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Default Petrol strimmer / brush cutter recommendations


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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Default Petrol strimmer / brush cutter recommendations

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.

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"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

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Default Petrol strimmer / brush cutter recommendations

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.


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Default Petrol strimmer / brush cutter recommendations

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!


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John.

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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 :-)
--
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Hugh Jampton
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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.



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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...
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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.



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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.



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ARWadworth wrote:

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.


Yup loads of places seem to have the ryobi... on the plus side the
attachments are readily available and cheap, but most of the reviews I
hjave read don't seem that favourable (flimsy construction, poor warm
starting, lame line feed units etc).

--
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John.

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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 think I went into detail about this last year on another group. I set
up on my own as a gardener/handyman last May and spent a lot on new
gardening equipment.

I went round to a load of different dealers looking at what they had to
offer.For everyday use, almost all recommended buying from the Stihl
range.
So my search narrowed down. Stihl do a 'multi-use' range where you
unplug the strimmer, and turn it into a high hedge cutter etc. They were
quite pricy, but a good quality motor should ensure no problems. Then I
went to try them out. The strimmer was pretty good. the other
attachments were not. It is clear they were not designed for the one
use, so the balance of the unit was completely wrong for a stand alone
trimmer/lopper etc.
I discounted them immediately as too unwieldly.
A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws. I was smitten. They felt good in the hands, and the
dealer recommended them for everyday use - just as reliable as a Stihl
product he reckoned. So I bought the strimmer/brushcutter, and an 18"
hedge cutter (both petrol).
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/su...ters-0000367.a
spx
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html

They do do an extension adaptor to fo fit a long reach hedge trimmer to
the strimmer head.
The strimmer has been perfect. Screw on the strimmer head, or take it
off to fit a steel blade. Dead easy, and it has been perfectly reliable.
The hedge cutter was faulty when I bought it. It went back twice, as it
would only run for 5 minutes, then die. It went back again, had a new
carb fitted, and has been trouble free since.
I would recommend them for everyday use. However for just use at your
own garden it may well be a little OTT, as the combined cost was around
£400. The dealer seemed to think the Ryobi range was perfect for
occasional use, but would quickly wear out when used daily. At half the
price, that is quite understandable. For my own gardens use, maybe 6
times a year, then the Ryobis would be on my list to look at.

I've also got a quality electric hedge trimmer - a Viking HE615. Using
this is a revelation compared to cheap hedge trimmers. It is so
lightweight, balanced and powerful. the downside is the electric cable
dangling from it, which, although I like to think I'm quite capable, and
aware of things, I cut through it once. For garden use, where access to
a long extension lead is available, then I dont think you could get
better than that one.
HTH
Alan.

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John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:

ARWadworth wrote:

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.


Yup loads of places seem to have the ryobi... on the plus side the
attachments are readily available and cheap, but most of the reviews I
hjave read don't seem that favourable (flimsy construction, poor warm
starting, lame line feed units etc).


Warm starting seems fine on the 25cc engine. Line feed is OK. Flimsy -
maybe; I'm having some suspicions about the starting cord ratchet but if
it's dodgey I'll make sure I break it in the warrenty period.

Cheers

Tim
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A.Lee wrote:

I think I went into detail about this last year on another group. I set
up on my own as a gardener/handyman last May and spent a lot on new
gardening equipment.


It being a wet bank holiday I may venture off to the spiritual home for
such occasions (a garden centre!)

A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws. I was smitten. They felt good in the hands, and the
dealer recommended them for everyday use - just as reliable as a Stihl
product he reckoned. So I bought the strimmer/brushcutter, and an 18"
hedge cutter (both petrol).
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/su...ters-0000367.a
spx
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html


Ta, another option.

Just notices that Lawson have some Makita strimmers:

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/...%20Linecutters

I have been quite impressed with their engine on a chainsaw I used, and
the main machine price looks quite competitive. The hedge trimmer
accessory is pricey mind you. Anyone ever seen these in the flesh?


