The message
from "Liz" contains these words:

Last week while strimming, safety conscious as ever, I wore my mask with
smugness, before jostling with the Trophy Mums to pick up my kid from
school. I thought they were giving me an even wider berth than usual, then
realised i was coated neck-to-toe in a fine slug and nettle puree....

LOL. It's surprisingly hard to get off your skin, too :-) The Trophy
Mums (what they?) would have been steering even wider, if you owned a
dog. The addition of high-velocity dogpooh to the fine green puree worn
by strimmer devotees, adds a tang which turns heads. Always keep your
mouth closed while strimming.

I'm currently decorated with indelible black spots up to my elbows,
after painting several square metres of trellis on a rather breezy day.

Janet.

On Sat, 14 Jun 2003 00:17:24 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from "Liz" contains these words:

Last week while strimming, safety conscious as ever, I wore my mask with
smugness, before jostling with the Trophy Mums to pick up my kid from
school. I thought they were giving me an even wider berth than usual, then
realised i was coated neck-to-toe in a fine slug and nettle puree....

LOL. It's surprisingly hard to get off your skin, too :-)

Nude strimming?

--
martin

In message , Chris French and Helen
Johnson writes
Petrol mowers are
[...]
smellier to use,

I rather like that smell

--
dave @ stejonda

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:149459

On Thu, 12 Jun 2003 19:34:18 +0100, "Jolltax"
wrote:

Hello everyone,

I posted on this group a while back, uncertain as to whether I should buy a
petrol strimmer or another electric to replace my recently deceased Flymo.

I just wanted to report that I took the plunge and bought the cheapest
petrol one I could find at B&Q at £80 (a McCulloch).

Tried it for the first time today and blimey! My strimming time has gone
from 45 minutes to about 10! This thing ATE my garden - fantastic. I am
chuffed to bits with it.... No cable (hooray!) PLUS you get the sadistic
thrill of gunning the throttle as you approach a meaty thistle knowing it is
going to DIE.

To anyone else considering spending the the extra 40 quid for a petrol one,
save up for a couple of extra weeks and get one.

Yours chuffedly!

Jolltax


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.483 / Virus Database: 279 - Release Date: 19/05/2003

I've been using this one for a year or so now professionally - great
for doing around trees + up to walls etc. and nice and lite.
No good for sharp lawn edges tho. Only get a really good job with long
handled edging shears.
I'm in ther market for EXTRA long ones ..... Any suggestions as to
good ones + where to obtain etc. ?

I've been using this one for a year or so now professionally - great
for doing around trees + up to walls etc. and nice and lite.
No good for sharp lawn edges tho. Only get a really good job with long
handled edging shears.
I'm in ther market for EXTRA long ones ..... Any suggestions as to
good ones + where to obtain etc. ?


Andy,

I use a pair made by 'Green Gem' which have retracting handles which make them
great for storing after use and which extend to quite some length. They're
pretty cheap, but seem to be of as good/better quality than a lot of others
that seem to be around. I got mine from a local garden centre in Crews Hill
(North London).

Dave.

On 13 Jun 2003 18:51:39 GMT, Rick McGreal wrote:

(Rodger Whitlock) wrote in
:

You, sir, need to turn into a retro-grouch and buy a manual
(push) reel lawn mower...

I'd love one.....!

My brother had one but it was all rusted up....
And would have been more trouble to repair it...

They're very simple machines. The only complicated thing is
figuring out how the drive wheels are affixed to the axles. Be
careful of the little part that makes the motion one-way; that
is, do your work on a hard surface, not on the lawn itself.
What's usually wrong is rust, and what makes them right is emery
paper and oil.

Yours for horto-luddism.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

On Thu, 12 Jun 2003 19:34:18 +0100, Jolltax wrote:

PLUS you get the sadistic thrill of gunning the throttle as you
approach a meaty thistle knowing it is going to DIE.

Takes more than strimming the top off to kill a thistle. Only sure
fire way (short of chemicals) to remove them is to dig 'em up,
carefully. a) so you don't suffer to much from the prickles b) you get
as much of the tap root as possible.

I've just dug up three that had tap roots 1/2" dia that just went down
and down, I suspect they got buried a year or so back when we had some
excavations done, it's taken them a little while to find the surface
again...

--
Cheers
Dave. Remove "spam" for valid email.

Rick McGreal wrote:

Hello Rick

And I had a fit of embarressment when I had no idea where
to get the fuel....
In a petrol station........
RM Oh...Its just normal 4star fuel then?

Absolutely not!

Standard unleaded works on nearly all small engines, but the golden
rule is that all strimmers run on 2/stroke. Neat petrol will kill your
strimmer.

Buy 2-stroke oil (most garages, garden centres, agricultural centres)
and follow the instructions. on the bottle to mix at 25-1 strength.
All this will be covered in the manual, btw.

If you're lucky enough to have a small local attended garage that does
2-stroke (we are, in Chudleigh) then you just walk up, give the guy
your empty can and say "5 litres of 25-1 please" and he mixes it for
you. Remember to shake can thoroughly once mixed.

