Hot or Not: Flymo Across The Sea?
By Sean O'Hara
We’ve personally be fans of the Flymo for some time, but it seems like the Brits want to keep all that orange Flymo coolness tending lawns under the Union Jack alone. OK, maybe under the Union Jack and what seems like every other flag in the world save the stars and stripes.
The Flymo brand has been around for decades and from what we can see they’ve put some hardcore design work into their offerings. Their product line doesn’t stop at mowers, either, extending to include hedge trimmers, blowers, and lawn vacuums. Oh yeah, there’s also the Visimo, which looks like a tiny formula-one racer with a rice rocket wing on the back, too.
We would love to see some Flymo products on this side of the pond, but we’d like to know what you think. Are they hot enough to make it in the good ‘ole US of A or not? Let us know in comments, especially if you’ve had experience with ‘em.
Flymo Products [Flymo]
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Flymo did sell in the US in the early 80s. Consumer Reports actually tested one, but didn’t like it. The main objection was that the mower was difficult to keep straight (no wheels, so no tracking).
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I used Flymo lawn mowers as a kid, they were great, they had a blade that was made of plastic like a strimmer/weed wacker which meant you didn’t run the risk of cutting your toes or the cable, in england its 240v . So all the kids would be cutting the lawn on a sunday. I remember powering it up, watching it float and then spinning around in circles, it would glide around and around.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Lee Valley is now carrying the Flymo “Silent Reel Mower”, which looks pretty sweet:
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=51117&cat=2,2160,51170&ap=1
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 am
Wicked! Those crazy Brits. They need to team up with a well known American brand before they could probably sell well here.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:40 am
I want a xl 500 hover mower. I can’t anyone to sell me one. Why can’t it be sold under the Husky brand? they are orange and the same mother company owns both bands.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:23 am
I emailed them asking if they were available in the US, here is their curious response:
Thank you for your recent communication and your interest in our products.
Please accept our apologies for the delay in replying to your email.
Regrettably we do not sell electric products in the USA. This is for a number of reasons.
We no longer hold a license to export products to the USA. We did sell there in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but the demand was mainly for petrol products even though the electric machines were built specifically for the States. In addition, no one was willing to handle the Aftersales backup of the electric products.
The type of lawn grass in the USA differs greatly from that of the lawn grass in the UK, consequently an electric hover doesn’t perform in the same way or give the same quality of cut. This knowledge was gained from contact with a consumer who had bought a Flymo hover lawnmower with a 240v motor in the UK, and then took it to the USA. He did have a 3 phase outlet which supplied 240v, he tried the machine a few times but found it would not cut as well as he had seen in the UK. He contacted us and luckily we had an experimental 120v motor which we sent to him. After fitting the new motor he found the machine would still not perform as it had in this country.
The only conclusions we could arrive at for the poor performance was either, the condition of his lawn, or the type of grass which made up his lawn.
Therefore, we regret we are unable to assist you further but trust the above explanation clarifies the situation.
June 30th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I write this with tears in my eyes. My Flymo hover mower burned out yesterday, after eight years cutting some real rough grass and bits o concrete.
I bought it it here in Spain from an English household supplies shop having previously used one in U.K.
I use the electric hover on my own patch for ease. There is no trouble starting and as it floats, no effort pushing.
I used to maintain the Community petrol mowers. Now I take the easy way.
My current problem is the freight from U.K. for a new motor is as much as the motor. I will probably uy a new hover if somebody is coming down by car for holiday. MY XPERIENCE IS WITH THE 1400 WATT MOTOR.
They do plenty of models ith wheels for direction and back roller fo stripes.
July 25th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Ok, a few points…. the Flymo concept is Scandinavian in origin, not British.. so maybe it would be worth contacting the parent company?
And it’s more a case of the US keeping them out, rather then the British not letting them go.
They are incenentally, wonderful for moving a slope…. stand at the top, lower the Flymo on its cord, then start swinging, back and forth, pendulum style. You can also use them for mowing ponds, if you feel so inclined… but the electric version isn’t recommended for that…
March 9th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I really wish you could get hover mowers here in the states. I used to use them in South Africa. They were infinitely easier and more pleasant to use than any other kind of mower. The one drawback being that there was no way to collect the cuttings. So that meant you had to go around afterwards raking them up if you wanted to use them for compost.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I have tried to purchase a Flymo in the States but just got a one line reply from Husqvarna: “Flymo product is not available in the US.” If they come on the market here, please tell me!
(ex-pat Brit)
May 5th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I have been using the same 2 cycle gas powered Flymo since 1979, wouldnt have anything else!
