[LostCovey]

I saw a stand selling italian chain heads for strimmers at Sheep 2012. They looked really dangerous. I didn't buy one (€65!!!!) but googled them when I got home, and found there have been a lot of bad accidents with them in the US and a fatality in the UK.

Does anybody know if all of these heads are risky (they look lethal) or just some models?

Thanks

LostCovey

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co....Ulverston_man/

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00104.html

[moy83]

I never used them but they look dangerous alright .
Think did many people die/get injured from the metal disc on strimmers ?
Did you ask the seller about how safe they were and if you did what did he say ?

[CJhaughey]

What do you want to cut that needs a chain head?
I have several blades for my 40cc trimmer and For 80% of heavy grass and stuff I use the 3 wing steel blade, for heavier stuff like saplings and the like up to 40mm I use the multi tooth blade like a circular saw blade.
I don't like anything that spins that fast and carries that much energy that could break up near me.
Nylon is OK because its light but chain? No thanks. I'll stick to the steel blades.

[sheeper]

For cutting stuff high up without a ladder or climbing

[JohnBoy]

yikes, they look nasty alright

[lakill Farm]

i have one that fits onto my petrol Ryobi strimmer. It is a strimmer, extendabe hedge cutter or extendable chain saw.

I used it to cut branches in graps on land i rent , however i was wearing, chainsaw helmet, gloves chainsaw welllies and chainsaw trousers. Overkill i know but if something happened i would have a chance

[LostCovey]

Originally Posted by moy83

I never used them but they look dangerous alright .
Think did many people die/get injured from the metal disc on strimmers ?
Did you ask the seller about how safe they were and if you did what did he say ?

No idea, maybe they do, but the blade wouldn't detach too readily. The problem with these things is seemlngly they can shed a link, which acts like a heavy bullet.

Originally Posted by moy83

Did you ask the seller about how safe they were and if you did what did he say ?

No i didn't, I should have - usual thing busy stand, lots of people making enquiries, & I was trying to get to see everything and didn't really think it through till I was on the way home.

They are prob like those yo-yo balls which were banned a few years ago because of all the kids they choked, that are for sale at stalls at every cat & dog fight in the country.

I expect I will see them again, and get my chance to question the vendor about them. They were an Italian make, entirely Italian packaging.

LC

[Cedrus]

They look like something that would work well when new and be flexible enough to reduce strain on the engine, but they'd take an awful battering if they hit anything tough. A proper inspection would be critically important every time you used it and a lot of guys just wouldn't bother and plough on, like the d!cks who use cutting discs to grind.

[reilig]

Originally Posted by LostCovey

I saw a stand selling italian chain heads for strimmers at Sheep 2012. They looked really dangerous. I didn't buy one (€65!!!!) but googled them when I got home, and found there have been a lot of bad accidents with them in the US and a fatality in the UK.

Does anybody know if all of these heads are risky (they look lethal) or just some models?

Thanks

LostCovey

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co....Ulverston_man/

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00104.html

They are actually called pole saws and yes, without the correct training they are quite risky. The main purpose of them is pruning and loping at heights and they aren't meant to be used on the ground at all. The most likely place that you will see them being used in your area is by the ESB who have a team of contractors who used them across the country to trim beneath wires.

I suppose, just like everything else, in the wrong hands and without the training they are hazzardous!!

[LostCovey]

Originally Posted by reilig

They are actually called pole saws and yes, without the correct training they are quite risky. The main purpose of them is pruning and loping at heights and they aren't meant to be used on the ground at all. The most likely place that you will see them being used in your area is by the ESB who have a team of contractors who used them across the country to trim beneath wires.

I suppose, just like everything else, in the wrong hands and without the training they are hazzardous!!

Thanks, always thought a pole saw was sinmply that curved saw on the long fibreglass pole they use.

That makes sense Reilig, and I am sure they would do less harm at height & in trained hands.

The standholder at the weekend however had helpfully mounted one on a heavily used 'domestic type' petrol strimmer to demonstrate their potential versatility ......

[CJhaughey]

There is some crossed wires here, Lost Covey isn't talking about pole saws the thing being talked about is a replacement head for a Strimmer that uses steel links instead of nylon monofilament.
Polesaws are different they are just a small chainsaw head on a long reach pole.
These things if they fail allow the link to fly at crazy speeds.
You don't get this problem with chainsaws but Harvesters can have a thing called chainshot which is similar.

[OAOB]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/49...mmer_Head.html

The Connacght Agri stall were selling these at the farming exhibition in Citywest a few months ago. They're a bit different to whats shown in the first post here, look a bit more durable imo. €45 if i remember correctly and the video had them strimming briars on stone walls so the links would be taking some battering

[AMurph1979]

I have one it's savage much better than a blade for some reason works really well on briars.

[LostCovey]

Originally Posted by AMurph1979

I have one it's savage much better than a blade for some reason works really well on briars.

I wasn't querying the effectiveness of it, just the safety when a bit of wear, metal fatigue and microfractures set in.

I took a photo of the packaging, just in case there's any remaining confusion about what we are discussing (see below).

LostCovey

[ppn]

I'll be sticking with the nylon thank you very much. That thing would be like being hit by a bullet if a link snapped and it would probably travel a fair distance aswell.