written by McGee203 on 07/03/2024
I bought this mower as it looked good an is lightweight first use of the mower one of the grass diverted fell off went under the mower and was destroyed. The part can't be replaced, next problem is rge grass box, very poor fottind together, contacted Bosch they were no help at all. My advice is buy another make which I cannot afford to do.
written by JL65 on 03/03/2024
I bought a Bosch Rotak 34 about 10 years ago which is as great. I bought another one last week and it’s awful - I’ve still got the old one waiting to be taken the tip and the deterioration in build, rigidity and performance is staggering. It’s like a cheap copy. Its really flimsy and broke with 15 mins of starting to use it. Avoid.
written by on 09/07/2017
I bought this to replace a worn out previous model, and was very dissapointed at the cheap build quality compared to my old one. This ones made in China which says it all. Kept cutting out immediately after assembly and only ran when it felt like it. Returned it to store for refund. Would be better to buy a cheap unit from Aldi or Lidl with a three year warranty then scrap it when it dies. Avoid.
written by Levesquezr244 on 29/05/2017
Only used this mower a few times before the motor failed "completely". Armature had disintegrated - can only be through poor manufacture. Seems to be a common fault and Bosch must be aware but customer service are no help at all. Mower is destined for the bin. Can only say - would never buy Bosch again!
written by ParkerElliott on 09/08/2016
I bought one in July 2016 having owned an excellent Rotak 34GC for many many years of hard use. The old model was well made, robust,long lasting and efficient. So I made the assumption new one would be a new version to same standard. Wrong! Thin flimsy plastic, does not fit together well, especially grassbox which is poorly connected to the machine. A part fell off (factory fitted part) as I wheeled it out of the shed. The hole where the grass comes out of the machine into the grassbox is only half width of machine, on the old model it was full width so long grass will probably get stuck. Just not man enough unless you have a tiny little flat patch of very regularly cut grass. This gives Bosch a bad name and I will be very wary of their products in future. sad to say this, it was a name I trusted. I had not used it, so got a refund.
written by MarinFrost on 09/08/2016
This is the worst mower I have ever owned, I am suprised I too thought Bosch was a good make. Have had it for 2 years and it has cut out constantley until today it has gone completeley. I also agree with others that the grass collecting box is poorly designed and does not fit together very well. What a waste of money.
written by Maryjane470 on 30/06/2016
V poor experience with a poor cut but the quality is awful - within two years of use the plastic height adjuster broke and the cable has become brittle - it hasn't been over used as I have a small lawn Save your money and don't buy a Bosch mower
written by Josev165 on 19/05/2016
Flimsy plastic, cut very poor. Says for a medium lawn but lead is only 10 m. This is ridiculous. Tried to register on line but keeps logging me out. Do not buy this.
written by Goldstar2 on 08/05/2016
Bought the Rotak 340 ER Oct 15, thinking it was made by Bosch and a quality product. Big mistake ! Purchased it from our local B&Q, having only a small garden assumed it would be adequate and suitabley sized. Used it 2 times till the end of the summer and stored it away, used it again early May 16 half way through the motor burnt out. Rubbish product, made in China don't buy one,cheap is no the best ! Managed to loose the receipt so B&Q don't want to know.
written by hwGregory437 on 26/06/2015
I needed to replace my hover mower for 3 main reasons. 1 - Since it blasts out air from the bottom to make it "float" when I get to the edge of the lawn it blows soil and mulch all over the driveway. The Rotak 34 is cleverly designed to suck everything up . Wonderful!! 2 - The old hover does not hover at all and I find it hard to push. ( I am getting on) The rotak has wheels and is a breeze to push. 3 - The hover would not cut to the edge of the lawn without danger of scalping. This has been addressed by Bosch and it cuts right to the edge. Yes, there are better mowers on the market with better build quality but what are you having to pay? I was delighted when I made my first cut. I pushed it along, the grass was about 3 inches long and it made a beautiful flat cut, as good as a cylinder mower and far superior to the Hover. The Hover cost me £95 and Rotak34 £69.95. What more can I say.
written by on 25/07/2014
Took delivery of a Bosch Rotak 34R yesterday assembled it OK until I got to what Bosch call the "Grass Box". What a load of cheap jack rubbish! It is clipped together by two red clips,one either side. These clips join the top and the bottom together. The problem is, the two pieces don't really join together and the whole box wobbles about and is the worst bit of design and production I have ever seen in a lawn mower. There is no rigidity in the box and no support structure to keep it steady. It cuts the lawn properly and does a good job, if you don't mind grass flying out of the sides of your wobbly box. A Bosch Techie suggested I wind duck tape around and around the box to give it more support!! It seems there are no similar stronger boxes I could exchange my rotten one for so I am stuck with it unless I return the whole machine. As they say Buyer Beware.
written by 481Barker on 30/06/2014
Brought this to replace a Qualcast that we have had for 8 years as the brushes had worn out. The cutting sizes go from 1mm upwards but this machine will not even take off daisy heads 15mm high. The collector box handle will not stay clipped to the top so emptying requires you to hold it at the top and bottom. I would rename this machine Botch Rotak as it is total rubbish.
written by Braylenq311 on 07/05/2014
This mower was a rotten lousy waste of money. The bracket for adjusting the cut heigh broke the very first time I got it out of the box. Don't do it to yourself. I know it was cheap but really it should have done our small lawn one time before packing up. Seriously steer clear of this design catastrophe. I don't think we are going to keep it for longer than a week. Really can not think of a positive word to say about it. yuck yuck yuck. yuck yucky yuck
written by on 01/07/2013
Not managed to cut grass at all, handles keep coming off. Had tp use 12 year old £25 flymo insred, hate tjis new mower!
