#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Do not buy this piece of crap....

## buad hai

The first string trimmer that I bought in Thailand was a piece of crap Black and Decker that I bought at Lotus. The string feed never worked right and it went through string like crazy. I finally gave up on it when the spool flew apart and lodged a piece of plastic in my big toe, in spite of the fact that I was wearing Isaan safety shoes.

I vowed never to buy another Black and Decker....

I spent an entire day driving all over Korat looking for a new one. I went to Do Home, the many garden and hardware stores in central Korat and several places that specialize in tools. No luck. They have some nice gasoline powered bush cutters, but I hate little gasoline engines and all I want is nice electric string trimmer. My lawn ain't that big.

Final stop was Home Pro. They had the crap brands (Clinton?!?) that you see all over and then three from, you guessed it, Black and Decker. The high end one was too heavy, the low end one looked like it wouldn't last long so I bit my tongue and bought this one:



It felt good, boasted of automatic string feed (without the 'tap') and was on sale. Now I know why.

The first time I used it the string was completely gone after mowing about one square wa. I chalked that up to maybe a bad spool and installed another. This one went a little better. I managed to finish the side yard and trim around the pond. I looked at the spool and almost no string had been used.

But, today was lawn mowing day and it was the same story:



After mowing just the area between the two red lines, all the string is gone.


And, sure enough, if you look closely you can see bits of string all over the lawn. Most are about an inch long, but some are longer.

I've collected a bag of the string bits and will soon instruct Ms. B to take an hour off work tomorrow to return the damn thing.

The remaining question is, what can I buy to mow my lawn that will actually work? A normal lawn mower is out because I need something to use around the pond.

(At this point I am mostly blaming MtD for urging me to install so much turf. I should have gone Chinese and used concrete instead.)

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## Spin

The best thing to do i to ditch the plastic string thing and modify it so that it uses a peice of steel wire that will not break. plastic is useless.

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## Norton

Well, short of replacing the grass with that astro turf stuff they have here, have you looked into the whackers with the steel blades.  All the ones I've seen are gas motor powered but I seem to recall seeing an electric one at Global House here in Roiet.  Sure they have em in Korat somewhere.

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## Thetyim

^^
Yep. Agreed.

The monofilament is trimmed off to the correct length by a little razor blade at the edge of the guard.  If the feed keeps feeding monofilament then the razor keeps trimming it.

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## beenaroundawhile01

even better, buy a goat or a sheep. that will keep your lawns down :cmn:

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## buad hai

I'm beginning to think that the only product sold in Thailand that actually works is alcohol....

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## buad hai

The problem I'm dealing with here is that I'm extremely clumsy so need to use the least lethal tool available. With a steel wire or bush blade I would certainly start removing, in error, large shrubs and even trees. With the string trimmer alone I've already wiped out a number of expensive plants.

And, clumsiness is the reason I don't want a petrol machine: I can never get the carburetor adjusted properly.

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## Norton

> I'm beginning to think that the only product sold in Thailand that actually works is alcohol....


Always rely on local tried and true methods.  You drink the alcohol and let this product do the work. :Smile:

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## buad hai

^While I was visiting Mom earlier this year Ms. B mowed the entire lawn using hand shears....

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## Norton

> While I was visiting Mom earlier this year Ms. B mowed the entire lawn using hand shears....


I rest my case.  Ms Norton is the same.  Just hates to sit around so who am I to infringe on her enjoyment. :Wink:

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## NickA

I bought a crappy unknown make (Goldex) one from Makro for 500 baht over a year ago, I'm only on my second spool. The spool refills are 189 baht for 2 also from Makro. It did break after a month ar so, but it was just a wire that came lose and easy to fix. Only problem with it is that it is a bit short for me and so gives me a bit of a bad back.

The only time it uses a lot of string is when I'm doing around objects and walls. I wonder if you need thicker string for that type of grass?

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## baldrick

are you sure you have the feed mechanism adjusted to the correct tension ?

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## NickA

Oh, sorry... it doesn't automatically feed the string (or it doesn't do it very well)... you have to press a button on the bottom of the spool and pull on the string.

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## Thetyim

> are you sure you have the feed mechanism adjusted to the correct tension ?


I don't think it is adjustable.
It works off centifugal force.
When the monofilament is too short the spool speeds up and feeds more.

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## DrAndy

I bought some German machine and had similar problems

so...how do you convert it to steel wire, which sounds a good idea

and what type of wire is the best?

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## Thetyim

^
I think you would be better trying plastic blades like these
Plastic Blades for Qualcast QT028

Easy to change. They just clip in.

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## Wallalai

I bought one Honda trimmer with a proper metallic blade 2 years ago, Never had any problem. More expensive than the B&D though.  :Smile: 

Looks like this one:

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## BobbyTits

Try tying knots in the string inside the feeder holes that let it out.

I had the same problem and it worked for me.

Or do as other suggested and  get a metal type blade fitted to it.

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## Happyman

Bicycle brake cable is the way to go - same diameter and lasts for ever !

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## Reaper

> The string feed never worked right and it went through string like crazy.


They were made of cheap plastic and would not hold the string under high speed so it would slowly slip out as you cut. What I found to work on them was when you pull the pressure spring at the bottom of the spool further out. It then works rather well. 

I went through shit loads of string before that.

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## Spin

> I'm extremely clumsy


Get this missus to cut the grass then :Smile: 



> I'm beginning to think that the only product sold in Thailand that actually works is alcohol....


Couldnt agree more, get drunk on the porch while you watch her.

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## Wallalai

I've found the ultimate tool. Cheap and silent.  :Smile:

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## The_Dude

BH,

You did recently visit USA correct? Why did'nt you purchase something during your visit? I have a Homelite works great!

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## buad hai

> You did recently visit USA correct? Why did'nt you purchase something during your visit? I have a Homelite works great!


None of the stuff sold in the US works on 220 volts. I did actually look round for a lawn cutting option.

Anyway, the old string trimmer didn't break until after I was back.

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## good2bhappy

I think some of you guys have been unlucky.
I bought a cheap 500bht jobbie and get my refils from a handyman shop for 39 bht. After 2 years only on my 2nd spool.
Just wish to add that I dont cut the grass, I let the more experienced half run the show.

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## NickA

Sounds like the cheap ones might be better because they don't have automatic feed

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## buad hai

I just went out and looked at the thing. There is no adjustment for the spool. No spring. It just has a ratchet mechanism that works, as suggested by Thetyim, on centrifugal force. When the string gets short the spool spins faster. This forces the ratchet lever out allowing the spool to turn a short way and let out about an inch of string.

What I've noticed though is that it seems to get stuck and feed out a bunch of string at once, which it neatly chops up in to one inch segments.

I think in lieu of another trimmer I'm just going to buy a jug of Roundup....

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## Thetyim

I just remembered something.
Where the mono comes out of the spool there should be a brass eyelet.
This is not to protect the plastic.
If the eyelets are missing then the feed will not work.

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## Norton

> I think in lieu of another trimmer I'm just going to buy a jug of Roundup....


Hope you're not planning on drinking it?

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## buad hai

> If the eyelets are missing then the feed will not work.


