What do I need to make this Toro weed trimmer work?

September 4, 2010 6:29 PM

I was given an electric Toro weed trimmer. It powers up and the motor seems to function fine, but it's missing the part required to hold the wire. What do I need to attach to it? Some part, some cap, a thingy, a doohickey? Not even sure what to search for or ask for at the hardware store. Here are pictures of its business end. Can you tell me what I need to buy to make this work?
posted by Mo Nickels to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

You definitely need to buy a spool of trimmer string, but it looks like you're also missing the cap that holds it in place. I'm not familiar with your particular brand, but just write down the model number and take your picture with you to the store. They'll tell you what you need.
posted by amyms at 6:40 PM on September 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

find who has toro parts in your local area. homedepot/lowes or a mower shop. that will be a common replacement part. Happy weed whacking!
posted by patnok at 6:41 PM on September 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

I know the thingie you mean. If pressed, I would sort of doodle my hand in the air in a circular motion and say, "You know - the part that spins."

But in this situation, I've found it eminently more practical to just bring the whole thing to the hardware store. Then you can just point to the end and say "Need thing make spinny go."

As a bonus, there may be other parts that make spinny thing attach to stick thing. If you bring it in with you, the hardware store people will be able to tell.
posted by ErikaB at 6:42 PM on September 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

I had an old electric Toro that I bought at Home Depot. They had all those thingamajig parts for sale separately. This was a few years ago YMMV.
posted by lobstah at 6:43 PM on September 4, 2010

Here are instructions for replacing the spool on a Toro. Once you have a new spool of trimmer string, it looks like you'll just need to buy a replacement cap and you'll be good to go.
posted by amyms at 6:45 PM on September 4, 2010

I think Mo gets that there is no wire in there. Mo, there is a plastic cap that snaps in to hold the wire in place, and it's a common part to have to replace. You should find it at Home Depot, Rona etc right where the wire spools are.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 10:00 PM on September 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the good advice, and bonus thanks to ErikaB for cracking me up. I took the weed trimmer into Home Depot, they found me what I needed, and tomorrow that grass's ass is grass.
posted by Mo Nickels at 10:57 PM on September 4, 2010 [1 favorite]