Brush cutters

[djayz]

I need to buy a brush cutter (aka whacker) as soon as the rainy season passes. 

I have zero experience with these things so I have to ask for suggestions. 

What should I look for? 2 or 4 stroke?

Any brands that you recommend / I should avoid?

Thanks in advance for any info. 

[kokesaat]

We have 2.5 rai of landscaped garden/yard.  A honda 4 stroke brush cutter cost about 8500 7 years ago.  It still starts on the first pull.  Minor maintenance over the 7 years, but pretty much hassle free.

[tifino]

Honda 4 stroke yeah! it's the duck's guts!

[djayz]

I forgot to ask in my initial post: are the heads (e.g. grass cutter, trimmer, saw blade, etc.) all a standard size i.e. fit all makes and models? What I mean is, if I bought a Honda which comes with a trimmer, can I walk into any hardware store and pick up a saw blade and attach it to the Honda? Or would I have to buy a blade specifically designed to fit a Honda? 

Hope this makes sense. 

[djayz]

20 minutes ago, kokesaat said:

We have 2.5 rai of landscaped garden/yard.  A honda 4 stroke brush cutter cost about 8500 7 years ago.  It still starts on the first pull.  Minor maintenance over the 7 years, but pretty much hassle free.

Thanks. I was leaning towards one of the more well known brands. Found Honda and Husqvarna on lazada. 

Can't decide between 2 or 4 stroke...  

[sirineou]

15 minutes ago, djayz said:

Thanks. I was leaning towards one of the more well known brands. Can decide on a 2 or 4 strike...  

Get the Honda 4 stroke. As said by others good quality, also you dont have to mix oil with gas, less oil smoke and smell, less noise.

We just got one from DoHome in Khon Kaen a couple of days ago ( I am traveling and have not seen it yet) it was on sale 

Original price 15,605bht(perhaps on another planet at most places it is about 10,000 bht )on sale  7.401 bht.

 

[tifino]

the Honda 4 stroker is great, not only being bullet proof,

but also for it's universal design... 

 

 there have over the years been some alternative output configs;

namely I've had the bolt on *5 reduction gearbox - and the result was for some years the power unit on one of my recumbent trikes

 

 

and easily retrofitted back to normal... for when it eventually went back to real work!

[sirineou]

47 minutes ago, djayz said:

Thanks. I was leaning towards one of the more well known brands. Found Honda and Husqvarna on lazada. 

Can't decide between 2 or 4 stroke...  

By the way, When looking I also looked at Lazada , If all things are equal and you are near the major DY stores like DoHome, Home pro, etc , IMO it is better to get it at the store where you can touch and feel, and if something wrong, easier to return or rectify. I might even want to pay a couple of Bht more for the advantages  of a brick and mortar store than an online purchase,.

[kickstart]

I brought a Chines thing 5 years ago .feedup with it carburetor problems main jets keeps getting blocked, used it for one hour, repair it for half an hour.

Now got a Mitsubishi, 7600 baht good bit of kit starts first time, sometimes does not like hot starting.

like my Chines thing it is a 2 stroke, and they do not like this gashole fule, I use the 95 gashole .

I use to work for a landscape gardening firm in the UK  we had Stihl  Strimmers all 2 strokes,I think they rev  higher and make a better job of cutting, I have cut thick old hard Nappier grass storks, like sugar cane, with good blads on cuts this  Nappier grass no problem.

We have 1 1/2 rie of Nappier grass, we cut the grass about 1 foot from the ground, for silage then I use the strimmer to cut the stalks down to ground level .plus any other weeds they are. this gets done 3 times a year ,after 3 cuts of silage. 

I got mine from our local shop in town, I did not like the idea of a 90 km round trip to a Home Pro or whatever if anything goes wrong, and our local shop does know one end of an engine from the other, more than some 18-year-old at Home pro would. 

[djayz]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

By the way, When looking I also looked at Lazada , If all things are equal and you are near the major DY stores like DoHome, Home pro, etc , IMO it is better to get it at the store where you can touch and feel, and if something wrong, easier to return or rectify. I might even want to pay a couple of Bht more for the advantages  of a brick and mortar store than an online purchase,.

100% agree with you. I often "do my homework" online and then purchase these kinds of items at the store, where I can take a closer look at the real thing. Will be passing DuHome next week so I might pop in then and look. 

[Crossy]

Another vote for a 4-stroke Honda, infinitely reliable but parts readily available and cheap if it does fail. I just re-built our 10 year old beastie for 1000 Baht and a day of my time.

 

The heads are (mainly) universal, just remember the nut is a left-hand thread 

[cornishcarlos]

I have a beast of a Husqvarna... It's 2 stroke and it rips...

With the solid blade on, it cuts through most things with ease..

I'm sure the Honda 4 stroke is just as good. Don't go cheap on these machines as you will spend more time fixing them than using them !!

[thaiguzzi]

I've run a farm out here for the last 13 years. I also have a large 1/2 rai garden.

Our farm workers prefer their 2 strokes. Brand names like Makita, Stihl etc. If using a cutter/wacker with tall thick grass and undergrowth, I agree.

The 2 strokes are more powerful.

And nowadays (if avoiding Chinese cheapo brands) just as reliable.

For garden work, the 4 strokes are fine. I recommend the less powerful Honda OHV models over the quicker revving OHC models.

Our OHC died a death after about 5-6 years. The OHV model is still running strong (for a 4 stroke) 13 years later.

I would also recommend NOT buying online, but at a minimum from one of the big box stores, or preferably, paying a couple of hundred baht more, and buying from a local in town specialist store. Selection will be as great as a city box store, or greater, the staff will be more knowledgable, and more helpful if things go wrong or you need spares.