They're there....

Should say "were there". As I write Ms. B is returning the damn thing to Home Pro.

But, I still need to figure out how to mow my lawn.

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## Norton

> But, I still need to figure out how to mow my lawn.


As I said in previous post I'm sure I saw an electric version of this in Thailand.  Will check and get back to you with details.  Might take some practice to keep from destroying the entire garden but at least no carburetors to worry about.

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## Thetyim

> But, I still need to figure out how to mow my lawn.


Do they sell those electric garden shears in Thailand.?
Uses a rechargeable battery.

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## Driventowin

> Oh, sorry... it doesn't automatically feed the string (or it doesn't do it very well)... you have to press a button on the bottom of the spool and pull on the string.


Nick that button is the semi-auto feed. You are supposed to tap it lightly on the ground while your trimming to extend the line, it feeds a little bit at a time each time you tap it until it is the right length or chops off the surplus if you go a bit too far, each tap should bring out a few centimeters of string, it needs to be rotating though as it's the centrifigual force that expels the string..But usually you have to tap it quite hard on something rather hard like a bare spot or planter edge, etc.

Just a guess here but if Budhai is disassembling these things to 'fix' them or install new string it is very possible he isn't putting them back together right, in which case they will expel all of their string prematurely..It's also possible the missus might be trying to work the thing and fidgeting with it thinking it isn't working right, who knows? But after years of using them and B/D specifically too I've had few problems.. After 2 units of different models it sounds a little too coincidental to me, and more like user error... 

The problem with sheer cutting your lawn is it doesn't spread the grass seed and thicken it up, plus the cut grass acts as a fertilizing mulch that serves to feed your lawn as it breaks down but not if it is all too long or the picked up and thrown away.. Your grass looks nice, I'm envious....Wish I had more grass.

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## Propagator

My advice is to bite the bullet and buy a small petrol strimmer. You should be able to get the smaller line feed ones out there, though you might have to go to Bangkok to find them.

Even here in the UK can pick up a good one for less than £100, however here Honda are expensive.

Although most have auto line feed by the 'tap' method, I have never used this and prefer to pull the mono out. Continueous use of the tap method damages the head and eventually wears it out

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## NickA

> Nick that button is the semi-auto feed. You are supposed to tap it lightly on the ground while your trimming to extend the line, it feeds a little bit at a time each time you tap it until it is the right length or chops off the surplus if you go a bit too far, each tap should bring out a few centimeters of string, it needs to be rotating though as it's the centrifigual force that expels the string..But usually you have to tap it quite hard on something rather hard like a bare spot or planter edge, etc.


Ah, is that how your supposed to use it.... i've always switched off, pressed the button and pulled.... mine is so cheap that it will probably break doing it the right way, but I'll give it a go.

I assume the size and weight of the string has an effect as when I bought some refill string (that was slightly bigger) it kind of autofed and so used up the sting faster, although not the same as in BH's case.

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## Thetyim

> Continueous use of the tap method damages the head and eventually wears it out


Correct.
Eventually being a few weeks

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## buad hai

> Do they sell those electric garden shears in Thailand.?
> Uses a rechargeable battery.


Never seen one. Looked at them in the US, but all the ones I saw had transformers that were 110 volts only. And, they all had a proprietary connection to the transformer. Should have bought one and used a step-down transformer for charging.




> Just a guess here but if Budhai is disassembling these things to 'fix' them or install new string it is very possible he isn't putting them back together right, in which case they will expel all of their string prematurely..


Well, the first spool of string was installed by the factory and expelled itself after I mowed about one square wa. For the second spool I carefully removed the empty one and followed the instructions on installing. It all only fits together one way, so not much of a chance of making an error.

I'm the only one who used it.

The first unit lasted three years of weekly use, so I guess I shouldn't complain. But, the string feed never worked very well. It was the "tap" type. I always bought the original B&D spools. Often, they got tangled and bound up half way through and ended up having to be fed manually.

If it's my fault, I'll accept the fact. I've been pretty inept and clumsy all my life so it wouldn't surprise me one bit.

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## DrAndy

> ^
> I think you would be better trying plastic blades like these
> Plastic Blades for Qualcast QT028
> 
> Easy to change. They just clip in.


 
That would be Ok for a Qualcast, but mine is some other make (not here so I cant check the make)

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## Driventowin

> Originally Posted by Driventowin
> 
> Nick that button is the semi-auto feed. You are supposed to tap it lightly on the ground while your trimming to extend the line, it feeds a little bit at a time each time you tap it until it is the right length or chops off the surplus if you go a bit too far, each tap should bring out a few centimeters of string, it needs to be rotating though as it's the centrifigual force that expels the string..But usually you have to tap it quite hard on something rather hard like a bare spot or planter edge, etc.
> 
> 
> Ah, is that how your supposed to use it.... i've always switched off, pressed the button and pulled.... mine is so cheap that it will probably break doing it the right way, but I'll give it a go.
> 
> I assume the size and weight of the string has an effect as when I bought some refill string (that was slightly bigger) it kind of autofed and so used up the sting faster, although not the same as in BH's case.


Yeah...I'm sorry to say that, that old saying "size matters" applies here. If it's too thin it won't feed properly because it's not heavy enough and if it's to thick for some it will hang up when it's being spun and also not feed properly..Or can feed too much as is being experienced..

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## blackgang

> The problem with sheer cutting your lawn is it doesn't spread the grass seed and thicken it up, plus the cut grass acts as a fertilizing mulch that serves to feed your lawn as it breaks down but not if it is all too long or the picked up and thrown away


Damn, learn something new every day, I always thought that when the grass was long and the farmers cut it to harvest the lawn seed up in the Willamette Valley where lawn seed is king, that they were doing it right, I didn't know that when you mowed your lawn that you spread the seeds.
Damn and that asshole where I used to cut this guys lawn in the summer made me take a "Thatching tool" [like a big iron rake] and scratch up the old grass cuttings that lay down on the ground around the plants and choke the grass and the ground gets no air, so he told me to scratch up all that old shit, hard work too and I just now found that it is good for the grass. that sumbitch.

Boy, learn a lot on here really... :Smile:

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## buad hai

I just spent a little over two hours with the hand shears. Hard on the back, but I got all but about one square wa done. I'll finish up in the morning. Now it's Happy Hour....

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## blackgang

> Originally Posted by buad hai
> 
> But, I still need to figure out how to mow my lawn.
> 
> 
> Do they sell those electric garden shears in Thailand.?
> Uses a rechargeable battery.


She pobly not charge to much and them old women usually do a fair job of work..
 :rofl:

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## nedwalk

i think i,ve mentioned this befor, i have several stihl fs 85 2 stroke line trimmers, fantastic machines! looking at the excess trimmer cord lying around i would hazard a couple of educated guesses , check the eyelets where your cord is being thrown from, they could be cutting the cord because there is too much being thrown out, can you interchange the heads? if so go get a universal manual feed, much more reliable, and another tip look for some diamond edge cord, ususally orange in colour and square in shape, a much more durable product that seems to last longer than any thing else i have used, also cuts much cleaner also, i have two mowing crews working for me and by far and away the products i have tried these are the best results,, spend the money and buy a good tool first time, the work you need it for will last you for life!!