--
Cheers,

John.

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A.Lee wrote:
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 think I went into detail about this last year on another group. I
set up on my own as a gardener/handyman last May and spent a lot on
new gardening equipment.


Do you still do much gardening work Alan?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk




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On 2008-05-26 14:27:45 +0100, John Rumm said:

A.Lee wrote:

I think I went into detail about this last year on another group. I set
up on my own as a gardener/handyman last May and spent a lot on new
gardening equipment.


It being a wet bank holiday I may venture off to the spiritual home for
such occasions (a garden centre!)

A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws. I was smitten. They felt good in the hands, and the
dealer recommended them for everyday use - just as reliable as a Stihl
product he reckoned. So I bought the strimmer/brushcutter, and an 18"
hedge cutter (both petrol).
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/su...ters-0000367.a
spx
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html


Ta, another option.

Just notices that Lawson have some Makita strimmers:

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/...%20Linecutters


I

have been quite impressed with their engine on a chainsaw I used, and
the main machine price looks quite competitive. The hedge trimmer
accessory is pricey mind you. Anyone ever seen these in the flesh?


Which one were you considering?



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Andy Hall wrote:

Just notices that Lawson have some Makita strimmers:

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/...%20Linecutters


I

have been quite impressed with their engine on a chainsaw I used, and
the main machine price looks quite competitive. The hedge trimmer
accessory is pricey mind you. Anyone ever seen these in the flesh?


Which one were you considering?


The 2110 or 2510 look like they would be adequate...



--
Cheers,

John.

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The Medway Handyman wrote:
A.Lee wrote:
I think I went into detail about this last year on another group. I
set up on my own as a gardener/handyman last May and spent a lot on
new gardening equipment.


Do you still do much gardening work Alan?


No.
I went into it without too much thought (hey, I know that now!).
I had intended to do the gardening/patios etc as the full-time job, with
the back up of a handyman type service.
As it turned out, it is near impossible to start up a gradening business
from scratch, as well as paying bills/debts/mortgage.
Firstly, few people want to pay more than £10 a hour. Some will gladly
pay £15, but they are rare.
Then there is the travelling time between jobs. I was finding it hard to
do more than 6 hours works a day - the rest taken up with travelling
etc.
6 hours work at £10/hr would soon bankrupt me.
The final straw came in August when I reluctantly took on an old womans
garden. I didnt know anyone who could be so fussy with their garden.
There were 3 lines of bedding plants, most still in bloom.
I got a 10 minute tirade of abuse about the previous gardeners over the
last 5 years who had the audacity to plant bedding plants in her garden.
It transpired the only things she wanted were grass,roses and privet
hedge.
My first job was to restore the borders, and lay turf. So we agreed I'd
do the front first, and be there at 10am the following week.
I fetched the turf/compost/sand for the front garden, got there at 9:55,
and sat for 5 minutes or so listening to the radio news. My phone went
at 10:01 - "I thought you said you were coming at 10am?"
So I walked in, and she said she'd changed her mind, and wanted the rear
garden doing first. which needed 3 times the amount of turf/sand to make
it good.
I explained to her the problem, and she said just do what you can to the
rear. So I did. She was told that it will take 4 to 6 weeks to root,
then I'll fill in any dips that occur.
She rang me 4 days later, saying the grass wasnt completely flat, would
I come round that day to level it. No. I was coming the next week, so
would do it then.
She than rang me a couple of days later to make sure I had got enough
turf. Yes I had. She rang me again the day I was going. "Are you coming"
I was 3 miles away at this point with 10 yards of turf in my trailer.
I flipped, and told her I wouldnt be coming any more, as I just didnt
want the hassle, and for what I was charging, it barely covered my
costs.
She wasnt at all happy, but I had lost money on that, and got so much
hassle from her, that I just wasnt bothered if she was unhappy. I got 2
more phone calls asking me to go back there and finish it off.

