Lawn Mower Design - Who in your family cuts the grass?

Hello Tom
My mower is a Flymo one and I got it as I thought it was lighter than a rotary, so it would be easier to push and there would be less to go wrong.
Well its okay on the flat but my garden is uneven and pushing uphill is very hard. It shaves some uneven bits and misses others. Damp grass blocks it up. It doesn't go to the edge. My garden takes about an hour to cut and I always have stomach ache the next day.
I am female, 5ft 6in and 43.
I would like a mower that was light weight, adjustable handle, adjustable grass cutting height, one that cuts well in dry and wet and cut to the edge even if that is a wall, one that didn't block up, one that held more grass so I don't need to empty it every 2 minutes, one that had extra tools you could attach at certain times of the year, such as a roller attachment and a spiker, I'd also like an edging attachment to cut sharp edges on my flower borders. Can I think of anything else hmmm. I think that might be enough for now ha ha.
Good luck with your mowing maching Tom

 

Tom I can be a sarcastic sod at times!I wish you all the best and hope that you get something from here that helps you. And Ive got lots of ground for you to test any new prototype on . I mean it will save me a job! :D :D

 

Good luck with your project Tom.

Male ââ?¬â?? 60, 5ââ?¬â?¢10ââ?¬Â. I ââ?¬Ë?m the one who always has to cut our lawns. I currently use an electric rotary,wheeled mower at the start and end of the season as I find it copes with long grass and the ââ?¬Å?springy bitsââ?¬Â quite well. For the rest of the year I use an electric cylinder mower as it gives a finer cut and copes with the edges better. I also use a strimmer around our trees and lawns edges bordered by walls. I finish off edges either by using the strimmer in vertical configuration/and or with long handled shears.

Some observations from experience of what must be around eight or more mowers I�ve had over the years:
Rear mounted grass boxes are an advantage. The lightness in weight of electric mowers is an advantage if the mower has to be moved around a difficult garden. Electric mowers don�t require annual servicing and always start (well nearly always). Front rollers are a boon when cutting edges, but a pain when the grass is long. Cylinder mowers give a better and generally more adjustable cut though a rotary copes better with long grass. A "hover may be less bovver" but moss and thatch will build up over the years. If you want a bowling green lawn you can�t beat a heavy cylinder mower.
The ergonomics of mowers seem to be based on ââ?¬Å?one size fits allââ?¬Â and a mower with a fully adjustable handle (length, height, angle) and positioning of controls would be a welcome innovation.

���������

After years of research I�ve discovered the ultimate and eco-friendly answer to lawn mower design. And you are more than welcome to take it up and cash in on it:


 No leads, batteries or petrol to worry about
 Self propelled
 Crops right to the edges and even above them
 Easily copes with wet or long grass
 Grass box is self-emptying and converts grass to fertiliser
 May itself be recycled via the food chain leaving no harmful residues




[ 23. October 2006, 10:38 PM: Message edited by: Dave W ]

 

Love it Dave! :D

 

Great sense of humour Dave cheers :D

 

Or if you like Mint sauce try theese

 

Wonder if the gazebo is still in one peice? Sounds like a Tom Sharpe scenario.Lou S.5'8" female.I could use some sort of detatchable bracket which fits onto the side of the mower at ground level,to push the plants in my border out of the way and stop them from getting minced and spat out. The bracket would need to be detatchable for right or left hand use.

 

Thanks for you suggestions Dave W. The goat idea is good, but i dont think that I, even with my superb spray paint abilities, could blag that I had designed and built it from scratch!

Please keep the suggestions coming everyone!

 

Hi tom, This is my first post, I garden for other folk 2 days a week. I refused to take my own mower out this year tho'. It's a 21" hayter petrol mower. Lovely beast and done more miles than the average family shopping car, but i'm nearing 50 and 5'3". No size or age to be lugging a big brute like that. I do the mowing at home, Stripes and all. I edge the lawn before hand wih a strimmer turned upside down, so a side blade would be of no help to me. But i would love a pair of little headlights for those evenings when dusk arrives earlier than expected.

 

i am a gardener , like dendrobium
from my point of view there is no mower like the Hayter make ...... these are really well balanced and well made and are rolls royce of mowers ...... guess what thay are a bit more expensive than eg ATCO
i have two petrol lawn mowers ... ideally the cable models need electricity and a lawn that is just outside the door and has no obstacles eg trees in it .......
i bought a Flymo [non grass collection] 22 inch which i use like a strimmer, it can be handled by a mere woman as it has wheels for transportation, the wheels make it easier to use on corners, and across slopes, ... no stripe ....... rotary blade the cut is quite high [some peeps try to "shave" their lawns]
I have a 14 inch ATCO Admiral which has a rear roller to give a stripe effect ...... unfortunatley the roller is split so the stripe is, .... well bi-sected. My ATCO is of the push type which means i can go slowly and manoevre easily, where the lawn has a mowing edge [eg wooden edge], it makes a good job, it is difficult to start, because the plug oils up easily, it is a good idea to have a spare one. The Atco Admiral has a plastic cowl which makes it light, older models would be steel, unfortunately the engine makes it top heavy and i have had a few fights with the darned thing ...
i believe dendrobium has a power driven mower which is probably essential for mowers of 19 inch,
the main prob with the ATCO is that the grass collection is funelled through half the width of the cutting widht [are you following this?] so that when the grass is wet it chokes easily

 

Lawn mowing, that's the wife's job after she pulled up a dicentra thinking it was a weed.

I hate to see her struggling to start the mower though so I bought her a new spark plug for her birthday, gift wrapped it and everything. She was thrilled.

The problem with grass cutting is the number of tols required to do a good job. Lawn mower, strimmer, lawn edger, shears are all required in my garden.

The turning circle is too large as well, even if tipped up on the back wheels only.

 

Lucky Mrs Rich - what is she going to get for her next birthday? An umbrella to clip to the handle of the mower so she can cut the grass in the rain? :rolleyes: :eek:

At this time of year the collection of wet grass is the real nightmare - anything that deals with that efficiently would get my vote!

 

Dend :D :D

 

A few years ago there was a very interesting mower that came out - I think it was called Aeterna, or something vaguely similar. Looks like a go cart and can take on rough grass - (and if I am remembering correctly, it was the brainchild of a woman!) does this ring any bells with anyone out there? Would love to locate one.