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Bosmere Folding Wheelbarrow
by purplekimmy
I love a good tool, one that helps out, makes your life easier but also doesn't cause you undue stress. This fold up wheelbarrow is the perfect example of this.
We don't have the largest garden in the world, but we have just had our back garden patio done, because of the layout of our flat, the sand and gravel needed was ... lorried and dumped in our front garden. This was fine; this was as close as they could get to our back garden due to the narrow alleyway connecting front and back garden. It wasn't until it had been delivered that we suddenly thought about the lack of wheel barrow to transport the said gravel and sand into the correct garden. After looking on the internet for wheelbarrows, we found the spectacle that was the folding version. We found it for £25.00, which was cheaper than normal rigid barrows, the one disadvantage is although we needed it now, we now had to wait for delivery. It only took two days; and we had other tasks that needed doing in the garden. Once it had arrived and was unpacked we opened it up and marvelled at the ingenious view in front of us, obviously it is just a wheelbarrow, which works as well as normal wheelbarrows, but after we had used it we could now fold it and store in neatly upright in our shed. Opening and closing of the barrow is very simple, it is basically Velcro holding it together and a few clips securing it when it is down. It does come with a leaflet of instructions, but you could work out how to use it without this extra help.
I never thought a wheelbarrow would be something I would need an awful lot in my garden, but now I have one, I use it all the time. I think because normal barrows are bulky and not easy to pack away anywhere, they take up too much room, unless you have a big shed, they just stay outside getting rusty. Now we can neatly hide ours away, I don't mind having one so much. Although the actual bag itself is made from fabric, it is very sturdy and durable. It is waterproof and can hold weight up to roughly 30kg. If it gets muddy or dirty (which ours inevitably does) we just rinse it off with the hose and leave upside down to dry. You could wipe it with a cloth but I find hose just as easy.
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Powerbase 18V Cordless Electric
by MamaC
When we purchased our house, we found shortly after that we had to contend with many bushes and hedges and quickly realized that we need an electric tool to deal with the unruly garden as shears weren't man enough and took ages. It wasn't long before we went to our local DIY store and found this handy little machine that was around the ... £40 mark. Not only was it a great price but it was cordless too, which meant that we didn't have to contend with any pesky mains leads getting in the way whilst trimming our hedges.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
The cordless electric trimmer comes with a blade shield, 1 x AC adaptor and 1 x battery pack. The adaptor obviously is used to charge the battery.
THE PRODUCT IN USE:
We stuck it on charge for at least 6 - 7 hours maximum and then it was ready to go. Subsequent charges wouldn't need as long as this apparently. But there's no indication of when the battery is fully charge, please ensure that you make a note of when you put it on charge or set an alarm up. It's all very straight forward to set up and the battery can be inserted just under the handle. and my husband and I were very surprised to realize the full potential of this powerful machine, especially as it ran off a battery! The blade is 41cm in length and each tooth gap is 11cm. The overall weight (with battery) is 3.5kg. There is a safety guard that ensures adequate protection for your hands.
I've never heard of this make before and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who wishes to make light work off his or her garden foliage. I've had this product for 5 years now and it's still going strong with no problems whatsoever. You'll never have to worry about cutting the mains lead whilst using this.
Purchased from Homebase for £42.99
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Powerbase 18V Cordless Electric
by jeffjen
I have large gardens with a fair amount of hedges and bushes to cut and battling through all this with a pair of garden shears and loppers takes a lot of time and effort and so a few years ago I invested in a hedge trimmer and it proved to be one of the best things I ever did.
At the time of purchase I didn't have a lot of money ... available to spend on a hedge trimmer, but knew a cordless model would be the best option for me because even with an extension cable, it would have been a struggle to reach all the hedges, if not impossible. Plus I thought a cordless model would prove to be easier for me to use with no cables getting in the way and also less dangerous as there would be no risk of me slicing through them!
I ended up simply going to Argos and buying the cheapest cordless hedge trimmer available, which was the Challenge brand and cost under £30 at the time. I crossed my fingers that it would be ok and not a purchase I'd live to regret.
