Red Max Trimmer Update

I had a chance to use the new smaller 4" head last weekend. It lasted almost two tanks of gas or about 2/3rds as long as the 6" head. Good enough. It worked better than the old one like they said it would. I was concerned that since it held 1/3rd of the line the 6" one held that it wouldn't last even one tank of gas. I think the line lasts longer because I don't have to keep tapping the head to put more line out all the time. With the 6" head the line would break off or melt together inside the head. Constantly tapping the head (wasting line) would keep it from breaking and melting. I should use a lot less line now. The head also gets up to speed much faster since the mass is half as much as in the 6" head. This trimmer cuts faster than I can move it. I still think after only 5 months that the head should haven been covered (if only in part) by the warranty. After all, this trimmer is sold to be used commercially all day long. Thanks Katrina for doing a good job getting the trimmer fixed!

PR Wire and Red Max Trimmers

I have been really happy with my Red Max trimmer these last 5 months (I should be because it costs more than 2x the best trimmers at Sears cost) It cuts almost as fast as I can move it. In the very tall thick grass I have to slow down but I can trim more than 2 times as fast as I could with the best trimmer from Sears.

It took a while for me to figure out how to use the trimming head. The key was to use Red Max trimmer line (.130). All the other line I bought melted. Even with using the Red Max line I would need to rewind (50 feet of new line) the head every two tanks of gas (over 2 hours run time).

Now 5 months later the head breaks. Katrina takes it back to PR Wire (I can’t because they are only open during working hours). They put a new smaller 4” head on and charged her $40! I think the head should be replaced under warranty. The new smaller head might look nice and it will last longer but it doesn’t hold enough line. It won’t hold enough line for even one tank of gas. Katrina told them the new head is smaller and she doesn’t think it will work but they insisted it would.

I think they took advantage of her. They should have replaced the head with the old style and probably should have done it under warranty. I probably only have 30 hours on this machine. If I have to replace the head every 6 months or so, so be it. The trimmer still cuts great but we need the original 6” head because our grass is so thick.

Tool Time 2

This looks like a handy feature - handles that slide out to three different lengths. Is it useful? When I have to lean really far to prune the croton hedge maybe, but for day to day the shortest setting gets caught in my shirt and irritates me. I want to go back to a tool I had in Washington that required only one hand to operate, didn't really have handles and had blades that were lighter weight. We'll see if they make them any more and how much it costs to ship here!

Another problem with this tool is that the parts can come apart. Note the upper right screw like thing isn't there anymore. It came out twice - first time I found it and the second time it went to Jeff's "shop" for a repair (diving backplate part added).

Gloves gloves gloves. How many have we had? Everything is terrible. Leather is hot and inflexible. Cloth gets wet and tears easily. The rubberized ones were our favorites (bottom left) except I keep wearing out the fingers. I have determined that all will suck, so now I go with the most comfortable cheapest ones that are $1.24 (upper left). They aren't waterproof, thorns go through them, and they will tear. They are my new favorites unless I am pulling vines or doing cement. Then the bottom left rubberized ones are better.

A good home depot trowel. There was a bigger version that had a neat fulcrum/pivot point but it was too heavy so I got this. Unlike all the others, this one has not bent yet!

My $1 pink plastic rake has been the best tool ever! Light weight, the teeth haven't bent or broken and lets me move a lot of stuff around. Finally the handle bent right in the middle and then snapped. I found a replacement handle for $1 but it snapped the first day I used it. So I went to Mr. Special and replaced my pink rake with a barf brown one. It is no longer $1, it was $3 something and the handle is heavier and wood. Oh well, still more suitable for me than a heavy metal one.

Tool Time 1 - What works and What Doesn't

Spray nozzles - something has to go on the end of the hose. The metal one on the left came with the house and has been working fine. We had another metal one that had a part pop off or rust off so we tried the green, cheap, plastic one on the right. Don't do it - plastic cracks where the metal is and they don't function correctly. My favorite is the nozzle in the middle for a couple reasons. Price is right. It is brass so it doesn't really rust. No parts to hinge or pop off. Easy to operate because you can grip the twisty part with gloves on and it twists to adjust the spray and you don't have to hold it or loop a metal loop (that falls off) to hold it open. It is a hands down winner. Walmart has them for a little over $2.

Rakes (rostrillos) - the one on the left is Jeff's favorite despite the fact that the tines have bent. He pulls vines with it and moves twigs and plant material around. We got the thatch rake on the right first, and it is wonderful for really heavy thatching or "pull everything out of the ground" clearing. Note that the tines are really bent. It has an adjustment so you can adjust the angle the tines are to the ground which is great when you are on a slope. It is too heavy for me but would be a good tool if it were lighter and smaller.

We have had 3 shovels. The first one had a wood handle that snapped where it joined the metal. We got the one on the right next, with a fiberglass-type handle. I like it because it is light for a normal size shovel. It is about to break though so there are certain things to use it for and other things I don't use it for. Jeff got the one on the left with the beefed up handle. Note that the metal is much longer and puts the stress point in a less stressful spot! Unfortunately it is too heavy for me.

These are great pruners but they have design flaws. On my first pair the handles simply fell off! Yes I was pruning things too big, sure I was swinging them to knock twiggy dead stuff off the orange trees, but the handles? I returned them and got another pair. This time the handles were designed a little differently. The grippy part is shorter (first pair had long ones that pulled out when they shouldn't have). What is nice about these pruners is the gearing. It makes a big difference. You can prune bigger stuff than you should with them and not feel it in your hands as much. Unfortunately the handles still fall off unless you duct tape them!

Good gearing. Bad for the handle to pull out. The shorter grip was an improvement, but come on - the handles still pull out. Even with the problems I can say this is a very useful tool and the gearing is what makes it great.