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Garden vac and mowers

sjt3766sjt3766 Posts: 3
in Tools and techniques
hello all. I’m new to gardening but have had a couple of garden vacs previously. They start off great but then stop working fairly quickly. What garden vacs would the community recommend?  Also, I’m very keen on the idea of robotic lawn mowers. What such mowers would anyone recommend?

Posts

  • ColinAColinA Posts: 392
    I have had a Flymo garden vac for a few years now and it still works perfectly albeit it is only used a couple of times a year.
    As for robotic mowers Husqvarna  are about the best and they have four in the range with varying prices and specifications
  • glasgowdanglasgowdan Posts: 632
    Research the price of getting a rpbotic mower installed, then consider the basic/poor quality of the cut you get plus any parts/repairs.

    As for vacs... forget them. Get a blower and blow debris onto lawns before you mow them. Quicker, easier, more effective. 
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    I love my robot mower - but then my grass area wouldn't really be regarded as a lawn as such as it's full of weeds and different types of grasses. I definitely wouldn't use one if I wanted a perfect lawn. It also completely eliminated the moss, which was an unexpected bonus. We installed it ourselves so no expense other than the cost of the mower.
  • paulhortipaulhorti Posts: 3
    We bought a robot mower over a year ago and it's been great and has improved the quality of the grass  We started with one that mowed about 0.75 acres and now have 3 for different areas.  The smallest mows an area the size of a tennis court but you can get them to mow up to 5 acres. 
  • sjt3766sjt3766 Posts: 3
    Hi paulhorti.  What make of robot mower do you have?
  • paulhortipaulhorti Posts: 3
    We used to have 1 Husqvarna but now I've replaced it and have 3 Ambrogio robot mowers.
  • sjt3766sjt3766 Posts: 3
    Thanks paulhorti. Which machines are better value for money 
  • paulhortipaulhorti Posts: 3
    There are a number of different brands available,  Husqvarna &  Ambrogio are higher quality machines but there are cheaper brands...very similar to standard lawnmowers.
    I would measure the area you need to mow (there are a number of websites that have a measure my lawn feature) and then look at the machines that will cover that area. A couple of additional things to consider:
    - for most robots you need a perimeter wire so consider if you want to lay it yourself or have it done professionally.   Laying it yourself is not too difficult on a small area but you will need to buy the wire/ pegs. Professional services will cost from a few hundred pounds upwards.
    - If you have different areas of your lawn which are interconnected then you need a mower that caters for multiple areas 
    - Choose one that has the features you need rather than the ones you 'want'... connecting over the internet,  GPS etc. are all great features but do you really need them. ( bit like buying a car)
    - Buy the best you can for your budget.. these machines sit outside for 6 months of the year so they need to last. 
    - Remember to consider the servicing cost... most warranties require an annual service.

    Hope that helps. I need to declare that I do work for a company that sells/ installs robot mowers but I have tried to not let that influence my response.
    Paul

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