Picked this 17" up today off verge collection. Apart from the dubious Star motor , what's the go with the rest . It look remarkably like a SB 45 which it could well be a chinese copy. I'll have to fix the pull start and if this motor is same as the Star edgers it may just need the main jet cleaned to get it going. That's hoping anyway.
Here's is one of many available YouTube videos [which I should of included in my McCulloch M T1255 CLS Line Trimmer post] regarding Quick Feeding :"Tap'N Go" Brush Cutter Heads For Almost Any Make Of Model of Line Trimmer, on the market today.
My humble apologies to you all, for my eagerness in posting the Botanical Names only of the Grasses and Weeds, in my last post. I wish to rectify that, by listing the common names for all, so you can understand what is what.
Firstly, Grasses:- Poa annua~Wintergrass, Lollium perenne~Perennial Ryegrass, Sporabilis africanus~Paramatta Grass, Digitaria didactyla~Queensland Blue Couch, Elusine indica~Crabgraass or Crowsfoot Grass.
Bear in mind that these are only a few, that can get into your lawn, however the Roundup Half-Rate trick will knock most of them, with the only exception being Nut Grass [Which produces a network of creeping underground rhizomes and small tubers], and will usually require the chemical to be applied via. a small paint brush, at full strength.
A while ago, I had the misfortune to lose a critical part of the Tap 'N Go head. [See attached photo].
Getting a replacement for this American made straight shaft model, became a minor problem. At the time, eBay had only one complete component, and that was from the UK, priced at $AU75.00, thank you very much!! Sourcing it was near impossible, even from McCullouch Australia, themselves. That has changed considerably, as there are now many eBay Sellers [mainly from China, and the odd few in Australia], with variable, but reasonable prices, for the complete head set-up, for this machine model.
As it turns out, I had to go to Lithgow, [not very far from where I live, on another matter], where I discovered there are a plethora of Mowing shops. On going into the second one, the bloke behind the jump said to me he had never heard of McCulloch line trimmers. [I didn't take the complete machine with me, only the damaged head.]
However, he showed me an alternative, a JAKmax 3.75" Quick Feed Brushcutter Head [Part No: JMQF375, which has extra fittings in the box, to suit almost all makes and models.] [see attached photo], which he said would fit straight onto my machine, at a cost of $AU40.00, which, I thought was a fair price at the time, and taking his word that it would fit [which it did!, straight out of the box!!].
The beauty of this replacement head, he told me, is that I never have to take it off the machine when the 2.4mm line I use, runs out. I simply rotate the head until the arrows marked on the bottom, line up with the holes. I can then pull out what's left of the old line, then insert two or even three fully outstretched arms lengths of new cord through the aperture, leaving roughly equal lengths dangling on both sides.
Then, I then rotate the head clockwise until the desired lengths on both sides are left [all of which, I have done on several occasions]. The whole process takes about 2 minutes, and then I'm back at work, with a full Tap 'N Go head. He also told me that "The Tradies" love them, as it saves them hours of work. I agree with him on that, and I can truthfully say that it's the best $40 bucks worth of machinery parts, I've made in a long while.
There are many You Tube videos out there, that explain how these types of heads work [although I haven't found one for this Model, but the principle is exactly the same], and they show in detail the simplicity of what I have discussed above.
I hope this helps you, should you damage your existing head, regardless of the make, or model of your machine, straight or bent shaft...
One way I change seals when it's not worth buying one as I'd have to wait days to to get one in here is I just swap the bottom of the Briggs motor with a bottom part from another motor with a seal that's not leaking if you have a few spare motors ,I don't even worry about the gasket getting damaged when I swap parts as I just use high temp silastic on the mating surfaces but if you had to buy the silastic the seal would be cheaper to buy.
The common way to remove the seal is
Drill one or two small pilot holes (1/16" bit) in the metal edge of the seal face.
Be careful not to go deep — you don’t want to hit the crankshaft.
Thread in a self-tapping screw a few turns — enough to grab
Use pliers or a claw hammer to pull the screw — the seal will pop right out.
I don't like to drill the seals as you get metal filings and the chuck will most likely rub on the crank so I just sharpen a small nail on a grinder and make 2 small holes in the seal by hammering the small nail in then use a slide hammer with a self tapper on the end and pull one side then the other.
The old electric Mulchers I come across usually have a red overload switch on the motor and a different switch on a longer wire , sometimes the other switch could be a circuit breaker but from memory I think it was a Safety Interlock Switch
Purpose: Protects you, not the motor.
Function: Prevents the motor from running when the chipper’s hopper, funnel, or access door is open.
How it works: The switch must be closed (pressed ) for the circuit to complete. If you open the funnel to clear debris or service the blades, it opens the circuit so the motor cannot start — even if you press the power button.
The switches are bypassed easily or you can hold them in for testing. But you must be careful not to injure yourself or others.
Red switch = overload reset switch ,thermal overload protector.
The Other Switch (on a long wire) = it’s a safety interlock switch, designed to prevent the motor from running when the hopper or funnel is open. This protects people.
**⚠️ You are NOT meant to bypass or hold the red switch in for safety reasons.** With these Cheap motors I've just sticky taped the switch in so it can't work as a safety switch , but What Happens if You Tape or Bypass the Red Reset Switch
You remove the motor’s only temperature protection.
The thermal protector reacts to heat inside the motor windings, which your household fuse or breaker cannot sense.
So if the motor overheats, nothing will cut power — it will keep running until the windings burn out, possibly causing smoke or even fire.
I keep an eye out for the motor and don't get the motor too hot or overload the motor if I bypass the safety switch so it's at at your own risk if you bypass the thermal overload switch and I wouldn't let anyone else use the motor if I bypass the safety switch.
I've never had a problem bypassing the switch but I keep an eye of the motor temp and a replacement switch may not be that expensive.
Also if the motor stalls or jams up with branches you would need to cut the power straight away so it doesn't burn out with the switch bypassed.
**⚠️⚠️⚠️ THERE ARE SOME SAFETY CONCERNS WHEN BYPASSING THE OVERLOAD SWITCH ⚠️⚠️⚠️** It's always recommended not to bypass the safety switch but should be fine to test if that's your problem with the stop start operation.
The following is just a universal guide to checking the red overload switch.
🧰 Step-by-Step: Testing and Replacing the Red Reset Switch
Unplug the machine completely. Safety first — disconnect it from mains power.
Let the motor cool down if it’s recently tripped. It may reset automatically after cooling, so see if it “clicks” back in first.
Inspect the switch physically.
Look for signs of heat damage, corrosion, or a burned smell.
Wiggle gently — it should feel firm, not loose or melted.
Test the switch with a multimeter.
Disconnect one wire from the switch.
With the button pressed in, you should have continuity (a closed circuit).
When it’s tripped (button popped out), it should be open (no continuity).
If it doesn’t behave like that, it’s faulty.
Check for the cause of tripping before replacing it. A switch that trips often usually points to an underlying issue:
Overload or jammed blades
Worn bearings (motor working too hard)
Dull chipper knives
Undersized or long extension cord (causing low voltage)
Blocked motor cooling vents
Replace with the exact same rated part.
Use the correct thermal protector rating (°C and Amps) for your motor.
These are inexpensive and often mounted with simple spade terminals.
Make sure connections are tight and insulated properly.
B&S engines can be reliable but they can/do fail. B&S are to blame for some failures in particular on their bigger engines with the crappy decomp system that has been known to fail on motors with as little as 20 hours on the clock. I could not imagine how many B$S motors I have taken to the scrap man, it is in the hundreds, and sure a lot of these motors have been destroyed by abuse and lack of maintenance
