering from anywhere else, these will be far better than the *things* you mention. No, just don't do it. Abstrads, abstrads. Get out the nail scissors and cold flatiron, that's a major step up. Grrrr.

we've got gravel, a cat and a fox and I'm a bit menkal with a strimmer, gravel flies everywhere, but the cutting edge on my cheapo qualcast is still ok after 2 years.

I guess it's because teh cylinder cutting height is set taller than a gravel ?

I really appreciate not having to clean up the grass that my old flymo used to blow all over the place and the lawn, such that it is, is much healthier and nicer to sit on

as always, YMMV

RT

Yep there's enough left on the lawn that makes me want to give it a rake. Just haven't been to B&Q for one yet.

It might just be my luck of the draw though. Naff mower? Funny grass? Not mowing right?

The upside is that it survived mowing a cherry tree root that we didn't know was there.

Hi,

Only buy a hover mower if you actually need one - i.e. if you have slopes. I don't think that you will find any problems with maneuvering a roller rotary.

I occasionally work in a lawnmower repair shop and we think Flymo are c**p. One feature you want is an induction motor and I don't think the particular model has one so I would therefore avoid both machines you are thinking about.

The best machine of that ilk is the Mountfield Princess but that may be a bit too expensive for you (but it will last many many years unlike the Flymo) You can also buy cheaper machines made by an Italian company called Castel under various brands.

I can't advise you strongly enough to go to an independent mower shop (one which repairs as well) and get some good advice. Prices will be competitive and you get the bonus of after sales service and satisfaction of supporting your local business.

Another poster suggests buying a cylinder mower. They certainly make a better job of cutting grass but if you have a gravel driveway or kids then you are guaranteed to get stones or something jammed between the blades and therefore constant repairs and maintenance. The Qualcast cylinder mower is a good enough wee machine.

A roller mower should be OK for moss, hover mowers are the worst because they float over moss instead of cutting it.

Alan.

Oh, God, I am so very sorry. Please accept my condolences, and these six tins (13 1/2% extra free) of Carlsberg Special Brew. If you've a spare rusty shovel you can bite down on, you may find it helps.

Actually thats why we got ours, the back garden slopes upwards and from left to right so all recomendations pointed to a hover mower.

As Chris Bacon says though it can be a bugger to manouver around and I still wonder if I'd've been any worse off buying a "normal" mower.

top prize. good enough for winston churchill, good enough for anyone.

RT

I heard the other day that Tennents are no longer making the brew of choice for tramps, Tennents Super.

What are we to do now? Back to the sherry!

buckfast, obv.

special brew is too expensive for tramps.

RT

How big is the shingle (is it gravel) ? I find that a cylinder mower generally cuts over the top of gravel, unless it's quite big stuff. Put some path edgings in to make it less likely that your path will get on your lawn. Get a second-hand cylinder mower. Get a rotary on wheels, or a nice light hover that isn't an effing great heavy lump of a lbooyd silly thing masquerading as a lawn-mower. Get a scythe and a rake! Get anything else! *You can be saved!*

I'm sorry, but *really*, these things. I've added uk.rec.gardening, who may have some knowledge of the F**** C****** Rotary Mower.

Cheers

It is quite large stones, about the size of 50p pieces. I did post on uk rec gardening but no-one replied :-(

wrote

All the Hover-collect mowers leave a 'snail trail' down one side of the mower. A rotary (wheeled) mower will collect much more of the cuttings

HTH