BLACK+DECKER Electric Strimmer Grass Trimmer 900 W 35 cm with Wheel Edge Guide and Adjustable Second Handle GL9035-GB

I bought this strimmer to replace a very basic, DIY store own-label, strimmer I had owned for a couple of years. It was OK, took a long time to do the job, but halfway through this year’s first-cut Spring grass strimming, before I was going to put the mower on the lawn, the strimmer literally burst into flames. It just couldn’t take it.So, I thought, OK, I clearly need something with a bit more horsepower, and I bought this one.Within a few seconds, I realised I was holding onto a very different device. This fellow not only strimmed grass and weeds, it hated them with a passion and wanted to annihilate them. I started swinging it like my old strimmer, which I now realise used to perform like an old lady with a pair of nail-scissors.This strimmer is the Chuck Norris of strimmers. If you angle it a few degrees too much, you end up with a large patch of bare earth that no longer contains a single molecule of grass DNA. And Chuck is happy with that result. If you strim close to a mature tree (which my old strimmer did, leaving no visible marks), Chuck wants to cut the entire tree down. It even left deep welts in concrete paving!So, beware! If you have a well-manicured, small garden and just want to trim a few straggly edges, Chuck is not for you. It is like sending in a fully-armed soldier to resolve a disagreement in the school playground.However, if you have a large area to clear, with tall grass and weeds, and you don’t mind a few chunks of bare earth when your aim dips from 20-degrees to 22-degrees, or seeing some sturdy saplings that suddenly look the worse for wear, then Chuck is the very fellow for you.You have been warned.

The device is cheap, but has impressive potentials. After going through the original 2mm wire like crazy (it was auto feeding way too often), I found a video on youtube of a guy showing the problem is the engine being a bit too powerful and "bumpy" and the auto feed giving away wire at every aceleration/deceleration. Way around that is simple: undo all the original 2mm wore and buy a spool of 2.4mm standard wire. Not only being thicker it makes better use of the 900w motor, but the weight of the wire is enough not to overdo with the auto feeder, or in many case to stop the auto feeder completely. Downside is that the wire sometimes needs to be fed manually. But keep in mind that the wire consumes a lot slower. I found it changed completely now with the 2.4mm wire, it is a different machine.It will never compare with a proper strimmer with proper 33cm+ head, no chance. However, it is a brilliant compromise that works perfectly if the job is not a massive one.Alternatives are petrol or professional ones, like the 56v battery powered strimmers, which would set you £400 down.

My Flymo 500W strimmer suddenly died after about 10+ years so had to get a replacement. I'm very happy with the Black and Decker so far. The difference is very impressive. The Flymo struggles with longer/tougher grass and the line just keeps breaking and required opening up the casing and pulling the line out again. It made strimming jobs so much longer. The Black and Decker takes no prisoners and the line hasn't broken once so far. It has no trouble with tougher grass - just chews through them! Strimming now takes half the time. Couldn't be happier. Just hope it's as durable as the old Flymo.

The very long power cord gives great flexibility around the yard. Lightweight and well designed. Highly recommend!

Works well

I bought this because it is height adjustable. I am 5ft 8 and previous strimmers hurt my back because I had to bend to use them.The height adjuster on this is a waste of time. Even at full length it is no longer than other strimmers.It came with a pack of wires.They are fixed into a hexagonal plastic thing which slots into the unit.The wires just shoot out of the hexagon when the strimmer is switched on!The reference number for these wires match what is recommended in the manual (A6489) - but the hexagon does not hold the wire in!!Luckily when I bought the strimmer, amazon offered some wires in a price bundle. They have a metal centre. They do not slot in the container but they do keep hold of the wire so you can actually strim.When I used the strimmer for the first time, I had a lot of heavy growth to cut down. I used the pack of metal centred wires first and they worked well.I had one patch left to do and opened the wires with the hexagon centre.Tried with one three times and every time the wire just flirted out without cutting a thing. The plastic hexagon remained snugly in place but the wire was on the ground.I had to use the single wire pack which comes in the box to finish the job and that was pretty good also.My other complaint is that the push in and pull out plastic cover for the single wire is very difficult to pull off.So if you aren't a tall person and you use the wires with a metal centre unit this strimmer works well.EDITEDOne year after buying it a wire from its workings has come undone. I thought at first there was some wire in the grass I was cutting that had got trapped around it and I pulled to get it out. Sadly it is attached to the strimmer and it is now useless.So I spent over a hundred quid for a strimmer that lasted only one year and it had to tackle rough grass only once, because once I had cut it all down I only used this strimmer to keep it maintained

Trusted brand and great design. Very easy to assemble and set up. Useful instructions and diagrams included. The power lead is a good long length and ideal for tricky hard to get to edges. Easy and comfortable to use.

Very please with the Black & Decker corded strimmer.