Lawn nightmare :-o

Have never known the grass to be so troublesome - am thinking of getting a more powerful mower. I inherited a Flymo PacaMo which does a pretty good job but the grass is now growing at such a rate, the Flymo constantly threatens to stall. Great wadges of cut grass just go round and round inside the cutting drum - the mower is not blowing enough of this grass out the back (I don't always use the grass basket) - there shouldn't be a problem with grass left inside the mower?

I can understand wet grass sticking inside the mower but it has been hot today - the grass was not damp.

Is the grass too long? Should I raise the cutting height?

If all else fails there is a more powerful Flymo on the market, I am really struggling with the old one now.

Any tips please?

Thanks

 

You don`t mention how big your grass area is, grass is growing really fast at the moment, I am cutting every few days as soon as I see enough length, weather permitting, a few spots have thick clumps which are trouble some but I am finding cutting more frequently is quicker in the long run, shorter length less effort. It`s horses for courses with lawn mowers, I am on the lowest setting for cut.

 

Yes kr236rk, raise the cutting height. And replace the blade.

It does seem like your cut is too low. So raise the height ........cut and rake the grass away then cut again. Thereafter cut regularly, at least once a week. I dont think you need to change your mower but change the blade. A blunt blade will simply tear the grass

 

It’s a lack of power and a poor deck design that creates poor air movement and the grass just gathers inside.
A lot of mowers suffer this and very few manufactures try to solve this with rotary mowers.
John Deere use and fan blade to increase movement and Etesia work hard on blade and deck designs.
Ive a number of mowers and I hate with a passion my Hayter 48pro if it’s damp and it just can’t fill the grass box before it blocks. The Etesia on the other hand just keeps going.
Clean the deck after each cut, a lubricant can help on the blades, clean the grass box as if the holes block it cuts the air flow right down and take into account most domestic machines will suffer blockage issues unless you like to cut grass often.

 

Regular, weekly, mowing will overcome most of these problems

My Bosch cordless is brilliant.....no issues with it at all and it performs beautifully

 

Thanks all. It's hard going. On a good day I get round the lawn/s in an hour. I was to mow last weekend but down came the rain :( so I was contending with 2 week's growth. I don't know what the hectare's area is. I think the rotor compartment needs scrubbing out and a new blade wouldn't hurt (hope there's no pun there); & yes to raise the cutting height. Wet/damp grass is worst, it just sticks to the inside of the mower. That's the reason I have to leave plenty of time between cuts - if it rains - to let the grass dry out. I am on clay soil so a mere sprinkling from above leaves the lawn waterlogged. Fingers crossed for a dry-ish summer then!

 

Although I'm not all that familiar with Flymos, I'm pretty sure that yours is a corded (mains powered) one with a collector box. Is that correct? The first thing that I would do is service it by cleaning out the deck, and of course making sure the blade is sharp.

As regards raising the cutting height, why? Better to cut the grass as often as needed. At this time of year, even here, thats at least twice a week. Shortly, it will be every other day. Especially if this summer is like the last one.

As @Liz the pot mentioned, very few mowers can cope with wet grass. Even bigger, more powerful ones. So a bigger, more powerful mower would not necessarily be of any use.

 

My old Bosch battery mower lasted about 7 years. I threw it about doing all the small jobs or hard to get into properties. It caught fire in the end, lots of smoke as it said goodbye.
I think I changed 2 blades in that time and not a single service.
I did have to bypass the weak safety link and the bar broke on the handle but I really abused it.

Ive now replaced it with a Viking MA443 and it’s a good step up.

 

A few options maybe.

A good second hand ride on mower?

Self propelled mower?

Cut the grass more often?

Dont collect the grass but leave it on the lawn.? Only worth doing if the clippings are short.

So far this year ive cut the grass but left it on the lawn. It isnt visible after a day or two and the grass looks healthier than usual. Normally i always collect it using my 30 year old ride on mower and probably will do so as the growth rate increases.

 

Hi @kr236rk when we had our lawns the front on needed doing weekly but the back lawn every 2-3 days but always when dry and in the shade as the sun burns your lawn.
Our first mower was a normal electric Flymo and the blade was set on it's lowest cutting point but it used to get replaced with a new blade yearly as you can't go wrong then knowing your lawn will get cut properly...then we had another Flymo with a grass collector which we didn't like we found it not as good

 

Thank you

 

Can anyone identify my Flymo Pac A Mow so that I can order a new blade please?
Looked in vain for any serial number.

THanks

 

Hi @kr236rk,

You can get the blade you need on Amazon £13-99 but if you was to go to B@Q or any store like that you would get them...you need to type in your search engine Flymo pac a Mow Fly030 metal blade.

This link below is a direct flymo company and the blade is £15-99

Flymo PACAMOW FLY030 33cm Metal Blade

 

Thanks Gail

Fly030 - that's cool!