"New" Head for weed wacker

   / "New" Head for weed wacker #1  

dourobob

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\"New\" Head for weed wacker

I just caught the end of a TV commercial last night advertising a "revolutinary, new" trimmer head for weed wacker/brush cutter. It appeared to have two replaceable filaments (not sure if they were wire or plastic) attached to a hub and no need to re-load a bunch of line into a cutter head. I didn't get the the name of the product 'cause then the phone rang.
Can anyone tell me what this might have been called and if there are any reports on the use of this "new" item?

Bob
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #2  
Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

I've seen the commercial too. Can't remember the name. Seems the lines are plastic. They are thicker than spool string, but I bet they break near as often. I got a "Grass Gator" head for my heavy weed weed eater. If you get the brush head, you get cast aluminum blades, but the nylon blades will also fit it.
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #3  
Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

It is called the Weed Thrasher. I have ordered on and it looks well built but I have not used it yet. It comes with a number bolts and nuts but none of them would fit my Craftmans wacker. The link below will do a Google search for the many places that sell it.

Jack


<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=weed+thrasher>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=weed+thrasher</A>
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #4  
Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

I got something similar to that. I can't recall the name of the kit. Got it at the local Ace hardware for about $12-15. Like yours, it came with a set of "universal" adaptors, and one fit my WeedEater. It has three heads. One is for the plastic blades, one for the thick lines, and one is a kind of cultivator, with little projections that will break up the soil. I actually got it for the cultivator part, but that is of minimal use. It will break up the dirt OK, but it sprays it out so hard that if you are near a plant it can easily damage it. The plastic blades do a real good job of cutting grass and weeds evenly....much better finish than the strings....but they dull quickly if there's anything besides weeds and grass in the mix. The thick strings are OK, too, but they are shorter than the regular line. I tried using some of my own thick line and making them longer, but my machine won't swing them....I guess it doesn't have enough power. All in all, it was not a bad purchase, and if I had a little more power so I could use longer lines, it might have been excellent. It would also be interesting to try aluminum blades instead of the plastic ones.

Chuck
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

Thanks Jack
Out of curiosity how long are the filaments? With the two filaments installed what is the width of the cut? I am looking around Central Ontario, Canada for a supplier.

Bob
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #6  
Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

Bob,

Each filament is 6 7/8" and the cut width is 16 3/4". They are probably 3/16" thick, hexagon shaped and very stiff.

I was unable to find them at any of the local stores so I ordered off the web.

I also had the "Weed Terminator" with the plastic blades. They would get ground down very quickly when cutting around stone walls.

Jack
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #7  
Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

I sent away for the same thing. It looks pretty sturdy, problem is it won,t adapt to my trimmer (a 12 year old Green Machine). Now I have something else that will be absorbed into the bowels of the shop.
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #8  
Re:

I bought something a few years ago that had three plastic blades that attached kinda like the blades on a bush hog so they pivoted. I used it one day, and it didn't work very well. I tried cutting thick weeds and had problems with the blades wearing down and breaking. The best thing I did was follow the advice of a neighbor who does property maintenance - removed the guard from the string trimmer head. It works better that way. I never run the trimmer without eye protection, and I haven't experienced getting pelted by the stuff it kicks up any worse than I did with the guard in place.

His big complaint about the guard was tapping the head to advance fresh line, then having the built-in cutter on the head snip half of it off. Claims his string consumption really dropped off after running without the guards. The string itself is cheap, but anytime a piece of equipment stops for fuel, string or whatever he isn't getting work done............chim
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Re:

Thanks Chim
Although I never say it too loudly, I too have removed the guard so I can have a wider swath when I am trimming. I am curious about this Weed Thrasher 'cause it seems to be about twice as wide as any of the "plastic blade" devices I've seen and, according to Jack, the filaments are about 3/16" thick so hopefully, it would do a job on things like thistles under electric fencing.

One of the links in the Yahoo search strings sent by EarPlug talks about a free lifetime supply - it does not specifically say a supply of what but it is over a picture of the filaments so .... guess I'll be checking that out later today.

Kinda reminds me of the "all-you can eat for $4.99" buffet when the server removers your plate, knife and fork after the first plateful and says "Well, that's all you can eat for $4.99."/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bob
 
   / "New" Head for weed wacker #10  
Re:

Whatever you do, don't get the weed wizard. Read this in the paper today:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that on its behalf the Department of Justice is suing three companies for failing to report serious safety hazards associated with Weed Wizard trimmer heads with metal chain links. A metal link can rapidly and unexpectedly detach during use of the Weed Wizard trimmer attachment. If the link strikes the user or a bystander, it can penetrate skin and bone, causing serious injury or even death.

......
The lawsuit alleges that at the time of the purchase, all three firms knew of one death and at least 19 incidents involving consumers struck by metal chain links. The death occurred in August 1997 when a 3-year-old Alabama girl was killed by a chain link that flew off of a Weed Wizard trimmer being used by a family member and lodged in her skull.

I don't normally go for cut and paste, but I thought this one deserved it.

Visit the firm’s Web site at www.weedwizard.com for free replacement plastic blades, or call (888) 810-7536.
 
 
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