I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

Can anyone offer any advice? I've been considering a Flymo Easi Glide 300:

http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/...asi-glide-300/

However that was when I assumed that a hover mower could be used side-to-side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cylinder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.

My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:

http://100.al-ko.com/uk/products/law...m-comfort.html

Given the significantly simpler design/build, yet the same approximate price (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in terms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scoffed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?

Any comments or suggestions?

Mathew

Mathew Newton wrote:

I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Electric-Rotary-Lawnmower-Cutting/dp/B0099LETKS/ref=sr_1_36?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1396420766&sr=1-36&keywords=rotak

I have one similar to this, and have found it efficient and
highly manoeuvrable.

There is a whole range available, but I think this is the
cheapest.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

On 02/04/2014 07:42, Chris J Dixon wrote:
Mathew Newton wrote:

I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and
am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to
buy.

I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a
mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably
be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty
of turning involved!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Electric-Rotary-Lawnmower-Cutting/dp/B0099LETKS/ref=sr_1_36?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1396420766&sr=1-36&keywords=rotak

I have one similar to this, and have found it efficient and highly
manoeuvrable.

There is a whole range available, but I think this is the cheapest.

Chris


I still think a cheap metal blade flymo hover is the best for small
gardens. Do it regularly and you don't have to collect the cuttings. The
big advantage IMO is you can mow when the lawn is wet

Mathew Newton wrote in news:3587bfe4-
:

http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/...asi-glide-300/

I've never understood why people apot the side to side action with a hover
unless you deliberately want some lower back exercise. Walking up and down
- with a swing around at the end of thetrack is easiest. The only time a
bit of swinging is preferred is when the grass is wet and I want to
minimise how much I walk on it.

On Wednesday, April 2, 2014 1:11:03 PM UTC+1, DerbyBorn wrote:
I've never understood why people apot the side to side action with
a hover unless you deliberately want some lower back exercise. Walking
up and down - with a swing around at the end of thetrack is easiest.

My assumption as to why I'd be doing it side-to-side is that with such a small garden I figured I'd be doing more turning than straight mowing! I figured that a side-to-side, or rather more likely some sort of haphazrd approach akin to vacuuming, would likely make the job easier. With a long thin garden I wouldn't think twice about up-and-down being the most sensible option.

On Wednesday, 2 April 2014 09:56:05 UTC+1, stuart noble wrote:

I still think a cheap metal blade flymo hover is the best for small
gardens. Do it regularly and you don't have to collect the cuttings. The
big advantage IMO is you can mow when the lawn is wet

Many hover mowers purport to collect the cuttings however I don't know how well they do in practice, particularly at the cheaper end of the scale.

As you say though if done regularly it shouldn't matter so much, and with all the work I've put into preparing for this lawn I'm going to be keeping it in as good a condition as I can!

On 01/04/2014 21:26, Mathew Newton wrote:
I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

Can anyone offer any advice? I've been considering a Flymo Easi Glide 300:

http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/...asi-glide-300/

However that was when I assumed that a hover mower could be used side-to-side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cylinder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.

My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:

http://100.al-ko.com/uk/products/law...m-comfort.html

Given the significantly simpler design/build, yet the same approximate price (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in terms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scoffed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?




I would never buy another hover .... just find them poor performers.
A small rotary would be the answer ... cheap enough if you just get 4
wheel version (no power roller drive)
Good on all length grass, even if damp.

The cylinder version you show are good as long as you don't mind
pushing, you need to be mowing often as they don't handle long grass
well, and also not good on damp grass.



--
UK SelfBuild: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK_Selfbuild/

On 02/04/2014 10:03, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 1 Apr 2014 13:26:45 -0700 (PDT), Mathew Newton
wrote:

I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

Can anyone offer any advice? I've been considering a Flymo Easi Glide 300:

http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/...asi-glide-300/

However that was when I assumed that a hover mower could be used side-to-side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cylinder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.

My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:

http://100.al-ko.com/uk/products/law...m-comfort.html

Given the significantly simpler design/build, yet the same approximate price (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in terms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scoffed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?

Any comments or suggestions?

