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Overall Rating

Weedeater WT-3100: a mixed bag
This machine has some very strong points and some very weak ones. I’ll report, and you decide. On the positive side: the motor is very powerful and very easy to start. It is extremely easy to load the string into the trimmer head. The trimmer rests on a sturdy pair of wheels which take all the strain off your arms and back. You can cut a lot more grass and weeds before you get tired. All of this should make it a great product. But read on . . . .

Gripe #1: the string. It is loaded into the trimmer head in pre-cut 18.5″ lengths. When a string’s ends are worn down to the point where they extend only 3″ on each side from the head, the string needs to be replaced, even though it is still 12″ long. (6″ of the string is threaded through the trimmer head, which is why a 12″ length extends only 3″ on each side.) This means that 2/3 of the string never gets used in cutting. This shouldn’t matter, right, because string is cheap? Wrong. This machine uses .115″ diameter string, a dimension so rare that only Weedeater sells it! And only in pre-cut lengths at $7.72 for a package of 12. This comes out to $.41 per foot (or $.60 for each length you install). Compare this with the 7 or 8 cents per foot you pay when you buy it by the reel from other manufacturers. And to top it off, the string does not last nearly as long as you’d think. So far, I’ve used between 2 and 5 lengths in each of my trimming sessions. That comes to an average of nearly $2 per session just for the few inches of string that get used. The string costs more than the gas! And gas ain’t cheap! You can get around this a bit by using the closest size (.105″ diameter) that’s available in bulk in an aftermarket product, but it doesn’t work quite as well. There are reports that .130″ will work (Amazon even lists this–incorrectly–as the official replacement size), but others have said that it doesn’t. I’m wary about trying it.

Gripe #2: the trimmer head. This is the weak part of any string trimmer I’ve ever used, but my experience with the WT-3100 takes the cake. During my third use (after owning it for all of 9 days) the trimmer head broke in half. I didn’t hit anything, it just flew apart. The two parts of the head are riveted together, making a kind of sandwich where the line is threaded through. This looks like a design flaw to me–4 good sized and 5 tiny rivets holding together the part that rotates at great velocity and comes in contact with the ground. Why rivets? Fortunately, there is a 2-year parts & labor warranty, which leads me to . . . .

Gripe #3: Weedeater service. When you call the 800 number that comes with the instruction manual–advertised as “Weedeater Service”–you get another company that handles service issues for Weedeater and many other companies. They are basically a parts distributor who can also give you the name, address, and phone number of the Weedeater dealer in your area. (Actually, the dealer they sent me to first no longer works on Weedeaters.) That is where you must go for service or even technical support. That’s right! If you have a technical question–like how to install a replacement part–there’s no one at Weedeater to answer it. They have simply insulated themselves from their customers. There is no technical support, period. (Since I live on an island that’s an hour-and-a-half ferry and auto ride from the nearest dealer, that’s a big deal to me.)

OK, to end on a more positive note. Weedeater’s 800-number parts-supplier shipped me a replacement trimmer head (under warranty) that arrived in 5 days. There were no installation instructions (and Weedeater is obviously no help here) but a long-distance call to the nearest dealer provided me the clues I needed to figure out how to install the puppy. I put it in and the WT-3100 is now running again. So far, the new head shows no signs of disintegrating, but the jury is still out.

So while I can’t really recommend this trimmer, I can’t really pan it, either. The motor is really a brute, and it cuts weeds and grass (even tough bear-grass) effortlessly. (Note: it will not cut woody stems of 3/16″ or larger; it skins them, but doesn’t cut them.) The wheels are great. But the expensive, hard-to-obtain string and non-existent tech support are real downers. For me, it all hinges on whether the trimmer head holds together. We’ll see.

Overall Rating

The Only Big Thing is the Disappointment
I bought this little wheeled string trimmer expecting to save my back knocking down tall grass around my garden and small orchard. Whle it is a neat looking tool, it has been nearly completely useless. In fact, it turns out to be much more effort to use, and harder on the back, than a regular string trimmer. The wheels are small and hard - they absorb no shock on rough ground, and the wheelbase is so narrow that the thing is constantly tipping and difficult to control. Perhaps it is meant to trim around a manicured, perfectly flat lawn, and it may work well for that. Then again, the two-stroke engine is noisy and does not respond readily to the throttle. If you have tall grass and weeds, or uneven ground, or don’t like the mosquito-like buzz of a small, low-quality two-stroke engine, look for something else. If I could figure out how to get it back in the box I’d return it.

where can i find the two wheel weedeater want to bye one so i need a close place to bye one near springfield missouri baught my first one a sears but they quit selling them so let me know where to bye one