Grass Gator

[thestinker]

I picked up one of these today at the BORG. has anyone else used them before? I will let ya'll know how it works and what not. This is one of those replacement weedeater heads that accepts short pieces of string rather than winding it onto the bump/advance hard that came on my trimmer.

RS

[crokett]

Let me know. I'm interested in how long the strings last. Its not really that big a deal since I only rewind mine about once a season.

[Pappy]

I switched the head on my Echo to that style when I bought it. No regrets at all!

[LinuxRandal]

If you have a lot of fencing, I've heard they weren't as good (chicken wire from the 20's in my case). However, I've known two people who have them (one due to can't roll his own line), and they love them.

[JTimmons]

I have been using one for about 3 years now and I love it. I used to have a corner lot and got sick of reloading the twine in the standard bump head that came with my trimmer. With the Gator the two pieces twine lasted the whole time or for one cutting rather.

[JoeyGee]

I had one on my old trimmer. I haven't yet transferred it to my new one, but will soon. Dealing with the string on the bump style is a PITA. I really like the Gator style. The strings do seem a lot tougher, and actually did last longer against chicken wire, for me, anyway.

[os1kne]

I changed the head on my weed wacker to that style a few years ago, and I'm glad I did. My bump feeder got jammed pretty regularly. One of the benefits of the change is that it enables you to use much heavier line than most bump feeders allow, and the heavier line lasts much longer.

Good luck.

[Tequila]

I just picked up a Cub Cadet that has a similar line system - it's one piece that runs through the middle instead of two pieces that clip on. I'm still gettig used to it, but I can definitely see the advantages.

The downside is that when the sting wears down, you've got to stop and replace it. You can't just bump a few more minutes of cutting time out of it. That really bugged me last week when I had to replace the string for the last 10 minutes of trimming.

[cabinetman]

I replaced the bump hub with the "Tiger" line replacements from HF. With that one you just drill a hole in an empty spool and push a line through. When I ran out of the line pieces, I bought a heavier line in bulk and cut off my own lengths and tied a knot in one end for a stop. Works great, except you have to stop, and push another one through, PITA.

So, I saw this ad, (I posted in the maintenance section):
http://www.worxgt.com/
I think I'll try this trimmer, as it is self feeding and the line is free for life, and it's cordless.

[jAngiel]

I have one on mine, don't love it but didn't have much choice when I needed to replace the head. It works pretty well but since going from one string to 4 strings, cutting long weeds seems to pull in the long tough strands quicker and they get wrapped around and bog down the head. It's a PITA to try to unwrap all the long weeds from the shaft. I actually prefer the bump head but it bit the dust and my trimmer is about 14 years old and couldn't easily find a replacement.

It works though. I replace the strings about 10 times each time I edge my yard. With the bump head I usually had to replace the spool at least once each time. Although that was pretty easy since I had a spare, I would just carry it with me. Another thing about the gator is that you don't have to buy the pre-cut ones. It's actually cheaper to buy a spool of thick string and cut your own.

[Russianwolf]

The one I have has small blades instead of string. I love it. I can take out seedling which we get with profusion. Been using it for two seasons. No problem trimming along rock walls, and what not. I do think I should replace the blades soon, but that's a 5 minute job that will last another year or 2.

[thestinker]

Update

Well the "grass gator" wouldn't fit my trimmer. Took it back to the depot and got the echo niversal one. It bolted on in 5 min and works fantasticly. The larger diameter line chews through pretty much anything, and lasts lots longer when running against rocks or chainlink fence. I would recomend getting one beets the heck out of winding string all the time.

RS

[MilDoc]

I think I'll try this trimmer, as it is self feeding and the line is free for life, and it's cordless.

Well, not quite. You pay shipping and "handling." bet that adds up to a bit more than the cost of the line itself.

[cpritchard]

The only thing that I did not like about my Grass Gator, was that sometime I don't wear pants or shorts with pockets in them to mow. I got tired of going back to the garage to get more line.

So I made a holder for line that fits on the weed eater. It is just a 3/4 pvc with caps on the end, but I cut one end of the pipe to allow me acces to the lines inside.

[thestinker]

Great idea!!!!

cpritchard-

I like your pvc holder....pilfered!!!!