So, after that, I have refused to take on any more gardening work. I
still cut the lawns of 2 people local to me, but otherwise dont do any
gardening now.

As an aside, business has definitely picked up. Dec to March were pretty
awful, just keeping my head above water, but since the beginning of
April I have been doing 6 day weeks, albeit at my ridiculously low
prices, and getting a lot of repeat custom.
I'm not regretting starting up at all, I'm still skint, - any spare cash
I do have goes straight on new tools/equipment, so in future years there
will be less outlay, there'll be more people recommending me, so I
should be able to start paying off my mounting credit card bills!
I've recently finished a Council Grant job , with the Council Officer
very pleased with the work, so I'm to go on their approved Contractors
list when it is next updated, which is another good thing.
Alan.
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The Medway Handyman wrote:
A.Lee wrote:
I think I went into detail about this last year on another group. I
set up on my own as a gardener/handyman last May and spent a lot on
new gardening equipment.


Do you still do much gardening work Alan?


No.
I went into it without too much thought (hey, I know that now!).
I had intended to do the gardening/patios etc as the full-time job, with
the back up of a handyman type service.
As it turned out, it is near impossible to start up a gradening business
from scratch, as well as paying bills/debts/mortgage.
Firstly, few people want to pay more than £10 a hour. Some will gladly
pay £15, but they are rare.
Then there is the travelling time between jobs. I was finding it hard to
do more than 6 hours works a day - the rest taken up with travelling
etc.
6 hours work at £10/hr would soon bankrupt me.
The final straw came in August when I reluctantly took on an old womans
garden. I didnt know anyone who could be so fussy with their garden.
There were 3 lines of bedding plants, most still in bloom.
I got a 10 minute tirade of abuse about the previous gardeners over the
last 5 years who had the audacity to plant bedding plants in her garden.
It transpired the only things she wanted were grass,roses and privet
hedge.
My first job was to restore the borders, and lay turf. So we agreed I'd
do the front first, and be there at 10am the following week.
I fetched the turf/compost/sand for the front garden, got there at 9:55,
and sat for 5 minutes or so listening to the radio news. My phone went
at 10:01 - "I thought you said you were coming at 10am?"
So I walked in, and she said she'd changed her mind, and wanted the rear
garden doing first. which needed 3 times the amount of turf/sand to make
it good.
I explained to her the problem, and she said just do what you can to the
rear. So I did. She was told that it will take 4 to 6 weeks to root,
then I'll fill in any dips that occur.
She rang me 4 days later, saying the grass wasnt completely flat, would
I come round that day to level it. No. I was coming the next week, so
would do it then.
She than rang me a couple of days later to make sure I had got enough
turf. Yes I had. She rang me again the day I was going. "Are you coming"
I was 3 miles away at this point with 10 yards of turf in my trailer.
I flipped, and told her I wouldnt be coming any more, as I just didnt
want the hassle, and for what I was charging, it barely covered my
costs.
She wasnt at all happy, but I had lost money on that, and got so much
hassle from her, that I just wasnt bothered if she was unhappy. I got 2
more phone calls asking me to go back there and finish it off.

So, after that, I have refused to take on any more gardening work. I
still cut the lawns of 2 people local to me, but otherwise dont do any
gardening now.

As an aside, business has definitely picked up. Dec to March were pretty
awful, just keeping my head above water, but since the beginning of
April I have been doing 6 day weeks, albeit at my ridiculously low
prices, and getting a lot of repeat custom.
I'm not regretting starting up at all, I'm still skint, - any spare cash
I do have goes straight on new tools/equipment, so in future years there
will be less outlay, there'll be more people recommending me, so I
should be able to start paying off my mounting credit card bills!
I've recently finished a Council Grant job , with the Council Officer
very pleased with the work, so I'm to go on their approved Contractors
list when it is next updated, which is another good thing.
Alan.

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John Rumm wrote:

Thanks to all those who responded. I got the impression from most of the
comments that the basic models will probably hang together well enough
for my intended use.

