Customer Reviews

Black & Decker GH600 Grass Hog 14-Inch 5 amp Electric String Trimmer and Edger

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(55)

 

 

I have traditionally found that B&D lawn tools are pretty good and this weed wacker works just fine. It trims well, the "rotating head action" helps with edging, and it is reasonably powerful. I only gave it three stars (I would actually give it two and a half if I could) because 1) It does use a lot of string. I would also suggest wearing long pants when using this thing because the string advances automatically during use and the piece that is cut off goes flying. I got a couple of "wacks" on my legs from this. My daughter got hit once too so keep your kids out of range. I also found that it works better if you buy the replacement spools rather that buying string and winding it up yourself. I consider myself somewhat handy but the line advancement never worked right when I purchased the string seperately (much cheaper) and wrapped it through/around the spool myself. The replacement spools get pricey after a while. Also, 2) I think this thing is a bit noisy. Especially when the string advances. It whacks against the string cutter in quite a loud fashion (in my opinion). However it does work and will do the job. I have no need or desire to replace it at this point. However when the time to replace it does come and if improvements are not made I will look hard at other models.

I just purchased one of these and it is almost perfect. I had a small string one and as stated in the other reviews, they use a lot of string and it is a pain replacing the spool and the string ones never cut like the gas ones. We all know the problems with the gas ones, but boy can they knock down the weeds. Well I was at Home Depot and spotted the perfect solution. This Grass Hog and the Grass Gator Electric Multi-Fit. No more string and with the power of the Black and Decker, I'm in Hog Heaven.(You knew that was coming.) The Grass Gator goes on easy and has a tough nylon blade, but it cuts like a metal blade, the kind you find only on gas powered trimmers. I managed to wack our fence a couple of times with the blades and they both survived the impact and the fence was fine. The replacement blades are easy to install and not very expensive. This is electric weed-wacking at its best. Perfect-Catherine

I bought this at Lowe's and enjoy it on my 1/2 acre. I never had one before but knew I didn't want a gas trimmer for noise and having to yank on a string like a mower. I find the noise level acceptable. True I keep at least one roll of string on hand since I use this to clean out the open ditch in front of my house. But so easy to replace (just pop out the old and in with the new) I can't complain. And long pants are a MUST. One stinging gash will speak volumes to you.

My husband always kept the lawn and garden tools in running order, and when he passed away two years ago I purchased this because it's light and it's electric, so that I don't have to fool with maintenance, gas/oil mixtures, etc. It was under $50, and I've given it an incredibly hard workout on my wooded lot of more than three acres (with the help of extremely long extension cords). I've plowed through dense weeds over two feet tall, edged with it, and tipped it up to grind those thick, prickly-leafed weeds down to the roots. We're both dusty and covered with clippings by the end, but it's still going strong, and that makes it well worth the economical price to me. When it finally goes, I'd happily buy another just like it.

Just got off the phone with B&D and they report no problems with this unit. However, my own experience has shown that this model was designed to break easily and last less than the two year warranty period.

I bought my first one in May and it worked until August. The problem was that the pin on the AFS Arm flattened out and would no longer allow the AFS to feed string. On Saturday, 22 Nov, I took the unit back to the store and received a replacement. I used the new unit for approximately two hours and it stopped working. This time the pin had fully disintegrated and pieces of melted plastic were splattered around the inside of the spool housing. The AFS Arm was slightly warm as though the motor had transferred heat to it.

This unit appears as though it was intended solely for limited use, but for the edging and trimming of a normal yard it will not cut the mustard. Granted, I do have a 3/4 acre lot with two driveways, but I don't believe my use is that extreme. While I find the AFS system desireable, I will have to go back to the old fashioned bump model until they fix the AFS system.

For what it's worth, I've owned the GH600 for almost 2 years now and have not had any problems with it. After reading so many people saying it chewed up lots of line, I thought I'd throw my 2˘ worth into the mix here...

First off, the Automatic Feed System (AFS) for the line is a bit tricky. Yes, you can open the spool up and manually feed it out, but it's designed to Auto-Advance some more line when TWO things happen: 1)The line is short and therefore the exposed portion weighs less than it should *and*, 2)The motor is allowed to coast down a bit, then speed back up.(via the throttle trigger) Or at least that's what I've determined causes mine to automatically feed the line out best, without wasting it.

UNDERSTAND, when you place the rotating head closer to an immovable object (i.e. cinder-block, edge of concrete driveway, etc) than the cutting line is long...it will BREAK. For instance, if the AFS has just spooled out 7" of new line and then you put the spinning head just 3" away from a rock, you can expect the line to break off at 3" long. So try your best not to get too close to hard objects once the AFS has spooled out a new section of line.

Secondly, I purchased SHARP EDGE (i.e. Square, not round) weed-eater line made by a company called UNIFIT. I've been using 0.065" square (or 1.7mm), which is 0.092" (measured corner-to-corner, if you look at a cross-section of the line) The part number is 74-6052 for 300' (or 91 meters) of bulk line and can be obtained online, even off eBay occasionally.

The larger the weed cutting line you can use the longer it should stand up to abuse, before it finally breaks off.

The two small holes in the top of the black line-spool are too small to thread this line into, so I just used a drill bit to enlarge one of the holes to an adequate size in order to hold the (starting) end of the line. I've re-wound the line-spool many times and it's always worked just fine, you just need to take care and realize the direction (indicated by an arrow) you need to wrap it around the spool.

Anyway, hope this helps someone else out, as I've found this Black & Decker GH600 to be a good and durable product to date with this simple modification.

I have a small lot (8500 sq. ft.) and the rear portion had a fair amount of tall grass growing in a non-landscaped area. This thing chopped that stuff down no problem. I had a McCullough gas trimmer that couldn't take that stuff down.

I haven't had it long enough to comment on the line use issues, but i think for ~$50 this is a great value. It does a lot better edging my bermuda lawn than the dedicated Craftsman edger that I had (used a blade).

So basically this outperforms 2 units that had a combined cost of around $200 for me. So far I am thrilled with it. Don't worry about it not having the power to do basic trimming. This has converted me to electric trimmers for the foreseeable future.

I've had the trimmer knife break off twice. The trimmer knife is used to automatically cut the string to the desired length. Without the knife, the trimmer cannot be used. The first time the knife broke off Home Depot reluctantly accepted the exchange. The second time I riveted a sheet of sharpened metal to where the knife used to be. I'm looking around for a better model. This model eats line like crazy, particularly the non-round kind, leaving pieces of trimmer line everywhere. On the plus side, it is light and easily adjusted.

The electric grass hog by B&D is a good price and works very well. The problem is the automatic string feed. Each use will use the entire spool and at [$$]...for a 3 pack of string is very expensive. I bought the unit...and when the other two spools are used, I am taking it back for a refund! B&D makes great products, but they need to rethink the string usage. Make tuffer string.

Having had a gas weed eater, I can say that I like the electrical Grass Hog a lot better. It is very lightweight, but still powerful. It does a great job of normal weed eating, but the real nifty feature is that it coverts to an edger. And the edger works just as well. If you have a small yard, being connected to an extension cord is not a big deal. It is worth the ease of use that you get from this light model. No more trips to the gas station and mixing machine oil. This weed eater is a win all the way around.