 Spare parts and different blades and set ups are available for EVERY model and EVERY brand in EVERY market town or provincial city.

[Carlos Primeros]

Honda 4 Stroke is the best. Reliable and relatively quiet. Don't go for the cheap Chinese or 2 stroke ones, they make a terrible noise. We got our Honda 15 years ago and still working well...

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[djayz]

Great feedback! Thanks guys! Much appreciate it. 

 

I remember my old man buying a Black and Decker drill about 30 years ago. It wasn't cheap then, but he bought the better brand. Three decades later, the same drill is still working - no problems. It just goes to show, that you get what you pay for. 

[djayz]

Just a quick update: Finally bought the brush cutter at DoHome (Korat). It works like a treat! Honda UMT 435t, Baht 7,501. Great little machine but it is, however, a little louder and smokier than I had expected. Easy to use and at 9.5 kg really easy to handle.  

 

Thanks to all the members to shared their experience and gave advice. 

 

 

[djayz]

I have two new questions regarding brush cutters: 

First, when/how often should I change the oil?

Second, I stumbled across this on the internet today. It's an attachment for the brush cutter which turns it into a mini roto-tiller. I think it might be ideal for preparing small sized grow beds or weeding between trees. 

 

Has anybody used this before? Any comments? 

 

 

 

 

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[kickstart]

15 hours ago, djayz said:

Just a quick update: Finally bought the brush cutter at DoHome (Korat). It works like a treat! Honda UMT 435t, Baht 7,501. Great little machine but it is, however, a little louder and smokier than I had expected. Easy to use and at 9.5 kg really easy to handle.  

 

Thanks to all the members to shared their experience and gave advice. 

 

 

 

 

Your Honda is noise try my 2 strokes Mitsubishi, that is is why I wear ear protectors 175 baht from my local builder's merchant, and I always wear eyeglasses.

As for smoking, unusual for a Honda did you, or the shop over fill it with oil and the oil is blowing past the piston rings.

[canuckamuck]

Shouldn't be smokey what are you using for fuel?

[Crossy]

Yup ^^^, over-filling the oil by even a small amount will get it smoking well, check the level per the instructions.

 

 

 

[djayz]

After reading some of the comments above re the smoke/oil, I did fill the oil up a little more than recommended (accidentally) but really just a tiny bit. Today it wasn't as smokey as yesterday so I assume that was the problem. 

 

[EVENKEEL]

Has anyone found a weed wacker with throttle on the main bar instead of using those ridiculous handle bars, soooo unhandy.  

 

[djayz]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

Has anyone found a weed wacker with throttle on the main bar instead of using those ridiculous handle bars, soooo unhandy.  

 

No, I haven't.

 

The handle bars really aren't that bad, you'll get used to them in minutes. 

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, djayz said:

No, I haven't.

 

The handle bars really aren't that bad, you'll get used to them in minutes. 

I've used them and they're retarded, oh well, either import or conform.

[kannot]

I tried one of the cheap brush cutters  first, total waste of time, manufacturer had it back and then returned it and it still wouldnt start.

Threw it away, bought the Honda One along with Honda  water pump 3  inch diameter, honda hedge cutters ( import from UK in my baggage) Honda Leaf blower ( Uk Import again)

Parts easily available as engines all identical, more expensive but the others are often junk especially the big DIY warehouses with unknown brands.

[anon2736434]

I bought an ishikawa brand 4 stroke from do home, after doing some research they make the honda model, it comes off the same production line just different color body. Even the manual was a copy with honda service center info. They got into some trouble for it but still selling them.

[djayz]

On 10/15/2018 at 1:33 PM, djayz said:

I have two new questions regarding brush cutters: 

First, when/how often should I change the oil?

Second, I stumbled across this on the internet today. It's an attachment for the brush cutter which turns it into a mini roto-tiller. I think it might be ideal for preparing small sized grow beds or weeding between trees. 

 

Has anybody used this before? Any comments? 

 

 

 

 

7ac8939189c1e4031314d7846af0d3cd.jpg_720x720q80.jpg_.webp

Just a brief update regarding the cultivator attachment for the brush cutter. I tried it yesterday and gave up after approx. 15 minutes. 

First of all, it's a small contraption and relatively easily mounted BUT it weighed more than I had anticipated and it was literally pulling the front end of the cutter down. Secondly, I had to rev the motor too much in order to get it to work. And finally, the weeds kept getting rapped around the thing to the point that they clogged it up. 

I decided to stop before doing the motor any damage. Baht 1,500 down the drain, but I just had to try it. 

[canuckamuck]

Has anyone found a weed wacker with throttle on the main bar instead of using those ridiculous handle bars, soooo unhandy.  
 

The backpack versions don't have the handles. Quite comfortable to use.

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[djayz]

On 10/18/2018 at 2:11 PM, EVENKEEL said:

Has anyone found a weed wacker with throttle on the main bar instead of using those ridiculous handle bars, soooo unhandy.  

 

Just for info: I was at GlobalHouse (Chokchai) today and noticed they had what you're looking for - throttle on the main bar. Honda, priced at just under 10k. As I'm happy with my machine, I didn't think of checking if it's a 2 or 4 stroke. 

If Chokchai (the middle of nowhere in Nakhon Ratchisma province) has them, I'm pretty sure GlobalHouse stocks them nationwide. 

[kickstart]

On a friends farm, he had this strimmer, I had to look twice a Briggs and Stratton, did not know Briggs made strimmers, and it is a 2 stroke, the guy said a bit over 10 000 baht that is up with Stihl and Husqvarna strimmers, engine sounds nice and should last,it was brought in Bangkok .

Djayz,if it is a Honda it will be a 4 stroke engine