Forums > General Discussion   Shooting the breeze...

Electric whipper snippers?

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Created by Mark _australia > 9 months ago, 28 Aug 2015
Mark _australia
WA, 22581 posts
28 Aug 2015 6:27PM
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I need to buy a whipper snipper.

My last electric was a 240V McCulloch about 10yrs ago and whilst it seemed to have enough power, it was a PITA as it was
(1) not as big as a petrol one so I was hunched over using it and it was real uncomfortable, you needed to be 4ft tall to use it.
(2) it used thinner line so it was fkd on buffalo, it snapped off every 5m of cutting.
About the time I got the sh!ts with it I moved and didn't need one for years.


So anyway now I have moved and the layout of the lawn means I need one again.
I have a LOW budget and whilst the cheapo petrol ones are good I know they will be a pain to start after 3 or 4 uses and may not last etc.

Considering electric again as
(1) i know how good brushlees and LiPo is from my RC stuff.
(2) I only have bumfluff lawn now, not buffalo

anyone....? $100 cheapo 2 stroke, or $100 - $150 electric? It will only be used once a month in summer and once in the whole of winter maybe....

(BTW I don't have any cordless tools where I already have the battery etc)

ikw777
QLD, 2995 posts
28 Aug 2015 8:47PM
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For infrequent use - corded electric.

shoodbegood
VIC, 873 posts
28 Aug 2015 8:51PM
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Mark, if you can get a straight shaft it keeps it further away,
I whipper snipped my shin a couple years ago, not fun!!!

GPA
WA, 2520 posts
28 Aug 2015 6:54PM
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Have you considered approaching one of the lawn mowing contractors that mow your neighbours lawn...?

I pay a bloke $15 a time to do our edges back and front once a month. I happily do the mowing, but doing the edges gives me the Sh!ts... when that cord pings off for the 3rd or 4th time my blood pressure goes through the roof...

kiteboy dave
QLD, 6525 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:00PM
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The 2 strokes are the way to go, easy and powerful and satisfying to rev the fk out of and blast thru everything.


Until...


that one day when it won't start. And you spend the next hour (with 'oh I'll wait 10 mins I musta flooded it' breaks) cranking it over with no joy, trying every throttle & choke combo, all for nothing. Very strong urges to throw it out on the road begin to take hold. Blisters slowly form. Much swearing is done.

You give up, come back another day and it behaves perfectly, as if nothing ever happened, mocking you. But your relationship is never the same.

anyway, I've given up on bump feeds and use a little juey now. 20 seconds to change out, every time. Normally get my whole place done on 1 stick, or 2 at most.
www.littljuey.com/


Chris6791
WA, 3271 posts
28 Aug 2015 7:04PM
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For the occassional beer (and I mean proper beer, not that **** you turned up with last week) you can borrow my Stihl petrol line trimmer any time.

log man
VIC, 8289 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:04PM
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mark! FFS ! an electric whippersnipper? Thats not a propper red blooded Aussie tool! 2 stroke mate! it's the only way! if you go electric you may as well start building your float for the 2016 Gay mardi gras!

Chris6791
WA, 3271 posts
28 Aug 2015 7:06PM
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^^^ I've seen inside his garage, I think he was building his next float, or it was his latest wind surfing board rebuild, It was hard to tell...?

Bone74
380 posts
28 Aug 2015 7:08PM
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^^^^
Or buy a blow up sup

cisco
QLD, 12346 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:10PM
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Check the Ryobi +1 range at Bunnings. Good gear I reckon and the range has just about everything.

Hardcarve1
QLD, 549 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:36PM
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endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22874

I made are my own battery electric brush cutter. This thing puts a 50cc machine to shame when run at 53 volts and sounds like a turbine, it suffered server gyroscopic issues due to the high rpm and now runs just 22 volts. The batteries are a123 and charge then in 10 minutes.
You cannot by stuff like and is complete overkill for a garden lawn but was fun to make and will give years of trouble free service.

Ian K
WA, 4061 posts
28 Aug 2015 8:20PM
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About time 2 strokes are banned in the the suburbs. The amount of noise pollution inflicted on all neighbours within 300metres to remove the perceived visual pollurion of a bit of grass hanging over a brick is ridiculous. Nobody worries about your grass. I'm sure you can find an acceptable electric one if you must.

