Deck Mounted Line Trimmer

I have been unsuccessful in finding a deck mounted Line trimmer for any of my larger rider mowers. (have 33 trees to trim around and walking 6 acres is not an efficient option) I need a good 12 volt trimmer to start with, with some beefy line and head capacity, or a good small 12 volt motor to make something myself, even if it has a fixed head for the line. Any clues from the group?

 

Personally I'm not fond of line trimming against trees. The line chews through the bark of the tree if you are not careful. I'd be especially concerned with something difficult to precisely control like mounting a line trimmer on a mower deck. It might be OK for edging fence posts and retaining walls but I wouldn't try it on trees.

I would herbicide like Roundup or anything containing glyphosate and spray a ring around the base of the trees. It wont hurt the tree but it will kill the grass & weeds so you wont need to trim at all. You can do all the mowing with the mower.

But if you're set on it all you have to do is search online for "deck mounted line trimmer" and many options appear.

 

When you say 12 volt, are you referring to electric?

 

I get it about the possible damage to the tree, but the appearance of the dead ring (until the weeds take over) from Roundup) is not an option. I will try the Google search again, but the last time I tried it, the company had put the one I wanted on hold. I do not need a lot of power to trim the small amount of grass left after normal mowing. If I could get a small 12 volt motor, it would be easy to build a mounting bracket, and I could wire it right to the mower 12 volt system, add a fuse, switch, and something to hold the trimmer line to the motor shaft.

 

Finding a 12 volt DC motor is not difficult, here are some that might work for you.

Surplus Center I have no connection to Surplus Center except as a satisfied customer of many years.

You DO need a high speed motor, though. I measured the speed on my Weedeater model 509 once and it was in excess of 8,000 rpm. I wouldn't consider anything slower than 6,000 rpm. Also, you need to have the string attachment some distance from the motor shaft or else it will simply wrap around the shaft rather than extend outward to actually cut the weeds. A pulley to fit the shaft and then attach the string to the outer rim of the pulley.

The one thing I cannot help with is whether or not the electrical system on your mower is capable of doing much more than just charging the starting battery. You will need at at least a few amperes (maybe as high as 8-10 or more depending on the motor used) and that may be a huge problem.

 

I get it about the current draw etc. I have a huge battery in the Mower I will be using this on (20 HP Simplicity Sunstar Tractor) and will only be trimming in short bursts. The Kohler Mag I would hope would be enough to keep it charged as I move along. Thanks for the Source on the electric Motors!~

 

I use a gas trimmer with metal blades, so I don't do close trimming. I bought wifey a Ryobi 18 v string trimmer that has a front bail that lowers which extends an inch beyond the rotating string. PERFECT for trimming around trees. Of course the plastic string housing on most trimmers does the same thing, only in back of the unit, and mainly to protect you, not the tree.

 

DR sells a tow behind string trimmer. It's spring loaded and has a bail ring on it to prevent scalping stuff. No experience with it but might be worth checking out. Of course it's not cheap....