#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Heavy duty brush cutter - It's a jungle out there

## Perota

I'm going to clear a couple of rai of jungle, literally speaking, tall grass, small trees etc ... and my old brush cutter needs servicing more and more often so now it's probably the good time to buy a new one.  
Which one would you recommend for heavy duty, and especially what kind of blades ?

Thanks in advance

PJ

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## Bung

Get a Honda 4 stroke. They are the best and saves you or some dope having to work out fuel mixtures. The Thai's don't give a shit about getting it right. 

They all seem the same size and none seem "heavy duty" as such. They have the 3 or 2 bladed solid steel cutters for them better than the steel plate with the smaller blades, they will lop small trees. I use a nylon cord self feeder which works well for grass as it doesn't bash into rocks and wreck the blades. 

I would suggest having both, do the heavy stuff and finish with the nylon trimmer after. 

If you have a big area you should get a proper mower, I bought a self propelled Husqvarna recentlyoff a guy in Chiang Rai and it is great.

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## withnallstoke

Recommend one of these Honda 4 strokes. Replace the standard blade with a larger one(there is a 15 inch one made by some German company). That set up will sort out small trees no problem, but with the 15 inch beast, make sure you keep checking the retaining nut on the blade underside because if it comes off someone could lose a limb.

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## Bung

Yep, those little Honda 4 strokes are the go, a lot quieter than the 2 smokes as well.

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## Gipsy

I also have a Honda MT-31 4 stroke, but would love to have this one:






                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Husqvarna  355Fxt is a very powerful clearing saw developed for tough conditions.  The X-Torq® engine provide raw power, rapid acceleration and excellent  fuel economy. Equipped with unique comfort heating of the handles for  smooth work during cold and wet shifts. Short shaft and bevel gear  angled 24 degrees simplifies directional felling in dense forests. Very  low vibrations thanks to LowVib®. Delivered with Balance XT harness.

Husqvarna website: Husqvarna Outdoor Power Equipment - Products
The distributor in BKK: Husqvarna Outdoor Power Equipment - Husqvarna distributors

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## DrAndy

> Equipped with unique comfort heating of the handles for smooth work during cold and wet shifts


that will be useful

looks a beast though

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## superman

> Recommend one of these Honda 4 strokes. Replace the standard blade with a larger one(there is a 15 inch one made by some German company). That set up will sort out small trees no problem, but with the 15 inch beast, make sure you keep checking the retaining nut on the blade underside because if it comes off someone could lose a limb.


If you use what Withnallstoke  advises you'll be fcuked. The blade guard is on upside down. Oops sorry I forgot this is Thailasnd, so forget what I say. :smiley laughing:

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## somtamslap

Yep, gotta be the Honda 4 stroke with the big ass blade..



> make sure you keep checking the retaining nut on the blade


Indeed, do you mind of the time, that one went whizzing past my head and landed about 50 metres away?  That was a brush with death and a half..my fault though..full revs and went straight into a hidden boulder..

Perota..before and after pics please, chap..

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## withnallstoke

> do you mind of the time, that one went whizzing past my head and landed about 50 metres away?


Closest thing to a decapitation i have ever seen. Missed your head by inches.

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## somtamslap

^ It sounded like a swarm of hornets was whizzing by my bonce..soiled underwear was the flavour of the day.

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## superman

> make sure you keep checking the retaining nut on the blade underside because if it comes off someone could lose a limb.


Surely the retaining nuts are conta-rotating to the blade to ensure this nevers happens ? The nut self locks against the spin of the blade.

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## Gipsy

> Equipped with unique comfort heating of the handles for smooth work during cold shifts





> that will be useful


Useful indeed... I think you missed this because you already left for Europe, but Mae Rim and Mae Jo area were white (and cold, for a split second) last week... hail stones everywhere.



Photo taken from Chiang Mai X-Centre - Extreme Activities

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## withnallstoke

> Surely the retaining nuts are conta-rotating to the blade to ensure this nevers happens ? The nut self locks against the spin of the blade.


In theory that is correct, in practice, the nut does get loose and needs to be checked frequently.

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## Loy Toy

> Get a Honda 4 stroke.


Yes I have one and it has not missed a beat in 2 years.

One other word of advice make sure you wear thick knee high rubber boots for the snakes and protective wear for your face and arms.

There are heaps of wasps and hornets around at the moment and they cause massive pain as my wife found out last week when she was trimming a hedge.

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## nedwalk

my weapon of choice is a stihl FS 85, just the right weight with enough grunt to keep working all day

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## Bung

For Husqvarna stuff you can get a wide range in Thailand, the guy in Chiang Rai is great, google Husky North (if you up north that is).

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## Isee

I was asked about buying a brush cutter to help the FiL with cutting/maintaining the grass for OUR cows on OUR land. I ended up choosing the Honda for one reason that it was a 4-stroke so 1 less thing that could be stuffed up while I was away and secondly, I have no faith in no-name chinese crap.  I found out later after building the house and wanting to stick it in the shed that I had in fact bought it FOR the FiL. Had I known that at the time, I would have bought one of the cheaper chinese ones. There is a bright side to the story, I've been informed that I can borrow it any time I like...  :Smile: 

Its funny, after a very short while they took off the honda blades (nothing wrong with them) and replaced them with triangle shaped teeth with a square back. Discovered later that these are the cutting teeth for harvesters. Why did they replace them?? Because the neighbour with the crappy chinese brush cutter said he used them and they were better  :mid:    I think they go for them because they are only about 30-40 baht each (I recall Kubota sells theirs for 90 baht) not sure if there is any difference in the two except that the ones I saw had less serrations than the Kubots ones. 