A one gallon plastic fuel can will last, with light use, most of the
summer btw - small strimmers are incredibly economical now.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

The Cabrio 246 that I bought came with a face mask. It is only a basic
mask - no swivelling for example - but it is still far better than
goggles because a) it doesn't mist up and b) it protects the whole of
your face from flying grass and twigs and macerated slugs and snails.

I use the DeWalt tool 'goggles'. They are like wrap-around sunglasses but
made with impact-resistant plastic. Gives eye protection but without the
steaming problem. As for protecting the rest of my face from gunge, I find
that if I keep my head about 5 foot 8" from the ground and the strimmer
strimming to throw the stuff out away from me, I rarely get hit in the face.
My feet and legs, on the other hand........

- h

On Sat, 14 Jun 2003 08:49:56 +0200, martin wrote:

On Sat, 14 Jun 2003 00:17:24 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from "Liz" contains these words:

Last week while strimming, safety conscious as ever, I wore my mask
with
smugness, before jostling with the Trophy Mums to pick up my kid from
school. I thought they were giving me an even wider berth than usual,
then
realised i was coated neck-to-toe in a fine slug and nettle puree....

LOL. It's surprisingly hard to get off your skin, too :-)

Nude strimming?


If the weather's nice....
Tim.

On Sun, 15 Jun 2003 10:12:58 GMT, Simon Avery
wrote:

Rick McGreal wrote:

Hello Rick

And I had a fit of embarressment when I had no idea where
to get the fuel....
In a petrol station........
RM Oh...Its just normal 4star fuel then?

Absolutely not!

Standard unleaded works on nearly all small engines, but the golden rule
is that all strimmers run on 2/stroke. Neat petrol will kill your
strimmer.

They aren't all 2-stroke, but the vast majority are. The 4-stroke ones are
rare, but I know I've seen some in the shops.

Tim wrote:
And the biggie.....Are they cheaper to run than an electric?

I don't think the relative running costs are really significant.

That was entirely my thought.

One five-litre can of fuel will last you ages. That little fuel tank on the
strimmer lasts me well over an hour at full throttle. It must be around
250ml so that's a good 20 hours of work, or more.
Just make sure you know whether it's a 2-stroke or 4-stroke engine (most
are 4-stroke). In the unlikely event that it's a 2-stroke you'll *have* to
add 2-stroke oil to the fuel (or to a small tank on the mower) or you'll do
it in. The instruction book will tell you. Tim.

Nearly all strimmers are 2-stroke, nearly all mowers are 4-stroke.

--
Chris Green )

On 16 Jun 2003 08:16:22 GMT, wrote:

Tim wrote:
And the biggie.....Are they cheaper to run than an electric?

I don't think the relative running costs are really significant.

That was entirely my thought.

One five-litre can of fuel will last you ages. That little fuel tank on
the strimmer lasts me well over an hour at full throttle. It must be
around 250ml so that's a good 20 hours of work, or more.
Just make sure you know whether it's a 2-stroke or 4-stroke engine (most
are 4-stroke). In the unlikely event that it's a 2-stroke you'll *have*
to add 2-stroke oil to the fuel (or to a small tank on the mower) or
you'll do it in. The instruction book will tell you. Tim.

Nearly all strimmers are 2-stroke, nearly all mowers are 4-stroke.


Yep, I thought I was talking about mowers, but I got tangled up tryiong to
follow the thread.
Sorry if I caused any confusion. I confused myself.
Tim.

In article . network,
Dave Liquorice writes
On Thu, 12 Jun 2003 19:34:18 +0100, Jolltax wrote:

PLUS you get the sadistic thrill of gunning the throttle as you
approach a meaty thistle knowing it is going to DIE.

Takes more than strimming the top off to kill a thistle. Only sure
fire way (short of chemicals) to remove them is to dig 'em up,
carefully. a) so you don't suffer to much from the prickles b) you get
as much of the tap root as possible.

I've just dug up three that had tap roots 1/2" dia that just went down
and down, I suspect they got buried a year or so back when we had some
excavations done, it's taken them a little while to find the surface
again...

Don't you know the old rhyme about getting rid of thistles?:

Cut them in May, they'll grow next day
Cut them in June, they'll grow again soon
Cut in July, they'll surely die
Cut in August, die they must.

But as for docks and burdock, I agree with you.
--
Roy Bailey
West Berkshire.

In article ,
says...

I just wanted to report that I took the plunge and bought the cheapest
petrol one I could find at B&Q at £80 (a McCulloch).

I recently bought the same model - but from Homebase. I also waited for one
of their 10% days so got it slightly cheaper.

This thing ATE my garden - fantastic.

Now go out and buy some extra strimming line as what came with the strimmer
won't last very long at all. :-(

It's easy to do grass edges, btw. Just rotate the whole thing around.

Have fun....and remember those goggles.....

- h


And ear defenders. I just had my hearing tested and I have a permanent problme
in one ear froma torn plastic cover on the ear defender. The man who tested me
told me of a client who had nearly gone completely deaf in one use of a hedge
cutter. Presumably this was the culmination of many years use.
--
Jonathan Ward
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