el cheapo Blue Max brush cutter

[chuckwood]

Home Depot sells these, although they are back ordered at the moment. There are also a lot of 'em on ebay. I needed something with a lot more power than my 25cc husky brush cutter, and I'm trying out one of those brush blender blades. The Blue Max has 43cc. These blades I wish to try are curved down at the edges, so they cut both vertically and horizontally. I've got lots of brush with tangled vines to clear, and if this setup works, it should speed up my work a lot. It's very frustrating using a conventional brush cutter blade on masses of tangled honeysuckle, grape, and wisteria vines. I'm trying it out first today with the circular brush cutting blade that has chainsaw teeth on it. This blade works ok maybe on my 25 cc husky cutter, but there's not quite enough power in 25cc to spin this heavy brush cutting blade up. When I cut small saplings down with the husky/chainsaw teeth blade setup, it tends to bog down sometimes, not enough power. The new brush blender blade will need lots more power, and I'm assuming I'll be chopping up brush with it using an up and down motion of the brush cutter head.

My machine assembled easily, and it's rather heavy. The reviews I've seen so far on this cheap Chinese made brush cutter are mostly good, so I'll be finding out how it holds up first hand. The top of the line most powerful Stihl or Husky brush cutter is outside my budget, I don't have over 800 bucks to spend on one of those, so this one will have to do. I'll followup on this post later after I try my brush blender blade. So far, I'm happy with the machine, it starts easily and runs good.

 

[ANewSawyer]

I have been looking for a source for those blades in the USA. Where'd cha get that, ifn ya don't mind me askin'.

 

[chuckwood]

I have been looking for a source for those blades in the USA. Where'd cha get that, ifn ya don't mind me askin'.

Ebay. Search for "Brush Blender brush cutter blade".

 

[chuckwood]

I have been looking for a source for those blades in the USA. Where'd cha get that, ifn ya don't mind me askin'.

Here's an AS thread about these blades. Several companies, including Stihl, have quit making them, maybe there were some people that got hurt with them. I'll be using my dorky looking combination helmet, face shield, and ear muffs while using this blade, along with my chainsaw chaps. Apparently these blades throw a lot of debris around at high speed. I'll be trying mine out tomorrow.

http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...r-300mm-shredder-blade-with-3-4-arbor.215416/

 

[The Thriftdrifter]

When we first moved out to the country from the city, I bought a similar no name brand 50cc Chinese brushcutter, mostly because it was cheap price wise compared to quality brands, it did what was required, but after 9 months of casual use, one of the springs in the clutch broke, no supply of spares exist in NZ for these.

I could not find a spring that would fit at an engineers supply shop so I ended up bending the end of the broken spring, put it back in and it worked, 3 months later the coil spring in the pull starter mech broke so I patched that, most of the screws and bolts required constant tightening and two of them were basically stripped of thread from new.

Recommended fuel mix was 25:1 so it smoked like a chimney, it vibrated quite a lot, it was heavy, guzzled gas. I ended up giving it away (no market for second hand units) and got lucky and scored a second hand Husky in good condition for a fair price.

I love the Husky, easy to maintain, has parts available (not that it's needed any) but above all, its reliable, which I have found out, is one of the most important things for me in a tool.
I used to think that there was a place for cheap/ junky outdoor power equipment, but personally I can't be bothered with the hassle that in my experience comes with them.

Possibly they are ok as a temporary solution, mind you it's probably better putting that money into a second hand quality unit.

 

[chuckwood]

When we first moved out to the country from the city, I bought a similar no name brand 50cc Chinese brushcutter, mostly because it was cheap price wise compared to quality brands, it did what was required, but after 9 months of casual use, one of the springs in the clutch broke, no supply of spares exist in NZ for these.

I could not find a spring that would fit at an engineers supply shop so I ended up bending the end of the broken spring, put it back in and it worked, 3 months later the coil spring in the pull starter mech broke so I patched that, most of the screws and bolts required constant tightening and two of them were basically stripped of thread from new.

Recommended fuel mix was 25:1 so it smoked like a chimney, it vibrated quite a lot, it was heavy, guzzled gas. I ended up giving it away (no market for second hand units) and got lucky and scored a second hand Husky in good condition for a fair price.

I love the Husky, easy to maintain, has parts available (not that it's needed any) but above all, its reliable, which I have found out, is one of the most important things for me in a tool.
I used to think that there was a place for cheap/ junky outdoor power equipment, but personally I can't be bothered with the hassle that in my experience comes with them.

Possibly they are ok as a temporary solution, mind you it's probably better putting that money into a second hand quality unit.

I've seen a number of no name brush cutters for sale on ebay and other similar outlets. I decided to take a risk on the Blue Max because Home Depot sells it, and apparently spare parts are available for this machine via a website or catalogue. I'm always tinkering with stuff anyway like you are, so when stuff breaks on this thing I'll try fixing it myself. If the Max turns out to be Mini then I've not lost much and will write a post mortem for it here. If it lasts long enough to chop up my vine problems here then I figure it paid for itself. Clearing hopelessly tangled underbrush isn't much fun with a traditional brush cutter blade. If Max fails, I reckon it will be either a husky, stihl, echo etc. used brush cutter for me. Blue Max uses a 40:1 mix ration.

 

[The Thriftdrifter]

Sounds like the blue max might be better quality, and if parts are available then all the better and it's hard to argue with the price when your dollar is stretched and you just need a tool get the dang job done.

