Which lawnmower type ?

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
So — which lawnmower type to buy.

We have a rather nice lawn, of some 150 m2 - quite large really. It is a little bumpy in places (could do with top dressing at some point in time)

At the moment we are still using the electric rotary mower that the previous owner left us, but I am thinking of a new one, and am pondering the different types.

I like our lawn - to the extent that the neighbours have for ever associated me with certain scenes from "Asterix in Britain"

Anyway:

Robot — OH wants one, I do not. Replacement battery costs could be an issue (cost, lifetime) and of the lawns I have seen that have been "robotted", the finish is not so optimal. Also 150 m2 is quite large.. Don't know how autonomous they are, and I do wonder about the effectiveness when I see other robots mowing sogging wet grass, or even in the rain..

Rotary (petrol) — standard issue here, most people's choice. Will cope with long grass (i.e. after being away for a couple of weeks), easy to maintain (blades, etc), but does not give stripes (although there are some rare types with a roller at the back). Spare parts easily available.

Cylinder (Petol) — not common here, therefore rare and expensive, would likely need to buy in DE. Expensive (Allett Kensington 14" is €1400) and probably difficult to maintain (having bought in DE). But, you can buy attachments for it (scarifier, brush, 10-blade cutter, de-thatcher, etc) - it gives stripes, can give an excellent cut (but not good with very long grass, and can scalp the bumps) and would look striking alongside the (not yet existing K2 telephone kiosk ). Despite this, I would really like one!

(Anyway, all things considered, I guess it will be a petrol rotary.)

Thoughts? Would be good to see what you use, and opinions on the robots.

2
I think this is a better lifetime investment, it comes with free dairy products and meat:

3
My thoughts:

Robot - not really, unless you have a nice clear, flat lawn with no obstacles.

Your house will always be full of grass clippings if people or animals regularly walk in and out from lawn to house. Also due to randomness of tracking, lawn can look unattractive.

Cylinder are great for a proper looking lawn (think tennis courts, bowling green, football pitch), but again for effectiveness, the ground needs to be almost millpond flat. But they do give a neat cut and doesn't hack the grass (which is better for a nice looking lawn) as much as a rotary.

Rotary - probably the best option. If you have a Landi nearby, then look no further. Good quality for money; spares are easily ordered, and they offer service/maintenance if required- often discounted at start of season.

Actually goats and/or sheep are better.

4
.... and fertilizer, lots of it

5
I faced exactly this two weeks ago. After looking at the prices of lawn mowers, I came to the conclusion that over a two year period, it would be cheaper to hire a gardner to come and mow the lawn for us. He brings his own lawn mower, and takes all the clippings away with him. He will also mow the lawn while we are away.

6
Well, if you want to maintain a English bowling green type lawn and it is 150 sq M., you could get away with a hand operated cylinder mower. This one, for example, claims to be suitable for up to 250 sq M. . . .

http://www.bauundhobby.ch/gartenbau-...04/P4943331/de

The Swiss, incidentally, like wildly over dimensioned lawn mowers, and for your patch would probably be considering a 20 hp Ride on mower.

7
There's a year old (approx.), 500 chuf mower on this list ..... going for 150,00.

Maybe worth a drive to (near) Bern.

http://www.englishforum.ch/2378342-post22.html

8
Round here, gardeners charge from CHF 100-500 per mowing , lawn size and edging/handwork requirements dependent, with a contract for once a week mowing required. A decent Landi or Hornbach mower can be bought for CHF 300-500. (Watch for sales.)

Doing my own lawn care is a no-brainer here.

(I want goats. But the Meloncollies voted me down. Now if I could only convince them to graze in the lawn rather than the flower beds.)

We have a battery powered Bosch. Good enough - but then, I no longer obsess over my lawn as I did back home.

9
Now we have got that sorted

10
Can imagine the looks on the neighbour's faces if we introduce a grazing herd

The issue with the fine clippings getting everywhere from the robot mowers is a very good one (another good reason to not get one)

For a gardener, even at a miniumum 100CHF per mowing, once per week over the season - that's ca. 2400 CHF per year... Ten years ? Ouch. Not likely; would be cheaper to buy a brand-new Allett Kensington 14" each season, and then chuck it away!

Incidentally, our Landi is about 100m away..

Ultimately, I would consider this, which, with a 14 m cutting width, would do the job in a single pass (theoretically!):

11
Maybe my garden is smaller than Rome...

Goats: Bad, they rip out the grass with roots.

Sheeps: Better they chew it of from the top.

Robots: Good when you run it 24/7. Then there is nearly no clippings

Hand operated zylinder: Good when you do it daily. Not usefull when the grass is to high. Sunday frindly.

Electric engine: Neighbour friendly. Specially if used daily.

12
There were 3 rotary petrol mowers at Brokiland in Schlieren for 50 to 80chf as of yesterday afternoon. Most had Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke motors. If you want the pro striped look, you are going to have to go to Blighty and smuggle in an old Atco. I personally recommend the 14" deluxe model (Heavy back roller and wooden front rollers) as a minimum width. A cut above the Suffolk Super Punch 12" lightweight that many had in the 80s.

13
I don't consider 150m2 to be a big lawn personally.

In an ideal world I would use an electric cylinder mower on a lawn of that size but as you rightly say they are not readily available here so in the absence of that option I would go with a rotary mower ( either petrol or electric whichever you prefer. Electric has the cable which can be annoying but they are lighter, quieter and easier to manoeuvre than petrol mowers IMO.

Definitely wouldn't go for the robot as I have yet to see a robot mown lawn that looks really nice.

14
I love my electric mower, somewhat quiet, and no hassles with oil and fuel. What's wrong with electric?

15
Mainly the cord. But we were given a chargeable one and it really is very very good. It would have enough charge to do 150m2 I think.