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Strim and leaf blower after or dependent on value of customer get a cheapo poly body rotary mower. I have 3 customers like this and just purchased a small petrol mower for £130 It weights 20kg wet weight
small plastic battery mower maybe, plenty out there that you can literally lift with 1 finger. Or, as it's just a potential customer, politely decline the job
Any recommendations, Billybob? I saw a battery Honda Izy at Saltex, it certainly looked the part but as ever with exhibitions, you get no idea how practical they may be out in the field. I'd also expect the cordless Stihl mowers to be half decent but I'd like to see more around before commiting.
hi Tony quite a few on here, myself included, use the Bosch 43Li which are ideal for such jobs. But to be honest if its a small lawn and grass not too long, pretty much any plastic bodied battery mower would be ok. And not all cordless mowers are especially light as some are made of metal. The better Stihl battery ones are ok to lift onto a pick up truck but a bit heavy to my mind for carrying up a flight of steps safely on a regular basis. But the smaller Stihl type might be ok, I had a Viking MA339 which was a real pocket rocket but sold it as the cutting width was too small so i hardly used it in practice
a lot have a grab handle on the top and the handle folds/unfolds quickly and easily. if you take the grass box off and put the battery in after taking the mower up the steps [to reduce size and weight if needed] it's hardly any different to walking up stairs carrying a bucket of compost. some of the battery mowers you can easily lift above your head with 1 hand. and they do not care about being tilted etc as no oil
Just had a look at the new Honda 36V range. The batteries and charger look to be re badged Bosch ones, the mower looks like an Izy body but the hedge trimmer, blower and strimmer are remarkably similar to the old bosch professional range from about 5 years ago, which never really took off. Nothing wrong with that, although I found the performance of that bosch pro blower ''sucked'' but maybe it has been improved. I hope they do well with it but a shame in a way that once again Honda didn't design their own unique range
If it is quite small then just strim and blow. I have a job with a very small circular lawn at the rear which is accessed through a normal personnel gate. I use the Stiga 740 on the larger front lawn and just strim the back lawn. I wouldn’t even consider getting the hand mower out of the Hilux for that.
I am though fairly allergic to hand mowers and only use it on one job per fortnight.
Any professional who is proficient with a strimmer can achieve a perfect finish using a strimmer.
Also, given that they are not yet a client of yours means that you can explain your plan of attack and get them to okay first. Just demonstrate how lovely it will look just strimming.
Given that access is so bad I would think that they would be very happy that someone is prepared to take it on.
I would certainly not be carrying mowers up flights of steps. The risk of injury and damaged machinery [if dropped] is too great. It is also not worth investing in a specific mower just for them.
This is a problem I have come across, working on my own. A two man team certainly has the edge there. I have a cut off point and with these sort of jobs and can see at a glance whether I want it or not. You don't want to have that sinking feeling in your stomach every time you have to visit!
Light cheap battery mower will save your back limit damage to your petrol mower and pay for itself .
I bought a swift cordless mower around £199 for little awkward lawns but its also capable of cutting larger areas .
I have invested in machinery for one long established client to make the job easier ,safer , quicker and reduce damage .which i dont regret for the mutual value it adds but its a top end garden requiring this approach .
Push cylinder mower. Seem to get forgotten about these days. Brilliant tools in the right situation.
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