Mower is decent but there are two issues I have with mine: (1) indicator on the grass box is unreliable and inaccurate; (2) flaw in design of grassbox (common to other models by Bosch) - because it is tilted downwards, when removing the grass box grass always falls out unless you empty the box when it is only half full each time
Hi - Thanks very much for your observation. I have had the issue with the grass box indicator (not always) but not the issue removing the grass box. Thanks again, it's always good to get other users experiences of this mower. Mark
Just bought a 750 after the demise of my Rotak 40. Generally very impressed - some nuanced design modifications for storage and operation - all good there. It is significantly quieter than the noise around 08:30 into the video so don't get put off by that. Not too bothered about the grass box indicator, when it's full it doesn't collect grass. Only negative point is the tendency to step on the trailing cable and pull it out of the mower, more operator training required (I have secured it to the handle now).
Helpful video. Not quite see the benefit of the larger blade/deck on the 750; the motor (1700w), grass collection box (50L), cable (10m) are the same as the 650. The greater area of cut means having to stop and empty the bag frequently although it is marketed for a larger lawn? The easy height adjustment looks good provided it lasts (some earier Rotak models suffered breakage of the old style single point adjustment lever). Again the multi point controls and telescopic handles are useful provided they last the course. The lower noise seems beneficial. If it lasts as long as my trusty Qualcast Power-Trak 400 (40cm cut, 1700w Bosch motor) I'd be happy....15 years and still counting 😁.
Not even an hour ago I got back home with the UniversalRotak 650 version. You are correct, mine doesn’t have the ErgoSlide handles. My only criticism of my new UniversalRotak 650 mower, apart from the same comment that you make about the cable length on the AdvancedRotak, would be - 1) the two locking levers that you need use after tightening the handlebar screws in place are plastic and snap off if you tighten the screws just a little too much. Fortunately they don’t break so I just needed to slacken the screw slightly with an adjustable spanner and clip them back on again. From the instructions there is no way that one could deduce the amount of tightening force needed on first use just by looking at the diagram supplied. 2) On the UniversalRotak the motor cable has to be secured by a small clip (The cable is incorporated into the Ergoslide in the Advanced model). Again it is plastic and came off and was lost immediately. Other than that, looking at the results on my lawn, I would say that your award of 9.6 could quite justifiably be applied to the Universal model too.
Hi Mark I am looking for a decent lawn mover. i have a very smalgarden may be 3 meter width and 5 meter length. I came to your review and what I would like about it is you were very clear and showing it slowly so people like me who is zero in machinary can follow. the other most thing I like about it is you have answered all comments which is very rare youtuber do. For my gardenis ok to go for Bosch Advance Rotak 650? i would like to have something take minimum storage and easy to handle without to much efforts. please advise. thank you in advance. this one is ok or do you suggest anything else? Also is it good to have corded or cordless ? I don’t have problem to have either of them.
Hi, thanks for you message. I think this mower would be too big for your lawn. I would suggest the new LawnMaster 32cm deck 24v cordless mower - tidd.ly/3PUspqV. I have this mower and will be doing a video review shortly. It is very compact and lightweight at just 9kg. You can use the battery in other LawnMaster tools such as hedge trimmers and grass trimmers if you decided to expand you tools at a later date. You even get a spare a blade, fast charger and the price is good as well. Thanks, Mark
i have the 650 as well, first thing to break was the height adjustment orange button, £7 odd pound to replace, cheap plastic should be aluminium, next the grass box is pants, falls off if you hit something, gap at the bottom of it as well, not a snug fit, power cable that attaches to mower does not click in, it just sits in the socket...so falls out, cable is not long enough, run out of cable without extension..pop goes the plug out the mower, these mowers are junk, oh and fitting that new button i mentioned, lot's of fun fitting that, that box full indicator is a useless gimic, gets in th way replacing that erm cheap plastic adjustment button £7.00 odd pound a pop, it will snap, and the push bars..dont push to hard as the bars come away and want to go forward like your retracting it, if you have a nice small golf course like lawn, and your really really careful, this mower might last a year or two, parts are going to SNAP.
