I was just watching the telly, and saw that Argos have 1/3 off lawnmowers.
I'm on the lookout for a mower and appreciate your advice.
I am leaning towards getting a 'hover collect mower' as the little Argos
advice box says that these are ideal for uneven lawns.
My lawn is 17m by 8m approx. (I'll measure it properly tomorrow)
How difficult is it to get those 'Wimbledon stripes' on your lawn?
Ideally I'd like a cheap quality lawnmower that's right for me lawn!

Thank you

cheers for that charlie, are rotary mowers good at mowing right up to the
footpath?
and do they need any special care?


It looks like you're after the same thing I wanted last year. I wanted
stripes and almost bought a cylinder mower but I'm glad I didn't
rotary with roller on the back is definitely the way to go.

I bought a second hand Honda and it does the job just fine. They will
normally have wheels at all the corners so if you want to go right up
to a wall then you might need to get a strimmer as well. Apart from
that, I run off the grass on to the path and haven't had any problems.

I check the oil every month or so and have sharpened the blades once.
Apart from that give it a good clean before you put it away for
winter.

HTH,
Crom

cheers for that charlie, are rotary mowers good at mowing right up to the
footpath?
and do they need any special care?


It looks like you're after the same thing I wanted last year. I wanted
stripes and almost bought a cylinder mower but I'm glad I didn't
rotary with roller on the back is definitely the way to go.

I bought a second hand Honda and it does the job just fine. They will
normally have wheels at all the corners so if you want to go right up
to a wall then you might need to get a strimmer as well. Apart from
that, I run off the grass on to the path and haven't had any problems.

I check the oil every month or so and have sharpened the blades once.
Apart from that give it a good clean before you put it away for
winter.

HTH,
Crom

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...

"homer" wrote in message
...
I was just watching the telly, and saw that Argos have 1/3 off
lawnmowers.
I'm on the lookout for a mower and appreciate your advice.
I am leaning towards getting a 'hover collect mower' as the little Argos
advice box says that these are ideal for uneven lawns.
My lawn is 17m by 8m approx. (I'll measure it properly tomorrow)
How difficult is it to get those 'Wimbledon stripes' on your lawn?
The stripes are put down by the roller - you could buy a mower with a rear
roller (eg a Mountfield) or buy a separate roller and get a bit more
exercise! But in reality a rotary set reasonably low will push the grass in
the direction you are walking, leaving a stripey lawn for a day or two.
We bought a self-powered rotary in the Focus end-of-season sale for £119.00
It's plenty good enough for the 1/2 acre we've got as lawn, leaves a stripe
despite not having a roller, and always starts first pull!
(And, yes, it's me wot uses it while his lordship does all the "technical"
stuff that requires his superior intelligence...)

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...

"homer" wrote in message
...
I was just watching the telly, and saw that Argos have 1/3 off
lawnmowers.
I'm on the lookout for a mower and appreciate your advice.
I am leaning towards getting a 'hover collect mower' as the little Argos
advice box says that these are ideal for uneven lawns.
My lawn is 17m by 8m approx. (I'll measure it properly tomorrow)
How difficult is it to get those 'Wimbledon stripes' on your lawn?
The stripes are put down by the roller - you could buy a mower with a rear
roller (eg a Mountfield) or buy a separate roller and get a bit more
exercise! But in reality a rotary set reasonably low will push the grass in
the direction you are walking, leaving a stripey lawn for a day or two.
We bought a self-powered rotary in the Focus end-of-season sale for £119.00
It's plenty good enough for the 1/2 acre we've got as lawn, leaves a stripe
despite not having a roller, and always starts first pull!
(And, yes, it's me wot uses it while his lordship does all the "technical"
stuff that requires his superior intelligence...)

"homer" wrote in message
...

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...

"homer" wrote in message
...

You wont get stripes with a hover, you need something with a rear
roller,
usually a cylinder mower but some rotaries have them too. rotary mowers
are
also good on uneven ground (although no mower likes too many humps and
bumps) My advice buy a cheapish rotary and forget the stripes! :~)
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)


cheers for that charlie, are rotary mowers good at mowing right up to the
footpath?
and do they need any special care?

Rotaries need less adjustments than cylinder mowers (I do nothing to mine
from one year to the next!) if you look, some rotary designs have the wheels
on one side offset to allow the blades to cut over edges, rear rollers have
much the same effect.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

"homer" wrote in message
...

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...

"homer" wrote in message
...

You wont get stripes with a hover, you need something with a rear
roller,
usually a cylinder mower but some rotaries have them too. rotary mowers
are
also good on uneven ground (although no mower likes too many humps and
bumps) My advice buy a cheapish rotary and forget the stripes! :~)
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)


cheers for that charlie, are rotary mowers good at mowing right up to the
footpath?
and do they need any special care?

Rotaries need less adjustments than cylinder mowers (I do nothing to mine
from one year to the next!) if you look, some rotary designs have the wheels
on one side offset to allow the blades to cut over edges, rear rollers have
much the same effect.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

homer wrote:
I was just watching the telly, and saw that Argos have 1/3 off lawnmowers.
I'm on the lookout for a mower and appreciate your advice.
I am leaning towards getting a 'hover collect mower' as the little Argos
advice box says that these are ideal for uneven lawns.

Hover mowers are not as good as they are made out to be, as I found out. You
won't get strips, and I found that they weren't that great with uneven-ness
either. They can also be dangerous to the back as you can swing them
around, and if you try to keep a grip on a hover mower thats determined to
slide down a slope sideways....