May 25th, 2008 at 4:06 am
I inherited a flymo hover lawnmower when I purchased my home on a Michigan inland lake. I have used it for over 20 years in addition to how long the original owner used it. It runs on mixture of gasoline and oil has has a steel blade. It has worked exceptionally until yesterday when the black circular air foil under the housing and above the blade broke. The engine still runs fine.
Anyone know where or if parts can be gotten for this?
May 26th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Bring them over. Always used a Flymo in the UK and can’t find one here in MD.
June 7th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I had a small Flymo hover that I loved. No smell. No gas. Almost no noise. Weighed next to nothing. Hung on a wall. Worked great. Had a friend moving to Vegas (small yard) so gave it to him as a gift. Then found I couldn’t buy another here in the US. Bummer.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:41 am
1. Flymo was rep’d in the US in the 60 & 70’s by Toro, just didn’t sell well enuf.
2. Methinks the reason theyr’e not for sale here is liability laws, we are much more open then most countries.
3. A friend of mine mows a hill on his prop. in Mich. by tieing a rope on his Flymo’s handle and swinging the mower laterally from the hilltop.
4. There are one or two domestic manf. of hover mowers, very expensive, mostly for golf courses. I beleive one is called Allen.
5. Even very used ones are hugely overpriced on ebay.
August 10th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I have 2 cycle noma flymo - Canada. Unfortunatly, the lift fan let go while being used, and got chopped up pretty good by the blade. Are these fans still available? The model # decal is damaged so it is not readable.
September 4th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I had a chance to try one out when I visited my relatives in Scottland. I was Thriteen years old and it was the first time lawn care provided some amusment to me. I’m 26 now and have my own place with a small backyard. I cant imagine anything better than a flymo cutting my lawn.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Loved using these when I lived in the UK for 8 years and wish I could buy one in Oregon. So easy for a lady to whizz around her yard and whack down weeds and grass and even small rocks that get in her way…ha ha. So quiet, so clean, so easy to empty…nothing like that in the US.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Flymo, Flymo Wherefore art thou, Flymo? I had a Flymo in the late 80s and early 90s, loved the thing, it was by far the best mower I have ever owned for a small yard. Now that I am in a house with a small yard again, I have looked high and low for an electric Flymo. I have found gas powered ones several places, but sadly no electric ones that will function here in the US.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:39 am
John Schaefer: Your post implies you’ve found some electric ones that (you think) *won’t* function here. What’s the impediment to their use? If it’s lack of a 220V outlet with the proper plug shape, I can think of some easy ways around that little problem…
cl
May 31st, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I also have a flymo model HVT 40. Mine has the short cords on it but sadly we cannot find replacement cords now. We can’t seem to find parts even through Husqvarna who is the “manufacture” or seller at the time. Does anyone out there know why parts are not even available????
GL
June 7th, 2009 at 9:07 am
I’m originally from the UK and all I used out there was the flymo. It was so easy to get around the garden and meant that I could add interest to the garden without wondering whether a bulky mower could fit into the gaps.. Now I have a mower that I can barely get around the garden and feel like my biceps will pop after mowing the lawn. I really can’t believe they are not big in the states. The ones that I have seen cost a ridiculous amount of cash, yet in the UK they’re ‘cheap as chips’.. I would love this product in the states.. Not everyone has acres of land needing a big mower!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:12 am
I’m originally from the UK and all I used out there was the flymo. (as Laura above). It’s light and easy to use. No weight at all. They are cheap and blades are ridiculously cheap. Why won’t they market them in the USA. Is it because supliers can’t make enough money. They would sell millions and earn millions.
BRING FLYMO TO THE USA - PLEASE
August 15th, 2009 at 7:21 am
I owned one, in the mid to late 70s, that I bought at J.C. Penney’s. Neat machine - especially for the banks leading down to a canal in my Florida yard. Don’t know what ever happened to that thing. I bought two machines (one in running conditiion) last week, at a flea market. $75.00 for the two. Took them to the largest, most established small engine repair shop, in this area. The older man, who owns the shop, had never seen one before. I’m hoping to get one really good one, out of it, and keep the other for spare parts. I see that newer versions are on sale for $700.00.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Gina - If you’re still looking for engine parts, the guy working on my machines says the older engines were built by Tecumseh. No idea if he is correct.
February 20th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
I have a TORO Flymo 19 made in 1965, works great, still has great compression and is used weekly. The engine is a Tecumseh T633-58A.
February 28th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
BTW, replacement impellers are available on eBay, but they are for the newer models. Possibly can be retrofitted to the TOROs.
March 4th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I used a flymo back in the 70s when I was still in England…I love them, I have been trying to find one here for years, but no luck so far.
wardoe USA.