Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi all we just want a petrol strimmer to keep the weeds down, don't want to spend a lot but don't want a useless one any ideas, or is it down to B&Q
thanks
Andy

As with most things you get what you pay for. I use a £ 600 Stihl one for the allotments and cricket pitch edge but luckily it belongs to the village and I'm one of the very few who ever use it! They do smaller models but it will incrase the capacity if you can fit a brush cutter blade to it. Piddly ones won't tackle brambles etc. You could try suggesting to the allotments that they get one to hire out.

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Paul

thanks for that, i just spoke to the guy who we bought our hayter petrol mower from and he mentioned the stihl. It's just for the perimeter of our plot which is quite high with weeds, once we cut a path into it then it won't need much strimming so we didn't want to pay a lot but also didn't want a bad one, he mentioned that screwfix have a ryobi one with a free hedgecutter head for £100 he said that they are quite a good make so i am leaning towards that one, he quoted me £270 for a stihl but we don't want to spend that.

Hi,
I was just about to post a question on petrol strimmers, so i may as well join in on this discussion.
Petrol Strimmers are too much for me at the moment, so I am just about to borrow a petrol strimmer from the local church (i know the church warden!) so I'll let you know how i get on with it, the type etc.
My question was, do all petrol strimmers take normal unleaded petrol or do you have to use two stroke?
Cheers
Steve G

The ryobi one that i am looking at is a two stroke i think most will be with the exception of honda possibly, well that's what the mower man said.

I've got a ryobi. Part of the Expand-it range. I have the strimmer and cultivator heads. I use unleaded and two stroke. On the petrol cap, it tells you what the ratio of petrolil is, 50:1 I think.
Its a nice bit of kit and easy for me, a mere girlie to handle, so a bloke should have no bother with it.
To be able to have the cultivator ead, they recommend you get the 30cc one.

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updated 14 May 2008

Yep, they are 2 stroke.

Ryobi one should be okay for occasional use. Sounds a good deal to me. May I suggest you purchase some decent goggles while your at it.

I have to say I'm pretty fast with a sickle or scythe. Dangerous to the unpractised though.

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Paul

Kirsty it is a 30cc one and what the heck is a culivator head! Paulottie I don't really want to spend the money but Linda really wants one so we keep back the weeds from the edge of our plot as she likes things to be neat, that's just the way she is but I know it will make it better and I suppose it's only money :]

i got a 30cc spear and jackson for 70 quid at argos last week
it does the job and is easy to use reccomend it

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sounds good dinky do i will have a look which model was it as i have just looked online and they have a spear and jackson 30cc for £47.99 was £59.99 is that the one?

typical when ever i buy something it always go's down in price, lol
yes that is the one m8

the cultivator head for the ryobi strimmer is an rotavator attachment,you use it like you would a rotavator you can also buy a hedge trimmer,lawn edger,and a loper attachment too.
if you have only a few small beds its cheaper (£70ish) than buying a proper rotavator in the long run .

all the best

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Thats why I got it!! I bought the strimmer and the family all clubbed together to get me the cultivator bit for my birthday. Its great.

Ryobi link: http://www.ryobi-direct.com/acatalog..._it_Range.html

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I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

Are spear & jackson a good make? i know they do good gardening tools [are they good] but do they do good strimmers or is it a false economy? i would rather pay £48 for one instead of a £100 for the ryobi as it's just to remove large weeds once then it will be used to keep things in check. i really appreciate all the advice you are a good bunch on here

i went in to homebase get some gear on monday
and they had a strimmer on show i think it was around the £60 range i didnt recognise the make but it was exactly like the spear and jackson model i got
(i borrowed a nut off the display model i will take it back when ive finished with it ) alot of brands now use the same specs and indeed same items as others brands just a name change and colour change here
the look on [url="http://www.machinemart.co.uk"] the ryobi machine is around £120 ish
so for around £200 ish ou will get a strimmer and rotovator
compared to buying one for £250-300

or hiring one for £50 for 2 days

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I got the ryobi because I knew I wanted the rotovator bit as well having had a play on my sisters one before I purchased!! I also like the flexibility of getting the other bits so I can use it for different jobs if I want to.

If all I wanted was a strimmer, its not likely I would have paid as much as I did for this one. The fact that I can take it to bits to put in the boot of the car is another plus for me.

__________________
I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

Sorry to be a real thicky here, but is two stroke petrol just a mix of unleaded & two stoke oil?
Ta
Steve G

My flymo needs unleaded petrol and 2-stroke oil in a 40:1 ratio.

It was £89 and is quite basic, but does all I need it to do. I've not tried it on brambles... yet...

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blog: http://allyheebiejeebie.blogspot.com/ and my (basic!) page: http://www.allythegardener.co.uk/

I bought the Spear and Jackson 30cc strimmer from Argos yesterday for £47.99 and used it today to de-weed the 2nd half of my plot. The verdict - it's BRILLIANT!! It is so much more powerful than my electric Bosch plug in one I have at home. It made light work of the 2ft high thistles and was easy to use. I need to know where I can get a cheapish rotovator now!

Krix

Hi - Please don't Andy, if there's any chance you could do without. Unless you live miles from anywhere. We went up the allotment to work & chill today and someone had their new petrol strimmer going for two hours. We had to shout to each other to be heard. Quite a lot of people slowly left. When he stopped, there was applause for the birdsong & silence. I'd have gladly cut it all by hand for him, for the price of the petrol.

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Personally, I wouldn't use a strimmer on my allotment. There are too many frogs around ~ they tend to freeze instead of hopping away from danger.

But if you want a neat tidy plot instead of a wildlife-friendly one, then I guess a strimmer is a good idea.

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Nah - my plot's neat & tidy, all done by hand, teeming with wildlife. Apart from everything else that's wrong with them, strimmers tend to scatter stuff everywhere. I can understand the male fascination with toys & gadgets and horsepower but it wouldn't outweigh my consideration for other people, wildlife and dwindling fossil fuels.

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Sorry to say I did get one and before we used it we asked the people who were on their plots if they minded a bit of noise, they were more than happy for us to use it, but I waited until the plots were empty and did it then, it shouldn't take much keeping in check now. I suppose there are pros and cons for most things we do on there.

how did you find it andy ?
i used mine foraround 2 hours yesterday the only problem i had was geting a small burn on my elbow when the engine got a lttle warm. it was easy to use and is well ballanced i put mine on one shoulder not across the chest.
im glad i got it

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