Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

Advice please !
Rob

Rob wrote:
Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Thats a cheap trimmer for you.

They either wont take big stiif, or they jam.

Customers cpmpian, so te tooth size is reduced to make sure they wont
try and cut what they cant.

Get a monster power opne.


Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

Advice please !
Rob

In article ,
Rob writes:
Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

I've got a ~25 year old B&D one, which works well, and doesn't
suffer from the problem you mention.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Rob wrote:

Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

Advice please !
Rob


You gets what you pays for!

I've had a Bosch trimmer for a number of years, and that is quiet and cuts
fine without any fuss. Prior to that I had a B&D machine - which cut ok
until the sliding bits in its gearbox broke up and became deranged - but it
was always pretty noisy, even when new.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On 2008-06-18 12:40:16 +0100, Rob said:

Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

Advice please !
Rob

That's because it's a hedge trimmer (of sorts) and not a hedge cutter.
I have an assortment of hedges of different species and have had a
B&D hedge trimmer for I suppose 10 years or more. It has done the
intended job but suffers from the same problems that you describe. It
was taking me well over an hour to trim one particular section.

I recently bought a Tanaka petrol hedge cutter. It does a proper job
and cuts rather than mangles this particular hedge. Last time it
took me around 15-20 mins to cut neatly the same expanse of hedge.

Therefore it will have paid for itself in a very few months. I am
not expecting to need to buy anything else for many years.

Rob wrote:
Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

Advice please !
Rob

Rob,

I bought one of the Aldi ones a couple of years ago, and it's done all that
I have asked of it with no problems - but I only have a small leylandi hedge
(kept to 4' high) but as tough as old boots to close-crop on the top of it.

Tanner-'op

In message
, Rob
writes
Is there a substantial difference between Aldi/Lidl hedge trimmers and
those made by Bosch and, next up in price-quality I suppose, Viking/
Stihl ?

I have had a Lidl for three years and each year end up doing the job
with hand shears.
It seems powerful enough, the blades are self-sharpening(?), it is not
too heavy but
it just seems to push the leaves and twigs away instead of cutting
them.

Before I invest in a better one I would like to know that it really is
better at cutting.
(I am less concerned about other qualities, like long-lasting.)

Advice please !

We have 100m + of mixed hedging (lonicera nitida, escallonia, berberis,
pyracantha, hawthorn, conifers and around 20 large mature shrubs that
are best kept under control by annual trimming. I started with a B&D
when we moved to the property and fairly quickly realised that it was
not up to the job.

A gardener who looks after some local properties explained that the B&Ds
and Flymos were not really much use for anything more than could be just
as easily cut with decent hand shears and recommended petrol kit from
either Stihl or Husqvarna or if I insisted on electric power, Viking.

I bought a Viking 600 conventional trimmer and it made a vast difference
to the time taken and the effort involved, then 2 years ago I got a
Viking HEL700 long reach trimmer which is a bit heavy to use until you
get used to using the harness strap, but again noticeably much faster
than the conventional trimmer and indispensable for reaching areas that
would otherwise need a ladder. While the Vikings will cut much thicker
growth than the B&D or ordinary hand shears (the 600 more so than the
700) I still think that it is sensible to first walk the line of the
hedges with a good (Bahco in my case) lopper and take out any branches
that look as though they are likely to cause a problem.

The HEL700 is now sold as the Stihl HLE71.

Viking/Stihl kit is relatively expensive but I managed to get a better
price than was available anywhere online by negotiating face to face
with our local Stihl dealer.

--
Robert