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#1
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Power Scythe Advice
Hiya,
I've got just over and acre of rough grassland (mid-Wales hillside stuff) that I've been fighting for a couple or three years. Needless to say I'm not winning! The idea was to cut it a couple of times a year, emulating the management of the surrounding farmland, e.g. the hay is cut and then it's then cropped by cattle. A ride-on mower won't touch it, neither will a honda self-propelled. So I resort to a petrol strimmer. Hell! So........leave it all to die down over winter and then strim it all back. Which is better labour and effort wise but I've defeated my initial intention! Knowledgeable folk (!) say that I should get a power scythe of the Allen type but cost benefit has me head scratching. £700/£800 to use twice a year? Now I've got the chance to lay out about £300 for a 3 year old Alko Farmer 2-stroke powered scythe. Since I know absolutely nothing about such machines or the Alko brand, does anyone have any experience or advice about this type of machine? If you have been, thanks for the help. Regards - Tony |
#2
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Hi Tony
Is that Alko or Atko, if the latter, 'Bloody Good'. I had an Atko Roto Scythe which laid a rough half an acre to grass within a couple of years. Had horses grazing on it :-)) Mike |
#3
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"Mike" wrote in message ... Hi Tony Is that Alko or Atko, if the latter, 'Bloody Good'. I had an Atko Roto Scythe which laid a rough half an acre to grass within a couple of years. Had horses grazing on it :-)) Mike Hi Mike, Not an Atko, which I've heard of. It is I am assured an Alco (www.al-ko.co.uk). Their site lists 2 models neither of which is the Farmer. I also had a look around for a manual on line but no luck. Cheers - Tony |
#4
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"Sumgod" wrote in message news:1115063663.24a03e158efd7e63b1f10b0d24c729e4@1 usenet... Hiya, I've got just over and acre of rough grassland (mid-Wales hillside stuff) that I've been fighting for a couple or three years. Needless to say I'm not winning! The idea was to cut it a couple of times a year, emulating the management of the surrounding farmland, e.g. the hay is cut and then it's then cropped by cattle. A ride-on mower won't touch it, neither will a honda self-propelled. So I resort to a petrol strimmer. Hell! So........leave it all to die down over winter and then strim it all back. Which is better labour and effort wise but I've defeated my initial intention! Knowledgeable folk (!) say that I should get a power scythe of the Allen type but cost benefit has me head scratching. £700/£800 to use twice a year? Now I've got the chance to lay out about £300 for a 3 year old Alko Farmer 2-stroke powered scythe. Since I know absolutely nothing about such machines or the Alko brand, does anyone have any experience or advice about this type of machine? If you have been, thanks for the help. Regards - Tony http://www.mower-magic.co.uk/acatalo...he_Mowers.html Have used smaller Alko tools in the past, and they seem to be no worse/better than anything else in the price bracket. Professional tools will be much better but for once or twice a year, I don't think you could go wrong with this type of machine. I now use an original Allen scythe and its a monster! Get something lighter, easier to turn and less of a beast. Anthony |
#5
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On Mon, 2 May 2005 21:03:19 +0100, "Sumgod"
wrote: Hiya, I've got just over and acre of rough grassland (mid-Wales hillside stuff) that I've been fighting for a couple or three years. Needless to say I'm not winning! The idea was to cut it a couple of times a year, emulating the management of the surrounding farmland, e.g. the hay is cut and then it's then cropped by cattle. A ride-on mower won't touch it, neither will a honda self-propelled. So I resort to a petrol strimmer. Hell! So........leave it all to die down over winter and then strim it all back. Which is better labour and effort wise but I've defeated my initial intention! Knowledgeable folk (!) say that I should get a power scythe of the Allen type but cost benefit has me head scratching. £700/£800 to use twice a year? Now I've got the chance to lay out about £300 for a 3 year old Alko Farmer 2-stroke powered scythe. Since I know absolutely nothing about such machines or the Alko brand, does anyone have any experience or advice about this type of machine? If you have been, thanks for the help. Regards - Tony The old Allen will do the job and you'd probably get one free or dirt cheap - that's because as Anthony has said they are pigs to use and maintain - and no reverse so if you get stuck in a corner facing downhill you've got a struggle to get out. There are professional modern versions at a price, also again at a price are machines like bloomin great strimmers on wheels but I think self propelled models will be outside your budget. ================================================= Rod Weed my email address to reply. http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html |
#6
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Mike, Tony and Rod - thanks for your input.
