improving the local quality of brushcutter

[thaifarmer]

brushcutter arm broke for the xx time

this time, try to fix it for good...

stainless steel pipe, fits.precisely into original.

back in business...

[Pinetree]

Is  brushcutter manufactured by Ladyshave? Just asking. 

[Changnam43]

Is that made of Chineseium?

[gazmo16]

A good and hopefully inexpensive repair compared with trying to source a replacement original part .

will keep it in mind should mine do the same at any point .

[thaifarmer]

yep. it is made of chinese buttersteel. it was only 2800thb. But it is extensively used. for normal grass it poses no problem. it is those tall grasses and cane type stuff that makes this thing break. 

have it because I refuse to use chemicals to get rid of weeds in the rubber plantation. Waiting for the canopy to close so low light conditions kill them off (that is working now in certain areas).

The use of the thicker blade make also big improvement. There are two types in most hardware shops. The thinner one needs to sharpened after every 2 or 3 uses, while the thicker one lasts for over 10....

[Changnam43]

I am a devotee of the Honda UMK.

A lot more money than your brushcutter but they are pretty much bulletproof and you don't have to mess around with premix fuel.  We have two UMKs and the only repair in over a decade of hard farm use is one carb rebuild which cost about 400 Baht for a gasket set.  Unusually for Honda the carb is a Walbro.

We only use nylon string cutter heads now.  The reason for this is I had a chat with the local dealer and he had no end of horror stories about the injuries he had seen from people using steel blades.

The safety gear section in the Honda owner's manual is amusing.  There is an illustration of a guy dressed like he is trying to survive a nuclear blast.  Good luck trying to get a Thai worker to dress up like that.  Safety glasses are essential though IMO.

[Jaytwo]

I'm with Changnam43 on this.  We've had a great run from our two 10 year-old Honda GX-35 4-stroke trimmers (one with string, one with blades).  They're manufactured in Thailand, so all parts are readily available.

Being 4-stroke, there's nothing finnicky about starting. Invariably first or second pull whether hot or cold.  Nowhere near as noisy as a 2-stroke, too.  Fuel consumption is miniscule.

Priced at about 7,500 THB, the initial purchase price is high, but pays for itself in lower running costs, minimal maintenance and reliability. 

The first (cheap-charlie) Chinese 2-stroke trimmer we had was absolute rubbish, requiring nearly as much maintenance time as its work-time.  "But darling, it's cheap!"  Yeah but at what ultimate cost?

[thaifarmer]

35 minutes ago, Changnam43 said:

I am a devotee of the Honda UMK.

A lot more money than your brushcutter but they are pretty much bulletproof and you don't have to mess around with premix fuel.  We have two UMKs and the only repair in over a decade of hard farm use is one carb rebuild which cost about 400 Baht for a gasket set.  Unusually for Honda the carb is a Walbro.

We only use nylon string cutter heads now.  The reason for this is I had a chat with the local dealer and he had no end of horror stories about the injuries he had seen from people using steel blades.

The safety gear section in the Honda owner's manual is amusing.  There is an illustration of a guy dressed like he is trying to survive a nuclear blast.  Good luck trying to get a Thai worker to dress up like that.  Safety glasses are essential though IMO.

Also have a 4-stroke cutter. bought that one first. it is more quiet and clean, indeed no hassle with mixing gasoline with 2T oil. But.... the power of a 2-stroke is much better. Also, my tanks last longer (probably bcs I use the 4 stroke at almost maximum power to get good cutting results). I converted the 4-stroke to a waterpump (an adaption you can add to the head instead of a blade).

I tried nylon strings. couldn't cut with it. maybe I do something wrong or maybe my "weed" is to sturdy for it.

[gazmo16]

I'm new to this game and bought a 4 stroke Daewoo  (about 4.5K).  I have a nylon cutting head and want to upgrade to thicker stuff. Should I be looking at a double sided blade or a toothed disc and if so any makes to look out for .  Do more cutting teeth do a better job than less but bigger ?

[Changnam43]

For the really tough stuff we are fortunate in that we have a tractor with a brushog/topper/slasher (name varies depending on country).  The tool alone weighs a couple of hundred kilos and will hack down a three inch sapling.  The tractor was not that expensive as it is a grey import Kubota but the tool on the back was 30K Baht new.

Before we got the Honda UMKs we used to use Robin 2T brushcutters.  Those things drove me nuts.  Real pigs to start and endless repairs.  One time one of our workers blew one up because he didn't realise it ran on premix.  That was kind of a low point.

[thaifarmer]

3 hours ago, gazmo16 said:

I'm new to this game and bought a 4 stroke Daewoo  (about 4.5K).  I have a nylon cutting head and want to upgrade to thicker stuff. Should I be looking at a double sided blade or a toothed disc and if so any makes to look out for .  Do more cutting teeth do a better job than less but bigger ?

forget the toothed disc. Tried one, it sucks. The double sided blade does the job 10x better and quicker. As said before, go for the thicker blade. I buy those from my local hardware (mom&pop) shop. 
Don't know the brand, but it is ok. It depends mostly on how many stones you are going to hit (if there are any in your cutting area) how long it last before sharpening. If there are no stones, it stays sharp for a long time.

