"New" Head for weed wacker

[dourobob]

\"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

 

[Anonymous Poster]

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.

 

[EarPlug]

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>

 

[Chuck52]

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

 

[dourobob]

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

 

[EarPlug]

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

 

[Argee]

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.

 

[chim]

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

 

[dourobob]

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

 

[Mike_Dumond]

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.

 

[gator]

Re: \"New\" Head for weed wacker

Bob, if its the same as the commercial I saw over the weekend, you might want to "beware". The commercial says "free" replacement filaments, pay only S/H of $5.95. But during that part, there was a small sentence on the screen that said replacement filaments at $5.95 S/H per set, minimum order 3 sets, so the "free" replacements end up costing you $18 bucks. That is again if its the same commercial I saw, and it sure sound like it is.

 

[gator]

Re:

Mike, thanks for the info on the weed wizard. Thats what I have on mine and one of the chain tips broke off and I 've been searching like heck for the replacement chains, and now I know why I can't find them. The nylon ones they offer as a replacement I won't waste my time with, I'm sure they won't last but a few minutes the way I used the metal ones. I've had it about 8 years and loved the heck out of it with no problems. It would cut down saplings to about 2 inches with no problem and would destroy anything smaller easily.

 

[chim]

Re:

The scariest contraption I've used was one that resulted from an afternoon of fooling around with a weed eater that had a bad head and small split in the shaft.

Parts would have cost about 10 bucks less than a new weed eater, so I figured I'd play around with the old one - nothing to lose, right? Well, with a combination of bushings and washers, an old 8-1/4" carbide-tipped blade fit right on.

This weed eater had some kind of centrifugal clutch, so the blade could actually be stalled at idle, and the motor would stay running. Off to the fencerow. Started right up which was normal, but it took forever to get the new cutter up to speed.

I eased it into some thick woody weeds, and it cut through them like magic. Then I spied a sapling that was maybe 1 to 1-1/2" in diameter and swung the blade into it. It almost felt like the blade didn't hit the little tree. It cut through it like it wasn't even there. The only indication was a "ding" sound like someone tapped the blade lightly with a drumstick. I looked at the sapling, looked at my lower leg, realized what could happen if anything went wrong, and immediately stopped the machine. Then I took it back to the garage and disassembled it - NEVER to be used again..................chim

 

[dourobob]

Re:

Thanks for the heads up Gator - I did order this puppy yesterday. The first place I called for info had a "Free Lifetime Supply" advertised on their website. When I asked, it was minimum three packages of filaments at no cost, just a small $5.95 charge per package for shipping even if the packages were shipped together. I ordered from a company called Dutchguard (http://www.dutchguard.com/acatalog/DutchGuard_Other_Tools_68.html#a374) and they offered an extra package of filaments for $5.95 - no minimum order and no additional shipping fee. At least they were up front with costs so we shall see if this is just another consumer rip. A couple of other posters on this string seem to feel the unit is well built and sturdy so, time will tell. I sure hope that the variety of nuts etc. to attach this unit cover Stihl and Dolmar (Makita) products.

...and Mike, thanks for the Weed Wizard info - I have one of these units I bought for an old machine and had used a couple of times. I found it too narrow a swath unless I was only cutting big Canadian thistles one at a time around the barnyard. I was just looking at it yesterday to see if it might fit one of the machines I have now as the thistles are starting to get ahead of me and I want to cut them before they go to seed - think it would be better just to pitch it and write it off as a lesson and get out the hand loppers for this task.

Bob

 

[tomatozilla]

Re: "New" Head for weed wacker

My husband purchased a patented WeedThrasher replacement head in 2002; it sat uninstalled until 2006 when handy neighbor invested an hour on it for us. After several uses of 1/2 hour run time per set of plastic pins and my husband's passionate disgust with line, I was satisfied enough to order more pins. Researching online to avoid the shipping cost scam associated with obtaining the "free replacement cutters" we were "entitled" to (by mail only, our quote was $11.95 for 24 cutters or $47.80 shipping/processing for 96 FREE cutters), I purchased 96 pieces including shipping for a total of $24.80 from website by credit card 9/6. Manufacturer suggests storing them in WATER (good grief). I stored them in cool dark. 3/14/7 I attempted to use replacement cutters, going through a set per one minute of run time on ORDINARY SHORT SOFT SPRING GRASS. The replacement cutters are conspicuously inferior quality “slag” plastic unable to withstand ANY use. I spent more time searching out a live person by phone whom I demanded replacement or refund which he refused, so I complained in writing to the Wisconsin Attorney General's Consumer Protection program (that's where this company, CRT products is based). I should add to my personal complaints that many men, presumably majority users, have larger hands than this chick, and even more difficulty changing the pins therefor than I. Rotten product, rotten vendor. My husband finally called our original Husky vendor asking if they had something like this and SURPRISE, owner's sister says Husky makes their own, not more expensive, and that's all she uses.

 

[RobertN]

Re: "New" Head for weed wacker

The scariest contraption I've used was one that resulted from an afternoon of fooling around with a weed eater that had a bad head and small split in the shaft.

Parts would have cost about 10 bucks less than a new weed eater, so I figured I'd play around with the old one - nothing to lose, right? Well, with a combination of bushings and washers, an old 8-1/4" carbide-tipped blade fit right on.

This weed eater had some kind of centrifugal clutch, so the blade could actually be stalled at idle, and the motor would stay running. Off to the fencerow. Started right up which was normal, but it took forever to get the new cutter up to speed.

I eased it into some thick woody weeds, and it cut through them like magic. Then I spied a sapling that was maybe 1 to 1-1/2" in diameter and swung the blade into it. It almost felt like the blade didn't hit the little tree. It cut through it like it wasn't even there. The only indication was a "ding" sound like someone tapped the blade lightly with a drumstick. I looked at the sapling, looked at my lower leg, realized what could happen if anything went wrong, and immediately stopped the machine. Then I took it back to the garage and disassembled it - NEVER to be used again..................chim

What you describe is a pretty basic brush cutter. My older Husky, and newer Honda trimmer/brusher will handle either a string line head, or a small variety of saw blades. My primary blade looks like the one from a table saw or circular saw, but the teeth are cut like a chain saw; you use a standard chainsaw file and guide to sharpen it. The setup works very well. I cut stuff in the 2" range no problem at all.

This setup is not, however, for use with a standard trimmer. Both of mine are straight shaft, and have the large handlebars. They also use a shoulder harness setup, since the big trimmer/brusher is heavier than a regular trimmer, and is not meant to be hand held. It hangs from the harness; the handle bars are for control.

The regular trimmer configuration does not give you control over the setup; the handles just aren't made for the additional forces involved with a blade.

Both of my brush cutters take a little longer to get up to speed with the blade on; it is heavier and has more rotational mass.

Using the shoulder harness(not just a strap), the trimmer is well supported. I can weed eat for hours and hours with either unit. The handle bars and shoulder rig make it soooo much easier... I have a special blade that works on heavy, thick, or wet grass too.

I still have a regualr weedeater for detail work; the other two with the handle bars and harnes do not twist and roll on the side very well like a regular trimmer.