I was heard about the Alko last evening and so posted my query directly here. This morning I rang my local Husky/Honda dealer who services our mower and strimmer (actually it was the guy who picks 'em up and then services them rather than the dealer, but you get my drift). I asked him about the Alko and his instant response was "rubbish". For very lightweight use only and you can't get parts for 'em. So I pass. And yes Rod, I think it will have to be the real McCoy, i.e. an old Allen. I've been keeping an eye out on e-bay but the folks getting rid seem to be mainly in the south of the UK. Bet an Allen won't fit in VW Passat estate! Any ideas on where else I might look? Regards and thanks for all the info - Tony "Sumgod" wrote in message news:1115063663.24a03e158efd7e63b1f10b0d24c729e4@1 usenet... Hiya, I've got just over and acre of rough grassland (mid-Wales hillside stuff) that I've been fighting for a couple or three years. Needless to say I'm not winning! The idea was to cut it a couple of times a year, emulating the management of the surrounding farmland, e.g. the hay is cut and then it's then cropped by cattle. A ride-on mower won't touch it, neither will a honda self-propelled. So I resort to a petrol strimmer. Hell! So........leave it all to die down over winter and then strim it all back. Which is better labour and effort wise but I've defeated my initial intention! Knowledgeable folk (!) say that I should get a power scythe of the Allen type but cost benefit has me head scratching. £700/£800 to use twice a year? Now I've got the chance to lay out about £300 for a 3 year old Alko Farmer 2-stroke powered scythe. Since I know absolutely nothing about such machines or the Alko brand, does anyone have any experience or advice about this type of machine? If you have been, thanks for the help. Regards - Tony |
#7
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The message 1115143200.2582d24c9ecd3a3b92ffd658f97d47b4@1usen et
from "Sumgod" contains these words: . . . I think it will have to be the real McCoy, i.e. an old Allen. I've been keeping an eye out on e-bay but the folks getting rid seem to be mainly in the south of the UK. Bet an Allen won't fit in VW Passat estate! Any ideas on where else I might look? There's a monthly magazine to be found on the top shelf of your rural Spar called Tractor & Farm Machinery and a couple of others of that kind. Allen scythes appear in the classified ads occasionally. But why are you thinking about cutting an acre of grass? Is that the best use of a resource? I'm in SW Wales and there are many small sheep breeders looking for odd plots of pasture land to keep sheep on. (There's a constant flux of sheep in trailers going from plot to plot). Also horse and pony owners looking for grazing, and perhaps vendors of small-bale hay who might mow your acre if it has easy access. Maybe you just need to put word out in your local pub. Brian Mitchell |
#8
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On Tue, 3 May 2005 23:19:30 +0100, Brian Mitchell wrote:
But why are you thinking about cutting an acre of grass? Is that the best use of a resource? That was going through my mind as well. We have an acre or so, planted 800 odd mixed upland type trees and don't mow it. A great habitat for all manner of insects, birds and mammals in the otherwise bland sheep and rabbit grazed fields. -- Cheers Dave. pam is missing e-mail |
#9
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Rod wrote:
Now I've got the chance to lay out about £300 for a 3 year old Alko Farmer 2-stroke powered scythe. Since I know absolutely nothing about such machines or the Alko brand, does anyone have any experience or advice about this type of machine? If you have been, thanks for the help. Regards - Tony The old Allen will do the job and you'd probably get one free or dirt cheap - that's because as Anthony has said they are pigs to use and maintain - and no reverse so if you get stuck in a corner facing downhill you've got a struggle to get out. There are professional modern versions at a price, also again at a price are machines like bloomin great strimmers on wheels but I think self propelled models will be outside your budget. These machines are much more popular in Germany in particular (maybe generally in Europe) and I bought a secondhand Viking brand one from a supplier in Germany for much less than I could find anything in the UK. The site I found it on was:- http://www.truckscout24.co.uk/ It's brilliant for really rough cutting of brambles, nettles, etc. -- Chris Green |
#10
