I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most
tools of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming edges,
round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have
one tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional
taming. The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer at
all at the moment.

Any recommendations?

--
Cheers,

John.

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| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote in


I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most
tools of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming
edges, round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have
one tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional
taming. The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer
at all at the moment.

Any recommendations?

I've just bought a JCB-PBC25/F 2-stroke brush cutter / strimmer from Makro
at £75 + VAT

A google throws up stuff like this:
http://www.stocktogo.co.uk/pbc25-25c...ter-p-236.html

Used it yesterday and cut down about 250 sq m of brambles, some of them up
to 20mm in diameter in an hour. I'm frustrated that I finished the job
before the enthusiasm waned - thinking about cutting the flowerbeds and the
wisteria to the ground next.

I haven't used one before so have no basis for comparison but it did what I
wanted and more. Incidentally, as regards length of shaft, I'm around 6'2"
and didn't have a problem - and I know what you mean, sometimes it seems
that the greatest strain is the stooping to operate something that's just
that little bit too short.

--
PeterMcC
If you feel that any of the above is incorrect,
inappropriate or offensive in any way,
please ignore it and accept my apologies.

"John Rumm" wrote in message
news

I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most tools
of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming edges,
round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have one
tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional taming.
The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer at all at
the moment.

Any recommendations?

Not a recommendation but Screwfix do have one on special offer.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/61459/Landscaping/Landscaping-Power-Tools/Brushcutters-Trimmers/Ryobi-Petrol-Brushcutter-30cc-1-04Hp
just in case you have not seen it.

Adam

John Rumm wrote:

Any recommendations?

If you just want cheap crap, I bought a Spear and Jackson from Argos a
30cc brush cutter which has been adequate for garden use. It has a metal
blade as well as a line, cost £64 and it works fairly relentlessly on
long grass, cow parsley and nettles.

Don't expect much from the name, it's just more rebadged Chinese crap,
but as long as you use it for light use it will be fine. On the positive
side it's very comfortable to use, has a long reach and bicycle style
handles which are comfortable for long sessions of use. The tools
provided were good including a 2T mixing bottle of decent quality.

For the farm we use much better quality stuff since sclearing hedges and
banks wil generally involve working for 8-10 hours a day. We tend to use
Stihl brushcutters and split-shaft units for farm work. They cost a lot
more (£400 to £600) and the attachments are each more expensive than a
no-name brushcutter but the engines are more rugged (4-stroke) and the
attachments don't fold up when you snag discarded wire or polypropylene
rope.

If you want a compromise, I've had good experience with Husqvarna at
about £180 for the motor/brushcutter and £60-80 for the accesories. I'd
say these were "good enough" for garden work. I think these are also
sold as "Partner" in some parts of the country, but IIRC both Husqvarna
and Partner are Electrolux brands. Ryobi offer the cheapest recognisable
name split shaft units with attachments priced around £40. I've not used
one, but the attachments sold in the local garden shop look flimsy.


If your use really is light, I'd buy separate cheapskate units. Firstly
they will cost a lot less and having two motors and no split shaft means
that if one fails the other still works and the units are stronger than
cheap split shafts. The lowest price I have seen for long-reach
hedgetrimmers is around £100-140.

If you want a leap into the unknown, there are some "Zomax" brushcutters
with hedgetrimmer attachments for sale on eBay for £100. No idea how
good they are, or even what they are. They have 35cc engines so they
should have decent torque for the price. Ryobi are next on the lsit at
£140 for brushcutter + hedgetrimmer. You can also get a chainsaw pruner
for the Ryobi which may well sway the decision. Although the Ryobi is
sold by Screwfix the attachment prices seem to be about 2x the price
elsewhere.

PeterMcC wrote:

I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most
tools of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming
edges, round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have
one tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional
taming. The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer
at all at the moment.

Any recommendations?

I've just bought a JCB-PBC25/F 2-stroke brush cutter / strimmer from Makro
at £75 + VAT

Yup, saw those there today in fact. Does the literature give any clues
as to spare parts availability?

What about a hedge trimmer?

Used it yesterday and cut down about 250 sq m of brambles, some of them up
to 20mm in diameter in an hour. I'm frustrated that I finished the job
before the enthusiasm waned - thinking about cutting the flowerbeds and the
wisteria to the ground next.

