Mid life crisis Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 Hi everyone, swmbo has decided I need to tidy up the back garden, especially the hedges. I haven't touched them for about three years, and they seem to have grown about a foot a year. They are now about 7ft tall (which is about 18ins taller than me) by 8ft wide and require cutting back to about 5ft x 5ft. I have decided to invest in a hedge cutter. I think a petrol cutter is the way to go, but I don't have a clue I have been down to B & Q today and seen a Ryobi machine with a 60cm blade, 28mm blade gap, 26cc, 5.34kg for £126.00. Is this the sort of thing I will need, is this about what I should recon on spending, and will it be right for the job As I say I haven't got a clue as I have never used one before Any advice greatly appreciated. Quote
Mark Stanton Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 I purchased a Flymo Xt **** which is a multi purpose petrol strimmer, hedge trimmer, pruner - all round top piece of kit Might be a bit more than you need for hedge trimming alone ............... just depends on what else needs doing Ryobi seem to be a good VFM on equipment I have a RYobi chainsaw and that's great fun Quote
Mid life crisis Posted March 30, 2008 Author Posted March 30, 2008 Hi Mark thanks for that, I just need the hedge cutter as I allready have petrol strimmer, lawnmower etc. However it it digs the borders I might be interested Quote
Mark Stanton Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 in that case do an internet search B&Q are fine for looking at stuff - but sometimes can be found cheaper on t'internet Quote
Mid life crisis Posted March 30, 2008 Author Posted March 30, 2008 Spent most of the afternoon searching to no avail Quote
Mark Stanton Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 Sometimes B&Q do manage to bulk buy and put out some good offers Machine mart Quote
ACW Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 if you need to take three foot out of the height you may find the thickness of what you need to cut too big for hedge cutter depending on the type of hedge. You might need to invest in a chain saw and appropriate ppe. Quote
Mid life crisis Posted March 30, 2008 Author Posted March 30, 2008 Sometimes B&Q do manage to bulk buy and put out some good offers Machine mart Machine Mart £170.66 Quote
Mid life crisis Posted March 30, 2008 Author Posted March 30, 2008 if you need to take three foot out of the height you may find the thickness of what you need to cut too big for hedge cutter depending on the type of hedge. You might need to invest in a chain saw and appropriate ppe. Thanks I did wonder about that, but I do have an electric scissor chainsaw thingy that will probable cope with the thicker stuff. It is just the mass of newish growth I need to deal with. But thanks anyway. Quote
skids Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 I have a Kawasaki hedge cutter and it has the ability to cut individual branches in the hedge up to about 25 mm (one at a time) worth asking the local lawn mower type of shop for advise. this bit of kit is fantastic,not sure of the price but worth it if it costs more in the end . a lot of B q stuff is hard to get repaired,they just bin it. Quote
V8grunt Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 Get yourself a set of "Lobbers" and a good mulcher/shredder, take them right back to the main shoot/trunk! They will then push out small shoots that can be trimmed very easily! Thats what Alan Tichmarsh told me anyway! Quote
JeffC Posted March 30, 2008 Posted March 30, 2008 Ive got a bosch electric and its spot on, last black and decker was a bit of a xflow used to stall under load Last year I reduced my hedge width by about 3ft, did with a chainsaw in around 5 mins Quote
Mid life crisis Posted March 30, 2008 Author Posted March 30, 2008 Get yourself a set of "Lobbers" and a good mulcher/shredder, take them right back to the main shoot/trunk! They will then push out small shoots that can be trimmed very easily! Thats what Alan Tichmarsh told me anyway! Was it successful Quote
brianm Posted March 31, 2008 Posted March 31, 2008 I would normally advocate petrol over electris every time having mower, strimmer chainsaw and 10hp shreddar all petrol driven. I have about 70mtrs of hedge all told at about 6ft high. The weight of petrol machine is too great at that height for the 1.5hrs or so the hedges take to trim. The first black&decker electric lasted 4 seasons but the Ryobi electric unit I got from machine mart performs far better and is no heavier. Whatever you get ensure its double action/double edged, they aren't all Quote
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