Well, my B&D 36V string trimmer battery went belly-up. No surprise. But I am surprised that B&D discontinued it, so even if I wanted to pay the $100 for a replacement, there is no way to get one. Not what I call good product support. I feel for the people who bought this thing (which works rather well) and don't have a 36V electric tractor to give it an extended life.
I'd like to mount a retractable cord reel near the power outlet with about 30' of cord, and make clip-in carrier of sorts to hold the trimmer. I'm guessing the original accessories are typically used with a non-retractable cord, but that seems pretty inconvenient with a trimmer where you're constantly moving down a line of lawn edge.
A number of questions have come up while pondering this project:
- The cord reels I've found are either low quality or really expensive. Reviews on reasonably-priced ones usually mention that they stop retracting fully after awhile. Any leads on a good quality reel that won't cost a fortune?
- What wire gauge do the original accessories use? Is it big enough?
- I also thought I might make a simple non-retracting reel that I could manually wind up. Not quite as slick, but more reliable. The trick here is the electrical swivel connector that allows the reel to unwind without twisting the cord. Where do I find that?
- Is the twist-lock power connector a problem? Seems to me if the plug doesn't slip out fairly easily you're likely to damage the cord, plug or outlet after finding the limit of its reach the hard way several times. Show of hands: how many of you have just left the cord plugged in while moving the tractor to a better location, run over the cord and destroyed a plug or outlet?
Any tips or tricks? Anything I've missed?
Chris