Customer Reviews

Black & Decker 12-Inch Grass Hog Automatic Feed String Trimmer Edger with Auto Feed Spool GH400

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

My Grass Hog suffered the same maladies as some other reviewers have written.

My initial concern about the volume/cost of string consumed was lessened when I switched to wrapping the spools myself with the bulk professional trimmer line sold at Home Depot.

The plastic holder for the handle snapped off while I had it turned upside down to replace a spool. Fortunately, I was able to reattach the handle using longer screws and duct tape.

The string cutter blade snapped off. Despite this, I was able to continue to use the trimmer as the string would get trimmed by the sharp plastic edge that remained from where the blade had been attached. Eventually, the plastic edge dulled to the point where it no longer cut the string and it wrapped itself around the motor shaft snapping the internal plastic parts controlling the spool. At that point, the trimmer was useless and I trashed it.

Overall, I was pleased with the performance of the unit, both in cutting and the auto-feed function. Having only gotten two seasons out of it was disappointing. Due to its lack of durability, I would only recommend the unit to anyone with small to moderate trimming needs.

I am now on my second Grasshog, a fact which attests both to the appeal of a no-bump trimmer as well as the fragility of this model. On our first one, like one of the reviewers above, the line cutting blade fell off which allowed the string to wrap about the spool housing and quickly burnt the motor out (along with some of the plastic parts nearby). The second problem with this model is the speed with which it goes through nylon line. It takes more than one spool to trim our property. At five dollars or so for each replacement spool, this adds up quickly. But still, the model is remarkable for its convenience and for the ease with which the spool can be replaced. Overall, a good idea flawed by some significant design problems.

I purchased a GrassHog string trimmer/edger because in the store it seemed to be the easiest for me the handle from a wheelchair. It worked very well at first. After running two spools of line through it, the plastic gaurd broke and the knife that cutts the string broke. Without anyway for the string to be trimmed, it kept feeding off until it wrapped around under the trimmer head. There doesn't seem to be anyway to remove the head if grass or other things wrap around it. This makes it difficult to remove wound up grass/string. I e-mailed B&D and they sent a new guard right out. The only problem is that this one only lasted one full spool of line. (They also sent a new spool of line.) If the guard were stronger and the head removable, this would be a great product.

Bought it 2yrs ago. Works well, but the tended to use too much line in opposition to what it claims. This third year it pooped out. The rotor dropped down causing it to slow considerably. Being an electrical engineeer, I tore it down and discovered the casing holding the field windings and bearings had failed. The inexpensive plastic casing failed to hold the rotor bearing against gravity and allowed the whole rotor to drop downward.

We really like this trimmer -- it works well -- but we find that we have to put on a new spool of line every time we cut the yard..., so this gets quite expensive. I have written to Black & Decker about this to see what gives. E-mail me if you have similar experiences: lorelei_lee@hotmail.com.

Seems I had similar problems as I read through the other reviews.Very diappointed when it came to buying replacement parts.Almost impossible to find parts.This leads me to beleive that this is a disposable Trimmer/Edger.I hadn't planned on buying a new trimmer this year.The Black and Decker GrassHog trimmer will not be on my repacement list.Thanks,CJ

I bought one of these back in the summer. I wanted something that was not gas powered. This was the best deal available. But, something caused the spool to stop spinning, and the metal gear that the spool assembly was attached to did not stop spinning. Within 10 or 15 seconds, the spool and it's entirely plastic assembly went flying off into my neighbor's yard. When I returned it to the local retailer they said that 50% of the ones they sell come back with the same defect.

I've used several string trimmers in the past, and for normal lawn work this is the best I have seen. It doesn't have the power of gas trimmers, but I did use it to cut down a 50x30' section of weeds that the neigbor lady needed help clearing. The automatic feed system is very convenient, it doesn't always advance the line exactly when you would like, but on the whole it is much improved over bump-feed systems. The edging feature is also very good, we don't even use our edger anymore, its much more convenient to use the trimmer because we already have it out.

My only complaint is that it does use a thin diameter line, so you do tend to use line faster. However, it is very easy to buy the trimmer line in bulk spools and re-fill the spools. I bought 4 replacement spools and now I just re-fill them and reuse them.

We have had the Black & Decker corder grass hog for about a year. It was very convenient and I loved the fact that I didn't have to "bump" to get more line. Bumping never seemed to work with my old string trimmer.

I feel like our yard is about average in size and we went through about 4 spools in an 8 month mowing season. This seems reasonable to me.

However, at the start of the second year the motor quit working. It had a 2 year warranty but because I didn't have any of the warranty information or receipt I felt like they wouldn't honor it (I never tried though).

Despite the problem with the motor I plan on buying this same model again.

I have a relatively small yard and decided to use a manual (non powered ,click clack type) reel lawnmower this year. The reel just can't get close to the fence, trees etc. Since I don't like to keep a can of gas around I opted for the Grass Hog, corded version. The automatic line feed feature really appealed to me. My first used today was seamless, I never had to check the line. Its very powerful, light enough and does a excellent job trimming what the other mower can't. For the price you can't beat it, and it had a two year warranty. The only reason I did not give it five stars was that the assembly directions were somewhat confusing.