manual dual wheel edgers – Go Retire Psychiatrist

OK, so remember that dual wheel manual edger I bought last July? It’s a Yardworks 54-inch wood handle dual wheel edger. Remember that so you never buy one yourself.

The wheel lining started tearing off in pieces just like the old one before it. The new one was a replacement for the edger that provided about 12 years of service before it failed.

How do you like that? It was a replay of what happened last year. I just finished the job with the replacement the other day. It rolled pretty rough and I looked at the wheel, which was shredded.

It lasted one season last summer and a few edging jobs this season. It had a 15-year limited warranty. I wonder what the word “limited” signifies.

Once again, I had to run over to Menards to get a new one. They didn’t have any other brand but the one I got last year. I exchanged it. It’s the same brand and has the same 15-year limited warranty.

Any bets on how long this one will last?

There are benefits of a manual edger. Traditionalists extol the virtues of sustainability, zero emissions (unless you develop gas yourself and you fart while you work), and they’re less pricey. You never have to worry about gasoline, they don’t take up much space, and, according to some people, they last years longer than any motorized tool. You can’t necessarily always believe the hype. Some hardware stores don’t even know what a manual edger is; I found that out last year.

That doesn’t mean you should haul off and spend a lot of cash on something a lot more sophisticated. I’m not endorsing just any list for best manual edgers because the lists seem to be biased toward particular hardware stores. One list of the best manual edgers focuses only on step edger models with crescent shaped blades. Maybe I should consider them. They look easy to use but I’m a little concerned they might cut too deep, maybe into something I don’t want to cut. There is one method that involves using a step edger, a shovel, and a broom. It’s mainly for sidewalks that are heavily overgrown with turf. I never let it get that bad.

It can be hard to get through a list of best manual lawn edgers. I get pretty tired of the pop-up ads they fire at you so much you can’t even see the list. I could find one list of best dual wheel edgers and it was for 2022. It’s on a web site called Bestadvisordotcom. It gives the pros and cons of five rotary edgers and holds up the Ames Companies, Inc. 28112200 True Temper Dual-Wheel Rotary Edger as number one. All five have between a 10–15-year warranty. Three were possibly out of stock and I consider them relatively pricey at around $60-$70.

If this replacement dual wheel rotary edger I got a few days ago at Menards goes bad again, I might go with a crescent blade manual step edger. Menards sells them but I’ll avoid the one made by Yardworks. There’s an alternative with a 28-inch handle which might work.

Your thoughts?

We were out doing yard work today. I usually do the edging with an old-fashioned manual edger to trim grass off the sidewalk to get a cleaner look. I think that’s difficult to achieve with a gas or electric powered trimmer. Sena did some extra mowing with the reel mower, which is also not a power machine—unless you count muscle power.

My edger has lasted about 12 years. I’ve used it for so long, I can’t tell what company made it anymore. The label is rubbed off. It had a 15-year guarantee, but I’m not chasing that one down. Today I noticed the job was a lot harder. I had to keep stopping because the blades kept getting stuck.

When I finally took a closer look at the tool, I noticed that the rubber was cracked and about to fall off the wheel next to the blade. I was able to finish the job, but had to run out to buy a new edger before the next time.

Menards had one. The brand was Yardworks, which I’ve never heard of. It cost about $45 with tax. I thought that was steep and can’t remember how much the old one cost. I suppose the price can go up a bunch over a couple of decades, but I wondered if I could get it cheaper at Lowes.

I drove over there only to find out that the salesmen barely knew what I was talking about. All they had were gas or electric powered models and I knew they weren’t edgers. They were trimmers.

So, I had to drive back over to Menards to buy the Yardworks model. There was a half-dozen left, which tells you how unpopular they are. I noticed something wrong with the first one I picked up. The wheels wouldn’t turn. It was jammed. The second one rolled normally. That’s essential. The blades self-sharpen.

Just because they roll doesn’t mean the chore is easy, though. You know you’ve done some work after you edge around the walkways everywhere in the yard. Some people say that’s why only people with postage-stamp yards should use a manual edger.

There’s a video of how to use the Ace model, which looks exactly the same as the Yardworks edger.

The Ace guy in the video says you should edge about every couple of weeks or so to keep thing looking neat and clean. If you do that you could end up looking like I did at one time. When my quads got so huge, they were flopping over my knees which made it difficult to put my pants on, I cut back on the edging to 2 or 3 times a season.

Sena and I both worked pretty hard in the hot sun today. This is day 3 of the hot water heater failure—meaning cold showers for me. She had decided to try sponge baths until today. So, she took a cold shower instead of a sponge bath.

She’ll unthaw by tomorrow.