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OT- Other uses for weed eater engine?

David S

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Location
Wisconsin
I have a 31cc gas weed eater engine off a Toro that runs great. I hate to throw it away, and was trying to think of some uses for it. Anyone have any ideas? No matter how goofy- I like to tinker.

Dave S
 
My son spotted a blender mounted on a weed eater engine in a Cabela's catalog. Really pretty cool...a 2 1/2hp (supposedly) blender that doesn't need electricity!

Naturally, he figured we could use one of our extra weed eaters and make one of our own. Let me know how yours turns out. I don't mind building, but I hate designing!

Tools
 
Mount it to a GM alternator + inverter for a dandy little genset. Emphasis on little. A toy really but handy nonetheless.
 
That sounds interesting bluchip. Would you get enough juice for an inverter? Or could you just use the 12V for something? It is kind of a loud motor to have running all the time. Maybe there is a way to muffle it.

Dave S
 
BIG RC airplane power...

The GENSET idea has promise; a variation would be a hybrid genset... Feed 12+ volts into a battery and run an inverter from the battery for your AC. Light or no load, the genset should idle along. Heavy load exceeding the battery power, the governor should accelerate the motor.

Charles
 
Motor for a bicycle, moped.
Boat trolling motor.
Run a concrete vibrator.
Run an auger to drill.
Run a small pump, generator, refrigerator.
 
A guy around here machines a sleeve for the shaft, and mounts them against the rear wheel of a scooter.

Apparently the law (in Michigan at least) says that if it can be started without human power, it must be licensed. Because the motor is mounted in constant contact with the wheel, it is started by pushing the scooter. This makes it legal (moped). Note that he uses the scooters with the 8-10inch pnuematic tires, and a front hand brake. They are available new from Toys R Us, or used almost anywhere.
 
What ever you do with that noise generator, I hope your not my neighbor...Cuz I'd come over and fix it for good for ya wid one swat of a 20 lb sledge.

Junk the damn thing.
 
Put a couple handles on it and a Jacobs chuck on the shaft and you could use it to drive almost anything, especially a drill.
 
Although as my years advance, my canoe sees the water less and less, Ive often thought of mounting a prop on a weed eater and using it as a hand held motor to propell the canoe. Never seen one, but understand they exist and are called "go devils".
 
I kind of like the genset idea. Might be useful as an emergency battery charger. Couple an alternator to it and keep it compact. Go direct drive through some kind of flexible coupling. You might investigate the possibility of re-wiring the alternator with one of those kits that give you 100 volts output from it. Good for a skil saw, corded drills, and some other tooling. Those cheapo compact table saws can work from this as well.
In this application, it will be left unused for some time, then be expected to start up and run. No point in making a backup out of it if it's no good in this regard.
 
With a small prop and a steady hand you can use it for a shaver when the power goes off.
 








 
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