Wheeled vs hover mower - Bumpy lawn

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Nebular89

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I have a decently large lawn that takes about 30min to cut with my flymo easyglide. It works really well where the ground is flat, though it does get heavy when it starts to get full.
However over bumps it will get stuck on the edges. We have a few from old trees and bushes we’ve pulled up.
Would a wheeled mower make it easier to get over the bumps? I’ve seen some people say a hover mower is better and some have said wheeled.
If the difference is small then I’ll leave it, the flymo works well for what it is
 
Ours is small but bumpy and we use a Flymo on it. For the first couple of cuts, we empty the box 2 or 3 times - as soon as there's a hint of it cutting "a bit short" to avoid scalping the high spots. A bit of a PITA but worth it to not have the bald spots! After the first couple of cuts, it gets done more often and only tipped and the cuttings are also much drier so the box doesn't get as full and the load is lighter.

The first couple of cuts are done with a couple of blade spacers taken out too, so the blades are about 3/4" higher than the later cuts.
 
Used to have a hover but now unable to use due to back problems. My wife became somewhat angry about my suggestion to buy a robot mower so now does the mowing herself.

Dave
 
Nod said:
Ours is small but bumpy and we use a Flymo on it. For the first couple of cuts, we empty the box 2 or 3 times - as soon as there's a hint of it cutting "a bit short" to avoid scalping the high spots. A bit of a PITA but worth it to not have the bald spots! After the first couple of cuts, it gets done more often and only tipped and the cuttings are also much drier so the box doesn't get as full and the load is lighter.

The first couple of cuts are done with a couple of blade spacers taken out too, so the blades are about 3/4" higher than the later cuts.
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just did a look using a map that allows measurement and our garden is 283m2. I don’t know if that’s classed as large or medium but it takes ages with the flymo. Just had a look and it only has a 20l capacity. It was first cut of the year last week but I emptied it 10 times! Usually it’s 4-5 so not terrible but annoying.

I think if we can borrow a wheeled one with a higher capacity I might try one first.
 
Dave Canon said:
Used to have a hover but now unable to use due to back problems. My wife became somewhat angry about my suggestion to buy a robot mower so now does the mowing herself.

Dave
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I have a similar problem, not due to back problems but I’m a bit taller than average, 6”2, I can never seem to find mowers with handles that work for me. My back usually aches a little towards the end.

I was really tempted by a petrol, self powered mower until it dawned on me you’d need to maintain it well, which I know I’d end up not doing.
 
Nebular89 said:
just did a look using a map that allows measurement and our garden is 283m2. I don’t know if that’s classed as large or medium but it takes ages with the flymo. Just had a look and it only has a 20l capacity. It was first cut of the year last week but I emptied it 10 times! Usually it’s 4-5 so not terrible but annoying.

I think if we can borrow a wheeled one with a higher capacity I might try one first.
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If you can and it works, maybe you could borrow it for the first couple of cuts each year - maybe in return for cutting the owner's lawn!
 
Nebular89 said:
I was really tempted by a petrol, self powered mower until it dawned on me you’d need to maintain it well, which I know I’d end up not doing.
Click to expand...

I've had petrol hover and wheeled mowers, and would always prefer wheeled. Our current mower was bought via Tesco clubcard more than 10-15 years ago: I cut the grass weekly through the summer, less often at this time of year, taking around 50min front & back. The only maintenance required so far is to sharpen the (metal) blade once or twice per year. I check the oil (4 stroke engine) occasionally, and it looks acceptable in colour and present at the right height on the dipstick, and have changed it once around 5 years ago simply because of age. It's a very minimal maintenance tool, just stored in the shed when not needed.
 
We have 3 lawns and complex cuts plus a grass drive verge , had a petrol mower for a couple of years but service costs were nearly the price of a new one ,dumped that and got a wheeled flymo does a excellent job to , also got a battery strimmer that takes metal blades about 6 inches long super bit of Chinese engineering
 
Nebular89 said:
I have a similar problem, not due to back problems but I’m a bit taller than average, 6”2, I can never seem to find mowers with handles that work for me. My back usually aches a little towards the end.

I was really tempted by a petrol, self powered mower until it dawned on me you’d need to maintain it well, which I know I’d end up not doing.
Click to expand...
One possibility I considered was an electric mower with power drive as I would not be happy to store petrol which is one of the most dangerous substances we come across. However, while such electric mowers are now readily available in this country, they are somewhat heavy to move out of a shed etc. In case you think I am being unfair to my wife, I offered to hire a gardener (as several neighbours do) but she will not have a stranger work in her garden so while she continues to be unreasonable, she will have to continue mowing,

Dave
 
I have 120ft of " LAWN " which is basically field grass. Its always been bumpy and lumpy. I use a 15 year old Mountield petrol mulching mower with wheels. I don't think even the biggest fly style would cope but the old petrol one just goes on and on. I have to be honest I've never changed the oil or spark plug, just make sure its wintered dry. New fuel and off it goes every year. It's getting a bit battered now so looking at a new petrol rotary mower.
 
I did our first cut last weekend - didn't change the fuel but just topped up the tank from the plastic jerrican last opened in October. Took a few pulls to start, but some of that was just getting fuel back into the carb (no tickler). There after started first pull each time I emptied the grass box.

What I'd like for the house in France is a brush cutter on wheels. The land we have there has gone very wild.
 
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Dave Canon said:
One possibility I considered was an electric mower with power drive as I would not be happy to store petrol which is one of the most dangerous substances we come across. However, while such electric mowers are now readily available in this country, they are somewhat heavy to move out of a shed etc. In case you think I am being unfair to my wife, I offered to hire a gardener (as several neighbours do) but she will not have a stranger work in her garden so while she continues to be unreasonable, she will have to continue mowing,

Dave
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I have always used a petrol mower with power drive. Like you I struggled to find an electric with drive. In the end I bought a battery operated mower without drive. It's SO much lighter that is far easier to use than a petrol with drive. I think you only need the drive because petrol are so heavy.

Fwiw I replaced a very powerful petrol mower with this https://www.amazon.co.uk/WG737E-Bru...&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584345043770138&th=1 imo it gives a better cut on an uneven lawn.

Maybe ask a neighbour with an electric if you can try theirs.
 
Robot mower with it's small cutting diameter would perhaps be worth looking into, although the videos I've seen don't show the best cutting ability.

This, however, is a beast and being RC why not have a bit of fun at the same time!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQCfIdhnBlc
 
I use a hover, mainly because my back garden has a few steps and the roller on the wheeled one weighs a ton, it's seriously heavy, I'd be guessing and say over 50lbs easy.
The problems with the hover are two. One grass build up which weighs it down, and two any twig or bramble (I have a lot of trees) and the blades vanish into orbit never to be seen again. My garden must be 67% grass and 33% mover blades.
 
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