Recommendations/advice Sought On Long Handled Grasscutters

[jko]

I am thinking of buying one of these noisy long handled cutters with the small engine at one end - our local man (alas) cannot tell the difference between grass and plants, and too many of our garden specimens have been beheaded in their prime, despite being staked.

I've noticed these things often cut out, with users endlessly tinkering with them, trying in vain to get them restarted, so there are probably good and bad makes.

Can anybody recommend a reliable make/model? Or conversely, warn of a 'don't ever buy this type'

I'll be grateful. So will my plants!

[cooked]

I worked professionally with a Husqvarna for nearly 20 years, rarely had problems with it. Kind of expensive. I had an attachment for fitting an extra thick nylon thread on it (not a spool), and I went through brushwood like nobody's business, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why Thais work like this. I wish I could find a good old fashioned scythe, much quicker than the machines with a saw blade disc on the end that they use here.

Mind you, there are a lot of other things I don't understand.

[pigeonjake]

mine hasnt got a saw blade thing,,

its like a double blade thing works ok though, and to be honest it was cheep only about 2k, something like that, ive had it 2 years now with no problem,

but again i dont let the thais use it,

jake

[billd766]

A good reliagle model is any 4 stroke Honda.

There are 2 types of that type of brush cutter, one with a fixed length shaft with the engine on one end and at the sharp end, pun intended, it normally comes with a blade attachment which can be changed to a circular saw blade or a nylon cord spool depending on what you need to cut. This type is slung on your shoulder with a single strap.

The other type has the engine as a backpack and a flexible drive leading to a solid shaft. The attachmants are interchangable.

This is the type that I have and have used a lot. The rigid shaft is OK if you have mostly flat ground and the flexi shaft is easier to use on slopes.

Once the area has been cleared of all the rough stuff with the blade I would suggest the nylon cord because it is more forgiving on harder things like trees and shrubs and trims nicely at a slower speed.

Remember these are designed with Thais in mind and as they are generally shorter than us the blade is at a better angle for working.

They also come in various engine sizes and a good Honsa would be around 5k baht but will last a long time.

They are called kruang tat ya in Thai.

Edited October 17, 2012 by billd766

[Bluetongue]

I use the long handled cutter with the double sided blade at 2k as per Jake's post. I have had two 2 stroke machines with different names one was OSSO and one was Nalano but both had the coding RBC411 and were essentially similar with most parts interchangeable. I know they are interchangeable because as the older Osso machine has finally given up I have used its parts, carby, throttle cable, handles, straps to replace bits on the Nalano and keep it going. The Nalano motor seems to be more reliable but it was a lighter machine with less fuel capacity. The carby basically came apart and the handles broke. I put the machines through a lot of heavy work. I imagine the more expensive 4 stroke machines would be more durable.

A point to note, some of the tinkering you may have seen may have been changing the blade which you can do with a small ring spanner, it is very important I have found to keep the blades sharp, you cut much quicker. The Thais sometimes have a hand file for sharpening on site but I have a few blades and sharpen with a grinder at home. Also I have never had any luck with the string and spool machines both in Australia and here I had one which was had a bump mechanism to release more string and both failed very quickly, meaning you have to stop the machine and manually release more. I still use the one here to do edges around the home but these would be unsuitable for my primary purpose or heavy work in my opinion.

[billd766]

When I used to change and sharpen the blades on mine I wore leather gloves to hold the balde but I still got the odd nick or five.

I also wore steel toe capped rubber boots, leather gloves, safety goggles and if you have them a pair of wicket keepers pads and a knacker protector is also useful.

The stones that the blade picks come very quickly and depending on the size will cut or bruise you.

One of these may be a good idea but I couldn't find one with a plexi face guard only with a mossie net type.

[oldestswinger]

I find a motorcycle helmet works OK.

[billd766]

But you probably looked as daft as I did.

That helmet also had ear defenders which are a good idea too.

I have found a solution that works though.

I pay a guy about 300 baht a day and he does in one day what used to take me a week at 2 hours a day.

He hasn't yet learned that the jon isn't finished until the kit is cleaned, sharpened and refuelled ready for the next time.

[oldestswinger]

My solution is even better. I get the nephew to do it and don't pay him anything!

He wears an m/c helmet too. Don't think it's any dafter than the one in your pic.

If you want ear protectors, try wearing a pair of underpants over the helmet and stuff them with newspaper where your ears are....Now you're looking daft!

[IsaanAussie]

I had a cheap 2 stroke unit for four years. I finally got sick of its appetite for spark plugs and the screaming engine noise. I recent purchased a 4 stroke, a Chinese copy of the Honda at half the price, and was told that Honda spares should be used. Suppose I'll have a Honda soon enough.

One guy told me that you should drain the fuel as the hoses get eaten up, never found it a problem, but an interesting comment.

Large knive blades are definitely the way to go. I have a saw blade whichI have used with a basket like attachment for cutting rice. That combination is also good to cut longer grass for fodder as it collects the stalks in a bundle and you produce a windrow as you go, easy to pick it up.

[billd766]

I had a cheap 2 stroke unit for four years. I finally got sick of its appetite for spark plugs and the screaming engine noise. I recent purchased a 4 stroke, a Chinese copy of the Honda at half the price, and was told that Honda spares should be used. Suppose I'll have a Honda soon enough.

One guy told me that you should drain the fuel as the hoses get eaten up, never found it a problem, but an interesting comment.

Large knive blades are definitely the way to go. I have a saw blade whichI have used with a basket like attachment for cutting rice. That combination is also good to cut longer grass for fodder as it collects the stalks in a bundle and you produce a windrow as you go, easy to pick it up.

Fortunately now it is quite short and manageable but when I came back from NZ after a years work nobody had done anything outside for well over a year.

To clear this bit took me nearly 2 hours as it was my first attempt.

On the power pole to the right is the electricity meter and a couple of metres to the left at ground level is the water meter. Both meter readers sort of chopped their way to the meters.

Somewhere behind both of those bits is the fence, front "lawn" and the house.

The water and electricity meters and it took me about 6 hours to clear them.

I am old and fat and it was hot and by the end of it I was truly knackered.

[howto]

I've a 2004 Kubota 400GX

2-stroke, large-in-length

I bought it to fit me

25:1 fuel/oil mix

3 spark plugs in the years

nothin' else

Use both blade and nylon.

4 rai, weekly, used by my

quad-lingual thai gardener

whom comes here in a 12-cyl cheap BMW

[joking, Naam, thats for U]

If I were to buy one today...

It would be a 4-cycle Honda, a real one.

'Cause Honda bought Robin...

simply the most efficient engine produced

which passed all USA EPA standards

right from the start.

A simply excellent engine.

Actually my thai gardener,

has gone thru 8 POS china machines

in this same time frame.

It does not pay to go cheap.

Get a real Honda unit is my advice.

[IsaanAussie]

It does not pay to go cheap.

Get a real Honda unit is my advice.

There you go OP, now you know HowTo and WhatTo buy.

[ib1b4]

About six years my wife bought one of those 2 stroke chinese machines while I was in Aust, when I came home I asked why she bought that rubbish? I said 4 stroke honda was the way to go, I am still using that cheap chinese thing today, but you must keep up the maintenance on them use real (benzine) petrol.

[Gary A]

You won't hurt the Honda four stroke. I keep the oil changed and after five or six years even the Thais haven't been able to hurt it. It DOES get used a lot. I have replaced the blade a number of times. No two strokes for me. The Thais forget to put oil in the gas.