Handy 12-Volt Weed Eater For Riding Mower

Handy 12-Volt Weed Eater For Riding Mower CROPS Weed Control 24-5-4 When Val Otis bought an older garden tractor and saw that it had a cigarette lighter, he figured he ought to find a way to use it. At about the same time he realized he was spending a lot of time going over his lawn with a weed eater to trim around trees. So he decided to make an electric-powered weed eater that he could plug into the tractor's cigarette lighter. His sturdy trimmer has a home-made steel blade. He uses it from the seat of his mower, carrying it on clips alongside the seat when not in use. The trimmer is powered by a small 12-volt motor. He picked up 100 of them for 20 cents apiece at a salvage sale. Total cost of each weed trimmer he makes is $5 (he's made for friends and sold to a few others). The trimmer simply consists of a metal handle with an electric push-button switch at the top that you activate with your thumb. The motor direct-drives the 5-in. blade. Otis trims around trees and next to buildings as he mows, so that when he gets off the tractor, there's nothing left to do. Otis notes that when he uses the trimmer on a tractor without a cigarette lighter, he simply wires it direct to the battery. Otis has been so impressed with the way his little trimmer works that he filed for a patent, which he should be receiving any day. At that point, the retired pilot plans to try to put his handy trimmer on the market. He will either make it himself, or find a manufacturer. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Val Otis, 12185 Co Rd 2030, Rolla, Mo. 65401 (ph 573 364-1416).

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