Thanks for you feedback and experience of this mower. I gave my Bosch AdvancedRotak to my neighbour over two years ago and its still going strong with no issues. Admittedly his lawn is relativity flat, but he does let it get very long before cutting and it seems to still be doing a good job. Thanks again.
@@EasyLawnMowing i fitted another height button yesterday, so far so good, id make a video on how to, it's easy but im no good at making vids, so ill explain, remove four black screws on the top black cover only! turn it upside down, remove the handle clips, they push out use needle nose pliers or flathead screw driver, turn cover back over remove broken button, leave spring in place, insert new button over spring, reseat the handle it clips back in, refit black cover over main body, here's the bit thats a pain, the spring for the grass box, i used a very small open end wrench to push the clip into its holder, watch your fingers it will snap back till you get it into place, oh and that height adjust guage, that lines up with the button before you reseat cover. it mows well i have to say, im just used to a petrol mower i guess, id change out the extension for a longer one if i were anyone who has one, thats easy to.
Hi, good video. I have the universal rotak 650, very similar but I cannot work out how to remove or stow the roller. It seems to be adjustable only on one side, so it can't be fully stowed, and it quickly falls back down. Do you know how to remove it?
I don't believe that this mower is designed for the roller to be removed. Being spring loaded it will always want to push down below the level of the wheel.
Can someone please help me. Ive just unpacked the advanced 650 and i cannot get the powercable to stay in the socket on the handle. It doesnt click (as i expected) it then falls out after a few seconds, so i cant use it at all! Has anyone got any tips on how to get the 2 points connected securely?
Hi mark , I have a small lawn which is about 20x20 feet rectangle . I want to buy a goo lawn mover . Kindly advice one Cordless is what I want . The below one is good or is it an overkill Murray 2 x 18 V (36 V) Lithium-Ion 37 cm Cordless Lawn Mower IQ18WM37
Hi Sumanth, yes this mower would be too large for your sized lawn. As you are looking for a cordless mower for a smallish lawn below I have included a link to my best selection. easylawnmowing.co.uk/best-cordless-lawn-mower-for-small-garden-lawns/ Hope this helps, any questions let me know.
Hi Bert, sorry to hear you are having problems with the height adjustment, have you managed to get this sorted as I have not had or heard of any issues with the height adjustment on this model. You do have to push down quite hard on the mower when you press the button, but I am sure you would have tried this already. Mark
Hi Eric - thanks for your comment. The mower out of the box is designed to be run with the collection box attached. You can purchase an optional mulching plug that will allow you to run the mower without the collection box attached. Hope that helps. Thanks - Mark
Hi Mark, just bought the Rotak 36-660 cordless mower. It brilliant except for one thing; there are gaps just behind the rear wheels where the grass collector box is and the leaves blow out from there. there are also round holes so stuff drops out too. Am I missing something that should have come with the mower?
Hi Tania, thanks for your comment. Is there any chance you can email me a photo as this doesn't sound right. If you have a look at 6mins into my video, does your grass box look the same when in position? My email address is mark@easylawnmowing.co.uk if you can send a photo over of the gap that you are seeing. Thanks Mark
@@timothydewilde3354 yes, I contacted Bosch and they tracked down a complete grass box for me. They said if they couldn’t they would replace the whole machine with a new one. Contact - Bosch.servicecentre@uk.Bosch.com. Good luck!
Hi having a look at the photos it would appear that the box is not expanding square, and therefore the lower clips are not aligning correctly. I believe that the new box should resolve the issue. Can you please let me know how you get on when the new box arrives.
