Qualcast 1600W Rotary Electric Mower Review

Once the staple of the small lawn mower market, Qualcast lawnmowers are a bit more of a rarity these days. None the less, the now Bosch owned brand still produce high quality, reliable equipment such as this 1600 Watt rotary model.

More traditional looking than the Bosch models, everything has a bit more of a ‘chunky’ accessible feel about it on the Qualcast 1600W model. A good case in point is the rather large cutting height adjustment lever, together with the large print numbers indicating the cutting height. Such features suggest this mower has probably been designed with this less mobile and elderly in mind, which is no bad thing, anything to help make life that little bit easier is always welcome.

With a 40cm cutting width and 40 litre grass bag, this is towards the larger end of the electric mower spectrum, this does of course mean it is slightly heavier than smaller models, 14.9kg to be precise. This is fairly manageable, but it’s worth keeping in mind, especially as the mower features no form of self propulsion.

If you like your lawn stripy, then this model might go some way towards helping you achieve the desired effect thanks to its rear roller. It’s a little on the small side, so probably won’t give outstanding results, but if it’s an ‘impression’ rather than definitive stripes that you’re after, then this will deliver.

In terms of operation this mower ticks the main box we always look for, that is that the ‘dead mans handle’ power switch is a bar right across the width of the handle bar operable by both hands. This allows one hand to take a rest when it gets tired from gripping. As for carrying, folding and stowing the mower and grass box, you’ll  notice the ‘chunky’ theme touched on earlier continues thanks to the large handles and large red quick release levers on the handle bar making folding the handle a clear and simple process.

Pros

• Packed full of features to make the mower clear and easy to operate in every regard, including large clearly coloured handles
• Rear roller to help achieve a ‘striped’ lawn effect
• Large cutting width and grass box capacity to make mowing the lawn a quick and efficient process

Cons

• 10 metre power cord isn’t enough for many gardens
• Assembly isn’t a terribly easy process, so allow a morning or afternoon to put the mower together

Conclusion

Overall this is great, honest little lawn mower, ideally suited to medium to large sized gardens everywhere. Again, and this isn’t meant to sound at all condescending, we would highly recommend this if you or someone you’re are shopping on behalf of has dexterity and eyesight isn’t what it used to be, as this mower really is geared up to be as simple to use as possible.