# Brush Cutter / Hillside Clearing Questions



## wac_432 (Apr 25, 2017)

I've got a 1/2 acre of STEEP hillside to knock down before fire season. In the past years I've been using a junk plastic battery 40V B&D string trimmer and a pitiful 20V with some spare batteries. It takes about 3-4 days to knock it back 400' from the house per fire regulations.

Lower down and on some flat ground I've just got grasses, broad-leafs, and weeds/little tumbleweeds. String goes right through it, and it's cleared every year. Further up the hill to the property line is heavier stuff that the string trimmer can't handle; woody scrub about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and about 4' tall. It hasn't been cleared in years.

I am thinking about renting (Home Depot) a 4-stroke 1.1 HP bicycle-grip brush cutter to knock the fire regulations job out in a day, and try to make some headway into the heavier scrub. I was going to buy, but it seems like a brush cutter might be overkill once the initial clearing job is done. The rental is to evaluate if I need to buy.

Questions:

1. Can I do this with beefier line, or will I need a blade? 
2. Any advice for cutting on a steep hillside with either? 
3. Anybody rented a brush cutter from Home Depot? Considering the poor condition of their rental stuff, I have my doubts whether it'll work at all. However, they've done okay by me in the past for power washers and the like. 
What to watch out for other than checking that the blade is sharp and that the thing will start and seems reasonably tuned? My only other rental option is Sunbelt with weaker equipment and higher prices.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Depending on the grade of the hill, and if available, I'd recommend paying a Bush Hog owner/operator for about an hour's work possibly two hours including travel time. Realizing this is a DIY forum but sometimes it's just more reasonable to pay a pro.


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

I have rented the walk behind brush cutters before and they work well. I considered buying, but for the $60 per day, use one time a year, it made more sense to rent. No storage, no maintenance.

Use a pull behind atv type at our camp which works, but that may not be an option for you.

Condition of rental equipment is a location by location basis. Take a look at what they have and see if it suits your needs.


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## wac_432 (Apr 25, 2017)

Thanks for the suggestions, but the hillside is much too steep for any kind of rolling equipment. I can barely climb parts of it. Those sections I won't be using the cutter, but rather my string trimmer, it's just too dangerous and the footing is too unstable. But I'll have to hike across/up the steep sections to get to the heavy brush.

If I hire a company, they'll be doing it by hand, and I'll need to wait a year or two since there's some structures and debris that I'd have them haul away as well, but I need to repair an access gate and move some stuff around to get a truck back there.

So this year it's either try a brush cutter and see how fast/far I get or resign myself to a few days worth of string trimmer again.

The HD's equipment is good on paper (what they said they had over the phone). But a brush cutter gets a lot of abuse by a responsible owner, let alone renters.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,.... I've had Great luck with a blade on my weedwacker,....
Been usin' it for years, it cuts Great up to 'bout an inch diameter woody brush,....
Any bigger, 'n ya might have to hit it a couple of times, insteada just once,...

I also use gas powered weedwackers, 'n it's gotta be over 30ccs or it won't have enough power to get down 'n dirty in the nastiest of brush,....
My ole Craftsman was a 32cc, my newer Stihl I think is 35cc or 38cc I believe,...


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

I agree that a blade-equipped brush cutter is you best bet. Heavier string on a line trimmer will take down heavier brush but once it becomes 'woody' you're pretty much out of luck short of beating it to death. Sorry, I have no experience with working on a steep hill. I rented a bicycle handle trimmer a few times and found them hard on my back - I'm guessing I was not adjusting it properly. I imagine working side-to-side would be safer. Depending on the size of the brush, working from downhill might result in saplings falling over on you. Have a solid footing and not moving and cutting at the same time might be good advice. Wear safety protection. No experience with HD rental. Checking the blades seems like a good idea.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

Or you can do it the old fashioned way with a brush hook.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bully-Tools-12-Gauge-12-in-Double-Edge-Brush-Hook-with-36-in-Hickory-Handle-92387/205348070?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CTHD%7Cgoogle%7C&mid=sGB3AWGOY%7Cdt_mtid_890338a25189_pcrid_139625601344_pkw__pmt__product_205348070_slid_&gclid=CIWWr92uwdMCFRBEfgodlMwGNQ

Or the bank blade.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bully-Tools-12-Gauge-Ditch-Bank-Blade-with-12-in-Cutting-Edge-and-36-in-Hickory-Handle-92386/205348069?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CTHD%7Cgoogle%7C&mid=sGB3AWGOY%7Cdt_mtid_890338a25189_pcrid_139625601344_pkw__pmt__product_205348069_slid_&gclid=CMv7vJ6vwdMCFZBlfgodItEOPg


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## skiflyer (Apr 7, 2017)

Just in case it's not obvious: metal blade for the string trimmer. Those plastic blades are pure frustration for anything bigger than a tulip stalk.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## wac_432 (Apr 25, 2017)

Stupid question: How does a brush blade do against grasses? Will it clog up? Will it destroy or immediately dull the blade if I skip off the ground (loose dirt with small rocks) a couple of times while trying to cut grasses/weeds close to the ground? I imagine I'm going to get hit by some painful pebbles if I do this.

The area I need to clear is 70% grass/weeds/tumbleweeds, 30% woody brush.


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## jstaubin (Mar 26, 2017)

Since you're seemingly force to use hand held equipment due to the grade, I have an idea. Some of the better gas powered weed whackers have what I call a Ninja blade. It's a steel blade that will cut through trees up to an inch or so. String trimmers are only good for grass.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

wac_432 said:


> Stupid question: How does a brush blade do against grasses? Will it clog up? Will it destroy or immediately dull the blade if I skip off the ground (loose dirt with small rocks) a couple of times while trying to cut grasses/weeds close to the ground? I imagine I'm going to get hit by some painful pebbles if I do this.
> 
> The area I need to clear is 70% grass/weeds/tumbleweeds, 30% woody brush.


I have no experience with blades in grass but imagine that if the grass is really tall it might tend to get wrapped around the shaft much the same way as it will with a string trimmer. Bouncing blade off rocks isn't going to do it any favours. I would wear sturdy boots and eye protection for sure.


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## wewantutopia (Feb 28, 2012)

I use a bicycle grip stihl brushcutter with a chisel tooth blade in my line of work for a good chunk of the year; I'd say that is the way to go. With a harness so it stays locked at your side so you don't cut your foot off. String line won't do anything. If you're doing grass/brush you can go with a triblade. It'll do brush just not as large of diameter as a proper blade (nor give a clean cut). Both are easily sharpenable with a round or flat file depending on the blade you use. Hope that helps!


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

In other countries where hill sides are too steep for man or machinery goats are commonly used for clearing hill sides.


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## Msradell (Sep 1, 2011)

SeniorSitizen said:


> In other countries where hill sides are too steep for man or machinery goats are commonly used for clearing hill sides.


There was actually a story in the news tonight about using goats to clear hillsides in California. There are actually people who rent out their herds of goats for this purpose. The stories that a herd could cut an acre in a little over a day!


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