Topic: advise needed on grass trimmers: what works the best

[Kevins299]

As everyone knows the one duty of each plot holder is keeping thier paths cut of grass and weeded. doing this by hand is possible ( good for the environment, good exercise etc etc) but it is time consuming. so I am seeking to get a grass trimmer. what type: petrol or cordless? what power motor? and how easy/difficult are they to maintain being non mechanically minded?

Have people shared a trimmer and how have they organsied its use and maintenance?

help..the grass is getting longer as we speak........

[sandersj89]

I have a petrol strimmer and this can cope with pretty much anything you can throw at it. Mind you I need it as I have large areas of rough to control at home and it also doubles as a long hedge cutter with a change of head. These can cost anything from £100 to £600.

Very little maintenance, just a new spark plug each spring and a clean up every now and then.

Funny enough it has never been to the allotment.

I have seen people use cordless electric strimmers and these seem fine for small jobs, there are a few at the alloment I hear bizzing away at the weekends.

For my paths I use an old push mower, you can buy brand new ones for less that a cordless strimmer I would think. This works a treat and is still good exercise, the kids like pushing it too.

Jerry

[derbex]

To second Jerry -people on our site seem to use push mowers for paths. Some use strimmers to get in around fences, mostly petrol by the sound of them.

I'm strange in that I try to do it by hand -using a scythe and grass-hook- partly because there's an 'orchard' area that a mower would be useless for (too lumpy) and the scythe does it much quicker than a strimmer would, much quiter too I go to hear the birds not a 2 stroke. Not so hot on the paths though -although better than you'd think; if I found a cheap 2nd hand push mower I'd probably buy it.

Jeremy

[kenkew]

For the past 3 years I used a 12v cordless B&D one. Works for about 25 min's and used to do a good job. This spring I found the battery wouldn't charge up!...When I get a bit of brass I think I'll go petrol.

[SpeedyMango]

Although our allotment site has a few petrol strimmers that anyone can borrow, they are only available for a short time at the weekends, and there is normally a queue. So I bought a Ryobi petrol strimmer for myself. It's only 20 or 25cc I think, but plenty powerful enough to cope with grass, weeds and so on around the plot. It cost me about £120 last year, after a bit of shopping around. It's very economical on petrol and 2-stroke oil (mmmm, the smell of a cold-started 2-stroke engine). I haven't run out of line yet, either.

A few plotholders on our site do use those cordless strimmers, but they sound very feeble indeed in comparison, and only seem to last about 15-20 minutes, which coupled with their low cutting power means they don't usually manage to get the whole plot done on one charge. I expect you can interchange batteries, but that's more expense.

[Columbus]

Hi all,

My first posts here were about strimmers. :D

Since then...

I promised the nice people at Hilka that I would mention their ProCraft 12V trimmer from Index at every opportunity. The small handle broke 5 mins out of the box. I don`t want my money back as it was the last one at a bargain price and they cannot find a replacement handle in their warehouse. They don`t answer my emails anymore.

Eventually I`ll fix it with glue etc.

But apart from that it was a bargain and leaves the allotment looking tidy, well half-tidy. As SpeedyMango says you can`t do a whole plot on one charge, but I don`t want to spend all day cutting grass anyway.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Col

[Mrs Ava]

I use a pair of shears, which I did today, which knackers my arms, but is quiet, quick, convenient, and I don't end up loosing the tops off any of my plants that are a touch close to the path.  Ava has a great big loud boys toy petrol jobee, which periodically, throughout the course of the year, he wields alarmingly around the plot, masacre-ing anything that is taller than 3 inches!  My lottie neighbour has a very cute little rechargeable strimmer and it lasts just long enough to whip around his plot, keeps it neat, and it is so quiet!