I purchased the GH1000 to replace another model that burned up. The metal guide that you flip down to follow the sidewalk edge to get a good straight cut is the best feature of the grass hog models. However, the guide on the GH1000 causes the grass line to be, in my opinion, too far back from the sidewalk edge. In other words you end up with this 2" ditch between the sidewalk edge and the grass which is too much. Nevertheless it's very straight which is good. Now, the bad - the spools SUCK! I have a 65' lot and I use one spool every week, the cost of which makes this unit very expensive to use over the long term. Buying prewound replacements is costly, winding them yourself - impossible. For my prevoius ground hog I found a push N load replacement head that used 12" precut strings. I cut my own 12" strings from a spool of line I had in the garage, and though I used a dozen every time I cut the yard, it was far superior to dealing with the B&D spools. You didn't have to remove the trimmer head to rewind or untangle the line, just push the precut string through the holes and keep going. IT WAS GREAT and it is the only reason I bought another Black and Decker trimmer. Sadly, my push N load replacement head did not fit on the GH1000 and I have not been able to find one that does. I'll continue using this trimmer this summer season but expect to start shopping for a new one next summer.
I purchased the GH1000 to replace another model that burned up. The metal guide that you flip down to follow the sidewalk edge to get a good straight cut is the best feature of the grass hog models. However, the guide on the GH1000 causes the grass line to be, in my opinion, too far back from the sidewalk edge. In other words you end up with this 2" ditch between the sidewalk edge and the grass which is too much. Nevertheless it's very straight which is good. Now, the bad - the spools SUCK! I have a 65' lot and I use one spool every week, the cost of which makes this unit very expensive to use over the long term. Buying prewound replacements is costly, winding them yourself - impossible. For my prevoius ground hog I found a push N load replacement head that used 12" precut strings. I cut my own 12" strings from a spool of line I had in the garage, and though I used a dozen every time I cut the yard, it was far superior to dealing with the B&D spools. You didn't have to remove the trimmer head to rewind or untangle the line, just push the precut string through the holes and keep going. IT WAS GREAT and it is the only reason I bought another Black and Decker trimmer. Sadly, my push N load replacement head did not fit on the GH1000 and I have not been able to find one that does. I'll continue using this trimmer this summer season but expect to start shopping for a new one next summer.