Long reach hedge cutter / pole saw. Recommendations.

[openspaceman]

7 hours ago, difflock said:

 

Having witness gormless/uncaring/unaccountable Council staff using and abusing chainsaws down through the years, despite being "trained".

 

 

I'm glad you qualified that training remark Marcus 😉.

[difflock]

Btw, and pertinent to this comment, I am surprised at the number of homeowners strimming verges outside their property who blythely continue to strim while I (and countless others presumably) drive past, even  on their side of the road, so witless stupidity is not solely the preserve of Council or volunteer staff.

So again I understand the reluctance of risk averse organisations (and probably due to various PI and 3rd party claims) to let volunteers loose with power tools.

Edited August 26, 2021 by difflock

[openspaceman]

2 hours ago, difflock said:

Btw, and pertinent to this comment, I am surprised at the number of homeowners strimming verges outside their property who blythely continue to strim while I (and countless others presumably) drive past, even  on their side of the road,

It's gardeners with backpack blowers that irk me as they blithely carry on evacuating leaves and dust from a private drive onto the highway.

[difflock]

3 hours ago, openspaceman said:

It's gardeners with backpack blowers that irk me as they blithely carry on evacuating leaves and dust from a private drive onto the highway.

That too, or merrily pressure washing their debris onto the public thoroughafare.

Never mind dumping their garden arisings across the way onto "waste" or agricultural lands.

 

[Baldbloke]

I appreciate that this is more a question towards garden maintenance, but I am hoping someone maybe able to help.   I am currently looking to purchase a 5 in 1 machine so that I can go out and cut the bridleways and footpaths that my local council seem to take 3 months or never doing after I report them.   As someone who is very passionate about footpaths and bridleways, especially, when you consider that these rights of way have so much history I find it a real shame to see so many being slowly lost due to poor management by the land owner (side vegetation) and council (upwards vegetation).

 

As a result I want to try and start a bit of a movement of my own getting local businesses and eventually individuals involved.  I appreciate you can volunteer with the local council rangers, but they only work Mon-Fri and a lot of people cannot volunteer during the week.

 

So my plan is to start cutting some local trails on my own in the hope I can get some exposure and then eventually try and purchase a 2 wheel tractor with flail.

 

Apologies, but I have digressed and the question I came on here to ask is what machine do people recommend.  I cannot afford a Stihl as with the brush cutter, pruner and hedge cutter I would be looking at £1200.  But at the same token I appreciate a £150 ScrewFix special is a waste of money.

 

I was hoping I might have been able to find a dealer who may either have an ex-demo or sell one at cost, given that this is about me spending my own money in an attempt to give something back to the wider community.

 

Any pointers welcomed.

 

If the Council suggest they’re too busy, why not offer to quote per 100m? If they give you the go ahead to do the work on a voluntary basis (insurance issues?) don’t disregard Screwfix for a cheap tool option. This because if you manage to wank out their kit they’re more likely to replace it with new kit than many other retailers[emoji1303]

[flanagaj]

38 minutes ago, Baldbloke said:

 

If the Council suggest they’re too busy, why not offer to quote per 100m? If they give you the go ahead to do the work on a voluntary basis (insurance issues?) don’t disregard Screwfix for a cheap tool option. This because if you manage to wank out their kit they’re more likely to replace it with new kit than many other retailers

I have been an IT desk jockey for 25 years now and at nearly 50 it's a struggle to stay motivated and abreast of the new technologies that seem to arrive every few months.   It's strange to admit it, but I get much more satisfaction from clearing an overgrown trail for people's enjoyment than I do regarding writing IT software 🥱

I didn't realise I could quote for clearing trails.

PS - good tip on the brush cutter though.  ScrewFix just tend to hand over a replacement there and then. 

[richyrich]

On 25/08/2021 at 08:11, Stere said:

Reckon you should get a battery multi tool several brands around bit pricey though for the decent ones, cheaper if you already have a the batteries ans charger for other tools.

 

Unfortunately the battery run time on strimmers is not great..

[richyrich]

On 24/08/2021 at 16:31, kkk2 said:

We use the Shindaiwa AH262S-HD which is the professional machine, great bits of kit. we find they come is a little cheaper per unit than the echo.

https://www.shindaiwa.com/en_us/products/hedge-trimmers/shaftedj~-hedge-trimmer/ah262s-hd_37

They stopped selling Shindaiwa in UK other year and now just sell Echo i think- sister company. They reckon 'same' machines but in my experience the Shindaiwa last much longer- unless just had a duff Echo- great strimmer but did not last that long. BACK ON SALE IN UK!!👍

Edited August 29, 2021 by richyrich

[richyrich]

1 minute ago, richyrich said:

They stopped selling Shindaiwa in UK other year and now just sell Echo i think- sister company. They reckon 'same' machines but in my experience the Shindaiwa last much longer- unless just had a duff Echo- great strimmer but did not last that long. CORRECTION-  they are back in the UK. A good decision .

 

[Wonky]

I just read through this, it’s all about pl insurance, and being qualified. 
 

if you were a company, and had all the rams set up. I bet you’d get the green light to crack on.

 

Edit. Voluntary of course..🤔

Edited August 29, 2021 by Wonky
Edit