Cheap Trimmer and Attachments

[brian'slawncare]

how has the cultivator worked for both of you? what kind of jobs have you been able to use it on?

[picframer]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by brian'slawncare how has the cultivator worked for both of you? what kind of jobs have you been able to use it on? I have one for the Kombi system and it works perfect for flower beds and I have a garden at home that I use it to keep the ground loose between rows of produce. We have also used it to freshen up mulch beds that do not have landscape fabric. It's not great at breaking up hard/new ground, I have a tiller on the back of the tractor for that.

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Andy
Halifax, Nova Scotia

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Steve

As you look ahead, is there any hedge trimming equipment you would like but haven't purchased yet?

I'd like to pick up a standard, "handheld" commercial grade hedge trimmer next season. The Stihl trimmer with the articulating gearbox attachment gives me decent "reach" for many jobs, but sometimes it's "too much".

I do have a decent Craftsman 22" hedge trimmer I bought new last year, but I can't expect it to hold up to a lot of abuse.
Can't find a photo of mine, but it looks like this Weedeater model...




And more tarps! Those $6 4'x12' painter's tarps from Harbor Freight make cleanup a breeze!

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by brian'slawncare

how has the cultivator worked for both of you? what kind of jobs have you been able to use it on?

I haven't used it yet.
I connected it and ran it to make sure it works, but haven't turned any soil yet. I don't expect much from it, so I shouldn't be disappointed.

[Hedgemaster]

Haha! Since all this stuff is on clearance, I took my first pole pruner (that I paid $92 for) back and got a price adjustment. (now clearance priced at $75) They technically only do price adjustments within 7 days of purchase, but they did it as a return and then I "repurchased" it at the clearance price. Hey, $17 is $17.

Then I turned around and put that $17 toward ANOTHER hedge trimmer attachment! (clearance price $45) The thing has come in handy 4 times already, so I figure it's worth having a spare.

Now I have:
2 pole pruner attachments
2 Hedge Trimmer attachments
1 Cultivator attachment
1 Edger attachment

The two attachments I didn't buy are the brush cutter attachment and the blower attachment.
I can't see a use for the blower since I have an Echo handheld and if I need to cut heavy brush, I'll get a blade for my Stihl.

[Hedgemaster]

Just thought I'd pop in to mention that I took down a medium sized Japanese maple today using the pole pruner to take the highest branches off first, then sectioned the trunks until I got to the base which was 8" across, then used my chain saw to cut that off at the ground.

It works great - no chain loosening, cuts nicely - made my job faster and easier.




I also found a use for the cultivator attachment. A few weeks ago, I used it to "dethatch" my back yard, and then scuff up the soil in preparation for reseeding the many bare spots.

[Steve]

That is great! How often are you finding you need to sharpen the blade after such work or do you simply replace it?

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Steve

That is great! How often are you finding you need to sharpen the blade after such work or do you simply replace it?

Not sure. I've only used the one unit a few times. If I find it seems dull, I'll pull the other one out of the box (I bought two of them) and drop off the first one to be sharpened. I don't know how to sharpen them, nor does it sound like something I want to be bothered with.

[Hedgemaster]

Thought I'd post an update since it's been a while.



So far, I have no real regrets about having purchased all of these "crap" items.
Is the Yardman a great unit? No, but it's sufficient for what I need it for.

I've found the pole pruner and hedge trimmer attachments to be the most useful.
I picked up a Stihl edger attachment for my Stihl FS90R, so I don't really need to use the cheap one now.

The string trimmer came in handy last week when my Stihl stopped working.
I knew that one day I'd need a backup and I was glad to have had one handy. (I keep it and the attachments in the truck)
The Yardman is slightly underpowered and spins the opposite direction, so that made it a bit frustrating to use for a few days while my Stihl was in the shop, but it allowed me to continue working.

If I had to rely on these items for daily use, I think I'd be disappointed, but for occasional use, they are working out just fine.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Originally Posted by Hedgemaster

The string trimmer came in handy last week when my Stihl stopped working.
I knew that one day I'd need a backup and I was glad to have had one handy. (I keep it and the attachments in the truck)
The Yardman is slightly underpowered and spins the opposite direction, so that made it a bit frustrating to use for a few days while my Stihl was in the shop, but it allowed me to continue working.

If I had to rely on these items for daily use, I think I'd be disappointed, but for occasional use, they are working out just fine.

I have back ups for back ups lol. It does come in need. I had a hedge job and I brought 4 trimmers. I had problems with two right off the bat and the third had the pull cord get stuck. The weedeater trimmer was the only one that had no problem. Go figure!

I havent noticed a big difference with commercial and homeowner hedge trimmers.

There is a huge power difference with the string trimmers. Since there used more the reliability becomes a bigger issue. I always stuck with commercial trimmers. I do have 2 cheapo split shafts that I plan on getting a articulating trimmer for.