Bosch Rotak 36 Review

Bosch Rotak 36 Review – Key Features

• Construction – As with the other models in this series, the main material used is plastic – which for some people will ring alarm bells in terms of durability, but I would suggest this is only the case if you really do not look after your lawn mower well. I mean if you’re going to just ram it into a wall or a shed or something, it’s obviously not going to stand up as well as a steel mower so……..don’t do that!On the upside the use of plastic has several benefits; it allows the mower to remain lightweight and as a result of this the mower is more manoeuvrable, it also helps to keep the production costs down and this saving is passed onto you.
• Motor – It has a very respectable 1400 watt motor which is powerful enough to get through longish grass, which is very handy if you are prone to letting your lawn overgrow. Don’t worry, we all do it at some point.
• Easy Starts – To get started up what you do is push the little red button in and pull the red lever towards the handle – simple! This mechanism also acts as a safety device as if you need to stop suddenly you just release that red lever and the blade will stop. This is handy if you see a large stone or something on the lawn and need to remove it.
• Cutting Deck – The actual deck of the mower is 36cm wide which is an ideal size for small – medium sized lawns. If you would class your garden as large, then we would recommend you take a look at either the Rotak 40 or the Rotak 43.
• Grass Combs – The design lends itself well to a neat finish around the edges of the lawn with its inset front wheels and the presence of the innovative “grass combs” on each side of the cutting deck. The grass combs are designed to guide the grass on the edges of your lawn into the blade of the lawnmower. You know how normally you get that strip at the edge of your lawn which is left uncut because the blade usually can’t get right to the edge (particularly if the edge is next to a wall, fence or shed)? Well this is Bosch’s answer to that.
• Carry Handle – On top of the mower deck you’ve got another handy feature – an integrated carry handle. This just makes picking the mower up and transporting it that much easier. This combined with the light weight of the mower makes it really easy to carry.
• Height Adjustment – On the left hand side of the deck you will see a red lever. This is for changing the cutting height. There is a very generous 10 different settings on this baby, ranging from 20mm all the way up to 70mm. So whether you want a nice short, tidy finish or whether you’re preparing your lawn for winter, you have the diversity here to do it all. What’s more, it is unbelievably easy to change these heights. The red lever does all four wheels at once and the height can be changed in literally a couple of seconds. Convenient and easy to use!
• Grass Roller – There’s a small roller on the back to give you a professional looking striped finish. A nice touch for a mower in this price bracket!
• Grass Box – Bosch are quite generous with their grass boxes and it’s no different here – you get a nice 40 Litre capacity. Putting the grass box together can be a little tricky but we will mention more about that in the assembly section below.
• Handle – The handle is made out of metal and folds in the middle. There’s two red knobs which you need to loosen, once you’ve done that the handle folds over which makes it easier to store as it takes up less space.
• Power Cable – You get a power cable included with the Bosch Rotak 36. Its 12 metres in length and I think this highlights the fact that this mower is intended for use in small to medium sized gardens. You could bolster this length with the use of an extension cable however. This power cable is permanently attached to the mower so you cannot just take it out and replace it with a longer/different cable.

Bosch Rotak 36 Review – Assembly

• There’s never a lot to talk about in this section for any of the models in the Rotak series as they all come pretty much assembled. All you need to do is attach the handle and clip the grass box together. Honestly it’s really not hard and shouldn’t take you more than 10-15 minutes after you take it out of the box.
• The grass box is the one area where a few people do have a bit of trouble. It’s shipped in two halves and so you are required to clip it together. The plastic is quite flexible so you could find it a little tricky at first to get the two pieces to remain in place to clip them together. The best thing to do is clip one of the rear clips in place, as this will help to align the other clip points. From there you can just work your way around and snap all the other clips into place.

Bosch Rotak 36 Review – Performance

• Cutting Ability – The finish which it produces is even, smooth and generally very neat. The steel blade definitely helps to produce this finish.
• Grass Collection – In terms of collecting the grass, the Bosch does a standout job. All of the grass is sucked into the 40 litre grass box and compacted pretty well, meaning generally you don’t need to make as many trips to the dustbin and you don’t waste loads of time cleaning up afterwards. So that means this mower is a timesaver!
• Manoeuvrability – At only 11.1 kg in weight it’s not difficult to push. This low weight means you get great manoeuvrability.

Bosch Rotak 36 Review – Pros

• Minimal assembly required
• Very high quality of cut
• Motor is top quality
• Cuts well around the edges using the grass combs
• Produces stripes using rear roller
• Easy to manoeuvre
• Very portable
• Great grass collection
• Easy height adjustment
• Large selection of different cutting heights
• Easy to use
• Stores well
• Easy to keep clean

Bosch Rotak 36 Review – Cons

• You need to be careful with this mower. It is constructed mainly from plastic which doesn’t have the same resistance level as say steel. If you’re going to bash it around then durability is going to be an issue
• The mouth of the grass box is fairly narrow and it does make it a bit harder to empty than it really needs to be.
• The 12 metre cable is fixed into place and can’t be removed to replace with a longer cable or to be stored separately. So when considering this model you really do need to be sure of the size of your garden and ask yourself “is 12 metres enough cable?” Of course you can kind of get around this by using an extension cable.