Mathew

My elderly mother has three small lawns, but the electric rotary mower
she had was eventually just too heavy for her to manage. Got her one
of these from B&Q (or an earlier version) http://tinyurl.com/pvzma3f.
Very light, can easily be carried about with one hand, does the job
and still going strong after several years regular use (now by me, as
she can no longer do very much at all in the garden). Cheap, too. Only
disadvantage is it's electric, with a traily cable, which I hate!

I have that one, it's not a bad little mower, very light and easily
managed. My only problem was getting the bag put together. Thought I was
being thick but lots of others said the same, however once done it was
obvious!

On Friday, April 4, 2014 9:42:45 AM UTC+1, Mrs Bonk wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/pvzma3f.

I have that one, it's not a bad little mower, very light and easily managed.

I've added it to the list (thanks Rick). I'll have to make my decision soon as Rolawn say that I should be looking to mow the turf within only a few days of have laid it so there'll be no hanging around 'umming and ahing'!

On Friday, April 4, 2014 11:20:39 AM UTC+1, Mathew Newton wrote:

I've added it to the list (thanks Rick).

Oops; I mean Chris. But thanks to Rick also for you input! Indeed thanks for all the comments - they've been most helpful.

On Wednesday, 2 April 2014 20:30:29 UTC+1, Rick Hughes wrote:
On 01/04/2014 21:26, Mathew Newton wrote:

I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.



I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!



Can anyone offer any advice? I've been considering a Flymo Easi Glide 300:



http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/...asi-glide-300/



However that was when I assumed that a hover mower could be used side-to-side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cylinder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.



My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:



http://100.al-ko.com/uk/products/law...m-comfort.html



Given the significantly simpler design/build, yet the same approximate price (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in terms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scoffed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?









I would never buy another hover .... just find them poor performers.

A small rotary would be the answer ... cheap enough if you just get 4

wheel version (no power roller drive)

Good on all length grass, even if damp.



The cylinder version you show are good as long as you don't mind

pushing, you need to be mowing often as they don't handle long grass

well, and also not good on damp grass.







--

UK SelfBuild: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK_Selfbuild/

Presumably the problem with a hover generally is that the downdraft of the air curtain pushes the grass blades away from the cutting blade, thus defeating part of the object of the exercise.

Now a MagLev mower would be excellent...

On Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:30:29 +0100, Rick Hughes
wrote:

On 01/04/2014 21:26, Mathew Newton wrote:
My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:

http://100.al-ko.com/uk/products/law...m-comfort.html

The cylinder version you show are good as long as you don't mind
pushing, you need to be mowing often as they don't handle long grass
well, and also not good on damp grass.

I've got a postage-stamp size lawn and an al-co clone hand cylinder
mower and it's a perfect match when conditions are absolutely right.

But right now the grass is sprouting everywhere but it's been wet and
foggy for days and I just can't get out there with this mower. It's
useless on wet, long grass. Maybe I should get a cheap strimmer to see
me past this "damp patch" for now, but if I were choosing again then
I'd want something I could use in the wet or the dry.

Nick

On Fri, 4 Apr 2014 03:48:50 -0700 (PDT), larkim wrote:

Now a MagLev mower would be excellent...

So passe - antigrav is in.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Tuesday, 1 April 2014 21:26:45 UTC+1, Mathew Newton wrote:
I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.



I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!



Can anyone offer any advice? I've been considering a Flymo Easi Glide 300:



http://www.flymo.com/uk/lawn-mowers/...asi-glide-300/



However that was when I assumed that a hover mower could be used side-to-side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cylinder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.



My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:



http://100.al-ko.com/uk/products/law...m-comfort.html



Given the significantly simpler design/build, yet the same approximate price (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in terms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scoffed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?



Any comments or suggestions?



Mathew

Would recomend a hand mower; I used to use a small Flymo but they do not cut cleanly, forcing flat even slightly damp grass and ripping it up. With such a small garden there is no need for electricity / leads / petrol to complicate things. My hand mower is a Qualcast cheapie but works fine. The one you ref. looks really good. Everyone can enjoy the peace and quiet too.
Peter