hedgecutters from electric to petrol
As my 2 year old Stihl/viking hedgetrimmers have succumbed to being
actually asked to do something like cut hedges and been found wanting (they blew up, couldn't take the strain) I need to get something else. I've had two Viking 24" electric ones but the first only lasted 6 years and the latest never felt 'solid' enough to get the job done. The place were I took them to be mended said that a new pair were not going to cost me much more than the repair but I can't see the point in buying new ones if they have been improved enough to be unable to cut 400 foot of hawthorn hedge twice a year. I did look at the long armed ones but the balance is all wrong for me somehow, being only 5'4" I think they were aimed at someone with longer arms! Besides which how would you go along the top? I have to climb a ladder and don the tops (8' high) and the man in the shop couldn't help with that. He seemed to think they were good for the sides and the top only if you could get at the whole of the top from the ground. I picked up a couple of petrol ones but they seem very heavy and expensive! Willing to get some if they do the job but I'm frightened that I wouldn't be able to hold them for long if they vibrate. Not interested in small flimsy lightweight trimmers they just wouldn't do half the hedge as the cut in the early summer produces thickish growth of thorny twigs. Any ideas/expreineces? janet -- Janet Tweedy Dalmatian Telegraph http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk |
hedgecutters from electric to petrol
In message , Janet Tweedy
writes As my 2 year old Stihl/viking hedgetrimmers have succumbed to being actually asked to do something like cut hedges and been found wanting (they blew up, couldn't take the strain) I need to get something else. I've had two Viking 24" electric ones but the first only lasted 6 years and the latest never felt 'solid' enough to get the job done. The place were I took them to be mended said that a new pair were not going to cost me much more than the repair but I can't see the point in buying new ones if they have been improved enough to be unable to cut 400 foot of hawthorn hedge twice a year. I did look at the long armed ones but the balance is all wrong for me somehow, being only 5'4" I think they were aimed at someone with longer arms! Besides which how would you go along the top? I have to climb a ladder and don the tops (8' high) and the man in the shop couldn't help with that. He seemed to think they were good for the sides and the top only if you could get at the whole of the top from the ground. I picked up a couple of petrol ones but they seem very heavy and expensive! Willing to get some if they do the job but I'm frightened that I wouldn't be able to hold them for long if they vibrate. Not interested in small flimsy lightweight trimmers they just wouldn't do half the hedge as the cut in the early summer produces thickish growth of thorny twigs. Any ideas/expreineces? I imagine that as your hawthorn hedgerow is 8' tall it is ~ 3' wide at the top and has many twigs of 0.5" diameter. I would have thought that 400' feet of this would be a very tough job for any electric trimmer - a tractor mounted flail would be ideal ! I cannot speak for the most recent Viking models, mine is of the previous generation and copes excellently with our 300' of mixed hedging and shrubs on a once a year cut (I tend to do one big cut in the autumn so as not to disturb birds in the spring/early summer). I looked at the long reach kit as we have a couple of high hedges but the longest cutter bar I could find was 21" which is a problem if your hedges are over 21" wide at the top. In the absence of a flail I think that you are stuck with petrol trimmer with the inherent 25%+ weight penalty over electric models with a similar length cutter. The 3 professional gardeners who work in our area all use Stihl but the longer cutters are far from cheap. I would ask for a demonstration at the shop - I imagine that they could show you one working (perhaps one that is in for servicing) and let you handle it. -- Robert |
hedgecutters from electric to petrol
Robert wrote:
In the absence of a flail I think that you are stuck with petrol trimmer with the inherent 25%+ weight penalty over electric models Back when I worked on a farm, the laddo there had a set of petrol trimmers where the petrol engine stayed on the ground and a flexible drive operated the cutters. It seemed such an obvious idea that I suppose they no longer exist! |
hedgecutters from electric to petrol
In message , Robert
writes In message , Janet Tweedy writes As my 2 year old Stihl/viking hedgetrimmers have succumbed to being actually asked to do something like cut hedges and been found wanting (they blew up, couldn't take the strain) I need to get something else. I've had two Viking 24" electric ones but the first only lasted 6 years and the latest never felt 'solid' enough to get the job done. The place were I took them to be mended said that a new pair were not going to cost me much more than the repair but I can't see the point in buying new ones if they have been improved enough to be unable to cut 400 foot of hawthorn hedge twice a year. I did look at the long armed ones but the balance is all wrong for me somehow, being only 5'4" I think they were aimed at someone with longer arms! Besides which how would you go along the top? I have to climb a ladder and don the tops (8' high) and the man in the shop couldn't help with that. He seemed to think they were good for the sides and the top only if you could get at the whole of the top from the ground. I picked up a couple of petrol ones but they seem very heavy and expensive! Willing to get some if they do the job but I'm frightened that I wouldn't be able to hold them for long if they vibrate. Not interested in small flimsy lightweight trimmers they just wouldn't do half the hedge as the cut in the early summer produces thickish growth of thorny twigs. Any ideas/expreineces? Another thought - why not hire a petrol trimmer for a day - all reasonable equipment hire companies seem to stock them. -- Robert |
hedgecutters from electric to petrol
In article , Robert
writes Another thought - why not hire a petrol trimmer for a day - all reasonable equipment hire companies seem to stock them. Good idea, actually that's exactly what I've decided to do:) Janet -- Janet Tweedy Dalmatian Telegraph http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk |
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