Hi Ryan I believe it was set at the lowest setting. I still have the Bosch AdvancedRotak 650 mower so if you want me to measure or test something please let me know. Thanks Mark
Hi Soundworksvectra Thanks for your question. I believe they are the same spec and Bosch now refer to the UniversalRotak 650 now as the AdvancedRotak 650. The UniversalRotak's do not have the ErgoSlide handles but the do have the ErgoFlex and leaf Collect features. I have created the table below to show the differences between the different Bosch Electric Mowers. Many thanks UniversalRotak 450 UniversalRotak 470 UniversalRotak 550 AdvancedRotak 650 AdvancedRotak 750 Motor power 1300 W 1400 W 1400 W 1700 W 1800 W Cutting width 35 cm 36 cm 37 cm 41 cm 45 cm Cutting height 20-70 mm 20-70 mm 20-70 mm 20-80 mm 20-80 mm Height-of-cut settings 6, central 6, central 6, central 7, central 7, central Grass box capacity 40 litres 40 litres 40 litres 50 litres 50 litres Recommended lawn area 450 m2 470 m2 550 m2 650 m2 750 m2 Grips Ergoflex Ergoflex Ergoflex ErgoSlide ErgoSlide Weight (net/gross) 13.5 kg / 15.5 kg 13.5 kg / 15.5 kg 13.5 kg / 15.5 kg 16 kg / 18 kg 16 kg / 18 kg
hm... but what are the difference between say a 550, 570 or 590, and what is the 36-550 that most pages have? the versions and numbering are very poorly described on Bosch's page - and they only list a few of the models sold through third patries. Anyone know the answer to some of these questions? :)
Hi - Yes the model numbers for the Bosch mowers can be very confusing. I have often phoned them for confirmation. When you see 36-*** this means they are cordless mowers (36 for 36 volt battery). They have 3 different ranges - Easy - Universal - Advanced. The difference between them is the functions you get with the mower, so easy is basic functions - Advanced gets you ErgoSlide handles for example. The number generally (ie 650) refers to the lawn size, so lawns of up to 650 m2. The difference between the model numbers would be the deck size, grass collection box size and battery size (Ah) making it more or less suitable for the various lawn sizes. The difference between the features the mower has is down to the range - AdvancedRotak, UniversalRotak etc. There is a handy comparison tool on the Bosch website (not all mowers are listed) here - www.bosch-garden.com/gb/en/garden-tools/garden-tools/product-compare-type-garden-1875.jsp You can see a range of Bosch tools reviewed on my website here - easylawnmowing.co.uk/category/bosch/ Hope this helps. Mark
Forget all about the 'Quality' associated with the Bosch name, this machine is total trash, made as cheaply as possible, for unskilled labour to assemble. I bought mine at the end of last season, I have used it 5 times in total, now it is a scrapper. The side of the motor (plastic), is so distorted that the motor cooling fan (plastic), have welded themselves together, the motor itself is unserviceable, needs replacing, no point as it is simply a design fault. You would have thought that a company such as Bosch would have tested the design before mass producing them, but they have gone the way a lot of cheaper brands have gone, putting profit before quality.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a negative encounter with your Bosch product. It’s frustrating when a product doesn’t meet expectations, especially from a brand known for quality. Your feedback about the motor and assembly issues is valuable, as it highlights potential design flaws that the company should address. Many consumers rely on brands like Bosch for durability and performance, so it’s disappointing when that trust is broken. I encourage you to reach out to Bosch's customer service to see if they can assist you or provide a solution. Your insights could also help others make informed decisions. If you have any further thoughts or questions, feel free to share! Mark
Mower is decent but there are two issues I have with mine: (1) indicator on the grass box is unreliable and inaccurate; (2) flaw in design of grassbox (common to other models by Bosch) - because it is tilted downwards, when removing the grass box grass always falls out unless you empty the box when it is only half full each time
Hi - Thanks very much for your observation. I have had the issue with the grass box indicator (not always) but not the issue removing the grass box.
Thanks again, it's always good to get other users experiences of this mower.
Mark
Just bought a 750 after the demise of my Rotak 40. Generally very impressed - some nuanced design modifications for storage and operation - all good there. It is significantly quieter than the noise around 08:30 into the video so don't get put off by that. Not too bothered about the grass box indicator, when it's full it doesn't collect grass. Only negative point is the tendency to step on the trailing cable and pull it out of the mower, more operator training required (I have secured it to the handle now).
Hi Tony, thanks so much for sharing your experience of the 650, much appreciated. Mark
thnx...looking for a new mower, may go for this...
