Black + Decker line trimmer doesn't drive head

[y_p_w]

I needed one to clear grass and weeds in my back yard and checked what my parents had. They have a Black + Decker GH1000, which was discontinued years ago. When I asked to borrow it, my mom said she wasn't sure if it still worked. It had plenty of line left, and I plugged it in and found it was still working. One of these:

Download Black & Decker GH1000 Instruction Manual | ManualsLib

www.manualslib.com

I did find out that it was discontinued a while and had some criticism for the spool breaking off.

So I had it on my back patio clearing out grass and weeds that had accumulated in the cracks. It was working great until it finally stopped. The motor was clearly working but the spool wasn't being driven.

Thinking of just buying one, since my big worry is the grass in back. But in the meantime, anyone had a similar issue? I know it has some sort of belt, but I don't think that's what goes down the shaft to drive the spool. Maybe the belt snapped? But I don't hear anything slapping like I'd imagine with a broken belt. Home Depot has something similar for $59 but it has to be shipped. I've noticed some have the motor at the handle and a shaft, while others have the motor at the spool.

On a budget I'm thinking maybe one of the corded trimmers at Harbor Freight? I'm on a really tight budget and right now I really just need to get this done within a week. Long term reliability won't be an issue.

 

[skyactiv]

Hold the thing if possible before you buy it. Most of those corded weed trimmers aren't ergonomically friendly at all.

 

[E150GT]

I would try offer up or FB marketplace. You can find some used stuff cheap.

 

[y_p_w]

Hold the thing if possible before you buy it. Most of those corded weed trimmers aren't ergonomically friendly at all.

The Black + Decker I was using was fine until it stopped working. I suppose putting the motor at the handle means less wiring and it might be easier than having the weight at the head.

 

[y_p_w]

I would try offer up or FB marketplace. You can find some used stuff cheap.

Need it quickly. A cheap trimmer is less than $35 at Harbor Freight.

 

[PimTac]

Thinking of just buying one, since my big worry is the grass in back. But in the meantime, anyone had a similar issue? I know it has some sort of belt, but I don't think that's what goes down the shaft to drive the spool.

The cheap weed whackers use a small cable or similar to connect the motor to the head.

Probably best to just get a new one.

 

[y_p_w]

I looked into it and it could be that the belt is damaged. Maybe just the teeth are gone. It's certainly old and maybe it dried out. It might be worth fixing, but for future use.

https://www.amazon.com/Decker-GH1000-GH1100-Trimmer-90552006/dp/B01BQI5E7S

 

[y_p_w]

The cheap weed whackers use a small cable or similar to connect the motor to the head.

Probably best to just get a new one.

Ended up getting a 15" one at Harbor Freight with a 0.065" line. Worked reasonably well, but I ran out of line. Chews right through it, especially when I was dealing with grass growing through cracks in my brick patio.. The new one also has the motor at the head and that's not as comfortable having weight at the end compared to close to the body.

Will still try and see if my parents' B+D is salvageable. I'm thinking it's just the belt. I personally think it's a better tool than the one I got from Harbor Freight.

 

[y_p_w]

The stock line seemed pretty weak. The installed line was hexagonal. I was thinking of going back to Harbor Freight for replacement line, but they weren't open as early as I thought they'd be and went to Home Depot. They had their own house brand with some odd shape, an Rino-Tuff (twisted) from Shakepeare (the fishing tackle company). I figure it should cut better.

 

[Nukeman7]

The stock line seemed pretty weak. The installed line was hexagonal. I was thinking of going back to Harbor Freight for replacement line, but they weren't open as early as I thought they'd be and went to Home Depot. They had their own house brand with some odd shape, an Rino-Tuff (twisted) from Shakepeare (the fishing tackle company). I figure it should cut better.

Rino-Tuff trimmer line is good stuff if you get the commercial grade. I believe they also sell it at Home Depot stores.

Believe it or not, this line available at Autozone is pretty good for the money if you want a cheap round profile line.

MaxPower Trimmer Line

 

[y_p_w]

Rino-Tuff trimmer line is good stuff if you get the commercial grade. I believe they also sell it at Home Depot stores.

Believe it or not, this line available at Autozone is pretty good for the money if you want a cheap round profile line.

MaxPower Trimmer Line

This is what I got:

Rino-Tuff Universal Fit .065 in. x 275 ft. Pro Twisted Replacement Line for Corded and Cordless String Grass Trimmer/Lawn Edger 16913 - The Home Depot

Marked Heavy Duty TWIST by Rino-Tuff is a professional grade trimmer that outperforms other lines on the market. Up to 15% longer runtime for cordless trimmers. The aerodynamic twist shape reduces line

www.homedepot.com

So I spent over an hour with the new line on the Harbor Freight trimmer. It did seem to last longer, but of course any time I hit something hard like wood or brick it chewed away quickly. But it didn't just wear away quickly going through grasses. I think it was probably a good idea to get this along with the longer length. And it did seem to cut through more efficiently.

 

[y_p_w]

I looked into it and it could be that the belt is damaged. Maybe just the teeth are gone. It's certainly old and maybe it dried out. It might be worth fixing, but for future use.

https://www.amazon.com/Decker-GH1000-GH1100-Trimmer-90552006/dp/B01BQI5E7S

Was able to take it apart. The one tricky thing was a single screw that was hidden behind a label. I just had to peel/tear off a little bit to uncover the screw. Also - I needed a #2 Phillips screwdriver deep enough to reach some of the screws. A #1 Phillips wasn't able to handle a few of the heavily torqued screws. A handle with changeable bits had too wide a shank to reach. Once that was taken care of, I looked at it and figure that it's not worth fixing. Unlike the version in that video, this one has a large nylon gear connected to the shaft. Some of the gear material has melted and is stuck to the teeth of the belt. Something tells me that a new belt isn't going to fix this.

 

[y_p_w]

Was able to take it apart. The one tricky thing was a single screw that was hidden behind a label. I just had to peel/tear off a little bit to uncover the screw. Also - I needed a #2 Phillips screwdriver deep enough to reach some of the screws. A #1 Phillips wasn't able to handle a few of the heavily torqued screws. A handle with changeable bits had too wide a shank to reach. Once that was taken care of, I looked at it and figure that it's not worth fixing. Unlike the version in that video, this one has a large nylon gear connected to the shaft. Some of the gear material has melted and is stuck to the teeth of the belt. Something tells me that a new belt isn't going to fix this.

View attachment 173140

I was curious and tried to find out how much a new gear would cost. I can't find any place that has just the gear and I wouldn't know how to remove it. It's held in place with two cartridge bearings. About all I could find was a complete replacement motor assembly, which doesn't actually come with the metal geared drive pulley. And the only replacement I could find had a metal gear and not a plastic one like I see in this damaged trimmer. I'm thinking the one with the metal gear is interchangeable, but it's over $110, which is more than I could buy a current complete equivalent trimmer. Here's a photo of one:

I guess these are more or less disposable. But if this one had the metal gear, I don't think it would have melted although the belt might have worn faster.