Self-Propelled String Trimmer
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Once John Krueger had stripped the deck off an old zero-turn mower, he saw its potential as a self-propelled string trimmer. He had fixed it up with safety rails for getting on and off and a set of LED lights. He just had to mount a string trimmer and figure out how to power it.
“The zero-turn still had the electric clutch that activated the mower on the deck I’d removed,” says Krueger. “I could use it to turn the string trimmer on and off.”
Krueger made an extension from 3-in. box tubing to mount the power head from an old DR trimmer head to the side of the zero-turn.
To power it, he mounted a double-wide pulley, salvaged from an old International truck, under the zero-turn. A belt runs from the pulley that had powered the mower deck to the idler. A second belt runs from the idler to the trimmer head.
“The idler has a spring on it to keep the belt tight,” says Krueger. “However, I have a chain running from it to me. If the belt needs more tension, I just pull on the chain.”
The extension that holds the trimmer head hinges at the frame. This allows the ball under the string trimmer to ride up and over obstacles.
“It can raise and lower about 4 to 6 in.,” says Krueger. “Normally, the belt holds it in place. However, if it does raise, the spring on the idler lets the belt give and take.”
Krueger admits to being a hoarder, with lots of little parts lying around. They included everything he needed to mount the string trimmer.
“I can’t run the engine very fast, but that isn’t a problem with the zero-turn,” says Krueger. “I can run it pretty slowly. It saves a lot of steps and works great for trimming around fence lines and around trees, as well as on our long driveway.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Krueger, 1112 County St. 2984, Blanchard, Okla. 73010 (ph 405-392-4796).
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Self-Propelled String Trimmer HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Mowers 38 Once John Krueger had stripped the deck off an old zero-turn mower he saw its potential as a self-propelled string trimmer He had fixed it up with safety rails for getting on and off and a set of LED lights He just had to mount a string trimmer and figure out how to power it “The zero-turn still had the electric clutch that activated the mower on the deck I’d removed ” says Krueger “I could use it to turn the string trimmer on and off ” Krueger made an extension from 3-in box tubing to mount the power head from an old DR trimmer head to the side of the zero-turn To power it he mounted a double-wide pulley salvaged from an old International truck under the zero-turn A belt runs from the pulley that had powered the mower deck to the idler A second belt runs from the idler to the trimmer head “The idler has a spring on it to keep the belt tight ” says Krueger “However I have a chain running from it to me If the belt needs more tension I just pull on the chain ” The extension that holds the trimmer head hinges at the frame This allows the ball under the string trimmer to ride up and over obstacles “It can raise and lower about 4 to 6 in ” says Krueger “Normally the belt holds it in place However if it does raise the spring on the idler lets the belt give and take ” Krueger admits to being a hoarder with lots of little parts lying around They included everything he needed to mount the string trimmer “I can’t run the engine very fast but that isn’t a problem with the zero-turn ” says Krueger “I can run it pretty slowly It saves a lot of steps and works great for trimming around fence lines and around trees as well as on our long driveway ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Krueger 1112 County St 2984 Blanchard Okla 73010 ph 405-392-4796
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