Written on: 24/04/2014
Many customers complain about how much force and in some cases the two handle bottom screw to mower deck L/R side are to drive fully home but the complaint has fallen on deaf ears which tells me customer are classed as being moaners,if Bosch was not so expensive then a problem `might` be accepted but when the company's slogan is "Invented for life" it should practice "Invented for humans" to be able to assemble.
written by lhawk on 22/05/2013
I recently bought the 34cm cutting width Rotak (however it was the model with the 'ergoflex' handles, which is not the model shown here). It cuts my uneaven, funny-shaped lawn beautifully because it is light and maneuverable and cuts edges perfectly. The key aspect for me is the power and torque it puts to its blades so that it cuts well through wet and rough grass - I have included the full technical specification of the range and a video demonstration.
written by on 21/05/2013
Bought £89 bosch rotak 340er lawnmower from b & q store after seeing it on their website. Big mistake! Assembled the mower and was surprised just how flimsy and badly made the grassbox is--two plastic halves have to clip together and a handle clips into the top. The very poor quality construction means the grassbox does not fit well into the mower and even the b&q manager struggled to get it to fit. Also the grassbox angles down so you spill grass cuttings when removing the box and in use cuttings can come out of the vent holes in the box sides. Box not designed for longevity. Initially the manager did not want to give a refund as i had used the mower (used once and mower returned within 2 days of purchase) but after 'phoning Bosch a refund was processed. This mower cannot be bought via the B & q website. If it was then distance selling regs. would apply. I suspect Bosch know of the manufacturing problem. My old hover, and new hovers for larger gardens, come with a suitable 12 metre cable but the Bosch only has a 10 metre cable so you may well need to use an extension cable. Overall very poor Bosch and not a product worth considering!
written by on 25/09/2010
The Rotak 34 while being a cheap purchase at £89.00 in my view is not a great lawn mower. There are many faults in its design. The grass box has to many awkward shapes that retain the grass when emptying and worse still the sides are open with air vents which lets the small grass blades out what the idea is makes you wonder?, The grass height selection lever in plastic can be difficult to move simply because the spring mechanism is far to large and the lever in plastic is strong but flexes also making it very difficult in selecting the right height in the plastic ratchet.It is very stylish to look at and light weight to for easy manoeuvrability
Written on: 28/03/2011
The small holes in the box are for air flow through the box otherwise the grass gathers at the front of the box!
Written on: 17/07/2012
Responding to Vanastica: You are absolutely right :-).
I could not figure out what was wrong, other than confirming the grassbox assembly was correct, as it fitted perfectly on an identical mower. It's obvious that this fault is not unique and I therefore expected that the Bosch Technical Advice Line would have a solution. But they simply offered to collect and replace or repair, which I declined.
The supplier replaced the mower, on the spot, no quibble, and the replacement did not have the leaky lid problem.
I fully concur with the reviewer's comments regarding awkward emptying of the grassbox due to its internal reinforcement fillets and the really balky height adjustment.
Written on: 16/07/2012
I would take it back as there is an obvious fault. Mine is now over a year old and I have none of these problems. Gives the best cut of a fair size lawn that I have ever had
Written on: 14/07/2012
Some confusion here about 'air vents'
Yes, the grass box is perforated to promote air flow.
But that is not the point.
The grass box lid is so badly designed that there are significant gaps around the edges and rear, through which clippings are blown all over the mower and the person using it. This is entirely unacceptable.
written by Bornacoola on 17/08/2010
After much trepidation I opted to buy A Bosch Rotak 34 after my Qualcast cylinder mower expired. The new mower arrived and within ten minutes of opening the box I was mowing. Set on the shortest cut the machine gave as neat and close trim as my old cylinder mower. No "scalping", no digging-in just a nice close cut. I was so impressed I decided to take the mower and tackle a council maintained verge outside my home. This "green" area consisted of dandelions and long scrubby grass. Leaving the machine on the shortest cut setting I zipped over this area taking off "spears" of grass 6"- 7" long in one pass. I would point out that the grass was dry - what is it with this desire to cut wet grass?
All in all, this mower "does what it says on the tin" and if bought at a discount offers excellent value for money.
written by on 04/08/2010
bought a Bosch 34 Mower to replace my broken Hover-Mower. The first thing I noticed when I took it out was the weight! Compared to most lawn mowers it is very light, when putting it together lots of other reviewers said it took a long time. LIE! From the moment I got it out the box to when I turned it on took about 10 minutes, 2 screws put the 2 pieces of the handle toghether and the other 2 to join the whole handle to the mower. When mowing the lawn it took a Hover-Mower 30 minutes whereas it took the Bosch 20! It takes the edges easily but on some places you might need to go over twice. Overall a perfect mower, for £80 from Keen Garderner it is also very good value for money. Chris
written by on 20/07/2010
Včera som zobral star Cina kosačky, Rotak 34 skončil .
Doln ložisko sa zohrialo posunulo plastovom asi o 7 mm .
Kosačka je neopraviteľn , pretoze oprava JE nerentabiln , motor asi treba vymeniť.Z ruka skončila .
Na Slovensk cena kosačky 200 euro 2 t ždeň mzda ..
Nikdy Kosačka Bosch !
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As rated by our community of reviewers
Janebloggs's Comment
Written on: 13/08/2013
Hi,
Sorry to ask, but have you made sure that the handles are fixed firmly?
I had to put it together myself from the box when I bought mine about 4 years ago, but I can honestly say it's the best mower I've ever had, and I've never had any problems with it. Hope this will help!