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## Dougal

I have the same model strimmer BH and it works fine for me. I bought one new reel and then worked out that I could buy a cheap spool of same diameter line and now I just rewind the old spool with the cheap line - works just as well.

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## NickA

I did the lawn this evening and I have been using the semi-auto feed all along, mine only requires a light tap on the ground for it to feed. I guess I was only manually feeding it when it became stuck.

BTW BH, i actually bought mine from the Makro in Korat, Goldex is the make.

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## Driventowin

> If it's my fault, I'll accept the fact. I've been pretty inept and clumsy all my life so it wouldn't surprise me one bit.


Buad hai I wasn't suggesting that it was your fault. You had mentioned that your are rather clumsy and not technical minded and I am, but when I first get a new trimmer it still takes me a few times before I get it right as the spools are sometimes a little tricky to thread so they feed properly.. And being brand new is no guarantee they did it right either honestly from the factory the first time.. But anyway that's why I mentioned the possibilities..

That's another thing I see just now mentioned, I have always bought new string and restrung the old spool, very seldom have I even bought a new one..

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## Driventowin

> I did the lawn this evening and I have been using the semi-auto feed all along, mine only requires a light tap on the ground for it to feed. I guess I was only manually feeding it when it became stuck.
> 
> BTW BH, i actually bought mine from the Makro in Korat, Goldex is the make.


Yeah sometimes the line on one side gets overlapped and it just gets tighter wrapped over top of it and what you've been doing frees it up.. The trimmer also gets out of balance when that happens and you'll feel it vibrate pretty good when your cutting, normally it should be relatively smooth when your using it..

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## Driventowin

> Never seen one. Looked at them in the US, but all the ones I saw had transformers that were 110 volts only. And, they all had a proprietary connection to the transformer. Should have bought one and used a step-down transformer for charging.


They also have small universal transformers here too that have a number of different plugs and voltage settings as well as HRz so you can set it to same requirement as the states and just plug right into the tool usually, not always but most times...

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## Driventowin

> Originally Posted by Driventowin
> 
> The problem with sheer cutting your lawn is it doesn't spread the grass seed and thicken it up, plus the cut grass acts as a fertilizing mulch that serves to feed your lawn as it breaks down but not if it is all too long or the picked up and thrown away
> 
> 
> Damn, learn something new every day, I always thought that when the grass was long and the farmers cut it to harvest the lawn seed up in the Willamette Valley where lawn seed is king, that they were doing it right, I didn't know that when you mowed your lawn that you spread the seeds.
> Damn and that asshole where I used to cut this guys lawn in the summer made me take a "Thatching tool" [like a big iron rake] and scratch up the old grass cuttings that lay down on the ground around the plants and choke the grass and the ground gets no air, so he told me to scratch up all that old shit, hard work too and I just now found that it is good for the grass. that sumbitch.
> 
> Boy, learn a lot on here really...


Yeah it's called mulching there BG and most new lawn mowers do that these days since the early 1980's, it's much healthier and spreads the seeds better. Obviously though (or maybe not so obviously) were talking about grass a couple of inches high not 4-5 or 6 inches as that would build up on top and smoother the grass underneath as I mentioned earlier. If the grass is short enough to be cut up into smaller pieces than spreading it is much better for it..Here's a little tip from the net, hope that sheds some light..

JFYI I used to have the thickest nicest lawn on my street and I always cut it and took care of it myself. I used to be a garden shop manager in my youth and learned quite a few helpful tips during that time...




> So how long should you wait before cutting the lawn? And how short should you cut the lawn (which is another way of asking, At exactly what mowing height should you set lawnmowers?)? According to the Cornell University Cooperative Extension, cutting the lawn with a lawnmower set at a proper mowing height can save you from having to bag your grass clippings, even if you don't own a mulching mower. The rule of thumb suggested by the Cornell Extension is, "Mow when your grass is dry and 3 to 3-1/2 inches tall. Never cut it shorter then 2 to 2-1/2 inches or remove more than one third of the leaf surface at any one mowing." 
> The premise behind this mowing tip is that the valuable nutrients in the grass clippings can do your lawn some good, left right where they lie after cutting -- as long as their bulk is kept at a minimum. By following this rule of thumb and cutting only about an inch off the top of your lawn at any one time, the bulk of the grass clippings is kept low. 
> Employing this mowing tip will entail more frequent cutting, to be sure. But the result will be a healthier lawn, fed by nutrients that you would otherwise be hauling away. Besides, cutting a lawn too short can stress it out, especially during periods of hot weather. In addition, cutting the lawn stimulates growth and increases thickness. Again, think of the lawn not as an amorphous mass but as a vast garden of individual plants. Those plants can profit from "pinching," as can many houseplants or garden flowers. 
> Note that with mulching mowers, you don't need to be quite so careful about the height at which you cut the lawn, since the grass clippings are shredded up more finely. This works much better for those of us who don't generally walk around with tape measures on our belts! For more information, please consult my product review of mulching mowers

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## NickA

^that's why I got rid of the gardener and started cutting it myself... he liked to cut it as short as possible.

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## Driventowin

> ^that's why I got rid of the gardener and started cutting it myself... he liked to cut it as short as possible.


Yeah when we first moved in here, my landlord cut the lawn way to short with his shears and then took all of the clippings to throw in the trash. I asked him for some back and you should have seen the look on his face when I spread it all over the grass again, I told him I would like to cut the lawn since he had a weed whacker.. Then a week after we moved in, the front yard began to sink during a hard rain and I was pissed off, because that was one of the main reasons we rented this place, so my boys would have a nice little lawn to play in..

Come to find out it was a piss poor installation of the septic tank that caused the sink hole as it was one of those large round tanks like a big ball and they hadn't filled it after they installed it, so at the first hard rain it floated, and rotated and broke the plumbing like a big balloon trying to pop out of the water..Especially a problem in muck like we have here and not sand that drains better..

So now the entire front yard had to be dug up to replace the prick, which they weren't going to at first but I told the landlord to make sure they did for his own sake because they were just going to fix the angle of the broken pipe and the tank was still going to be in sideways and never flow properly. Plus the strain on the pipe coming out the house was eventually going to fracture that too and this was all going to happen all over again, besides it was all still under warranty..

But now the front yard I loved so much was going to be a friggin mud hole in the middle of the rainy season. I told him to let me take care of it, no problem, as I like to get some exercise from that too.. About 3 weeks later I had a pretty good lawn back and now some 6 months later even through the dry season it's by far better and thicker than it was last year when we moved in.. 

So three weeks ago he decides to come in and cut it again he had the weed eater with him so I thought he learned and was going to use that. But, nooooo, he takes his shears again and besides taking 3 times longer he cuts it down to the friggin roots in the dry season and it took more than a month for it to recover along with my vigilant watering it every night and not playing on it, (which brings up another tip), water in the evening not during the day..The water will be soaked up by the roots better at night where most of it will just evaporate during the day.. Especially if your soil is hard and doesn't percolate well..

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## Propagator

Hmmm.

All this talk of grass height really depends on the type of grass that you have, and also the amount of effort and also cost that you want to put into it.

