Today is a sad day...

[Sir_Syzurp]

Hey Bobble, have you seen an industrial version of these yet? I was speaking to a buddy of mine who pops out 8kw worth of meds every month and was telling him about these trimmers. Do you think they would last through at least a year of trimming work for him? Would probably be somewhere between 4-6lbs a month...

 

[Born Loser]

The best motor under such light conditions should last decades.
I have electric hand clippers that are 30 yrs old that have trimmed hundreds of lbs of heavy brush with a 50 cent mabuchi motor.
Quality/ 'boutique' should be built for life.
Cool rig though if it suits your trimming style.

 

[bobblehead]

I did some reading last night... Neither Edison nor Tesla "invented" either form of electricity... But rather they refined the work of others, as many inventors do, and made huge steps forward in modern electricity. Both edison and tesla had their personal strengths and flaws.



The bonsai heroes pictured are the commercial version. The motor is rated for 5,000hs, and in all practicallity, no motor is going to last forever and carry a reasonable price tag. Be realistic! This thread isn't that long... Read what I wrote! I've had these trimmers 3 years now, and gone through at least 30lbs... 30 x $3k a lb= $90,000... I think the $400 I spent was well worth it, considering I have a replacement motor inbound for $45! The blades will last much longer than the motor as they can be sharpened if necessary. How long the motor actually lasts depends on how often you clean the blades while trimming, how often you jam a stem or your fingers in the blades and stop the motor...

 

[Born Loser]

Ahh, I forgot about the strain of sticky blades! Lol
Do the blades have an edge? Honing on Japanese stones could keep them razor sharp.

 

[forkup]

Decent looking piece of equipment if it suits your style like mentioned above. The price is ridiculous expensive, hard to believe no one makes anything similar yet priced more reasonably.

 

[bobblehead]

Ahh, I forgot about the strain of sticky blades! Lol
Do the blades have an edge? Honing on Japanese stones could keep them razor sharp.

You don't want the blades razor sharp, otherwise you could hurt yourself. I have put my finger in the blades many times. Simply dipping the blades in alcohol while the machine is running is enough to clean the resin off. Do it frequently and your heroes will last longer. I only picked up on this later on. I used to clean them with a razor.

Decent looking piece of equipment if it suits your style like mentioned above. The price is ridiculous expensive, hard to believe no one makes anything similar yet priced more reasonably.

Ok this is the last I'm going to comment on the price. These trimmers were specifically designed to trim weed. Bonsai Hero knows who their market is, and they know we can pay what they are charging. I don't feel it is a rip off. The ardvark retails for $3k. Twister $14k. Sprinpro $300. Bonsai Hero $400 is outrageous? Get real!

There is an economy version if you guys were to visit their website...

Testarossa Solo
Price: 208,- U$ Solo

I swear these people owe me a kickback...

 

[papaduc]

On looks alone they seem big and crude and prone to chopping off big chunks of bud, but obviously you're the one with the first hand experience and I trust you on that. So, what makes them so good from a users point of view?

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Grow less sticky weed like me and you won't have to keep cleaning the blade. But them you may burn out the motor because you have to trim 3-4 times more bud.

 

[bobblehead]

On looks alone they seem big and crude and prone to chopping off big chunks of bud, but obviously you're the one with the first hand experience and I trust you on that. So, what makes them so good from a users point of view?

The heroes are as good as micro-tip scissors once you get used to them. The smart thing to do is to not go digging in your buds with them... If you stick a cola in the blades, they stop. Foxtails get chopped. With that in mind, sativas are a lot more difficult to trim using heroes vs. an indica.

I use them for my wet trim, and I get as close as possible, then I hang the buds and go back over them with micro-trip scissors once they're dry. The heroes do most of the work. It takes me a day to dry trim 1-2lbs, depending on the size of the buds. I can do several lbs in a day of wet trimming with my heroes, and get the buds hanging faster, so I can reset my room faster.

Bonsai heroes have given me more time, and maintained a quality trim job for me. I haven't used any other trimmers... but from what I can see most of them scuff the buds.

 

[Abja Roots]

Hey Bobblehead...Would you say that they broke down because of use or time(i.e. would they have broken down after 30 plus pounds even if you'd done it all at once or do you think it had to do with the parts breaking down after three years)?

We use a Green Reaper(Trim Pro style) after big leafing and then hang them. After which we go over them more thoroughly. Seems like this could work in place of the Green Reaper, but not the fine trimming. Am I correct?

 

[papaduc]

The heroes are as good as micro-tip scissors once you get used to them. The smart thing to do is to not go digging in your buds with them... If you stick a cola in the blades, they stop. Foxtails get chopped. With that in mind, sativas are a lot more difficult to trim using heroes vs. an indica.

