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Advanced Lawnmower Simul--- I mean Reality

NickHNickH
edited June 2008 in Chit chat
Adulthood.

It's scary.

I now have my house with a garden, and not only am I about to trim a hedge for the first time in my life (considering I'm about to be officially "mid-thirties", I thought that's kinda odd), but I have two lawns, too.

So.

What do I look for in a lawnmower?

All I can think of is a grass-collection box and some form of toe-guard so I don't turn my foot into pastrami.

What do you guys use?
Post edited by NickH on
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Comments

  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited June 2008
    A scythe for ye grass, and some nunchaku for ye grain threshing :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • milemile
    edited June 2008
    im sure someones already talked about this in another thread. strangely enough.

    get an old fashioned man powered one. nothing with a motor or a plug, or a box.
  • Scottie_ukScottie_uk
    edited June 2008
    Flymo's are quite good, they are small effective. Because they hover they mow in any direction you wish (rather than just forward or back) and it takes the minimum of effort to push it round.

    Plus they dont have one of them big wurling metal blades, they use nylon wire so you if it does hit you it will cut rather than chop, the same can said if you run over the mains cables. This also means you dont have to worry about sharpening it, you just add a nother 10cm of nylon wire available cheaply in any garden center (usually in rolls of about 1-3 meters).


    Or if you are feeling lazy get yourself a ROBOMOW: http://www.friendlyrobotics.com/
    Calling all ASCII Art Architects Visit the WOS Wall of Text and contribute: https://www.yourworldoftext.com/wos
  • milemile
    edited June 2008
    whats stopping one of them robbows getting stolen, or some crafty neighbour coming over to reprogramme it to mow his lawn too.
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited June 2008
    I went through the same thing a few years back. Lived in flats but finally rented a house and got my first lawnmower. Hated it ! Felt like my dad !
  • NickHNickH
    edited June 2008
    Scottie_uk wrote: »
    Or if you are feeling lazy get yourself a ROBOMOW: http://www.friendlyrobotics.com/

    Now that's wonderful - just what I need!

    $1,400 though - expensive even by crappy exchange rate standards.

    I'm looking at the Flymo route, though, which appears to be aimed at fat lazy weaklings like myself.
  • NickHNickH
    edited June 2008
    mile wrote: »
    whats stopping one of them robbows getting stolen, or some crafty neighbour coming over to reprogramme it to mow his lawn too.

    It's password-protected(!)
  • milemile
    edited June 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    It's password-protected(!)

    if they could only password protect cars, then they're would be no car crime.

    ..and what if you accidently pass out on the lawn and your rommow mows all your hair off.

    i dont like robbots they are too clever.
  • NickHNickH
    edited June 2008
    mile wrote: »
    if they could only password protect cars, then they're would be no car crime.

    ..and what if you accidently pass out on the lawn and your rommow mows all your hair off.

    i dont like robbots they are too clever.

    Robomows have infra-red sensors which would detect you.

    Sarah Connor detection costs extra.
  • alchresearchalchresearch
    edited June 2008
    Get yourself a petrol mower. Now you're officially an old man it gives you something to tinker about with while in the garden.
  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited June 2008
    Nah! If you wanna look really old get a one of those little tractor mowers you can ride, then you'll look about 85 years old :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • NickHNickH
    edited June 2008
    How long does freshly-cut grass clippings take to rot down if I didn't get a grass box and couldn't be bothered to collect them up myself?
  • milemile
    edited June 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    How long does freshly-cut grass clippings take to rot down if I didn't get a grass box and couldn't be bothered to collect them up myself?

    you let them dry out and you burn them. or just leave them on your lawn, and mr wind will thake care of the problem.

    i think they have a half life of 3.2 million years. i may be thinking about uranium though.
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited June 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    How long does freshly-cut grass clippings take to rot down if I didn't get a grass box and couldn't be bothered to collect them up myself?

    Dont think long. When i had my one mowing experience in a rented house i was in i never picked up the grass and it disappeared eventually
  • GreenCardGreenCard
    edited June 2008
    psj3809 wrote: »
    Dont think long. When i had my one mowing experience in a rented house i was in i never picked up the grass and it disappeared eventually

    Yeah, should be ok as long as the grass isn't really long when you cut it. If it is really long, it'll just take longer and not look as nice. If you just get a cheap Flymo, they do the job nicely and usually have bags on them. If you want your lawn looking really good (with pretty lines and stuff), get a petrol mower... but they're pretty dear.
  • NickHNickH
    edited June 2008
    I'm settling on a Bosch Rotak 320/Qualcast Easi Trak 320, I think. Hovers are out, judging by reviews, so this should be a good compromise.
  • Chris CowleyChris Cowley
    edited June 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    What do I look for in a lawnmower?
    Get one with a 2-stroke petrol engine. That way, you can spend 3 hours every other sunday stripping it down and tinkering with it instead wasting time on the dull job of actually mowing the lawn.