Helpful video. Not quite see the benefit of the larger blade/deck on the 750; the motor (1700w), grass collection box (50L), cable (10m) are the same as the 650. The greater area of cut means having to stop and empty the bag frequently although it is marketed for a larger lawn? The easy height adjustment looks good provided it lasts (some earier Rotak models suffered breakage of the old style single point adjustment lever). Again the multi point controls and telescopic handles are useful provided they last the course. The lower noise seems beneficial. If it lasts as long as my trusty Qualcast Power-Trak 400 (40cm cut, 1700w Bosch motor) I'd be happy....15 years and still counting 😁.
Hi SaxJockey. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Regards Mark.
Not even an hour ago I got back home with the UniversalRotak 650 version. You are correct, mine doesn’t have the ErgoSlide handles.
My only criticism of my new UniversalRotak 650 mower, apart from the same comment that you make about the cable length on the AdvancedRotak, would be -
1) the two locking levers that you need use after tightening the handlebar screws in place are plastic and snap off if you tighten the screws just a little too much. Fortunately they don’t break so I just needed to slacken the screw slightly with an adjustable spanner and clip them back on again. From the instructions there is no way that one could deduce the amount of tightening force needed on first use just by looking at the diagram supplied.
2) On the UniversalRotak the motor cable has to be secured by a small clip (The cable is incorporated into the Ergoslide in the Advanced model). Again it is plastic and came off and was lost immediately.
Other than that, looking at the results on my lawn, I would say that your award of 9.6 could quite justifiably be applied to the Universal model too.
Hi Dean
Thanks so much for your comments.
It is so helpful to hear real life experiences of this and other mowers.
Thanks again.
Mark
Is there any way to removed the comb thing that gives you a stripy lawn?
No, unfortunately not. Mark
Hi Mark I am looking for a decent lawn mover. i have a very smalgarden may be 3 meter width and 5 meter length. I came to your review and what I would like about it is you were very clear and showing it slowly so people like me who is zero in machinary can follow. the other most thing I like about it is you have answered all comments which is very rare youtuber do. For my gardenis ok to go for Bosch Advance Rotak 650? i would like to have something take minimum storage and easy to handle without to much efforts. please advise. thank you in advance. this one is ok or do you suggest anything else? Also is it good to have corded or cordless ? I don’t have problem to have either of them.
Hi, thanks for you message. I think this mower would be too big for your lawn. I would suggest the new LawnMaster 32cm deck 24v cordless mower - tidd.ly/3PUspqV. I have this mower and will be doing a video review shortly. It is very compact and lightweight at just 9kg. You can use the battery in other LawnMaster tools such as hedge trimmers and grass trimmers if you decided to expand you tools at a later date. You even get a spare a blade, fast charger and the price is good as well. Thanks, Mark
@@EasyLawnMowing thank you so much for coming backto me. I will wait for your review on this and then will go for it.
i have the 650 as well, first thing to break was the height adjustment orange button, £7 odd pound to replace, cheap plastic should be aluminium, next the grass box is pants, falls off if you hit something, gap at the bottom of it as well, not a snug fit, power cable that attaches to mower does not click in, it just sits in the socket...so falls out, cable is not long enough, run out of cable without extension..pop goes the plug out the mower, these mowers are junk, oh and fitting that new button i mentioned, lot's of fun fitting that, that box full indicator is a useless gimic, gets in th way replacing that erm cheap plastic adjustment button £7.00 odd pound a pop, it will snap, and the push bars..dont push to hard as the bars come away and want to go forward like your retracting it, if you have a nice small golf course like lawn, and your really really careful, this mower might last a year or two, parts are going to SNAP.
Thanks for you feedback and experience of this mower. I gave my Bosch AdvancedRotak to my neighbour over two years ago and its still going strong with no issues. Admittedly his lawn is relativity flat, but he does let it get very long before cutting and it seems to still be doing a good job. Thanks again.