I need a petrol strimmer. Basic requirements a


ok, went to have a look at some in the flesh. The models available at
the place I went to were a bunch of fairly high end Stihl models and
Ryobi at the toy end of the market.

I had a chat with the chap behind the counter (who from past experience
seems to know his kit quite well). He seemed to rate the Ryobi as "ok".
He said they sell lots, and don't get many back, and the spares are
available and cheap. He said he has a sold a few to trade customers, who
treat them as disposable, and bin and replace them every couple of years.

While not being a great fan of Ryobi kit in general, the deal on offer
was reasonably compelling, so I thought I may as well give it a go.

So I got of these:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/79750/...re-Brushcutter

Came with the chainsaw pruner attachment as a freebie.

I got the articulated hedge trimmer thing for the end, and managed to
get him to throw in an additional extension bar, and a couple of bottles
of 2 stroke oil as well. Total price £230.

Got as far as assembling, and test strimming a bit of grass before
giving up for some less inclement weather! Seems reasonably solid - just
about long enough on its own (and plenty long enough with the extension
bar in there).

I will do a more detailed review after I have had a chance to use it.

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John.

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On Mon, 26 May 2008 20:46:27 +0100, John Rumm wrote:

So I got of these:


snipped

Ordered exactly the same model this evening - should be here on Wednesday.
Mine comes with the hedge trimmer only.

Will post my opinion of it when I've tested it.
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On 2008-05-26 07:15:46 +0100, (A.Lee) said:

A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws. I was smitten. They felt good in the hands, and the
dealer recommended them for everyday use - just as reliable as a Stihl
product he reckoned. So I bought the strimmer/brushcutter, and an 18"
hedge cutter (both petrol).
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/su...ters-0000367.a
spx
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html

They do do an extension adaptor to fo fit a long reach hedge trimmer to
the strimmer head.
The strimmer has been perfect. Screw on the strimmer head, or take it
off to fit a steel blade. Dead easy, and it has been perfectly reliable.
The hedge cutter was faulty when I bought it. It went back twice, as it
would only run for 5 minutes, then die. It went back again, had a new
carb fitted, and has been trouble free since.
I would recommend them for everyday use. However for just use at your
own garden it may well be a little OTT, as the combined cost was around
£400. The dealer seemed to think the Ryobi range was perfect for
occasional use, but would quickly wear out when used daily. At half the
price, that is quite understandable. For my own gardens use, maybe 6
times a year, then the Ryobis would be on my list to look at.



Which models did you buy, Alan?


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Andy Hall wrote:

On 2008-05-26 07:15:46 +0100, (A.Lee) said:

A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws.


Which models did you buy, Alan?


TBC230 strimer:
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/br...shcutters/show
item-F1-TBC230S.aspx
THT2000 hedgecutter - got the small one as it felt well balanced:
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html

Alan.

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On 2008-05-30 06:46:56 +0100, (A.Lee) said:

Andy Hall wrote:

On 2008-05-26 07:15:46 +0100,
(A.Lee) said:

A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws.


Which models did you buy, Alan?


TBC230 strimer:
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/br...shcutters/show
item-F1-TBC230S.aspx
THT2000 hedgecutter - got the small one as it felt well balanced:
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html

Alan.


I figured that these would probably be the ones, Alan.

I'm looking for a line trimmer/brush cutter and a hedge trimmer -
ideally long reach.

I noticed that Tanaka have a hedge trimmer as an attachment for the
TBC230 model but also a slightly different TBC230SF (Smartfit) with a
range of accessories. Did you look at any of those or was there a
particular reason to choose separate machines?


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Andy Hall wrote:
On 2008-05-30 06:46:56 +0100, (A.Lee) said:

Andy Hall wrote:

On 2008-05-26 07:15:46 +0100,
(A.Lee) said:

A local dealer then showed me the Tanaka range of strimmers/hedge
cutters/chainsaws.

