Vacuum Your Lawn With The Fylmo Lawn Rake
By Sean O'Hara
When was the last time you saw a lawn rake that compacted what you were raking? Yeah, we hadn’t either until we came across the Flymo Lawnrake Compact 340 this morning. Don’t let the looks fool you: it’s not a mower. it’s a vacuum for your yard.
It draws a few familiar parts — such as the casing and the 600W electric motor – from a standard mower, but that’s where the similarity ends. The heart of the lawn rake is actually a cylinder with 42 tines that comb through the lawn to collect moss and thatch, thrashing and compacting it at the same time. A sight window at the back of the collection attachment lets you gauge how full the compartment is as you “vacuum.”
It also features a 12 meter power cord that we’re guessing doesn’t come in a US plug configuration since — sadly — Flymo sells their products primarily in the UK.
Street pricing is around £ 79 UK — or about $154 US.
Lawn Rake 340 [Flymo]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
March 29th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Damnit..
You almost had me.. until that whole UK thing..
My dad is turning 70 this October, and I was thinking that this would be a perfect thing for him since he’s always out there raking and tending to his lawn. This could make it a much easier task for him.
Funny.. he and I are both toolmongers (I had to get it from somewhere).. but whereas he prefers to work on his yard, flowerbeds, vegetable garden, and landscaping himself - he’d rather pay someone to work on his car. Meanwhile, I’d rather work on my car myself, and pay someone to do the yard work.. That’s just me.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Anybody find a US distributor? I took a look on google with no luck.
March 29th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Wow.
This *needs* to be made available in North America. Looking at the FAQs on the site, it even appears to be capable of handling the “presents” my dogs leave in the backyard.
Meanwhile, I’ll have to make do with my Lee Valley “Power Rake,” which isn’t really powered, but does an excellent job with thatch:
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=10029&cat=2,44821&ap=1
March 30th, 2007 at 9:11 am
I want one. The pricing seems pretty fair to me, based on the ammount of time I’ll save. Now just to find a distributor who carries it in Canada.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
They’re pricey, but with the range of products they offer, the design, and the utility, they really should be sold here in the good ol’ US of A.
I have family in the UK, and I remember my cousing mowing with an orange hovering Flymo about 30 years ago. It was small (perhaps the entry level unit), and he said one needed to use a “thatching”, side to side motion while mowing, but it was quick, easy, and above all, super-cool.
I started my search out tonight looking for Flymo’s, or other hovering mowers, to see if they’re available here, so obviously I’m interested! Thanks!
August 26th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
I actually had one many years ago when they were sold in the U.S. I guess they never really caught on here. I bought mine in the mid to late 80’s at a local ACE hardware store. I want to say it was almost 300.00 at that time which was astronomical for an electric mower. Seems strange that they don’t sell them here any longer. They didn’t do a very good job on imperfect yards. My yard at the time had some very bumpy areas in it and the mower would scalp the grass. It would be perfect for me now as I have a typical townhouse yard (postage stamp front and bit bigger back). Wish I could find one again.