Grass cut at over a height of 2.5 inches tends to look unkept even the day after mowing.     It takes longer to dry out after rain, and tends to show every footmark when walked upon.

Mulching mowers have been around a while but if using one dont expect to see a nice stripe on the lawn - cos it wont happen.




> new lawn mowers do that these days


Not from the UK.    Models of mowers the have the mulch capability are designated that way.

My own experience is that I rarely cut a lawn to higher than 1 inch.    Easy then to apply fertiliser and it getting to the roots, easy for raking and scarifing.

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## Driventowin

> new lawn mowers do that these days





> Not from the UK. Models of mowers the have the mulch capability are designated that way.
> 
> My own experience is that I rarely cut a lawn to higher than 1 inch. Easy then to apply fertiliser and it getting to the roots, easy for raking and scarifing.


Props..... That's not an all inclusive statement and was mostly directed towards BG who is from the States like I am..I'm also not talking about mulching mowers I am talking about the process of mulching grass and the benefits your lawn realizes from it..

My posts are already long enough trying to cover every possible misunderstanding and angle that one could misinterpret with guys like Stroller and a few others on here. I have to leave something up to the person reading the post to figure out..  :Sad:

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## Propagator

Woops - my bad. However I did read it as most mowers are mulchers, and missed the ref to BG.

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## Driventowin

> Woops - my bad. However I did read it as most mowers are mulchers, and missed the ref to BG.


Let you slide this time...... :Razz:   :Wink:

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## buad hai

> I have the same model strimmer BH and it works fine for me. I bought one new reel and then worked out that I could buy a cheap spool of same diameter line and now I just rewind the old spool with the cheap line - works just as well.


Did yours come with the blue, braided cord? I've not seen that stuff in large spools....




> when I first get a new trimmer it still takes me a few times before I get it right as the spools are sometimes a little tricky to thread so they feed properly.. And being brand new is no guarantee they did it right either honestly from the factory the first time.. But anyway that's why I mentioned the possibilities..


There's no threading involved. You just pop in the spool. The grommets through which the string feeds are slotted so the string just slides in. The way it's designed there's no way to put it in wrong. I tried pulling the string out by hand but couldn't. It's held in tight; at least while the machine is not running. But, while you're using it every once in a while you hear this buzz and then many inch long fragments of string fly out.

I'm convinced that it's either a bad design or manufacturing defect.

Whatever, I'm not willing to use and entire spool of string to cut four square meters of grass.

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## blackgang

But tell us how you get seeds from lawn grass that is in an existing lawn without letting it grow a foot or more tall, and if you have let it grow tall enough to go to seed, then what do you do with the tall grass without thatching and aerating the lawn?




> The problem with sheer cutting your lawn is it doesn't spread the grass seed and thicken it up,


Thats what I want to know, or it that a secret that you learned as a lawn care manager??

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## Jet Gorgon

Wimpos. Get a machete.

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## buad hai

^I have one....

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## NickA

> But tell us how you get seeds from lawn grass that is in an existing lawn without letting it grow a foot or more tall, and if you have let it grow tall enough to go to seed,


I suppose it depends on the type of grass, but my grass looks like it has seeds when it is only a few inches tall.

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## NickA

Grasscycling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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## Dougal

> Did yours come with the blue, braided cord? I've not seen that stuff in large spools....


Yes, but the replacement packs give the size of line on it and I just bought the same diameter ordinary white line afterwards.

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## buad hai

I normally leave the cuttings where they fall. But, if I've waited too long and there's an unsightly mess I'll sweep them up and put them in the compost heap....

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## Driventowin

> Originally Posted by blackgang
> 
> But tell us how you get seeds from lawn grass that is in an existing lawn without letting it grow a foot or more tall, and if you have let it grow tall enough to go to seed,
> 
> 
> I suppose it depends on the type of grass, but my grass looks like it has seeds when it is only a few inches tall.


Exactly! And Thank you. There really is no difference in grass though, they all do, BG's just looking for a fight as he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, he was just doing what he was told by his masta..

If you really want to know BG if the grass is taller it has more grass seed per square inch which would be optimum for someone cultivating it for profit or other. But shorter grass does produce seed and actually if it's continually cut shorter it begins to produce more seed at a lower height, just like trimming flowers makes them produce more.. 

Thanks for once again showing your ass with your closing comment about my relevant experience..  :kma: Your the undisputed champ.. :goldcup:

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## blackgang

Turfgrass Installation, Management ... - Google Book Search

Check that link, it is a book and I cant copy paste it page 18..
But turfgrass anatomy and it states that the seed comes in the seed head, which any fool knows that you have to have to get seeds, if it be lawn or wheat,or rice you have to have that seed head. and is not pretty on a lawn.
But you will still pobly want to go on thinking that seeds form on the blades of the grass.

----------


## DrAndy

When I had a lawn, I trimmed it fairly often to a nice short 3/4 cm. It never produced any flowers or seeds, as it needed to grow for a few weeks and to get taller before it flowered

I don't know any grasses that would flower when continually cut down

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## blackgang

Andy, as far as I know there is none, Clover, Alfalfa, any of the grains of which most grass is all have to grow, form a head and then the seeds form and ripen and then can germinate and reproduce.
The Willamette Valley Oregon from south of Salem down thru Eugene produces some 70+% of the lawn seed produced in the USA, and it has to come to a head before seed develop and have to ripen to be able to germinate.

Smokey as Thailand during the fall harvest season because they burned all that straw in place in the fields to sterilize the ground and kill the weeds so that they produced a good pure crop of seed next year,

----------


## Mowgli

> I bought one Honda trimmer with a proper metallic blade 2 years ago, Never had any problem. More expensive than the B&D though. 
> 
> Looks like this one:


You see hundreds of Thai council (?) workers using these things very effectively along the highways and byways....... why not stop and check the brand out? I'll bet it's a petrol driven Honda like the one here! Go to City Hall and ask where they buy theirs!

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## Thetyim

But  Buadhai doesn't want a petrol machine he wants electric

----------


## DrAndy

quite. Same reason as I did. The petrol ones are much more powerful and efficient, but if you only have grass to cut, then a strimmer seems to make sense - except they don't work very well

----------


## Mowgli

> But Buadhai doesn't want a petrol machine he wants electric


Ah, sorry, missed that kinda important part!
Electric lawnmower then!

----------


## buad hai

Three and a half hours with hand shears.



Not too even, but at least it's done; until next week.

I am now leaning toward an electric lawn mower. Several of my neighbors have them. Even one of the Lao maids seems to be able to successfully cut the grass without doing serious damage to either herself or the garden.

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## peterpan

I got a Electric Flymo Mower, its 30 yrs old and cut grass in 5 different countries so far. 
Still working here but Thai grass must be tuff as it chews thru its plastic blades quite frequently. I see they changed to metal blades on later models. 
Cuts and mulches the grass well enough but you will still have to trim by hand around the edges where the mower can't get close enough. Sounds like what you need.

