[Bryan and carol]

Our allotment committee recently approved the purchase of a battery powered strimmer, primarily to be used in those difficult circumstances where a  plot has got out of control.

Having done a bit of research I realise that we need something a tad more robust than a strimmer, something that can handle thick weed stems, brambles etc. One option is a brush cutter, which appears to be a more robust form of strimmer.

Has anyone got experience of using one and are there any recommendations or condemnations ?

[New shoot]

I’ve got a Dewalt battery strimmer which is fairly heavy duty and can handle nettles and tall grass, but would struggle with brambles.  It will do thick weed stems but sometimes has to go over them a few times.  I have an unused boundary bank next to my small plot full of nettles and weeds and it helps me keep that at bay over the growing season.

The brush cutter version of that has more power and much thicker strimmer line, so would be worth considering.

[Bryan and carol]

Thanks for your reply. I've experience with Dewalt cordless drills and they have been excellent but their brush cutter is pricy, about £440 with battery and charger, but not including metal blade.  Not sure that we have enough money in the kitty to afford one.

[Yorkie]

I had a German-made brushcutter from Lidl for that purpose, which lasted for years before breaking a couple of years ago 

It went through brambles and tough weeds like butter. It was petrol-driven and had a metal blade (it also had a strimmer attachment but we never used it). Plus those bull bar handlebars and a harness to attach it to. Proper hard core. 

If you're serious about it being cordless and doing heavy duty stuff, you will probably need to pay for it.

Perhaps look at Makita DUR368AZ (£300), Einhell Agilo 18/200 (£138) or Ryobi RY18LTX33A-0 (£265)?

[Bryan and carol]

Thanks for your reply, the metal blade is the answer, but it looks like the committee are getting cold feet over an expensive purchase that will have to be stored in a steel shipping container that has major condensation issues. We're now considering renting.

[Yorkie]

The condensation may well be an issue.

But I wonder whether renting will be the cost-effective solution you think it will be.

I used mine to clear plots that had got out of control before reletting. Some were just very grassy and others had more stubborn and tough plants on them. Grass grows very quickly, particularly if it takes some weeks in the height of the season. What I'm getting at, is that you may wish to use the tool fairly frequently during the growing season. Perhaps once every 4-6 weeks, depending on how often plots come free?

Renting one may cost you about £50 each time (I looked at Jewson cost for a petrol brushcutter for the first 24h). That will quickly add up.

Are there any other solutions which wouldn't involve storing it in an uninsulated container?

[Yorkie]

I also assume you are not planning on letting people borrow or rent it from you?

If that is part of the plan, then I would encourage you that this may cause more headaches than you expect. Our association had some petrol mowers which members borrowed for the cost of petrol. Of course, allotments were not the sort of terrain that these home mowers were designed to withstand. They broke frequently and we didn't have professional mechanics to keep them ticking over.

We also did not have liability insurance in case anyone was hurt either as a result of misuse or breakage. We provided training on using them, got people to read instructions and sign a disclaimer, but all of these were only ways of aiming to reduce the risk of things going wrong.

In the end, we decided the risks and hassle were too great, and over the pandemic we eventually got rid of them. (The mowers, not the members  )

[vikingraider]

I bought this Spear and Jackson one from argos last year for £140 to tame the edges of my plot. It cuts well using the blade(not tried the strimmer line). Only issue is going through thick stuff(inch thick docks/brambles/foot high grass) the batteries only last about 15 minutes, and it uses both at once(scuppered my plans of charging one whilst using the other). It takes 2 hours to fully charge the batteries back up with the dual charger. It's quite heavy after a while but has bull bars and a harness to save your arms and back a bit

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8663432?clickPR=plp:2:5

[jezza]

I recently had a lady having a go at me for using a petrol engined hedge cutter whilst trimming bushes ,she said I should be using a cordless  machine ,I put the hedge cutter on the floor and asked her were did she see a cord then I explained to her that it has a spark plug (electric )it also has a petrol engine to generate the spark through a coil therefore it's a cordless hybrid machine, she is still pondering that one ,,get some one trained up to use a brush cutter then hire apetrol engined one for a day,can mow a lot of stuff down in a day with a good brush cutter with a 3 pointed blade ,always make sure it's one person one machine    jezza