    The only downside is that, with rising petrol prices, it could end-up being cheaper to buy a fleet of RoboMow's and allocating each of them 1 sq metre of lawn each.
  • rich_chandlerrich_chandler
    edited June 2008
    Scottie_uk wrote: »
    Flymo's are quite good, they are small effective. Because they hover they mow in any direction you wish (rather than just forward or back) and it takes the minimum of effort to push it round.

    Plus they dont have one of them big wurling metal blades, they use nylon wire so you if it does hit you it will cut rather than chop, the same can said if you run over the mains cables. This also means you dont have to worry about sharpening it, you just add a nother 10cm of nylon wire available cheaply in any garden center (usually in rolls of about 1-3 meters).
    Do they? I have a Flymo and a it's got a blade underneath rather then the nylon wire :confused:
    I wanna tell you a story 'bout a woman I know...
  • chaosmongerschaosmongers
    edited June 2008
    It's bad this lawnmower lark. I moved house last year..

    this is what the garden originally looked like when I bought it...

    h2.jpg


    I bought a 2nd hand ride on lawnmower to fix up and get running, but unfortunately havent succeeded yet :( Electric mower is completely out of the question as it would only reach about a fifth of the way down, and a petrol mower take about 2 hours :(

    it's now a complete jungle, with the grass 3 feet high.
  • VincentACVincentAC
    edited June 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    I'm settling on a Bosch Rotak 320/Qualcast Easi Trak 320, I think. Hovers are out, judging by reviews, so this should be a good compromise.

    We've got a qualcast mower here. They're meant to be really good.

    We pay someone else to mow the lawn though, it's too bloody big.
    Oh, no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens.
    I don’t think I have the stomach for it.
    --Raziel (Legend of Kain: Soul Reaver 2)

    https://www.youtube.com/user/VincentTSFP
  • guesserguesser
    edited June 2008
    chaosmongers wrote: »
    Electric mower is completely out of the question as it would only reach about a fifth of the way down

    <fanfare>

    51626x.jpg

    tada!

    :wink:
    My rubbish website including the redrawn Amstrad schematics and the Sinclair Wiki.
  • guesserguesser
    edited June 2008
    chaosmongers wrote: »
    h2.jpg

    that's not a garden, it's a field! :)

    you need a tractor like wot I've got :D
    My rubbish website including the redrawn Amstrad schematics and the Sinclair Wiki.
  • beanzbeanz
    edited June 2008
    NickH wrote: »

    What do I look for in a lawnmower?

    One that can cook too.
  • sparkessparkes
    edited June 2008
    I've just got a push mower and it works. But then I've only got grass on the front the back is a mixture of vegetable beds and concrete because I couldn't get bloody grass to grow out there.

    It's actully about twice as quick to handmow as it was to flymo which amazed me.
  • beanzbeanz
    edited June 2008
    Thats a big yard, when I had my 6 acres I bought one of those ride on mowers....maybe look for a decent 2nd hand ride on one? Makes the job FAR easier and has the added bonus of being fun.
  • VertigoVertigo
    edited June 2008
    Don't forget to get something small for your edging though, Flymos are crap at the edges coz the aggressive bit doesn't come out as far as the casing unless you're using a little handheld one which defeats the purpose.
    If you want nice stripes, get a roller, or a mower with a roller on it, coz that's what makes the stripes. Or if you want circles and Nazca type shit, get a plank with a bit of rope through it :)
  • WinstonWinston
    edited June 2008
    I got away with not needing a lawnmower by erm, eliding the lawn altogether.

    My back garden is essentially a giant border with a pond in it, basically gravelled with plants in (most some kind of exotic, different types of palm, a treefern, torbay dazzler etc.) Much less work than having to mow.
  • Dave FountainDave Fountain
    edited June 2008
    Hey Nick, come talk to me, I must be the only ex-Speccy PD library bod and fanzine editor that has become a garden machinery dealer :) So in effect Im not sure if my career has taken a nose dive or what.

    Dont buy that Rotak 320. Cheap, nasty and it will last you about two years. I should know, I sell them. They are complete rubbish. Anything more than two inches of grass and they struggle like buggers. They are more suited to little old ladies who cut their postage stamp gardens every two days (because they have nothing better to do).

    If you are going electric then go for something half decent like the Rotak 34, 36, 40 and 43. They have loads of torque for an electric motor and not the elastic band that the 320 has.

    I give you good price, son!
  • guesserguesser
    edited June 2008
    guesser wrote: »
    <fanfare>

    51626x.jpg

    tada!

    :wink:

    erm, where did the picture go :s
    My rubbish website including the redrawn Amstrad schematics and the Sinclair Wiki.
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited June 2008
    guesser wrote: »
    erm, where did the picture go :s

    There was a pic there? I was wondering where the joke was!
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