Débroussailleuse roulante

[Pippasquestion]

Hi there,

I’ve just joined this site. It looks great! We have had a house in the Loire/ Sud Touraine for 17 years though it’s only been really a home for the past 5 years. I wondered if anyone had any advice about a débroussailleuse roulante which I think would help us with our large brambly garden. Many thanks Pippa

[Rachel05]

Hi Pippasquestion - welcome to SF. There are a lot of friendly people on this site and I’m attaching a link to a previous set of questions/recommendations regarding a brushcutter.

Débroussailleuse avec chariot? Suggestions please

I think I may have posted on this before, but I’d be grateful for an update please. I’m looking at ways of making our gardening more manageable and safer and I’m wondering about one of these (or similar)? [image] We have parts of the garden that we are struggling to control, mainly brambles with young saplings pushing their way through. Are these pieces of kit up to the job? And can they be used on a bank? And is it something at our ages we could control and cope with (both in our late 70s, reasonably, but not very, fit) I’d welcome advice on a good brand please (assuming it makes sense for us to buy one).

We bought the Dormak and Stuart (my husband) says it is one of the best pieces of garden equipment he has ever used. No doubt other members of the site will comment and help you decide.

Wishing you good luck in your search.

[Corona]

Welcome, don’t use a string line, go for a blade.

[NotALot]

Are the brambles on the ground or growing as part of hedges?

Is the ground reasonably flat and level?

I borrowed a Roques & Lacoeur self-propelled tricycle model once and it was a handful on the slopes, but did a good job shredding anything below knee height.

For anything taller, I found a metal brushcutter bar fitted my Stihl line trimmer does the job, though it make said trimmer fall into the category of “scary things that will hurt you the instant that you’re not giving them your full attention” and takes a fair effort to use.

[Pippasquestion]

Thanks Rachel05. That’s great. I’ll see if I can get hold of that model.

[Ancient_Mariner]

We have a modest orchard that grows brambles, small sycamore trees and waist-high grass. Last year I used a brush cutter with metal blade, this year I’ve used a wheeled strimmer.

If you have thick-stemmed plants in with the grass then a strimmer with line is going to struggle. I tried 3 different lines in mine: the original 3mm monofilament, an Oregon line with carbon fibre core and an Oregon star-shaped line. The star shape cut best, but all the lines broke when there was a thicker bramble in the grass.

When I cut previously with the metal bladed brush cutter it was fine with sycamore stems around 1cm diameter and all brambles. If your land is like mine, you may find a strimmer disappointing.

[Pippasquestion]

Hi Ancient_Mariner,
Thanks for your message. It seems that we share the same terrain. We have a Stihl strimmer with a blade but it’s weight means I can’t work for long. I’m sure with practice I’ll get stronger! However, the thought of a wheeled strimmer seems much more realistic to do our orchard and wooded garden. I fancy that I’ll be able to conquer the garden in an afternoon .
Pippa

[NotALot]

If anyone is thinking of fitting brushcutter disks or blades to their line trimmer, do check the recommendations of the disk/blade manufacturer as to which trimmers they are suitable for as their use often requires a more powerful engine than most entry level/homeowner trimmers come with.