On sharpening: I do it with an angle grinder. That has the problem that if you are keeping the rotating disc of the grinder too long in one area of the blade, the blade heats up too much and makes the metal softer. So do that with quick moves. beats the file option 

[thaifarmer]

3 hours ago, Changnam43 said:

For the really tough stuff we are fortunate in that we have a tractor with a brushog/topper/slasher (name varies depending on country).  The tool alone weighs a couple of hundred kilos and will hack down a three inch sapling.  The tractor was not that expensive as it is a grey import Kubota but the tool on the back was 30K Baht new.

Before we got the Honda UMKs we used to use Robin 2T brushcutters.  Those things drove me nuts.  Real pigs to start and endless repairs.  One time one of our workers blew one up because he didn't realise it ran on premix.  That was kind of a low point.

I have that equipment too. but in the rainy season the ground becomes so soft that the tractor compacts the ground too much which affects roots of the trees. Besides that, I still have to use the brush cutter for the areas between the trees.

We use the 2T cutters for 3 years now. every now and then things break down, but they are cheap to repair too. the weak point of these chinese things are starter-rope-assembly. cleaning of carbs done maybe every half year IF daily use. During dry season, no need (due to lower use)

[Changnam43]

22 minutes ago, thaifarmer said:

I have that equipment too. but in the rainy season the ground becomes so soft that the tractor compacts the ground too much which affects roots of the trees. Besides that, I still have to use the brush cutter for the areas between the trees.

We use the 2T cutters for 3 years now. every now and then things break down, but they are cheap to repair too. the weak point of these chinese things are starter-rope-assembly. cleaning of carbs done maybe every half year IF daily use. During dry season, no need (due to lower use)

Pretty much the same here.  I have not been able to use the tractor for several months as it chews the ground up too much in the rainy season.  Finally things dried up enough that I spent the last two days knocking down waist high weeds and whatever else grows in between the trees.

 

[thaifarmer]

40 minutes ago, Changnam43 said:

Pretty much the same here.  I have not been able to use the tractor for several months as it chews the ground up too much in the rainy season.  Finally things dried up enough that I spent the last two days knocking down waist high weeds and whatever else grows in between the trees.

having the rhizomes growing grass "jaa-khar" in our land makes it almost "mandatory" to cut it regulary: the reason for this is, that as long as it is cut before it goes to seed, it will thin out quite a lot. Since the grass is also absorbing the fertilizer the trees get there is no other option if you want to keep out chemicals. Anyway, indications show that in another 1 to 2 years most of the canopy is closed. Hope my china-butter-gear hold out that long 

[oldschooler]

would just use a subcontractor paid by area cleared to spec……. but then my mechanical farming skills are zero…..and no work permit…….

[thaifarmer]

1 hour ago, oldschooler said:

would just use a subcontractor paid by area cleared to spec……. but then my mechanical farming skills are zero…..and no work permit…….

I started out with that. but maintaining an area of 20rai with rubber trees is more cost effective if you own the equipment yourself. And concerning the work permit. you can hire people doing that for you, with your equipment.

[nobusinessofurs]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:16 AM, gazmo16 said:

I'm new to this game and bought a 4 stroke Daewoo  (about 4.5K).  I have a nylon cutting head and want to upgrade to thicker stuff. Should I be looking at a double sided blade or a toothed disc and if so any makes to look out for .  Do more cutting teeth do a better job than less but bigger ?

My first 4 stroke was a Daewoo, spring broke on recoil starter still haven't found a replacement 

[gazmo16]

17 hours ago, nobusinessofurs said:

My first 4 stroke was a Daewoo, spring broke on recoil starter still haven't found a replacement 

so far mine has been all good but it's mainly garden cutting not heavy duty work. I  take it you have tried local repair shops as the spring should be pretty universal and other makes adaptable maybe. 

Last effort would be to write to the manufacturer asking if it's possible to buy one from them direct in the hope they say yes or better still replace it free to a disappointed customer, again worth a try . 

[nobusinessofurs]

51 minutes ago, gazmo16 said:

so far mine has been all good but it's mainly garden cutting not heavy duty work. I  take it you have tried local repair shops as the spring should be pretty universal and other makes adaptable maybe. 

Last effort would be to write to the manufacturer asking if it's possible to buy one from them direct in the hope they say yes or better still replace it free to a disappointed customer, again worth a try . 

I tried everywhere short of contacting manufacturer. Unlike most that allows access to replace windup spring this one dosen't. Got 4 years out of it, it seemed to be more powerful than 2 stroke but heavier.

[thaifarmer]

20 hours ago, nobusinessofurs said:

I tried everywhere short of contacting manufacturer. Unlike most that allows access to replace windup spring this one dosen't. Got 4 years out of it, it seemed to be more powerful than 2 stroke but heavier.

That's a bit strange, IMO, that the 4 stroke is more powerful. But it could be that the cc's are higher. I own 2, a 2 stroke and a 4 stroke. The 2-stroke is waaay more powerful than the 4stroke. 

Getting 4 years out of it seems like a good deal, however, it all depends on the usage in that time. For instance, I use the cutter maybe 70% of the year, every day, 1 tank, for say 45min - 1 hour. There is a lot of difference if you use it only to maintain your lawn every 6 weeks.

Don't know your usage. Using the cheap versions of these cutters has the advantage of finding parts very easy and cheap. Good luck with your repairs