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## Driventowin

> When I had a lawn, I trimmed it fairly often to a nice short 3/4 cm. It never produced any flowers or seeds, as it needed to grow for a few weeks and to get taller before it flowered I don't know any grasses that would flower when continually cut down


I tried like hell to let this go but I just couldn't allow such ignorance to walk off unanswered so here's another link and some quotes that might educate the intellectually challenged (or not) but at least I gave it one final effort.

*Reasons for Pruning* 

*To train the plant*To maintain plant health*To improve the quality of flowers, fruit, foliage or stems*To restrict growth*Plan Approach to Pruning* 
Pruning should follow a definite plan. Consider the reason or purpose before cutting begins. 
By making the pruning cuts in a certain order, the total number of cuts is reduced greatly. The skilled pruner first removes all dead, broken, diseased or problem limbs by cutting them at the point of origin or back to a strong lateral branch or shoot. Often, removing this material opens the canopy sufficiently so that no further pruning is necessary. 
The next step in pruning is to make any training cuts needed. By cutting back lateral branches, the tree or shrub is trained to develop a desired shape, to fill in an open area caused by storm or wind damage or to keep it in bounds to fit a given area. To properly train a plant, one should understand its natural growth habit. Always avoid destroying the natural shape or growth habit when pruning unless maintaining a close watch over the plant, for after a period of time it attempts to assume the more natural growth habit. 
Make additional corrective prunings to eliminate weak or narrow crotches and remove the less desirable central leader where double leaders occur. After these cuts have been made, stand back and take a look at your work. Are there any other corrective pruning cuts necessary? If the amount of wood removed is considerable, further pruning may need to be delayed a year or so. Remove water sprouts unless needed to fill a hole or to shade a large limb until other branches develop. 
Proper Pruning Techniques

Maybe your just one of those who is as good at pruning as you are listening and learning from others..Keep growing those sticks and rocks though and that's why your pruning yields less flowers.. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  frigging expert.... :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 




> Andy, as far as I know there is none, Clover, Alfalfa, any of the grains of which most grass is all have to grow, form a head and then the seeds form and ripen and then can germinate and reproduce. The Willamette Valley Oregon from south of Salem down thru Eugene produces some 70+% of the lawn seed produced in the USA, and it has to come to a head before seed develop and have to ripen to be able to germinate. Smokey as Thailand during the fall harvest season because they burned all that straw in place in the fields to sterilize the ground and kill the weeds so that they produced a good pure crop of seed next year,


I couldn't give a rats ass how they do it here, there isn't even a good athletic field here so that's a piss poor example. And again this grass isn't for harvest as I said before, where seed volume is the priority over a thick healthy lawn.. It's for a given lawn and when you trim it shorter you train it to grow seed pods at shorter heights for it's own survival, it doesn't produce large volumes relatively speaking but it produces plenty for a given annual lawn regeneration cycle just like it tells you in both of the links I have provided.. 

What your saying is that the lawn would have to be reseeded every year if that were the case because it would never get new seed and die off seasonally, that's just plain blind, illogical, ignorance..

Now, if you want to continue to be a thick headed git, the both of you, have at it, my advice and expertise on this topic is sound and I have proven it in practice so you can't discount my personal experience and substitute what I know to be fact for what you *THINK* or try to *INSIST* is fact..

----------


## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> When I had a lawn, I trimmed it fairly often to a nice short 3/4 cm. It never produced any flowers or seeds, as it needed to grow for a few weeks and to get taller before it flowered I don't know any grasses that would flower when continually cut down
> 
> 
> I tried like hell to let this go but I just couldn't allow such ignorance to walk off unanswered so here's another link and some quotes that might educate the intellectually challenged (or not) but at least I gave it one final effort.
> 
> *Reasons for Pruning* 
> 
> ...


oh dear, Driveltowinge, you seem to be a little mixed up

we were talking about grass and trimming it. You googled pruning as applied to shrubs and bushes..now who is the thick idiot?

but even if you want to apply the term "pruning" to grass, you do not seem to realise that the grass never produces any flowers because it is continually pruned, not left to go to seed afterwards. 

To train the plant To maintain plant healthTo improve the quality of flowers, fruit, foliage or stems*To restrict growth*the only one that applies to lawns is the last one. So this is nonsense




> It's for a given lawn and when you trim it shorter you train it to grow seed pods at shorter heights for it's own survival,


What amazing grass you must have, you could make a fortune selling that variety

----------


## Propagator

> Now, if you want to continue to be a thick headed git, the both of you, have at it, my advice and expertise on this topic is sound and I have proven it in practice so you can't discount my personal experience and substitute what I know to be fact for what you THINK or try to INSIST is fact..


Now I was also going to keep out of this thread as I laughed to myself at what you have posted.     You might be good at car advice which I will not question but you appear to be sadly lacking in expertese of lawn matters.    Your experience appears to be from your selective quotes from the web, your short time as a garden shop manager and the work on your OWN lawn.

Mine is all from practical experienceand many years in the trade, hence the reason I pulled you on your quote about  mowers.

Lets first look at grass - there are two basic types of grass and they are creeping and bunch grasses.    The creeping type such as bluegrass or bermuda spread by either above or below ground runners, and are very prone to thatching.  Bunch grasses such as ryegrass or fescue spread from the crown of the plant.




> What your saying is that the lawn would have to be reseeded every year if that were the case because it would never get new seed and die off seasonally, that's just plain blind, illogical, ignorance..


If you have a creeping grass lawn that throws the above out.




> But shorter grass does produce seed


Yes, but it is not producing a ripened seed capable of germinating to produce more grass, much like shooting blanks.




> it's continually cut shorter it begins to produce more seed at a lower height


At a lower height than the blades of grass?    The seed head or stalk is usually contained in these blades of grass and will therefore not open if kept short.




> just like trimming flowers makes them produce more..


Now this is a classic, wether or not you trim flowers they will still carry on producing until the season ends.    You will get more flowers by deheading, but the main reason to do this is to prevent the plant from ripening a seed bud and to use its energy in producing more flowers.

As to why you included an article about pruning  :Confused: 

Differant grasses for differant countries, and I for one would not comment of the grass in Thailand until I have had much more knowledge of it.    As I said before height of cut is up to the individual, but I would never cut over a height of 1 inch for a good lawn, paddack or meadow up to about 3 inch.

One other thing that I will say it that most lawns are comprised of about 40% weed which is blown in from neighbouring fields etc, and there is no way of preventing this, without the use of expensive weed killers.

----------


## Driventowin

> At a lower height than the blades of grass?


Geez Props I had more respect for you than this... First of all one's life experience especially mine is not just limited to one thing...

Secondly you are just as bad at reading as the rest of the challenged on here... I never said the above for Christ sakes!! It's just mindless for you to suggest that I did and the rest is beyond even answering...

Good God kill your lawns and your flowers I couldn't give a shit!! Even proof is not convincing enough!! And oh! BTW just because that's the level of personal experience I mentioned (which by the way is more than enough for a stupid forum), doesn't mean that is all the experience I have!!! Or invalidates it!! Yours sound no more convincing especially where the inaccuracies are concerned..