As it turned out, I had no regrets about buying a cheaper brand and the hedge trimmer served me well until this year when I dropped it and a part of the plastic which held the battery in place broke off and the battery itself seemed to be coming to the end of its life too after many charges. It was time to buy a new one.
I spotted this Powerbase 18V Cordless Hedge Trimmer on Amazon priced at just over £30 and decided to purchase one. Although again it was a cheaper brand and not one I was familiar with, it still comes with the same guarantee the more expensive brands have and also having had a good experience with my previous hedge trimmer I was confident this would prove to be a decent purchase too.
I was impressed with the delivery as it arrived 2 days after I placed my order and I received an email and text message to inform me exactly what time it would be delivered.
The hedge trimmer comes with a rechargeable battery pack and charger and you are advised to charge the battery straight away and never leave the battery without charge. There were stickers placed on the box informing that the initial charge should be 7 hours max and subsequent charges 3 - 5 hours max and you should not exceed these charging times as it may damage the battery pack.
There is a full instruction booklet included inside the box and although it also informs you there that you should initially charge for 7 hours, it then says you must recharge when the power drops and to reduce the time on following charges with no specific times given. I wondered if maybe some folk had missed this information or required more specific charging times, or whether some had charged it for too long, damaged the battery pack and then complained, as there were a number of these stickers placed all over the box as if they really want to draw this to your attention.
I placed the battery pack on charge immediately and noticed both a green and a red light illuminated on the battery pack. I presumed that maybe one of these lights would go off when fully charged, but beware, they don't! So you must ensure you note the time you began charging the battery and do not exceed the charge time.
Once charged, you attach the battery to the trimmer and it slots into place under the handle. The first time I did this I had not slotted it in fully and the trimmer did not work. I found it required slightly more effort to attach the battery than with my previous trimmer, but once I got the hang of it I have been ok with it since. The battery itself is quite heavy, which makes the handle area of a cordless trimmer the heaviest part, although the actual hedge trimmer itself is quite light. When the battery is attached, I personally find the hedge trimmer is still comfortable enough to hold and use without hurting my arms.
Product details :-
* Blade length 41cm.
* Tooth gap 11mm.
* Dual blade action.
* Hand guard.
* Single speed 1400/min.
* Weight 3.5kg.
The plastic guard protects you from the blades and once you place your hands on the two handles, I find the hedge trimmer is comfortable both to hold and to use.
Of course the most important thing to know is how well the hedge trimmer performs and I must admit the first time I ever used a cordless hedge trimmer I was really surprised and impressed how easy and almost effortless it was to trim the hedges, bushes and shrubs and wished I had bought one sooner instead of battling with manual shears. And it was no different using this Powerbase hedge trimmer. If anything, I would say it is even easier to use than my previous hedge trimmer as it appears to be slightly more powerful and cuts with even greater ease.
Indeed cutting the hedge is so easy as the blades slice through the hedge quickly and easily. I also use the hedge trimmer to cut bushes and shrubs and although I always tend to cut from right to left, it is possible to cut in both directions as the blade is double-sided. I find holding the hedge trimmer with the blade at around 15 degrees to the hedge gives the best performance.
Cutting the sides of the hedges are perhaps the easiest as you can use sweeping movements from the bottom up. It is really so easy and effortless.
I have also used this trimmer to chop down and cut back many shrubs and bushes when attacking one of my gardens, which rapidly becomes a jungle if I don't keep on top of it. I actually tend to go into my garden on a mission and find slicing my way through the hedges and shrubs quite therapeutic!
If any twigs etc do happen to get caught in the blades then the hedge trimmer automatically cuts out.
I feel totally safe using the hedge trimmer and not having to worry about cables is an added bonus as well as making it easier to use of course.
I have found I can use use the hedge trimmer for over an hour before noticing any loss of power and sometimes it actually lasts longer than that. It all depends on what I am cutting in the garden and so I am quite impressed by the perfomance of the battery too.
However long I get before the battery needs charging I still manage to cut a lot more hedge/ bushes/ shrubs than I would in the same length of time using manual shears and it also takes a lot less effort!
Although there are far more expensive hedge trimmers on the market, I am completely happy with the performance of this hedge trimmer. I have used it several times now, with no problems whatsoever. It is totally safe to use, a great price at just over £30 and I am happy to recommend it.
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