@@EasyLawnMowing i fitted another height button yesterday, so far so good, id make a video on how to, it's easy but im no good at making vids, so ill explain, remove four black screws on the top black cover only! turn it upside down, remove the handle clips, they push out use needle nose pliers or flathead screw driver, turn cover back over remove broken button, leave spring in place, insert new button over spring, reseat the handle it clips back in, refit black cover over main body, here's the bit thats a pain, the spring for the grass box, i used a very small open end wrench to push the clip into its holder, watch your fingers it will snap back till you get it into place, oh and that height adjust guage, that lines up with the button before you reseat cover. it mows well i have to say, im just used to a petrol mower i guess, id change out the extension for a longer one if i were anyone who has one, thats easy to.
you mention a 20mm cutting height but it mentions everwhere its 25mm. Can you clarify please?
Thanks for your comment, it is indeed 25mm, I will update the review accordingly, thanks for pointing out.
Hi, good video. I have the universal rotak 650, very similar but I cannot work out how to remove or stow the roller. It seems to be adjustable only on one side, so it can't be fully stowed, and it quickly falls back down. Do you know how to remove it?
I don't believe that this mower is designed for the roller to be removed. Being spring loaded it will always want to push down below the level of the wheel.
Can someone please help me. Ive just unpacked the advanced 650 and i cannot get the powercable to stay in the socket on the handle. It doesnt click (as i expected) it then falls out after a few seconds, so i cant use it at all! Has anyone got any tips on how to get the 2 points connected securely?
Hi, Did you manage to get this sorted? It should just push in and may be a little stiff on first use.
is it hard to put in and take out the grass collection box?
No, not at all, it is very easy and attaches securely.
Hi mark ,
I have a small lawn which is about 20x20 feet rectangle .
I want to buy a goo lawn mover . Kindly advice one
Cordless is what I want . The below one is good or is it an overkill
Murray 2 x 18 V (36 V) Lithium-Ion 37 cm Cordless Lawn Mower IQ18WM37
Hi Sumanth, yes this mower would be too large for your sized lawn. As you are looking for a cordless mower for a smallish lawn below I have included a link to my best selection. easylawnmowing.co.uk/best-cordless-lawn-mower-for-small-garden-lawns/
Hope this helps, any questions let me know.
I have the advanced 36 660 cordless and height adjust doesn’t work. Any ideas.
Hi Bert, sorry to hear you are having problems with the height adjustment, have you managed to get this sorted as I have not had or heard of any issues with the height adjustment on this model. You do have to push down quite hard on the mower when you press the button, but I am sure you would have tried this already. Mark
Can the 650 and 750 run without the grass bag attached?
Hi Eric - thanks for your comment. The mower out of the box is designed to be run with the collection box attached. You can purchase an optional mulching plug that will allow you to run the mower without the collection box attached. Hope that helps. Thanks - Mark
EasyLawnMowing Thanks it did!
I bought the Bosch 650 Rotak 12 months ago and this week the electric motor would not work 😢
Please contact Bosch support. Let us know how you get on. Thanks.
Hi Mark, just bought the Rotak 36-660 cordless mower. It brilliant except for one thing; there are gaps just behind the rear wheels where the grass collector box is and the leaves blow out from there. there are also round holes so stuff drops out too. Am I missing something that should have come with the mower?
Hi Tania, thanks for your comment. Is there any chance you can email me a photo as this doesn't sound right. If you have a look at 6mins into my video, does your grass box look the same when in position? My email address is mark@easylawnmowing.co.uk if you can send a photo over of the gap that you are seeing.
Thanks
Mark
Hi Tania, have you found a solution? I have the same issue
@@timothydewilde3354 yes, I contacted Bosch and they tracked down a complete grass box for me. They said if they couldn’t they would replace the whole machine with a new one. Contact - Bosch.servicecentre@uk.Bosch.com. Good luck!
Same issue here...
Same issue this product have to be destroyed and never sell.
My grass box doesn’t fit flush any ideas?
Hi Kingsley, I am not too sure what is happening, can you send me a couple of photos and I will have a look. info@easylawnmowing.co.uk
@@EasyLawnMowing I’ve sent them thanks. I’m left with gaps at the side and everything is flying out
Hi having a look at the photos it would appear that the box is not expanding square, and therefore the lower clips are not aligning correctly. I believe that the new box should resolve the issue. Can you please let me know how you get on when the new box arrives.