Not that it's anybody's business mind you but I happen to have a degree in horticulture in south Florida a climate very similar to most of Thailand, as my original career choice was to be a landscape architect. But since I don't see that as any one's business and I never pursued that career fully, I didn't feel the need to throw that out here until just now challenged..  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

I just hope the others who can benefit from my understanding will have better sense to understand what is being said for their own sakes, there have been indications of that..If not well that's their problem too...I can only lead, from there it's up to them to decide to follow my example or not..

----------


## Driventowin

> As to why you included an article about pruning


Actually because I used pruning flowers as an example of how you inspire growth and fertility even in grasses and Dr.A included flowering grasses in his response, which was never relevant to the topic or discussion at hand.. So I just included another link and brief snippet to try to clear the confusion and misunderstandings, apparently that didn't work...Why am I not surprised??  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## Propagator

> Secondly you are just as bad at reading as the rest of the challenged on here... I never said the above for Christ sakes!! It's just mindless for you to suggest that I did and the rest is beyond even answering...


Maybe your ability at reading is as good as mine.    You will notice that there is a question mark after the words of mine.    Perhaps you would also point out the inaccurancies of my statements, if I am wrong I am not adverse to admitting my mistakes.

Maybe I will have to bow to your education as I do not have a degree in horticulture and everything in theory sounds good, however in practice this is not so.     Be pleased that you did not follow your career into lanscape architecture.Most of us common gardeners do not have a high opinion of them.    The plans and visualisations of gardens and a finished product may be good, but very little goes into the forethought goes into what those gardens may look like in 3 or 4 years time.




> I just hope the others who can benefit from my understanding will have better sense to understand what is being said for their own sakes, there have been indications of that..If not well that's their problem too...I can only lead, from there it's up to them to decide to follow my example or not..


Hmmm - I will not reply to this  :Smile:

----------


## buad hai

So, anyone out there actually own an electric lawn mower that is available for sale here in Thailand? I will need to "prune" my lawn again in another week and I don't want to spend another three and half back breaking hours doing it by hand.

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## blackgang

Pruning a lawn is very important, if not done properly then the fruits fall on the ground and rot and ferment and make alcohol and the moose eat it and get drunk and are hard to handle and dangerous in that condition and like some people they too come up with weird ideas when in that state.
I know that you have never heard of pruning a lawn but they give certificates of completion for lawn pruning at the Florida Aggie univ. strange isn't it, but pruning a lawn is dangerous as falling off the ladder is a common accident. :rofl:

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## buad hai

The only time I ever see fruit on my turf is next to the pond where I don't prune it so much.

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## blackgang

Yes sir, you are getting fruit on that one, ain't it beautiful.,, now have to train the rest of it to fruit like that..
Maybe you have to go to FSU[Florida State Univ.] and pick up a sheepskin in Horticulture and then you know how to do it, seems the only place that teaches Lawn pruning..
But with a Whoreticulture degree you could open a nice business in Thailand tho.

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## NickA

This is a good page Howstuffworks "How Grass Works"




> In some grasses, such as corn, the stem and the flowering part of the plant are obvious. But in lawn grasses, the long thin leaves overshadow the other elements of the plant. Unless you're up close, all you see is green stalks.

----------


## Driventowin

> Maybe I will have to bow to your education as I do not have a degree in horticulture and everything in theory sounds good, however in practice this is not so. Be pleased that you did not follow your career into lanscape architecture.Most of us common gardeners do not have a high opinion of them. The plans and visualisations of gardens and a finished product may be good, but very little goes into the forethought goes into what those gardens may look like in 3 or 4 years time.


That's why I studied horticulture and worked in a Garden shop as a manager while obtaining my degreee and also put my knowledge to practical use on my own property and others for the necessary experience all of which you and others now seek to discount, just for the purposes of understanding how plants interact and in what locations they should be used etc.. 

I took those courses on my own then as they weren't required but I wanted to better educate myself but now they're required since it is now law as to the numbers of many certain types of plants and such that are permitted to be planted on a given area of property. 

It is now required to take into account native species and species that use up too much water to conserve water since some numnuts developer way back when before regulation, introduced Australian pines and Melaleuca's to south Florida from Aus to try to use up more water to reclaim swamp land for development..Now, there's a big problem and they are wasting millions annually trying to eradicate them after the fact..

That's also why I decided not to follow through with that career choice, it required too much time indoors designing and drawing and wasn't technically challenging enough for me. I discovered another career choice that served those purposes and still required my other knowledge at times in recommending what plants, trees and shrubs should and should not be placed in pool areas. Such as trees with water seeking roots like Ficus for example which will actually crack piping to get at water and will seek through any potential weak spot in the pool walls to breach them for water.. Or Bougainvillea for example which has absolutely the worst possible leaves for being in a pool environment, pretty though they are.. Not to fertilize around a swimming pool with a spreader since the iron in it will leave nice little rust stains all over the pool bottom and will actually turn the pool green with algae as it fertilizes algae growth too.. Just a few examples for the reasons *we* disliked the landscapers and "lawn men"..They're lack of common sense and education of their trade, coupled with their arrogance in thinking they know everything....

Just like in my racing career I worked all of the grunt work with top racing teams as a volunteer and learned my craft for a few years before I moved into it full time and handled all of the logistics personally. I'm not a book knowledge kind of guy that way, depending on a few pages to learn from I'm hands on..With practical experience...

But go an and have your little discussion with the infantile comments in quotes about "Pruning grass" and such and remain ignorant, your all far too intelligent and worldly to need any real world advice. Though what amazes me is that you fools still keep coming on her to ask and then when someone steps up and puts themselves on the line and tries to help then you all suddenly become geniuses and jump in to try to discredit what someone advises as if you couldn't do your own research before then...Well have at it..The Internet is at your disposal..Good luck!!  :kma:

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## Driventowin

> This is a good page Howstuffworks "How Grass Works"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 			
> 				In some grasses, such as corn, the stem and the flowering part of the plant are obvious. But in lawn grasses, the long thin leaves overshadow the other elements of the plant. Unless you're up close, all you see is green stalks.


Thanks for that Nick but I think it is just a lost cause at this point, I'm done.. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 




> *There are more than 9,000 known species of grass.*


I thought someone on here said there was only 2 types of grass??

This is an even better link from within Nicks posted link, that's *IF* you can understand it? 

One last thing.. JFYI I can look out my window right now and see thousands of seeds on my lawn and it's less than 2 inches high..
Howstuffworks

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## buad hai

Now, about that lawn mower....

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## Driventowin

Good luck...this bridge is burnt..

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## blackgang

Well BH, I guess you are shit out of luck as the Expert just shut you off.
But what he says is partly true tho, I just talked to AJ FOYT and he said that during his racing career that DTW was the best lawn maint man he has ever had, better that the Messicans even, but was a bit of a know it all and a pain in the ass and could not be left alone around anything mechanical,, had a hell of a time with him and a wheel barrow.

----------


## Norton

> Now, about that lawn mower....


Go for the electric mower as you have pretty much already concluded.  Hand trim the edges as it won't take too long.

BTW:  Your OP indicates the frustration of having just purchased something that far from meets your expectations.  I really hate it when that happens myself and have been known to completely smash the bloody thing as a way to vent.  Your approach of posting on TD, returning the item in one piece and venting is much more sensible. :Smile:

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## DrAndy

> and Dr.A included flowering grasses in his response, which was never relevant to the topic or discussion at hand..


