Ryobi Whipper Snipper 'Hacking'

GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 03:36
Last edited 02/10/2017 - 09:20 by 1 other user

I found a RYOBI 'RLT5030SG' corded whipper-snipper on the side of the road, and I thought all my Christmases had come at once when I plugged it in and the head turned furiously-yet-smoothly when I hit the button. Only missing the little spool/casing bit.

Turns out though, that this was possibly the WORST RYOBI product ever made, and as SOON AS THEY WERE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO (5 years after ceasing production) they discontinued making any replacement parts for it (most importantly, the bit of it that spins). The 'funny' thing is the rest of the unit seems to work really well, and I'm a bit loathe to just chuck it… My mate next door reckons maybe I could acquire some sort of 'generic' spinny bit and bolt that in instead, but I can't actually see how this could be done with this particular unit… there is no 'obviously accessible'/visible nut of any kind on the 'head' (spinning part) of the unit, even though it currently has no spool-housing component.

I am now realising exactly why it was ditched on the side of the road… but man, it DOES 'run smoothly' I swear, so if I could just organise a substitute/knock-off part, I reckon it could actually be a sweet unit… seems a shame not to try…

Any advice anyone?

• 

  champstarr on 02/10/2017 - 03:52

  +3

  Looks like bunnings has one. Ryobi Replacement Spool And Line To Suit Line Trimmer Models RLT5030S LTA-062. Suits your model as well. $18

  • 

    GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 20:11

    Thank you kindly for taking the time to respond, but that is not the part I need/can't get. That product you are referring to is just the 'spool and line', but I am also missing the last little piece of the puzzle, which is the 'cap' that actually 'clips'/secures that spool and line thingy INTO the head. You place the spool/line into the head, then the last step is you push on a 'cap'-type thingy that actually holds the spool and line bit into the unit.

    Replacement caps are sold for all 'current' whipper snippers, because it is normal for a whipper snipper to 'go through' a few caps (require a few replacement caps) throughout the course of its lifetime. This is because the cap is 'at the coal-face' of all the action/spinning/often in direct contact with rocks/chipped bricks, etc.

    This cap that I need is now 'out of production', so if I cannot find a 'knock-off' version of it (maybe some Chinese factory somewhere is making them/flogging them online?), I want to try and put a whole new head on the unit. This may in fact be the better course of action (if it is possible), because the head/associated mechanism that comes with the original unit is reportedly notoriously bad in various ways.

    So I guess my main question is whether anyone has managed to successfully fit a generic head onto this particular model of Ryobi whipper snipper. One of my mates has successfully 'hacked' his whipper snipper by attaching a much better head onto the end of it… I'd like to do the same thing with this one, if it is possible.

    • 

      champstarr on 02/10/2017 - 20:46

      No problem. Ebay for $27 delivered then.

      • 

        GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 21:10

        For the cap? Or for a whole new head? Do you have the link? or can you tell me what your search terms were? Is it a 'Ryobi' one or a generic one?

        Cheers

      • 

        champstarr on 02/10/2017 - 22:22

        @GnarlyKnuckles: just the cap. Just search for RYOBI RLT5030SG

      • 

        GnarlyKnuckles on 03/10/2017 - 00:43

        @champstarr:
        Nah, unfortunately I think you are wrong, particularly if you are referring to this:

        http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ryobi-Replacement-Spool-and-Line-…

        That product is available 'on the shelf' in Bunnings, but unfortunately it does not fit my unit. Even though that product's packaging includes the 'word' 'RLT5030', unfortunately my unit is an 'RLT5030SG, which is (nonsensically) of different specifications.

        In fact I already bought this product off the shelf from my local Bunnings assuming it would fit because both the product and my unit featured 'RLT5030' on their labels. What a difference a couple of letters makes; it is a couple of mm too small, and does not fit, and the cap for the RLT5030SG is no longer manufactured/sold, by anyone. That was kinda the whole point of this post. I need to either locate a knock-off (what in the olden-days we called a 'clone') part, or I need to completely remove the entire 'head' from the unit and replace it with a different one. If anyone has any useful advice re either of those two options, I'd be very grateful.

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  outlander on 02/10/2017 - 09:20

  -2

  You can probably glue some metal rope to the end and use it that way

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  JimmyF on 02/10/2017 - 10:20

  +1

  Only missing the little spool/casing bit.

  Is this the part you're after?

  https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-replacement-spool-and-line…

  Comes in a two pack… slightly worrying.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 02/10/2017 - 12:35

    Not really worrying, you can have a spare loaded and ready to go when one runs out.

    • 

      JimmyF on 02/10/2017 - 15:04

      +1

      I have a stihl one…. Takes 2 mins to load up the head. But sure, if you need a spare. Go for it!

      • 

        GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 21:19

        I have a stihl one…. Takes 2 mins to load up the head.

        Yeah, I'm guessing you have the one where you actually feed the line right through th middle of the 'spool casing', and from then on it's pretty quick and easy to simply wind it on to exactly the right 'tightness' that the unit 'likes'/needs to function correctly? My mate was telling me about a Stihl one that operates this way. He was amazed that the supposedly 'whizz-bang' new EGO whipper snipper did NOT utilise this fundamentally improved method of operation… as was I, after he explained how it works /the logistics of it…

        Could it be that the reason is that EGO is not legally allowed to, because Stihl has some sort of patent on the mechanism?