I have the same issue. My one is new and the box is always more or less empty. Everything is flying away.
@@AndreasWendorf it’s a joke mate. I’ve been sent a replacement box and it does the same. Mine is going back to the shop! It’s a clear design fault
at 6 minutes 10 seconds in. what height was the mower set at?
Hi Ryan
I believe it was set at the lowest setting. I still have the Bosch AdvancedRotak 650 mower so if you want me to measure or test something please let me know.
Thanks
Mark
How does it differ from the universal rotak 650
Hi Soundworksvectra
Thanks for your question.
I believe they are the same spec and Bosch now refer to the UniversalRotak 650 now as the AdvancedRotak 650.
The UniversalRotak's do not have the ErgoSlide handles but the do have the ErgoFlex and leaf Collect features.
I have created the table below to show the differences between the different Bosch Electric Mowers.
Many thanks
UniversalRotak 450 UniversalRotak 470 UniversalRotak 550 AdvancedRotak 650 AdvancedRotak 750
Motor power 1300 W 1400 W 1400 W 1700 W 1800 W
Cutting width 35 cm 36 cm 37 cm 41 cm 45 cm
Cutting height 20-70 mm 20-70 mm 20-70 mm 20-80 mm 20-80 mm
Height-of-cut settings 6, central 6, central 6, central 7, central 7, central
Grass box capacity 40 litres 40 litres 40 litres 50 litres 50 litres
Recommended lawn area 450 m2 470 m2 550 m2 650 m2 750 m2
Grips Ergoflex Ergoflex Ergoflex ErgoSlide ErgoSlide
Weight (net/gross) 13.5 kg / 15.5 kg 13.5 kg / 15.5 kg 13.5 kg / 15.5 kg 16 kg / 18 kg 16 kg / 18 kg
Universal models do not have a roller for striping
hm... but what are the difference between say a 550, 570 or 590, and what is the 36-550 that most pages have? the versions and numbering are very poorly described on Bosch's page - and they only list a few of the models sold through third patries. Anyone know the answer to some of these questions? :)
Hi - Yes the model numbers for the Bosch mowers can be very confusing. I have often phoned them for confirmation.
When you see 36-*** this means they are cordless mowers (36 for 36 volt battery).
They have 3 different ranges - Easy - Universal - Advanced. The difference between them is the functions you get with the mower, so easy is basic functions - Advanced gets you ErgoSlide handles for example.
The number generally (ie 650) refers to the lawn size, so lawns of up to 650 m2. The difference between the model numbers would be the deck size, grass collection box size and battery size (Ah) making it more or less suitable for the various lawn sizes.
The difference between the features the mower has is down to the range - AdvancedRotak, UniversalRotak etc.
There is a handy comparison tool on the Bosch website (not all mowers are listed) here -
www.bosch-garden.com/gb/en/garden-tools/garden-tools/product-compare-type-garden-1875.jsp
You can see a range of Bosch tools reviewed on my website here -
easylawnmowing.co.uk/category/bosch/
Hope this helps.
Mark
Grass box is very low, very uncomfortable
Forget all about the 'Quality' associated with the Bosch name, this machine is total trash, made as cheaply as possible, for unskilled labour to assemble. I bought mine at the end of last season, I have used it 5 times in total, now it is a scrapper. The side of the motor (plastic), is so distorted that the motor cooling fan (plastic), have welded themselves together, the motor itself is unserviceable, needs replacing, no point as it is simply a design fault. You would have thought that a company such as Bosch would have tested the design before mass producing them, but they have gone the way a lot of cheaper brands have gone, putting profit before quality.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a negative encounter with your Bosch product. It’s frustrating when a product doesn’t meet expectations, especially from a brand known for quality. Your feedback about the motor and assembly issues is valuable, as it highlights potential design flaws that the company should address.
Many consumers rely on brands like Bosch for durability and performance, so it’s disappointing when that trust is broken. I encourage you to reach out to Bosch's customer service to see if they can assist you or provide a solution. Your insights could also help others make informed decisions. If you have any further thoughts or questions, feel free to share!
Mark