( we've just had 250 mm of rain, next week the sun will come out, will need to wear earmuffs all next weekend)

Sandfoot
VIC, 569 posts
28 Aug 2015 10:44PM
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I have the ryobi 240 electric pussy one, it works pretty good, trick is to not buy the ryobi refills but keep the first cartridge and refill it with a slightly thicker cord. Heaps cheaper too

Not as good as petrol but does the job and saves on the fuel buying storing mixing etc and can be stored in side so it won't get flogged out of the back shed etc

cauncy
WA, 8407 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:02PM
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I've a sheep and goat you can lend, non sexual favor

mineral1
WA, 4564 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:11PM
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Can of thinners...... spread evenly along edge on a warm day.
Stand back, strike a match and drop on thinners. WHOOOOSHHHHH Edges are done

Mark _australia
WA, 22581 posts
28 Aug 2015 9:34PM
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Loving some of these ideas. Chris, yes I may just give you beer for favours, but last time it hurt for a while...

Loggy you don't have to be gayer than AIDs to think about electric, it is not like I am buying a Prius and a brown velour suit to take a job at a Uni.

Combine Ian's 2yrs worth of rain in a day, then Mineral's litre of thinners and then electrics, wellll.... that sounds good. Might just do it anyway...

Caunceman, was about to email you about something else so hmmm, maybe we can strike a deal...?


Seriously though, I know the options. So if you had $150 to spend and wanted easy and longevity do u pick
(1) cheapish petrol
(2) very cheap rechargeable
(3) average to expensive 240V

???

Rails
QLD, 1371 posts
29 Aug 2015 8:04AM
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240V for longevity

worrier
WA, 726 posts
29 Aug 2015 6:06AM
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viking by Sthill. 10 years old still goin, not sure on price though.

Mastbender
1972 posts
29 Aug 2015 6:40AM
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Whippersnipper?
Never heard of it, here in the U.S. we have "whipper snappers", those are young kids that are full of themselves.
But we also have "weed eaters", or "string trimmers", which is what I think you're talking about.

I've gone thru many weed eaters, tried many different kinds, and they all break down sooner or later.
The ones I've found to be most reliable are two stroke with straight shafts. The curve shafts don't seems to be able to handle the vibration of the spinning head for very long, so they break, not so with the straight shaft, at least not as much. And all self-feeding heads suck, they always get screwed up, so I use the precut lines that you slip thru manually, the convenience of the self-feeder isn't so convenient if it isn't reliable.

sn
WA, 2775 posts
29 Aug 2015 6:48AM
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Select to expand quote
Mark _australia said..


it was real uncomfortable, you needed to be 4ft tall to use it.


cant see the problem - you have a pair of candidates at arms reach, and child labour laws don't apply within your fence line.

stephen

WazzaYotty
QLD, 302 posts
29 Aug 2015 10:26AM
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Select to expand quote
mineral1 said..
Can of thinners...... spread evenly along edge on a warm day.
Stand back, strike a match and drop on thinners. WHOOOOSHHHHH Edges are done


Lol ! Great idea.
A proper and fun-filled way to temporarily solve a world-wide problem, Mineral and you can nail some green ants at the same time. Beating up the grass with a
whipper-snipper-crapper is hardly in the same satisfaction league.
I love the smell of napalm in the mornings.

hargs
QLD, 634 posts
29 Aug 2015 10:52AM
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Select to expand quote
mineral1 said..
Can of thinners...... spread evenly along edge on a warm day.
Stand back, strike a match and drop on thinners. WHOOOOSHHHHH Edges are done


Gold!

I'm off to Mitre 10 right now,

Then I'll crack open a cold beer, spark up a durry, flick the match and sit back and enjoy!!!!

Ezric
NSW, 183 posts
29 Aug 2015 11:05AM
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Some great ideas guys!