        If that is the case, I will chuck my EGO one in the bin, and buy a Stihl one. The EGO one basically sucks crap, due to various problems related to loading the line (unless of course you are rich enough to just buy a whole new spool-and-line every time the line runs out; which would be completely nonsensical, because for that sort of money you could just pay a dude to come and do the whipper snipping for you)…

      • 

        JimmyF on 03/10/2017 - 17:46

        @GnarlyKnuckles: yeah that sounds like the setup.Tap to release more from the spool head as you need.

        It works well and maybe stihl has a patent on it!

    • 

      GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 20:42

      Not really worrying, …

      Yeppers I agree that it's not 'worrying'. Most whipper snippers will go through a few spools and caps in their lifetime (if they get a decent amount of use) because these parts are 'constantly moving'/in contact with abrasive stuff/etc. The point about being able to have a 'pre-wound' spool at hand is also a good one… I guess if you had to complete a job you had been contracted to do in a limited amount of time (say, if it was about to rain), it would be a real advantage NOT to have to piss around for 5 minutes winding up a new spool.

  • 

    GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 20:35

    Is this the part you're after?

    Thank you kindly for taking the time to respond, and I now see that I misworded that text you quoted a little… the part I cannot source/find is actually the 'cap' that clips the spool/casing into the unit. See my recent comment above for a better explanation of what I need. I will try and word my questions more accurately in future, sorry about that, and thanks again for your efforts to help me! Very much appreciated.

• 

  altomic on 02/10/2017 - 11:03

  aliexpress US$3.99 delivered

  • 

    GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 21:25

    A novel suggestion Altomic, and thanks, but there is simply no way this could ever be used on the unit I have; unless I could first source a head that it could be fitted to.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 02/10/2017 - 12:14

  +1

  I have its big brother the 1200w version and it’s garbage, can only assume this one is even worse

  https://www.productreview.com.au/p/ryobi-rlt1038.html

  Nonsensical spool reloading instructions, cheap flimsy triangle ring to fix the harness to the machine broke after a couple of uses, power plug didn’t fit extension cord correctly, heavy and unwieldy despite being electric. I never bought Ryobi again after this POS.

  • 

    GnarlyKnuckles on 02/10/2017 - 20:58

    LOL, whipper snippers seem to something that manufacturers 'struggle to get right'… I also have an 'EGO' 56 volt battery-powered one, and after using it for a year or so I would certainly not advise anyone to buy one. There is some sort of fundamental problem with the head mechanism/design/materials, which causes the actual line to break every few minutes (or couple of minutes, if the spool is even a little bit worn)… This means that you spend more time 're-equipping' the spool than you do actually 'snipping', and it becomes a lost cause after about 20 minutes. There are a few different problems that seem to contribute to this, re the EGO whipper snipper. One is that the spool seems to be made from such soft plastic that it is prone to developing little 'imperfections' (sharp little 'wedges') that protrude from random parts of the spool housing, and essentially seem to function to sheer off the actual line. Every couple or few minutes. Whomever the 'EGO genius' was who decided to use such a soft plastic to make this part should be instantly sacked, and EGO should start making/issuing the same 'shaped' part, but made of much harder plastic. I have the EGO mower and there is a somewhat similar problem with that… by design it cuts out if either of the 'handle clips' becomes unfastened, but these clips are made of such crap plastic/and/or so badly designed, that this happens regularly. It's such a shame that the two EGO products I have are fundamentally good/so powerful/work really well 'when they're working', but have these silly little flaws that destroy what would otherwise be a pretty awesome unit. Given that it's '2 for 2', I can only assume that it would be highly likely that other EGO products would have similar 'seemingly minor' flaws that in fact have a MAJOR impact on usability. I won't be buying anymore EGO stuff, unless they officially acknowledge these flaws, and state how they have fixed them. I would advise others to do the same. the 56 volts IS awesome, but it becomes irrelevant when the tool is essentially unusable due to a fundamental flaw in its design.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 04/10/2017 - 13:09

  I know for a fact that bunnings get companies to make a specific model for them that is not follow or slightly different the manufacturer listed model.

  • 

    GnarlyKnuckles on 05/10/2017 - 00:12

    You are exactly right Hoz-baz … Bunnings 'works their way around' quite a few things in this manner. For example, they might:

    1. Contract a Chinese company to make a product for them and brand it 'BRunnings''… that way, it it is not directly (legally) actually 'their' product.

    2. In so doing they ensure that they do not have to 'price-match' the cloned product with the product they have (directly/100%) nicked the design from … because it's supposedly a 'different' (essentially fictitious) 'brand'.

    3. Bunnings is quite obviously using this method for ANY PRODUCT THEY CAN without breaching a patent, to render themselves largely immune to many of the basic 'consumer expectations' that apply to established brands and are expected by consumers of them. When 'Masters' was in operation, Bunnings were quite good re refunds, but there was a notable (almost instant!) turn-around on this, as soon as Masters folded. That is pretty transparent. Notably, ABSOLUTELY NONE of the 'floor-staff' at Bunnings are in any way responsible for any of this. If you can find them (they SHOULD employ a few more… there must be a surplus of appropriately qualified individuals after the closure of Masters?!?), the floor-staff at Bunnings tend to be very helpful/knowledgeable I have found.

• 

  DntRgu on 09/10/2017 - 18:41

  In the same boat as you, trying to fix my Ryobi PLT with missing "bump knob".
  So far have found this on EBAY or This.

  Can't bring myself to spend that much on a bump head, so making one out of washers, springs and a Nut.
  Let me know if you have any success or find a different way.

  Good Luck.