If it was for my own personal use and nobody else allowed to use it, it makes sense to go for a 2-stroke if you don't mind mixing the fuel. After using the honda 4-stroke in LOS and my 2-stroke in Aus, I prefer the 2-stroke. As I walked out of the house looking for a 4-stroke, I don't know whats on offer for 2-strokes in LOS.

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## jubby

I've had a few Honda's but better to replace them when things start to go wrong.
A couple of the old boys prefer the two stroke Robin.    If there's a lot of bamboo then your probably best getting someone to go at it first by hand.    Why not get someone with a tractor with front blade to clear it.

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## Thetyim

> In theory that is correct, in practice, the nut does get loose and needs to be checked frequently.


You have a problem there that can be fixed.

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## Perota

I guess it's going to be again a 4 strokes Honda, that's what we have now, quite reliable and easy to find parts. 

I have question too about the attachments. I have problem with the nylon strings that break all the time, but not the priority at the moment. I saw also a small chainsaw , does anybody already tried it ? What do you think ?

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## Perota

> Why not get someone with a tractor with front blade to clear it.


We did it for the flat lad, but there are some parts (pics will follow) where the tractor can't go







> Originally Posted by Bung
> 
> Get a Honda 4 stroke.
> 
> 
> Yes I have one and it has not missed a beat in 2 years.
> 
> One other word of advice make sure you wear thick knee high rubber boots for the snakes and protective wear for your face and arms.


I wear army boots, best protection, nothing get inside like when you wear rubber boots, and very stable especially when you work on a slope.

_

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## jubby

That tractor looks like a new version of mine.    You'll be surprised where it will go as long as you reverse uphill and lowest gear down.   If you get into trouble drop both implements and its going nowhere.    don't forget the diff lock pedal either ;-)

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## Perota

Some pics, a while ago, when we cleared the entrance







An "avenue" made with the brush cutter. One of the biggest problem we have is maintenance. We are still looking for a caretaker ...




_

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## Marmite the Dog

> Originally Posted by withnallstoke
> 
> 
> Recommend one of these Honda 4 strokes. Replace the standard blade with a larger one(there is a 15 inch one made by some German company). That set up will sort out small trees no problem, but with the 15 inch beast, make sure you keep checking the retaining nut on the blade underside because if it comes off someone could lose a limb.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you use what Withnallstoke  advises you'll be fcuked. The blade guard is on upside down. Oops sorry I forgot this is Thailasnd, so forget what I say.


Even less surprising is that the picture came from an Australian site - just a thick as Thais but a bit whiter...

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## jubby

Very Fertile/Lush but seems to be banana's and grass mostly.
certainly not a problem for that tractor.

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## Perota

^ Pictures are misleading.

this one was taken about 200m from the previous ones, land is the same, slope at 45% , full of big rocks, definitively can't send a tractor there. 

Here after we cut and burned everything




Then we tried to grow some flowers. The main reason is our caretakers don't understand why we spend so much effort to clean the land if it's not to grow something. The concept of maintenance is something they really don't get

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## jubby

I understand the 'they don't get it concept'.    My wifes brother does the area's where the tractor can't go.   I get fed up of talking to him sometimes.   Ocasionally he'll sit twiddling his thumbs.    I try to get him to understand the concept that I'm trying to find him work to do.    If he doesn't understand that concept  , then  its 'No work tommorrow'  thats seems to spark a few neurons and he gets back on with the Job.


Its a pitty you can't do more with the tractor .   Anyway,  good luck with it.
I wish my place was as fertile.

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## Perota

Here are a few pics of our latest effort to clean the land around the house.

First, the task at hand. It may look like a easy job but if cutting grass is like a job in 2D, here it's more 3D. If you just cut the plants at the root, you have stuff 3 m high falling on your head and after getting 1m deep inside the jungle, you've created such a mess you can't go nowhere. You have to cut layer after layer and use the brush cutter in ways never shown in any manual.

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## Perota

Once you've cut everything, you have a layer 1m deep of dead vegetation you need to get rid off




Only one way :




Fortunately, we have our own in-house fire department




Now it's clean :

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## Perota

But it was only one side of the road. Now we have the other one, here already half through it





The problem is the huge sand stones, which means no tractor can go there and everything has to be done by hand

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## somtamslap

> It may look like a easy job but if cutting grass is like a job in 2D, here it's more 3D


..you forgot to mention the humidity and creepy crawlies...the weather forecast today, horrendous humidity with the possibility of a snake bite to the knackers..also lovely when you ping the blade into one of those sneakily hidden rocks..but if you keep strimming in a clockwise motion then you can avoid getting butchered by the fragments..

Nice pics dude..and nice looking area too..

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## Perota

As I'm not really willing to do that every three month, I was thinking of a sustainable way to maintain this piece of land and hiring the help of a couple of goats.

Any opinion about it?

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## Perota

> ..you forgot to mention the humidity and creepy crawlies...


That's why I don't wear plastic boots, you usually end up by having a zoo inside after only a couple of hours.

My "uniform" everything thanks to the Thai army : boots, t-shirt with padded shoulders (much more comfortable if you have to carry the brush cutter  for long hours), hat with full cover, protect from everything, including bugs and sun burn, and of course protective goggles

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## hawkeye

Perota, do you wear ear muffs when using the weed cutter? I had a pair of muffs, like the old stero head phones, they fell apart after years of use. 
     I couldn't find any in the local shops but in Tesco in the hardware dept. found ear plugs made by 3M and only cost 45 baht!!! Bloody brilliant.
     In the area were they have "safety gear". Being Thailand not a big area.

 HAWKEYE

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## Perota

^ No hear plugs.  I like to ear what's going on around me and the brush cutter is not that noisy anyway.
The only thing missing that could be useful is a long knife, the one with a 50 cm blade. I don't know if it's really recommended to use the brush cutter to cut branches at the level of one's  head

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