Which models did you buy, Alan?


TBC230 strimer:
http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/br...shcutters/show
item-F1-TBC230S.aspx
THT2000 hedgecutter - got the small one as it felt well balanced:
http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/...OL_HEDGECUTTER
S_1088.html

Alan.


I figured that these would probably be the ones, Alan.

I'm looking for a line trimmer/brush cutter and a hedge trimmer -
ideally long reach.

I noticed that Tanaka have a hedge trimmer as an attachment for the
TBC230 model but also a slightly different TBC230SF (Smartfit) with a
range of accessories. Did you look at any of those or was there a
particular reason to choose separate machines?


I had a stihl combo one once. The diddies nicked it and now I have two
separate ones. Frankly the weight and power for the brush cutter is
overkill to one holding up and cutting hedges with.



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Andy Hall wrote:

I'm looking for a line trimmer/brush cutter and a hedge trimmer -
ideally long reach.

I noticed that Tanaka have a hedge trimmer as an attachment for the
TBC230 model but also a slightly different TBC230SF (Smartfit) with a
range of accessories. Did you look at any of those or was there a
particular reason to choose separate machines?


The hedge trimmer attachment is available separately for the
brushcutter/strimmer - it is the long reach one, not really any good at
anything under 6 feet high. I didnt realise at the time that it was
available, but the dealer said it was a straight fit onto the TBC230,
just one bolt to take off the end mini-gearbox, then the attachment
slides on.
I havent really got any use for it, so have never bothered getting one.
Alan.

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On 2008-05-30 22:48:54 +0100, (A.Lee) said:

Andy Hall wrote:

I'm looking for a line trimmer/brush cutter and a hedge trimmer -
ideally long reach.

I noticed that Tanaka have a hedge trimmer as an attachment for the
TBC230 model but also a slightly different TBC230SF (Smartfit) with a
range of accessories. Did you look at any of those or was there a
particular reason to choose separate machines?


The hedge trimmer attachment is available separately for the
brushcutter/strimmer - it is the long reach one, not really any good at
anything under 6 feet high. I didnt realise at the time that it was
available, but the dealer said it was a straight fit onto the TBC230,
just one bolt to take off the end mini-gearbox, then the attachment
slides on.
I havent really got any use for it, so have never bothered getting one.
Alan.


After some further research yesterday evening, I went on a researching
mission to several machinery suppliers today and looked at Stihl,
Makita and Tanaka..

The Makita range originated as Fuji Robin and seems to have been
popular in the U.S. more than here. FR was acquired by Makita about
a year ago and products have been rebranded..

Tanaka was acquired by Hitachi also about a year ago but the brand has
been retained for the time being at least.

Each supplier had a few entry level products which were distinctly
ropey and flimsy. Most had TTI Ryobi and it was clear that this is
an in-between product, as I expected. The comment was that Ryobi
could be OK for occasional domestic use but not more. There was a
big jump in quality to the Stihl, Tanaka and Makita products and of
course a price difference as well.

The large Stihl machines are clearly pretty good, but I was looking for
smaller products. In these, Stihl didn't seem to be anything like as
good as their larger products, particularly in terms of feel and
balance.

I agree with you, Tanaka products were much better balanced and
clearly of good manufactured quality.

I looked at the Smartfit range, and there are two advantages - the
shaft splits in the middle (makes storage easier) and the tools attach
with a single thumb screw. However, I don't really need either
of these features since I'm not carting it around from site to site and
it's only a couple of minutes to swap tools on the conventional machine.

I tried out the hedge trimmer attachment and came to the conclusion
that it would be good for high and long reach work, but not for closer
and lower. I have quite a lot of that type of work, so it was
clear that a standard hedge cutter would be needed.

So the net result was that I bought the TBC230 and the THT2000.

I'm going to need the long reach trimmer in a couple of weeks so will
order that separately.

Anyway, the results are impressive. I cut one of the low hedges in
about a third of the time as using the previous electric one. The
line trimming work was done in about half the time.