I'd got for a wheeled rotary mower any time - they cope just as well with
the unevenness. All lawnmowers have an area that they don't cut, as you can
never get right to the edge - possibly slightly wider on a wheeled model
but no big deal.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with stripes - my "lawn" is not good enough.
Now given that you mentioned elsewhere you lawn is very shady, it is going
to be difficult to achieve the Wimbledon look. However, you can get wheeled
rotary mowers with a small rear roller that are meant to give the 'look' if
you really want it, these models shouldn't break the bank either.

Plug your mower in through an RCD and make sure there is enough power cord
to get you into the furthest corners of the garden!

Sarah

homer wrote:
I was just watching the telly, and saw that Argos have 1/3 off lawnmowers.
I'm on the lookout for a mower and appreciate your advice.
I am leaning towards getting a 'hover collect mower' as the little Argos
advice box says that these are ideal for uneven lawns.

Hover mowers are not as good as they are made out to be, as I found out. You
won't get strips, and I found that they weren't that great with uneven-ness
either. They can also be dangerous to the back as you can swing them
around, and if you try to keep a grip on a hover mower thats determined to
slide down a slope sideways....

I'd got for a wheeled rotary mower any time - they cope just as well with
the unevenness. All lawnmowers have an area that they don't cut, as you can
never get right to the edge - possibly slightly wider on a wheeled model
but no big deal.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with stripes - my "lawn" is not good enough.
Now given that you mentioned elsewhere you lawn is very shady, it is going
to be difficult to achieve the Wimbledon look. However, you can get wheeled
rotary mowers with a small rear roller that are meant to give the 'look' if
you really want it, these models shouldn't break the bank either.

Plug your mower in through an RCD and make sure there is enough power cord
to get you into the furthest corners of the garden!

Sarah

Hover mowers are not as good as they are made out to be, as I found out.
You
won't get strips, and I found that they weren't that great with
uneven-ness
either. They can also be dangerous to the back as you can swing them
around, and if you try to keep a grip on a hover mower thats determined to
slide down a slope sideways....

I'd got for a wheeled rotary mower any time - they cope just as well with
the unevenness. All lawnmowers have an area that they don't cut, as you
can
never get right to the edge - possibly slightly wider on a wheeled model
but no big deal.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with stripes - my "lawn" is not good enough.
Now given that you mentioned elsewhere you lawn is very shady, it is going
to be difficult to achieve the Wimbledon look. However, you can get
wheeled
rotary mowers with a small rear roller that are meant to give the 'look'
if
you really want it, these models shouldn't break the bank either.

Plug your mower in through an RCD and make sure there is enough power cord
to get you into the furthest corners of the garden!

Sarah

thanks for all the advice, picked up a shiny new rotary mower. Now i'm just
waiting for the sun to shine so I can give me lawn a trim!
Whats an RCD?

Hover mowers are not as good as they are made out to be, as I found out.
You
won't get strips, and I found that they weren't that great with
uneven-ness
either. They can also be dangerous to the back as you can swing them
around, and if you try to keep a grip on a hover mower thats determined to
slide down a slope sideways....

I'd got for a wheeled rotary mower any time - they cope just as well with
the unevenness. All lawnmowers have an area that they don't cut, as you
can
never get right to the edge - possibly slightly wider on a wheeled model
but no big deal.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with stripes - my "lawn" is not good enough.
Now given that you mentioned elsewhere you lawn is very shady, it is going
to be difficult to achieve the Wimbledon look. However, you can get
wheeled
rotary mowers with a small rear roller that are meant to give the 'look'
if
you really want it, these models shouldn't break the bank either.

Plug your mower in through an RCD and make sure there is enough power cord
to get you into the furthest corners of the garden!

Sarah

thanks for all the advice, picked up a shiny new rotary mower. Now i'm just
waiting for the sun to shine so I can give me lawn a trim!
Whats an RCD?

In article ,
"homer" writes:
|
| thanks for all the advice, picked up a shiny new rotary mower. Now i'm just
| waiting for the sun to shine so I can give me lawn a trim!
| Whats an RCD?

Residual Current Detector (or Device or Disconnector or something).
The thing that cuts off the power when you mow the cable, before
the circuit explodes. It might even save your life, but don't
rely on it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
"homer" writes:
|
| thanks for all the advice, picked up a shiny new rotary mower. Now i'm just
| waiting for the sun to shine so I can give me lawn a trim!
| Whats an RCD?

Residual Current Detector (or Device or Disconnector or something).
The thing that cuts off the power when you mow the cable, before
the circuit explodes. It might even save your life, but don't
rely on it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"homer" writes:
|
| thanks for all the advice, picked up a shiny new rotary mower. Now i'm
just
| waiting for the sun to shine so I can give me lawn a trim!
| Whats an RCD?

Residual Current Detector (or Device or Disconnector or something).
The thing that cuts off the power when you mow the cable, before
the circuit explodes. It might even save your life, but don't
rely on it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

wow Nick, that was FAST!
thanks for the info

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"homer" writes:
|
| thanks for all the advice, picked up a shiny new rotary mower. Now i'm
just
| waiting for the sun to shine so I can give me lawn a trim!
| Whats an RCD?

Residual Current Detector (or Device or Disconnector or something).
The thing that cuts off the power when you mow the cable, before
the circuit explodes. It might even save your life, but don't
rely on it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

wow Nick, that was FAST!
thanks for the info