I think it is very relevant DTW

all grasses flower, it is how they produce seeds, which is what the discussion was about. Just because the flowers are very small does not negate that. You were immediately assuming I was talking about grasses with big flowers only, which is incorrect

Grass does not die every year, as you have suggested, so does not need seed to continue growing and thriving. Mowing the grass stops the flowers developing, but the grass continues to live and propagate.

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## buad hai

> Your approach of posting on TD, returning the item in one piece and venting is much more sensible.


 :Smile: 

Too bad that I pissed off Driveintown in the process.

----------


## blackgang

Don't feel to bad BH, he lets his mouth overload his ass all the time, he just likes to blow smoke up his own ass. Really good at ringing his own bell,,
He thinks you aint got enough sense to change a string thing in your trimmer but he does, as he so redily admitted.
But now he is over trying to convince PeterPan that he is a hot shot F1 auto racer and driver.

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## NickA

I still think the strimmer is the best option as your garden is quite similar in shape and size to mine, I don't think a mower would be very convenient. Just get one with the semi-auto feed rather than the auto feed or splash out for one with metal wires.

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## blackgang

does this look like what ya want?

Amazon.co.uk: Rotak 40 Electric Rotary Mower: DIY & Tools

----------


## peterpan

^^ don't agree nick, the strimmer makes a patchy job, the lectric mower cuts more evenly and BH is man who takes great pride in his garden as I do   :rofl:

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## NickA

^not when you are as skilled as I am.  :Smile: 

The mower is great for a big flat lawn, but for a small bumpy lawn with lots of plants and ornaments to go round the strimmer is more convenient. Of course, it's even better if you can have both.

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## Propagator

> Of course, it's even better if you can have both.


Yep, this is the way to go  :Smile: 
I don't know if it applies in Thailand, but there are numerous cheap petrol mowers available in the UK  selling for much the same price of an electric mower.   My best mate managed to go through 3 electic mowers (mostly top of the range ones) in the space of two years, until I was able to persuade him to buy a cheap petrol one.   He has now had it now for 4 years and still going strong.

I was going to stay away from our learned friends comments until he decided to have this cheap little quip at me






> thought someone on here said there was only 2 types of grass??


Please read carefully I said types of grass not species.     




> This is an even better link from within Nicks posted link, that's IF you can understand it?


An even better link is that on the Royal Botanic Gardens database

RBG Kew: GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

I will not go further apart to say that your attitude and arrogance has even derived scorn and ridicule from your fellow Americans.    Is it any wonder that the stereotyping of Americans that you had earlier complained of in a previous thread continues with us English.    I am sure glad that they don't all come over like you.

However I would still meet you for a friendly drink and would hope that your internet persona does not match your actual personality.

----------


## DrAndy

> This is an even better link from within Nicks posted link, that's *IF* you can understand it? 
> 
> One last thing.. JFYI I can look out my window right now and see thousands of seeds on my lawn and it's less than 2 inches high..
> Howstuffworks


 
you must have very good eyes DTW, or a vivid imagination

as for your link, IF you can understand it, there is this little paragraph which may help you




> The flower bud primordia develop into the inflorescence, with the apical dome becoming the terminal spikelet. Inflorescence initiation cannot be detected without destruction of the plant, but shortly after initiation the developing inflorescence enlarges, and swelling of the enclosing sheath, the first external evidence of flower stalk development, is noticeable. This stage of flower stalk development is occasionally referred to as the "boot" stage.* At this point, 4 or 5 upper internodes, along with the attached leaf sheaths, elongate very rapidly.* This short phenophase is referred to as head emergence phenophase. The inflorescence reaches near-maximum height shortly after emergence, and flowering and fertilization soon follow.


as mentioned, there is the flower stalk development which reaches 4 or 5 internodes, which is quite tall. Thus, when you mow the lawn, these flower stalks get cut off before they have any chance to develop

I wonder what those "grass seeds" you can see are?

hoist on your own petard DWT?

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## buad hai

> does this look like what ya want?


Yes. I believe Home Pro has a few. If they take the strimmer back I may go ahead and buy one. They also have a couple of petrol models which I'll look at. I had one of them for years on Saipan and it did a fine job. (I also had a petrol bush whacker, but I spent way to much time adjusting the carburetor to go through that again.)





> ^not when you are as skilled as I am.


When are you coming over?

To Driveintown: I'm not sure what your complaint is here. You're the one who posted the article on pruning, right? When I said I was going to "prune" my lawn I figured I was just going along with your little joke. Pardon me for assuming you came equipped with a sense of humor. I don't have one either, so sometimes it's hard for me.

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## blackgang

> I am sure glad that they don't all come over like you.


There be some diff between em sometimes,, :Smile:

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## buad hai

I found a few reviews of the trimmer I bought. I guess I'm not the only one with problems....

The first two are from Amazon UK:




> I searched high and low for reasonably priced easy to use strimmer and thought I had found it. When I got it home I found it easy to assemble and made a start. Within 4 minutes of use I had run out of line, I concluded it was because it was free and probably only had a small amount on the spool. So I went out and brought home 3 replacement spools. My first problem came when trying to change the spool, it seemed to be glued to the casing even my husband had trouble removing it. Half an hour later I was ready to go again,but within 4-5 minutes I had run out of spool again. When I looked aroung the grass there was large chunks of line lying all over the place. I tried the helpline and returning it to the store and no one could explain the problem. I will not be buying one again.





> I had the same problem as the lady above, it just simply doesnt work, not wast your time or money. By the time your lucky enougth to get it working it will be winter again. Its really really really bad dont buy it!


And this from other web sites:




> Don't bother buying one what a load of rubbish. unwinds the cord and is very dagerous keep well a way from pets and kids. this my 2nd one and this one is on it's way back to B&Q





> *Good Points*: The only good point it has is that it looked attractive enough for me to be silly enough to buy it.
> 
> *Bad Points*: It is exceedingly uncomfortable to use, and I had to straighten up every few minutes. It uses cutter line at a totally ridiculous rate, making strimming the edges of a lawn a very expensive affair, and well out of my reach.
> 
> *General comments*: I have always sang the praises of Black and Decker tools, as I have some from way back, but the GL350 Strimmer has bought me to earth with a bump. It is not fit for the purpose, and it should never have been put on the market.





> The Black & Decker GL350 Strimmer is simply not fit for purpose. What is the point of buying a "labour saving" device if you have to spend an hour afterwards picking up all the fragments of blue line scattered throughout the garden? The strimmer throws 2 inch pieces of plastic line in all directions - one reel will not even complete a 10 minute strim. I will be returning it ASAP.





> My Black & Decker GL350 Strimmer is about to be returned to Black & Decker as being not fit for its purpose. The line feeder rachets quite often, feeding long lengths of line. To strim an average sized lawn, keep three or four line refills handy.

----------


## buad hai

I went to The Mall today to see what other lawn cutting options Home Pro had on option. While there I checked the spools of string, just in case I have to buy one to cut my lawn this weekend. Completely sold out of the pre-wound spools. And, the bulk string you'd buy to roll your own is also completely sold out. I guess I'm not the only sucker running out of a complete spool of string after cutting just a few square meters.

