can one of you clever people answer this in simple terms please . . . .

Ive just done the most stupid thing that ive ever done, I cut the electric cable of my hedge trimmer with the hedge trimmer

My question is this, the 5 amp fuse in the plug did not blow, neither did the fuse in the extension lead, it just popped the house fuse, once pressed, all worked again (after joining wire)

Why doesnt the fuse in the trimmer be the one to blow ?  2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
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The trip went out far faster than the fuses had time to react. That’s what saves your life.

Because the one in the house is more sensitive also the first thing I did when I used an electric hedge trimmer so your not alone!

Northcroft wrote:

can one of you clever people answer this in simple terms please . . . .

Ive just done the most stupid thing that ive ever done, I cut the electric cable of my hedge trimmer with the hedge trimmer

My question is this, the 5 amp fuse in the plug did not blow, neither did the fuse in the extension lead, it just popped the house fuse, once pressed, all worked again (after joining wire)

Why doesnt the fuse in the trimmer be the one to blow ?

It’s to create maximum embarrassment - if the house fuse blows everyone gets to know what you’ve done whereas if just the appliance fuse goes you needn’t tell anyone
Some years ago all my parents power went off when council were trimming the hedge on the slip road. Seems ‘operative’ was standing on the back of a flat-bed as his mate drove slowly alongside the hedge, however neither of them noticed all the wires running up the telegraph pole - power lines, phones etc

CED wrote:

The trip went out far faster than the fuses had time to react. That’s what saves your life.

My hedge trimmer cable is now so short I’ve started cutting through the extension lead….

My Hedge Trimmer electric lead was cut so many times that I had to put a plug on it, and now run it via an extension lead.

This does actual make it easier, as after every new 'accident,' I can trim the damaged extension lead, and refit socket.

PS I have now bought a cordless Hedge Trimmer, in fact most of my garden and power tools are now cordless. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

I'm going full circle. As a confirmed petrol head, everything was petrol - leaf blower, grass cutting, hedge trimmer but years of poor starting - Gill didn't stand a chance, forced me to buy electric. Mains at first, then when Gill started to take over we went cordless, but they were puny and took way too long.
Gone back to petrol but bought Stihl chainsaw, hedge cutter and leaf blower. They start easily and work well, the leaf blower is amazing, it is the backpack version because you couldn't hold it in your arms for long, wet leaves Ha! the hedge trimmer just cuts strait without continually going over the same patch.

Must admit the chainsaw is a step too far for pruning, a battery one is lighter and easier to handle, OK the Stihl cuts down trees easily, but once they are down it's not necessary.

Grass cutting is a thing of the past - plastic grass is so much better, just don't drop a hot blowtorch on it. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Andy 131 Serious question ......do you have problems with bird pooh on your plastic grass?

Bird poo isn't too much of a problem - hose pipe and no water meter.
Bird (pigeon) feathers on the other hand are a right pain, leaf vac doesn't touch them, leaf blower struggles and then only moves them 5-6ft.

Next door like to feed he flying rats on an open bird table, so they are there regularly. We were troubled with rodents feeding of the dropped seeds, but since our dog died we have put poison down and the vermin haven't been seen for a while.

The garden had been a mud bath for years (decades!) we finally bit the bullet, and the guys who installed the lawn did an amazing job. Dug and installed land-drains, 16 tonnes of stone, 4-5 tonnes of sand and then the lawn. Previously when in rained (in Manchester!!) the lawn was unusable for days as the clay soil didn't allow it to dry out. Now we get a heavy downpour and 10 minutes later the lawn is good to walk on. It's been down 5 years, looks as good as the first day, the guys did come back early this year to "service" the lawn. Some idiot had been using a leaf sucker for years and had sucked the sand out from between the grass blades causing them to lie more flat. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Poison and plastic grass!....an environmental strategy to confuse children and nature

Northcroft wrote:

can one of you clever people answer this in simple terms please . . . .

Ive just done the most stupid thing that ive ever done, I cut the electric cable of my hedge trimmer with the hedge trimmer

My question is this, the 5 amp fuse in the plug did not blow, neither did the fuse in the extension lead, it just popped the house fuse, once pressed, all worked again (after joining wire)

Why doesnt the fuse in the trimmer be the one to blow ?

AT1963 wrote:

Poison and plastic grass!....an environmental strategy to confuse children and nature

Plastic grass unlike tarmac or concrete allows the rainwater to soak into the clay and if the kids (36 & 39) are daft enough to eat the poison in the traps, then maybe Darwin has a point.


We could open up a whole topic about the environment, but I am sure it is a far more poisonous topic than the stuff I have put in the traps.  Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

My uncle cut grandmas hedge with a tractor mounter hedge cutter, this is in the local town not a rural property

Anyway he forgot about the summer house backing into the hedge and completely de-roofed the thing


personally I use a ryobi battery trimmer. goes well. been so easy you can trim little and often , then just shred the clippings with a mulch mower. beech hedge At work
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winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

The problem with battery powered gear, especially if you buy cheap Chinese/supermarket tools is finding a replacement battery when the inevitable happens and it starts to die. I have even bought B&Q tools (McAllister) and found the same problem. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
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