I manage a farm and we have always used the Stihl 2 stroke gear. Last year we bought some of the new Stihl Battery powered tools like the little chainsaw, chain pole saw, blower, hedgers, etc. All I can say is the two stroke gear that still works, lives in the cupboard now collecting dust. Haven't bought or tried the whipper snipper yet. I was a little worried about the weight of the motor being in the head but I think the battery at the top would balance it out nicely.

dan berry
WA, 2562 posts
29 Aug 2015 9:17AM
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Tanaka

stuk
NSW, 893 posts
29 Aug 2015 11:30AM
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Roundup is your friend.

landyacht
WA, 5921 posts
29 Aug 2015 8:16PM
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putting on my lawn mowing man hat here mark. If you can get around with a corded unit do that , occasional 2 strokes are not that good if your buying a cheapy. as a LM man my cheap machine are $600 honda 4 strokes or $1000 stihls. and I dont like stihls, but needed a big mother for the mega ** gardens. I have an electric chainsaw that is brilliant for firewood , so I would go 240 for a domestic edger. sounds silly but if you whip around weekly its really quick and easy on the chord. try to get one with a 2.4 or 2.7mm chord

lotofwind
NSW, 6451 posts
29 Aug 2015 10:39PM
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Concrete the yard and paint it green. No more lawns to mow or missus nagging. Simples
The kids learn pretty quick not to fall over whilst playing in the back yard.

Vince68
WA, 675 posts
30 Aug 2015 1:05AM
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your extension lead can't exceed 30m Mark. make sure you've go RCD on your GPO's or get some child labor

Macroscien
QLD, 6806 posts
30 Aug 2015 9:09AM
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The main problem I had with my devices was and still is reliability and easiness of releasing / extending line.
Everything I had so far from Ryobi, Victa to Makita has the same problem.
Most of the time I have to stop machine , manually pull the line few cm then start again.
In recent Makita model I have to even open the spool every time, as line is jammed every time.
I may do something wrong but I don't want to make PhD in lawn mowing just need simple and working device.
So far effect is the on my work 50 % time is spend on trimming then 50 % on fighting with jammed line.

I wish one day somebody invent electric line release system. With press of button line will extend few cm.
I found that most of the time line is not at ideal lenght and you either release too much and cut excess or keep using short and reeving motor too much.

Any solution or advice on this problem ? Maybe there is good , working replacement spool that works ?

2.I found that some models are less prone to others to entangle and jam with long weeds . This next reason where more of the time comes to untangle weeds instead of actual work.


BTW re eco mowers I found geese the most efficient and productive at keeping lawn short.
I had 3 of them and they could clean 2 acres i have easy.




dirtyharry
WA, 444 posts
30 Aug 2015 9:08AM
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Macroscien said..
The main problem I had with my devices was and still is reliability and easiness of releasing / extending line.


Macro - I feel your pain. I reckon I spend more time stuffing around with line than actually slashing stuff. Have a look at that thing some bloke earlier on in the thread recommended - "littl juey" (www.littljuey.com/). I reckon they look okay. I also reckon you should buy one and report back - if you reckon they're good too I might just get one myself

Mark - I've got a Ryobi corded electric and find it pretty comfy and well balanced. I also find if you wear a walkman pumping out a 2-stroke engine soundtrack while you're using it you don't feel as much of a girl for going electric.

Macroscien
QLD, 6806 posts
30 Aug 2015 11:51AM
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dirtyharry said..


Macro - I feel your pain. I reckon I spend more time stuffing around with line than actually slashing stuff. Have a look at that thing some bloke earlier on in the thread recommended - "littl juey" (www.littljuey.com/). I reckon they look okay. I also reckon you should buy one and report back - if you reckon they're good too I might just get one myself


[b]




No, Harry I see already a problem. I have one of those Victa single line trimmers. What a complete waste of material. You replace single 30 cm line, then for a moment you have perfect cutting length, in minute line becomes shorter and shorter that you doing with not optimal line, but something like 5 cm leftover dangling and requiring motor to spin max rev. Then you must stop, replace and throw 15 cm unused line and replace with new 30 cm length.
Complete absurd and waste of material when you can utilize only 50 % of the trimming line, then most of the time you have line not optimal but too short; waste of time when constant replacing lines cost equal time to actual slashing weeds.

Maybe good for Sunday Dad that have patch of the grass equal to the size of his sail but nothing serious as I have to conquer.



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Forums > General Discussion   Shooting the breeze...


"Electric whipper snippers?" started by Mark _australia