Grass Strimmer Problem

[ultimatevacman]

Hi everyone,

as I know some of enjoy gardening, I was wondering if you could help me,
I have a Black and Decker strimmer that I've had for about 3 years as it was given to me by my grandad, and when I plug it in, it doesn't seem to want to come on. I've tested all the connections in the wire etc. and they're all fine, so I gave it a small bang against the grass, and then, it slowly started up, but now it doesn't want to start at all.

I was wondering if any of you may know what this is, it's been a reliable machine up until a few months ago, when it occasionally tripped all the power in the house.

Should I just buy a new strimmer? or is this repairable?

Many thanks,

Joe

 

[dysondestijl]

Hi joe,
You know I love gardening too!
This makes me think that the electricity connection in the motor is faulty/loose. Either that or there is a lot of grass wrapped sound the motor spindle.
I recommend that you open up the casing around the motor and see if you can see anything
George

 

[ultimatevacman]

Hi George,

Thanks for the advice, I'll open it up tomorrow

Joe

 

[dustin]

Sounds like you have a similar problem to mine, It didn't want to run properly, (having to shake it to start, and barely fast enough to trim with), and eventually (less than an hour) it went out in a cloud of smoke. The motor bearings were worn out, causing the string head to rub against the casing, and causing the motor to run slower and overheat, to the point of shorting the windings. In its last use, it was pretty weak and very loud. It didn't blow any fuses, but I had it plugged in the garage, which has a questionable electrical system. I'm now looking for a new trimmer, (I might try taking the trimmer head off of that one, and putting it on another one that self destructed it's string head last summer), but for some reason, I'm hard on trimmers, 2 in as many summers.

 

[ultimatevacman]

Ok, thanks Dustin. It might be on it's way out then

Joe

 

[sebo_fan]

My Flymo strimmer did exactly the same thing - must say in lieu of B&D, my parents preferred the B&D brand for years and the current one is a B&D/Black and Decker.

 

[floor-a-matic]

U should try the Worx GT string trimmer; it works great!

 

[vac_whisperer]

I would just

I would just get a "strimmer" that has a two stroke gas engine in it.
It may cost a little more, but typically it will be more reliable and, in my experiences, snall gas engines are easier to fix than electric motors.

 

[dysondestijl]

Yeah I have one of those

 

[ultimatevacman]

Cool, thanks guys. I think I'll go for one of those then

 

[davetranter]

Electric strimmer problem

I agree with Dustin.... This is the usual failure mode for Electric strimmers. Either the bearings themselves wear out, or the bosses in the plastic casework which hold them become elliptical. Either way, armature meets field, and much heat is evolved. R.I.P. strimmer...

All best

Dave T