What is the Wolf Garten 500W Twin Line Trimmer GTE 850-KIT?
The Wolf Garten GTE 850-KIT is a corded strimmer for trimming and edging lawns and smaller grass areas. It isn’t supposed to be used for trimming bushes, hedges or shrubs or cutting flowers. It’s quiet, with low vibration and a 500-watt motor. It’s designed for ease of handling, with a telescopic shaft adjustable to body size and a handle that can be used at four different operating angles as well as adjustment up and down the shaft. It has detachable wheels and an automatic cord-feed.
Related: Gtech ST20 Cordless Grass Trimmer review
Wolf Garten 500W Twin Line Trimmer GTE 850-KIT – Design and features
The Wolf Garten GTE 850-KIT arrived fully assembled, except for the wheels. To put them on I had to clip a bracket on to the shaft, and then slide the wheel unit on to it, locking it in place with a lever. It felt stiff and awkward the first time, but became easier the more I did it.
The most unusual part of the Wolf Garten GTE 850-KIT’s design are these wheels, which act as stabilizers would on a push-bike. They enable the machine to stand upright unaided. The height of the cut is adjusted and maintained evenly using these wheels. They can be removed if you want to work without them.
The whole machine is adjustable from 1 to 1.2 metres. You undo a soft-grip knob to allow the bright red shaft to slide up and down. Tighten the soft-grip knob once you’ve achieved your desired length. The distinctive blue button on the handle enables you to work the machine at a reduced rpm, which serves to save power, protecting the environment and reducing noise. Once the motor is running, you press the button to reduce the rpm; press it again to increase it.
The head rotates through 90 degrees for edging on pressing the yellow button at the top of it. A second yellow button on the side allows the angle of the head to be adjusted approximately 60 degrees for greater comfort – or to trim on top of a bank.
The dual strimmer cord, which is dual 6 metres long, automatically extends by 25mm each time you turn on the machine. To replace it you first press the tabs on each side of the cutter head to take off the cover. Then pull out the spool and wind on the new cord. Next you pass the ends through the eyelets, push the spool back into the housing, and snap the cover back on.
There’s a motor protection bow on the front of the head to protect the motor from damage, and a larger plant protection bow above it to protect shrubs, trees and bedding plants.
The power cable is 20 metres long.
Wolf Garten 500W Twin Line Trimmer GTE850-KIT – Handling and performance
Although the distance from the cutting head to the handle on the Wolf Garten GTE850-KIT can only be increased 0.2 metres, this small difference was enough to make it comfortable for me, at 6ft 5in, to use at the full 1.2-metre extension, and for my 5ft 4in girlfriend to work it without difficulty when it was only one metre.
The machine was nicely designed and very light at only 2.8kg. It felt a little fragile; hence I don’t think it will stand up to a lot of heavy use. However, it’s only designed for cutting grass in small gardens.
The Wolf Garten GTE850-KIT cut quickly. I found it chewed through lawn grass even on the Blue Power low rpm setting. When I tried it on the normal, high rpm setting it did cut even more quickly, but was much noisier.
If you were cutting thick, tangled grass then the high rpm setting would be useful. However, for most tasks I’d use the Blue Power reduced rpm, because the Wolf Garten GTE850-KIT does a perfectly good job on that. It cut a square metre of three-inch high grass in 9 seconds on the high setting, and 15 on the low.
I found the wheels useful. They allowed me to cut grass evenly, and they mean you can use the Wolf Garten GTE850-KIT like a mini-lawnmower if you want, or push it along one handed. You can even park it upright. And, of course, you can strim without having to lift the frame in any way, or support its weight.
This makes this machine ideal for anyone who has physical problems that prevent them from using a standard strimmer. The only disadvantage is that the wheels are hard to use on rough, bumpy ground.
You can turn the head through 90 degrees and use it for edging, and since the cutting head is pointing away from you in this position, there’s no risk of grass being flicked on your legs.
The line feed is adjusted automatically each time you turn on the machine, so if it gets a bit tight you just turn the Wolf Garten GTE850-KIT off and on again. The power cable is so long that you wouldn’t need an extension cord in the average garden.
Why buy the Wolf Garten 500W Twin Line Trimmer GTE 850-KIT?
The Wolf Garten GTE 850-KIT is surprisingly powerful for its size and weight, and the detachable wheels mean you can use it like a lawnmower and don’t need to lift it. This would suit anyone with physical problems that make standard strimmers too challenging.
It would only be useful in a well-maintained garden, because the Wolf Garten GTE 850-KIT isn’t designed to cut woody weeds and nettles, and the wheels struggle on very rough ground.
Verdict
An excellent lightweight tool for a lightweight job.
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