;-)

wanted and more. Incidentally, as regards length of shaft, I'm around 6'2"
and didn't have a problem - and I know what you mean, sometimes it seems
that the greatest strain is the stooping to operate something that's just
that little bit too short.

Yup... even finding a decent length broom handle can be a pain!


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Sun, 25 May 2008 15:11:35 +0100, John Rumm wrote:

I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most
tools of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming edges,
round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have
one tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional
taming. The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer at
all at the moment.

Any recommendations?

I'm looking for similar. I've found a couple of offers (including hedge
trimmers) from a company I've bought from before :-

http://www.gardenlines.co.uk/Default...edge+trim mer

http://www.gardenlines.co.uk/Default...h+Hedge+cutter

I think I might buy one of those - not sure yet. This is not a
recommendation as I don't know how good these products are - still
investigating :-)
--
Regards,

Hugh Jampton

John Rumm wrote in


PeterMcC wrote:


I've just bought a JCB-PBC25/F 2-stroke brush cutter / strimmer from
Makro at £75 + VAT

Yup, saw those there today in fact. Does the literature give any clues
as to spare parts availability?

I looked at the manual, found the URL for spare parts and was going to post
it as a helpful link.

Having visited the URL, I'll post it as an unhelpful link:
http://www.jcb-powerproducts.co.uk/

OK, it does give a phone number and address but I was hoping that it might
have a bit more about availability and prices.

What about a hedge trimmer?

Well, it has a 430mm strimmer head, I know that some strimmers are sold as
hedge trimmers and I can see that this would seem to have that potential
but...

....I haven't used it as such and there's nothing in the literature that
mentions anything other than ground level operation.



--
PeterMcC
If you feel that any of the above is incorrect,
inappropriate or offensive in any way,
please ignore it and accept my apologies.

ARWadworth coughed up some electrons that declared:


"John Rumm" wrote in message
news

I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most tools
of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming edges,
round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have
one tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional
taming. The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer at
all at the moment.

Any recommendations?

Not a recommendation but Screwfix do have one on special offer.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/61459/Landscaping/Landscaping-Power-Tools/Brushcutters-Trimmers/Ryobi-Petrol-Brushcutter-30cc-1-04Hp
just in case you have not seen it.

Adam

I bought the 25cc version of the Ryobi above. It's noisy and a bit
unbalanced to hold, but it was at the cheaper end (79 quid) and it's still
got more guts than an electric. Apart from caveats mentioned, it seems
competent. It was a distress purchase as I was faced with vast amounts of
2' high grass last week.

However, I did go and get the hedge cutter attachment from Bodgeit-Qwik this
week and that seems quite good for lots of light trimming. Biggest stick it
would go through was about 3/8". I would be interested to find out what the
chainsaw/pruner attachment is like...

I have noticed various combo deals on the web.

like this one:

http://www.cheapmowers.com/acatalog/...shcutters.html

and this one

http://www.worldofpower.co.uk/Garden...540/p4262.aspx

I'm sure I saw a combo deal on chainsaw + hedge trimmer for about 70 quid,
but I can't find it just now...

HTH

Tim

PS

Apparently the Ryobi ExpandIt system is compatible with other similar
systems including Flymo's, or so the sign in B&Q claimed...

On Sun, 25 May 2008 18:35:49 +0100, Hugh Jampton wrote:

I think I might buy one of those - not sure yet. This is not a
recommendation as I don't know how good these products are - still
investigating :-)

FWIW (not a lot) I've had a Ryobi strimmer only for several years and it's
OK. Started without too much fuss on the old petrol after being stored
over winter. "Stored" meaning it was just cleaned as normal and put back
in the garage after the last use, probably in October may have been
earlier.

It only has a dual line head and that is it's second. On the orginal the
cup that covers the spool failed around the middle near were the shaft
joins.

--
Cheers
Dave.

John Rumm wrote:

I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a

Long - must reach the ground when I am standing up - something most
tools of this sort seem to fail to do!

Usage will be relatively light - an hour a week perhaps trimming edges,
round and under trees etc.

It would be handy if it could take a hedge trimmer attachment - I have
one tall evergreen hedge about 60' long that could use the occasional
taming. The extra reach would be handy - I don't have a hedge trimmer at
all at the moment.

Any recommendations?

I found a strimmer made a decent hedge trimmer anyway..

They are all much of a muchness really. Try and get one that feels
balanced to your height. They are heavy *******s to use over long periods.