Key things I assessed prior to buying this lawnmower were width, weight, and price; with every day use also described below:
Width – The Bosch ROTAK comes in a range of cutting widths with the ROTAK 43 being the widest cutting 43 cm wide stripes down the lawn. This makes it suitable for the ... Read review
of grass along the edge? Then the Rotak is the right mower for you. With in-set front wheels, its innovative grass combs enable cutting of grass growing close to...
innovative patented grass combs offer unbeatable advantages: no other lawnmower can mow so close to the edge and even long grass is child´s play for the new ROTAK.
mowers utilises the latest in Lithium Ion technology giving you all the advantages of a petrol lawnmower with none of the disadvantages like smell, and weight.Possib...
A review by y419lan on Bosch Rotak 40 June 8th, 2007
Author's product rating:
Performance
Excellent
Ease of use
Easy
Durability
Long
Maintenance
Fair
Safety
OK
Advantages:
Great wide cutting ability with stripes
Disadvantages:
it is a CABLED mower . . .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Key things I assessed prior to buying this lawnmower were width, weight, and price; with every day use also described below: Width – The Bosch ROTAK comes in a range of cutting widths with the ROTAK 43 being the widest cutting 43 cm wide stripes down the lawn. This makes it suitable for the largest suburban lawns that don’t rate the expense of a ride-on mower. It enabled me to cut my rear 140ft*45ft lawn in just half an hour. Weight – With having to lift my mower in and out of the shed I wanted a light mower and weighing in at just 13KG, this mower is notably lighter than rivals, even other electrics that typically weigh in at over 15KG Price – I was able to source this mower for £140 including delivery from an online retailer which was £20 more than the Homebase sale price on the ROTAK40, but having decided I wanted the widest viable mower to reduce mowing times I reasoned an extra £20 for a mower I will have to use over 200 times at least was worth it if it was going to save me over 10% of mowing time. The extra 3cm width doesn’t sound much but it makes at least a 10% reduction in overall mowing time which over a 10 year lifetime I estimated to equate to over 10 hours saved. Would I pay £2 to save mowing for an hour – that’s a ‘yes’ for me – if not for you then get the ROTAK40 from Homebase sales at £120 as the ROTAK works great – see below Every day use – After several months use the ROTAK has not disappointed. A particular feature I like is the way it cuts through long grass over 1ft/30cm tall without issue. It also has 10 easily adjustable height settings which was good for me as I have a slightly bumpy lawn and needed to adjust the cutting height to avoid making bald areas in the lawn. A key feature I like of electric mowers is they are generally pretty quiet, and this ROTAK is no exception in comparison to a petrol mower despite the seemingly equally good cutting power. The 50 litre grass box packs the grass well and keep box emptying to a reasonable level. The roller leaves good stripes and the light weight makes it easily maneuverable. As with all cabled electric mowers though there is always the drawback of the cable which nearly always needs a cable extension and careful management to avoid cutting it! Summary. I feel I have got value for money for this mower and recommend it for its great cutting ability, even with wet grass. If you can get it for a sale price so much the better!
Advantages: Reliable,efficient, wide cut (46cm), large funnelled grassbox, lightweight Disadvantages: Cable - you have to be very aware where it is!
As a middle aged lady seeking to replace an ageing petrol mower with something lighter and faster, I have been thrilled with this excellent machine. The basic machine is made of heavy duty plastic type material, and whilst this seemed rather "cheap" after the metal mower I had before, I love the resulting lightness. It glides over the lawn, but the roller does give a nice striped effect and the grass combs certainly do pull in stray tufts from the ... ...The large 50L grass box means you do not have to keep emptying, and it is shaped with a sort of funnel which helps direct the contents into the refuse sacks I use to dispose of garden waste. The old mower had a grass box with "letterbox" shape and it was a very messy job to get the cuttings into the sack!
There is minimal assembly required but as a very non technical person I found this quite straightforward. The grass box comes in three parts but ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Large cutting capacity Disadvantages: Noise, Noise & More Noise
...died. Have a few Bosch products which are all satisfactory and had read a couple of positive reviews for this model. What I like is the wide cutting width, 6cm bigger, and the large (50 lt) grass box - a bit less walking . Alo the switch, being across the full width of the handle makes it easy to control.
What I'm not sure about are the combs, bit gimicky probably, and the suction. My old mower vacuumed the grass, the blade was designed as a propellor, ... ...leaves, etc, that fall. What I don't like is the noise (much, much louder), there's no indication when the grass box is full, and the quality of construction - the plastic feels flimsy, not sure it will last the 12 years of the old. Would I buy it again, no. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Lightweight, Cuts when wet, Bosch design Disadvantages: Full width on/off bar
I bought the Bosch Rotak 43 as it was the largest electric mower I could find, and I have a lot of grass. I had a qualcast before, so was very happy with the whole Bosch scene.
The reviews said that it was quiet, lightweight and cut long, wet grass. The mower arrived on the one day it didn't rain, so I put it to the test. It does everything it says on the box.
Lawn-cutting time was reduced by almost half, mainly because the machine didn't get clogged ... ...comes with the standard 2 year Bosch guarantee, which can't be bad.
I would recommend this mower to anyone wanting a cabled machine for a large garden. (And I believe Bosch also make a rechargable battery version of this.)
All in all, the best cabled mower on the market!!! ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Bought about 2 years ago. Initial delighted with it - much faster and easier to use than my previous Qualcast cylinder mower, and good stripes to boot!
Unfortunately, the mechanism that adjusts the height has just broken and having searched the web it doesn't look as though it can be replaced. I know its not hugely expensive but surely it should last more than 2 years??? Also, the handle came off the grass bin soon after I bought it - not a serious problem, but it tends to bear out those who refer to its cheap, plasticky build quality.
Will miss it, but probably won't buy another.
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Very happy - only used it for one cut so far - on-off bar better than smaller Bosch models which use handle as can be used left handed. Collecting part effective, can be packed full and holds a lot and machine not too heavy to lift over steps
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