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Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message 1115143200.2582d24c9ecd3a3b92ffd658f97d47b4@1usen et from "Sumgod" contains these words: And yes Rod, I think it will have to be the real McCoy, i.e. an old Allen. I've been keeping an eye out on e-bay but the folks getting rid seem to be mainly in the south of the UK. Bet an Allen won't fit in VW Passat estate! Any ideas on where else I might look? A couple of years ago I tried very hard to give one away . No takers. We broke it up for scrap:-( To cut an acre twice a year, IME you would do far better to hire a commercial-sized brushcutter, which is used like a big strimmer only with a metal blade instead of strimmer string. No worries about It's *way* harder work with a big strimmer, I have a big McCulloch strimmer/brush-cutter and that's the reason I bought my Viking motor scythe from Germany. It's much, much, much less effort with the motor scythe. maintenance or servicing, and you'll get a better machine than most occasional light users could afford to buy. They're faster than strimmers and the grass falls in swathes, easier to collect and remove. A single day hire should be plenty for that area if you're fit and energetic. -- Chris Green |
#11
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On Tue, 3 May 2005 19:08:40 +0100, "Sumgod"
wrote: And yes Rod, I think it will have to be the real McCoy, i.e. an old Allen. I've been keeping an eye out on e-bay but the folks getting rid seem to be mainly in the south of the UK. Bet an Allen won't fit in VW Passat estate! Any ideas on where else I might look? We cut about an acre of rough grass twice a year with a DR Trimmer/Mower, which I think is absolutely marvellous. It's like a huge strimmer on wheels, and I see from their website that they now do a self-propelled model (ours isn't). We can both use it, even though I have a bad back - it's a bit like pushing a pram. It is incredibly quiet and although it was expensive you can possibly find a second-hand one, or a similar machine but cheaper make. The website is American but you can see a picture on the http://www.drpower.com//navhome.aspx Ours has a Briggs & Stratton engine - probably they all do. Our land is extremely uneven and it copes fine. We think it was well worth the money. I certainly wouldn't use a hand-held strimmer on that size area. -- Sally in Shropshire, UK bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk Reply To address is spam trap |
#12
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Sally Thompson wrote:
On Tue, 3 May 2005 19:08:40 +0100, "Sumgod" wrote: And yes Rod, I think it will have to be the real McCoy, i.e. an old Allen. I've been keeping an eye out on e-bay but the folks getting rid seem to be mainly in the south of the UK. Bet an Allen won't fit in VW Passat estate! Any ideas on where else I might look? We cut about an acre of rough grass twice a year with a DR Trimmer/Mower, which I think is absolutely marvellous. It's like a huge strimmer on wheels, and I see from their website that they now do a self-propelled model (ours isn't). We can both use it, even though I have a bad back - it's a bit like pushing a pram. It is incredibly quiet and although it was expensive you can possibly find a second-hand one, or a similar machine but cheaper make. The website is American but you can see a picture on the http://www.drpower.com//navhome.aspx Ours has a Briggs & Stratton engine - probably they all do. Our land is extremely uneven and it copes fine. We think it was well worth the money. I certainly wouldn't use a hand-held strimmer on that size area. I looked at one of those "strimmer on wheels" but decided that a modern version of an Allen scythe would do better. My Viking "sickle bar" mower has done much of what I expected. It's much less hard work than a big strimmer or brush cutter. It can manage much heavier cutting than even a big strimmer, brambles are no problem. (A brush cutter can do these, but it's hassle converting from strimmer to brush-cutter and back). It's much quieter than a strimmer, has a nice ordinary B&S 4-stroke motor, no 2-stroke oil to mix. I suppose that's not much different from a "strimmer on wheels" but it does have the plus of being able to cope with brambles, small saplings, etc. I find the sickle-bar mower plus a very cheap, light, electric strimmer do all that I need. For topping big areas (we have 7 acres) we have a ride on mower by the way. -- Chris Green |
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