These machines are going to pay for themselves quite quickly. Thank
you for the pointer.






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Andy Hall wrote:

Each supplier had a few entry level products which were distinctly ropey
and flimsy. Most had TTI Ryobi and it was clear that this is an
in-between product, as I expected. The comment was that Ryobi could
be OK for occasional domestic use but not more. There was a big
jump in quality to the Stihl, Tanaka and Makita products and of course a
price difference as well.


By way of follow-up, I have had a bit of a play with the Ryobi now, in
both strimming, and chainsaw/pruning mode.

Starting seems quite straight forward when cold or hot - don't know if
it will get less so with age of course. Throttle response is ok as well
(offering more than just a choice of idle or full revs).

Balance when strimming is ok and the length not as short as the electric
ones. However I would not mind it being tad longer or at lease there
being an ability to change the angle of the head a bit. Most of the
trick seems to be getting the shoulder strap length tuned for most
comfortable operation. I did try strimming with the extension bar in
there, and it is ok for reaching under overhanging trees etc, but not
well balanced enough for extended use like that. The shoulder strap does
a reasonable job of carrying the weight at the balance point. The line
feed mechanism seems to work ok at the moment. Strimming performance at
full revs is quite prodigious - chopped its way through damp grass, cow
parsley, nettles and thistle and brambles with just the line trimmer
head (not tried fitting the steel brush cutting blade yet - and suspect
there is not going to be much if anything I will need it for).

The chainsaw add-on I was expecting to be a bit feeble, but was actually
quite impressive - sliced its way through anything I threw it at without
complaint - the strimmer having plenty of power for the task (which
given its only a 10" bar on a 30cc engine is perhaps not that
surprising). Seemed quite economical with the chain oil, and did not
exhibit the tendency to spew too much of fit all over the place. The
balance with the saw is not as good as the line cutter head, being
slightly end heavy. Working at a reach for higher overhead stuff becomes
a bit tiring after 20 mins or so. (I went round trimming anything dead
looking from about 18 fruit trees - was quick and easy enough, but that
was about as much as I wanted to do in one session).

I might try out the hedge trimmer tomorrow and see that that is like.

General impression of build quality is nothing to write home about, but
should last well enough in a domestic setting. Not sure if it is typical
of all 2 strokes, but it gets through fuel at reasonably swift rate
(probably about 20 mins to a tank full). Running, while not silky smooth
in good enough to not cause any vibration related issues for the operator.



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Andy Hall wrote:


Anyway, the results are impressive. I cut one of the low hedges in
about a third of the time as using the previous electric one. The
line trimming work was done in about half the time.


Be aware that hedge cutting in the nesting season is deprecated, and may
in some cases be illegal.


These machines are going to pay for themselves quite quickly. Thank you
for the pointer.








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John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:

snip
The chainsaw add-on I was expecting to be a bit feeble, but was actually
quite impressive - sliced its way through anything I threw it at without
complaint - the strimmer having plenty of power for the task (which
given its only a 10" bar on a 30cc engine is perhaps not that
surprising). Seemed quite economical with the chain oil, and did not
exhibit the tendency to spew too much of fit all over the place. The
balance with the saw is not as good as the line cutter head, being
slightly end heavy. Working at a reach for higher overhead stuff becomes
a bit tiring after 20 mins or so. (I went round trimming anything dead
looking from about 18 fruit trees - was quick and easy enough, but that
was about as much as I wanted to do in one session).


That's encouraging, I might get one of those. What's the thickest branch you
tried cutting?

I might try out the hedge trimmer tomorrow and see that that is like.


I did some *serious* cutting of a 10' high hedge at my late fathers house
yesterday[1]. Hawthorn, holly, brambles in amongst something quite tough.
It had no trouble - I was quite impressed. Took 1/2 an hour to take the
outside face off 150' run of hedge.

