replacement for a lawn mower

[james butler]

my mums lawnmower has been stolen from her allotment and to cut a long story short doesnt want to replace it in case it gets stolen a second time.
she does have a petrol strimmer but she refuses to use it because its too heavy.
ive had an idea to fit it onto a 2 wheel dolly of some kind so the wheels take the weight but can be tilted back and forth to cut the grass at the required height.
other than buying one of those battery operated strimmers does anyone have any other bright ideas?

regards

james

 

[Migmac]

Think a strimmer with a dolly will be a pain to use. What about a cheap push mower, no engine type? I’m guessing in an allotment there isn’t a lot of grass.

 

[MCKDAVID]

what about an exchange with a neighbor, they cut the grass in return for some veggies / fruit, or whatever they don't grow themselves?

 

[james butler]

Think a strimmer with a dolly will be a pain to use. What about a cheap push mower, no engine type? I’m guessing in an allotment there isn’t a lot of grass.

thats not a bad idea although i still cant be left at the site because of thefts unless its light enough to go in the back of the car.

 

[james butler]

what about an exchange with a neighbor, they cut the grass in return for some veggies / fruit, or whatever they don't grow themselves?

that a good idea, only problem is my mums wasnt the only one pinched they were all taken in a large raid on the allotments unfortunately.

 

[Migmac]

thats not a bad idea although i still cant be left at the site because of thefts unless its light enough to go in the back of the car.

Put in a ground anchor and chain to secure the mower

 

[awemawson]

I'll lend you some sheep, give them back AFTER lambing please

 

[CompoSimmonite]

What about adapting an older type manual golf trolley (the modern ones don't look as viable) to hold the strimmer ?

 

[GW8IZR]

A lightweight scythe for twenty quid. Its not as hard as it appears, easy enough once you have practised a bit..

 

[angellonewolf]

A lightweight scythe for twenty quid. Its not as hard as it appears, easy enough once you have practised a bit..

and as a plus side you have a item on hand if you catch the people nicking the mowers

 

[MCKDAVID]

find an old scabby lawnmower and make it artificially look scabbier, then leave it outside (out of the rain) so crappy looking that they'll not bother pinching it... mind you knowing some of the lowlife, they'd probably have that away as well..

 

[Chillitt]

Pick up an old van vault, peg it to the ground in the shed. fold mower handles up and it should go in.

 

[GW8IZR]

and as a plus side you have a item on hand if you catch the people nicking the mowers

I did think that as well.. ;-)

 

[Turbo]

I got a battery powered strimmer from Lidl for my parents as they said they are not able to use the petrol one. It is surprisingly capable, you get up to an hour of cutting per charge. It struggles on heavy grass so you need to cut first with a petrol model & then use the battery one regularly to keep the grass down. The one downside is it uses little plastic blades which are a joke as they keep falling off, wear out quickly, hard to find & are not cheap! Go for one that uses standard line you can buy cheaply anywhere.

 

[reb78]

The minute we started locking our machinery up, someone tried to steal it. They half succeeded once, but i caught them at it and chased them off! The same gear spent years in an open ended shed and never got touched by theives!!

 

[james butler]

What about adapting an older type manual golf trolley (the modern ones don't look as viable) to hold the strimmer ?

now thats what I'm talking about

 

[james butler]

I got a battery powered strimmer from Lidl for my parents as they said they are not able to use the petrol one. It is surprisingly capable, you get up to an hour of cutting per charge. It struggles on heavy grass so you need to cut first with a petrol model & then use the battery one regularly to keep the grass down. The one downside is it uses little plastic blades which are a joke as they keep falling off, wear out quickly, hard to find & are not cheap! Go for one that uses standard line you can buy cheaply anywhere.

thats good to know i will keep a lookout for one.
one lad i knew years ago had a strimmer that once the spool of wire ran out you had to buy the entire reel assembly.
so instead he drilled a couple of holes in the old housing and put 2 cable ties on it. the whip of a cable tie end is stronger than you think!

 

[fizzy]

thats good to know i will keep a lookout for one.
one lad i knew years ago had a strimmer that once the spool of wire ran out you had to buy the entire reel assembly.
so instead he drilled a couple of holes in the old housing and put 2 cable ties on it. the whip of a cable tie end is stronger than you think!

Talking of wire...........
As a kid we had a cheapy B+D electric strimmer that was very feeble. My upgrade was to replace the nylon line with control line plane braided wire! It was incredible for the first few minutes - then the wire jumped off the spool and sheared off the solid steel spindle! It was rather dangerous.......

 

[slim_boy_fat]

hen the wire jumped off the spool and sheared off the solid steel spindle! It was rather dangerous.......

Could have taken you off at the ankle.

 

[fizzy]

Could have taken you off at the ankle.

I was about 12 so such thoughts are mere trifles.....................