 

[ANewSawyer]

I looked at one of those but settled on a Stihl. Pro quality is addictive. I plan on picking up a brush blender for it. Thanks for the tip, Chuckwood. I have Airecuts and they do a great job of shredding. But they are flat: http://www.airecut.com/

Hmm, I see that the company makes three tooth versions... http://championcutter.com/blades.html

 

[chuckwood]

Tried out the brush blender blade today on tangled grapevines, honeysuckle vines, etc. it worked great. I'm a lot more enthusiastic now about tackling underbrush at my place. Doing this with a flat brush blade is no fun. The machine keeps getting tangled up and stopped in the vines. Also, a flat blade on a brush cutter head is completely at the wrong angle for cutting thick vine tangles off trees when you need the stuff removed as high as you can get with the machine. With the two blades curved down 90 degrees at the end, you attack the mess with an up and down motion and it shreds it. I got an amazing amount of tangled vines out today with it. Even if this Blue Max thing blows up within a month, I'm pleased that I've figured out a setup that will deal with my jungle problem here. If I have to eventually get a better brand brush cutter that has enough power to do this, I figure I'm still ahead. If the Max holds up and/or proves to be repairable by the average guy getting parts for it, then I'll be even more pleased.

 

[ANewSawyer]

I keep telling my brother that where we are in TN is like a sub-tropical jungle. He doesn't believe me. Maybe I should make him do the weedeating sometime.

 

[chuckwood]

I keep telling my brother that where we are in TN is like a sub-tropical jungle. He doesn't believe me. Maybe I should make him do the weedeating sometime.

Here's some pics of the jungle I'm trying to tame. These woods are filled with invasive plants from Asia and Europe, there's been too many domesticated and imported plants and trees let loose in here. The privet and asian honeysuckle is some of the worst of it. A pest which I think is domestic is the wild grape vines. These vines produce no usable grapes of any kind, but they sure can make a tangled mess out of the lower part of a tree. As kids we used to find grapevines on large trees as big around as our arms, we'd cut them and swing on 'em. Tree and vine also needs to be on a hillside. We got busted up when we wore the swinging vines out and they broke in mid air. My jungle is so thick that I've still got some acreage that cannot be traveled through unless you are a dog or a groundhog. Some of it is so bad you can't hardly even crawl through it. I could clear it with a bobcat or small dozer in a lot less time, but I wish to select out young trees and any other plants I want to encourage. Doing this with hand held equipment is labor intensive but does a lot less tearing up the ground and causing mud. I use a tractor with long forks attached to the loader bucket to pick up and carry brush away to a big brush pile. It's getting harder and harder to do with the jungle temps going up to mid 90's right now.

 

[The Thriftdrifter]

I like your approach, gentle on the land, flora and forna, not just bust on in there and get it done at any cost.

Nice photos.

 

[ANewSawyer]

I ordered one of the brush blenders. Thanks, Chuckwood! The PO says maybe Saturday. I might have time to try it out, if it comes early.

 

[ANewSawyer]

Mail passed after I got done working outside. To blasted hot to go back out.

 

[IrvingWashington]

@chuckwood, I'm looking at the same brush cutter, have you put any more hours on it? Worth the price?

 

[chuckwood]

@chuckwood, I'm looking at the same brush cutter, have you put any more hours on it? Worth the price?

Yes, I'm still using mine and it's working fine. And there are a few issues with this machine that you'll find discussed in the reviews. The choke is labeled opposite of what it should be, so there are people out there returning these brush cutters because they try starting them with the choke off, and of course they have starting problems. I found an issue with the cap to the gas tank, the threads are poorly made and it's easy to crossthread, resulting in the cap leaking gas at times. Just be careful and precise when tightening the cap and you'll be fine. The dinky little strap that came with the machine is worthless, get a full fledged shoulder harness used for heavy brush cutters. This thing is big and heavy - and has got lots of power, I might add. The manual warns against pulling the starter cord out past a red band on the cord. I've read reviews where apparently people, not reading their manual, have done this and trashed the starter mechanism. Last issue I'll talk about is the two piece shaft linkage. It hooks up easily, but the clamps on it are poorly made and have a sloppy fit, allowing some misalignment to occur. I'm planning on drilling and threading some holes on my unit where the two shaft pieces come together, locking them in place so they can't move side to side and make the cutter head out of line with the engine and the handlebars. From what I've been reading, spare parts are available, so I figure if I break it I can fix it. I'll be watching ebay every now and then to see if anybody is selling broken ones cheap for parts sources. I really like my machine so far, I've ground up a lot of vines, brambles, and underbrush with it and it's working great. I does stuff my 25cc Husky brush cutter can't do. I don't have the over 800 bucks to spend on a top of the line Husky brush cutter, I got this one for $165.00 - much easier on my budget. I've enclosed a pic of the cheesy clamp assembly that isn't made well enough to stay put and not wobble out of alignment - but I'm pretty sure I've got a fix for that problem..

 

[IrvingWashington]

Thanks for the update! I'll keep my eyes peeled for one. Curiously, on the HomeyD website, they have a photo of it with a one-piece shaft, maybe a different model though.

 

[chuckwood]

Thanks for the update! I'll keep my eyes peeled for one. Curiously, on the HomeyD website, they have a photo of it with a one-piece shaft, maybe a different model though.

Here's where I got mine. They've upped the price slightly, but it's the lowest price I could find with a reputable company. It was on back order when I placed the order, but it arrived very quickly anyhow.

http://www.stringtrimmersdirect.com/weed/handheld-trimmer-brush-cutters.html

 

[ANewSawyer]

Tried out the brush blender. I like it. I am surprised at how large of a sapling I can taking without the machine missing a beat.

 

[stihl sawing]

The stihl tri blade will cut anything put in front of it, other than trees. But it does get run on a FS 250.