If you can't tell, I'm not too happy with either Home Pro or Black and Decker....

----------


## NickA

I've never used a B&D strimmer, but I was going to buy one when my current shitty one breaks. I have been warned and will probably just buy another shitty one :Smile:

----------


## peterpan

> I went to The Mall today to see what other lawn cutting options Home Pro had on option. While there I checked the spools of string, just in case I have to buy one to cut my lawn this weekend. Completely sold out of the pre-wound spools. And, the bulk string you'd buy to roll your own is also completely sold out. I guess I'm not the only sucker running out of a complete spool of string after cutting just a few square meters.
> 
> If you can't tell, I'm not too happy with either Home Pro or Black and Decker....


I though Mrs BH took the B&D strimmer for return ?

Today I looked at my mower while baking i the near 40 deg heat and thought fook that so yelled at the lawn mower man to come over 150 bt all done and his 'ol lady rakes up all the grass to resell to the local cow boy.

----------


## blackgang

I ain't gonna mow no lawn, in the states I had a chink mow my grass, then when in mexico I had a beaner mow it,, up in CM I had a large lot and fruit trees, Rose bushes and flowers so I had a Thai crew that came every week and did it and done a damn good job, bout 5 guys and worked an hour and  I only had to pay 1000 baht a month.

----------


## DrAndy

> I ain't gonna mow no lawn, in the states I had a *chink* mow my grass, then when in mexico I had a *beaner* mow it,, up in CM I had a large lot and fruit trees, Rose bushes and flowers so I had a *Thai crew* that came every week and did it and done a damn good job, bout 5 guys and worked an hour and I only had to pay 1000 baht a month.


 
disappointed in you Blackgang, couldn't you think of a derogatory word for Thais

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## NickA

^I think in BG's mind, "Thai" is derogatory enough already :Smile:

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## NickA

A nice site on lawn care

Lawn Care : DIY Network

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## blackgang

> ^I think in BG's mind, "Thai" is derogatory enough already


You understand don't ya?

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## buad hai

> I thought Mrs BH took the B&D strimmer for return ?


She called. They asked her to wait until the "strimmer expert" is back from Songkran holiday.

I refuse to hire anyone to do what I can do myself. Especially after seeing the crap work done by most "craftsmen" here in Thailand. A good example is the house next door. They've hired a gardener to take care of their place as they are often gone. It takes him forever to mow the small lawn (3 hours) and he does a job that I would be totally ashamed of. No trimming, no edging, just three hours of mowing to do about 50 square wa of lawn area. If I could find a gardner who had some pride and enjoyed his work, I'd hire him and pay him well. The chances are slim.

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## blackgang

Yea, you are right, have to go north and a little East and get a Chinaman,, they do good lawn work,, in southern Cal there is a lot of Japanese landscaping contractors too, but they hire mostly wetback beaners. :rofl:

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## Marmite the Dog

> there isn't even a good athletic field here so that's a piss poor example.


Yes there is.




> now who is the thick idiot?


You forgot "again".

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## DrAndy

> Yea, you are right, have to go north and a little East and get a Chinaman *(Chink?),* they do good lawn work,, in southern Cal there is a lot of Japanese *(Nips?)* landscaping contractors too, but they hire mostly wetback beaners *(that's better!).*


 
blimey Blackgang, I am getting confused...who are you talking about there?

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## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by Driventowin
> 
> there isn't even a good athletic field here so that's a piss poor example.
> 
> 
> Yes there is.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
yes, I did

sorry

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## buad hai

We took the infernal machine to Home Pro today, intending to exchange it for a different brand. But, when we got there the "string trimmer" specialist admitted that almost every customer who had bought the same one experienced the same problem.

However, Black & Decker has thoughtfully supplied them with a redesigned trimmer head. On the new design the ratchet lever (pawl) has a stiffer action and is permanently affixed to the pin. (The pawl was removable under the old design.)

So, they affixed the newly designed head and gave me a pool of string and asked me to try again.

Too bloody hot now, so stay tuned....

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## NickA

> But, when we got there the "string trimmer" specialist admitted that almost every customer who had bought the same one experienced the same problem.


Did they know this before you bought your strimmer?  :Sad:

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## buad hai

> Did they know this before you bought your strimmer?


I suspect they may have. However, I bought mine during lunch time and actually had to convince a guy from the electrical department to help me fetch if off of a high shelf. Perhaps if the gardening guys had not all been at lunch or asleep I may have been warned. Who knows....

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## buad hai

It's still a worthless piece of crap. This time I managed just about 4 talang wa with a fresh roll of string. 

Now they say they are going to order a new part. How am I supposed to mow the lawn in the mean time? I'm sure not going to do the three hour hand trim again....

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## blackgang

At least thats better than the new Thai battery I bought for my M/C that lasted about a month, took it out and took it back and said I want a new one because it was guarenteed, he said "How Long you have"? I said "1 month", he said "Guarentee finish"...  and thats the name of that ol tune...

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## buad hai

The second new part for the head of this piece of crap was supposed to arrive last Friday. As of today they say to expect it next Wednesday. I'm now totally fed up with Home Pro. I'm sorry I've given them so much business in the past.

I've got no choice now but to spend much of the coming weekend trimming grass with the hand clippers again.

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## buad hai

Ms. B called Home Pro on Wednesday. Was promised a call back. It never came. Called customer service on Thursday and was promised a call back. It never came. Called a supervisor on Friday and was promised a call back. It never came.

We went in person today and ended up having a long shouting match with the Home Pro personnel. Much lying on their part about attempting to call Ms. B. She never turns off her phone and never misses a call. Nothing in her missed call log. They were just embarrassed to return her call and tell her the promised part had still not arrived.

They now say the new part will be in next Tuesday.

The garden area salesman admitted that Black and Decker had recalled this particular string trimmer. He was obviously chagrinned that Home Pro has instead retained its stock and continues to offer the device for sale.

We demanded something today as the lawn is in need of mowing. After much arguing they gave us three free spools of string which I will use to attempt to mow the lawn this weekend.

If the new part doesn't work they have offered to trade the B&D for an Alpina costing the same amount. 

Anyone have experience with Alpina string trimmers?

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## nevets

I think the electric strimmer is only for going around the edge and not a whole lawn.
I have a rotary mower for my lawn ,i did get a strimmer from big c but it went up in smoke the first time i used it i took it back and now yous shears around where the mower cant go.

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## buad hai

Yesterday we went to The Mall to pick up Black and Decker's third attempt at designing the head on this beast.

Here it is:


As far as I can tell the main difference is the color of the plastic. The ratchet lever is now black, but seems identical to the old white one. And, of course, the housing is now orange instead of green. Another difference is that the spool of string now audibly snaps into place instead of just sliding on to the shaft.


It seems to have done a credible job on the lawn without excessive string use.


And, for all of our trouble they gave us a freebie, this B&D "Finishing" tool which seems to function as a drill, screwdriver, sander and scraper. I'll never use it, but it is a nice trophy.

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