Cheers

Tim

[1] People were whining about getting twigs and brambles in the face, not
unreasonably...
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On 2008-06-01 08:15:10 +0100, The Natural Philosopher said:

Andy Hall wrote:


Anyway, the results are impressive. I cut one of the low hedges in
about a third of the time as using the previous electric one. The
line trimming work was done in about half the time.


Be aware that hedge cutting in the nesting season is deprecated, and
may in some cases be illegal.



Yes I know.


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Tim S wrote:

That's encouraging, I might get one of those. What's the thickest branch you
tried cutting?


about 4 or 5" (It seemed to have no difficulty with that, so I expect
more would be ok)

I might try out the hedge trimmer tomorrow and see that that is like.


I did some *serious* cutting of a 10' high hedge at my late fathers house
yesterday[1]. Hawthorn, holly, brambles in amongst something quite tough.
It had no trouble - I was quite impressed. Took 1/2 an hour to take the
outside face off 150' run of hedge.


I have about 120' of 10' evergreen to have a go at... did not get round
to it today...

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John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:

Tim S wrote:

That's encouraging, I might get one of those. What's the thickest branch
you tried cutting?


about 4 or 5" (It seemed to have no difficulty with that, so I expect
more would be ok)


Thanks John. The hedge is pug ugly but the max trunk thickness is about 2",
so the pruner won't have any trouble. It will be useful having the pruner
on a pole, with the hedge being a fairly nasty blend of prickly things...

I just have to decide if it's worth saving (cut to 3-4 feet high and see if
it can be loved into shape over a couple of years) or whether lop it to the
ground and start again. 5-6" capacity should sort out some of the tree
branches too.

I might try out the hedge trimmer tomorrow and see that that is like.


I did some *serious* cutting of a 10' high hedge at my late fathers house
yesterday[1]. Hawthorn, holly, brambles in amongst something quite tough.
It had no trouble - I was quite impressed. Took 1/2 an hour to take the
outside face off 150' run of hedge.


I have about 120' of 10' evergreen to have a go at... did not get round
to it today...


My first conclusion is that it may not give the same grade of finish
(flatness mostly) that a "normal" trimmer with a decent length bar would
(probably not surprisingly), but I did manage reasonable results on the
climbing dangly stuff along the fence.

BTW, I did notice an ExpandIt extender pole which can add another couple of
feet onto the reach - might save the arms if reaching high will be a
regular occurrence).

http://www.greenfingers.com/supersto...&pf_id=DD4440D

Cheers

Tim

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Tim S wrote:

I just have to decide if it's worth saving (cut to 3-4 feet high and see if
it can be loved into shape over a couple of years) or whether lop it to the
ground and start again. 5-6" capacity should sort out some of the tree
branches too.


The actual bar is 10" - so it would probably cope with close to that
without any exotic cutting techniques.

I might try out the hedge trimmer tomorrow and see that that is like.
I did some *serious* cutting of a 10' high hedge at my late fathers house
yesterday[1]. Hawthorn, holly, brambles in amongst something quite tough.
It had no trouble - I was quite impressed. Took 1/2 an hour to take the
outside face off 150' run of hedge.

I have about 120' of 10' evergreen to have a go at... did not get round
to it today...


My first conclusion is that it may not give the same grade of finish
(flatness mostly) that a "normal" trimmer with a decent length bar would
(probably not surprisingly), but I did manage reasonable results on the
climbing dangly stuff along the fence.


Yup - I expect that may be the case...

(note there are two trimmer add ons - one fixed and one with an
articulated head (chap in the shop said they sell hardly any of the
fixed ones))

BTW, I did notice an ExpandIt extender pole which can add another couple of
feet onto the reach - might save the arms if reaching high will be a
regular occurrence).


Yup, managed to get the shop to give me one of those ;-)

Tried it on the strimmer - handy for getting under overhanging trees -
but a bit front heavy as you would expect. Probably more use on the saw
or trimmer. (although not recommended you can use more than one extender
at a time)


--
Cheers,

John.

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