I use them for my wet trim, and I get as close as possible, then I hang the buds and go back over them with micro-trip scissors once they're dry. The heroes do most of the work. It takes me a day to dry trim 1-2lbs, depending on the size of the buds. I can do several lbs in a day of wet trimming with my heroes, and get the buds hanging faster, so I can reset my room faster.

Bonsai heroes have given me more time, and maintained a quality trim job for me. I haven't used any other trimmers... but from what I can see most of them scuff the buds.

Cool. I'm gonna go and have a look at them in action.

 

[bobblehead]

Hey Bobblehead...Would you say that they broke down because of use or time(i.e. would they have broken down after 30 plus pounds even if you'd done it all at once or do you think it had to do with the parts breaking down after three years)?

We use a Green Reaper(Trim Pro style) after big leafing and then hang them. After which we go over them more thoroughly. Seems like this could work in place of the Green Reaper, but not the fine trimming. Am I correct?

Use... I've used and abused them for 3 years... Starting and stopping are stressful for motors. I think hours of continuous use could result in more weight being trimmed vs. starting and stopping over 3 years.

You are correct, I wouldn't use the heroes on dry buds. They get demolished if you're not careful.

 

[GMax]

I got the Spinpro but I don't think I would recommend it.. no matter how careful you are there is still some damage to the buds.. my customers don't notice, but I do.. the blades also need changed and cleaned frequently.. they need cleaned every few oz and seem to need sharpened after about little over half lb... the leaves that are trimmed off also get ruined and don't make good hash...and you are forced to dry your buds on screens..

but they are quick !!! they might even be faster (and less work) than the bonsai hero, if you are willing to put up with this ^^^ I watched quite a few videos on the bonsai hero on Youtube, and it looked like it would be difficult for my specific bud structure, but I am sure, just like with everything, practice makes perfect !!

when I bought it, I was looking to do less work when harvesting... trying to cut out having to trim at all (even with Bonsai Hero)... but now after seeing the results, I don't think I would buy it again... just have to face facts that nothing beats hand trimmed, but the Bonsai hero is a close second...

that economy version don't look too bad

 

[bobblehead]

Ok well here's the bonsai hero repair!

The motor I ordered off ebay isn't powerful enough... the trimmers move in slow motion... but it did work. At a later date I will call Maxon Motors and ask them what motor would be a suitable replacement for the old one. The burned out motor isn't listed on their website at all.

I twisted the cap off the motor, which snaps the wires off as well.

Then you have to remove these 5 screws.

Now don't lose any of these parts! You have to turn that small nut to loosen that block thingy and take it off the spindle. You shouldn't have to completely remove the nut like I did and struggle to get it back on.

Remove 3 more screws...

Switch out the old motor for the new one... The replacement I got on ebay was the same diameter, but slightly longer.

 

[bobblehead]

The end result when you do everything in reverse order is a reassembled bonsai hero... Which will work as expected if you get the right motor. I just wasted $45 and about 10 mins of my life on the wrong motor. If you're gonna do something, do it right the first time!

 

[bobblehead]

I sent Maxon an e-mail and haven't received a response yet. The motor used on the new bonsai hero is the same as the old one. There isn't a replacement listed in the catalog. No response to my e-mail and the product not being listed leads me to believe that its a special production motor specifically for bonsai hero. Looking through the catalog, there are two parts: 1. the motor- the silver part, and 2. the gear- the black part. The cost of the two is around $300 to pick out a random motor and gear and learn how to assemble them and hope they work. New trimmers are $360.

I also received the new set of trimmers and power supply... and I have to say that the power supply from bonsai hero is a very nice unit. My chinese power supplies work just fine, but I can tell the one that comes from bonsai hero is of much higher quality. IDK if that would have anything to do with the life of the trimmers... I'm not an electronics guy.

So yeah... That's it I guess. The old heroes are dead. For what you are getting, the price of a bonsai hero is more than fair. If you don't believe me, shop the maxon motors product catalog with 22mm OD 12v DC motors and gears.

 

[megayields]

I'm sorry for your loss.....but....I believe you will survive!

 

[Desert Hydro]

ooooooohhhh. im gonna order me one of the red ones for my next harvest. its my first real big grow(by my standards) of about 4kw. thanks

 

[Bennyweed1]

dang bobble you whacking out a 1lb at a time?? Thats good work man. Im workin about 12oz every three weeks...I been thinking about a new method of trimming. I absolutely hate doing it. I been really debating one of those spin pro designed machines.

Anyone here know of someone with one that can give a first and opinion?

 

[Desert Hydro]

ive got one of the hand crank spin trimmer thingys. it works good but i only use it on popcorn and larf because it abuses the hell out of the buds. that being said, when you are trimming 12 qp plants that you didnt lollipop well enough because of your first vert attempt its a friggin life saver lol.

i have one of those but i am looking to order one of these. i will still most definitely use the spin pro thing on any small buds if i didnt learn my lesson on proper lollipopping