The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Kobalt Wheelbarrow modification

how to modify the Kobalt neverflat wheelbarrow to avoid handle breakage


We still love both of our Kobalt Neverflat wheelbarrows, but there's a problem.

It seems that rain can drip its way into the hollow portion of the handles if stored outside in the face down position.

I finally got around to adding a drain hole today, which should prevent any further freezing and expansion trouble.



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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keep in mind that anything with kobalt Name has a life time warranty. That is a replacement warranty. Just like craftsman. Mom

Comment by roseanell Sat Mar 9 21:18:55 2013
If you ever have the need to replace the handles, you can use square tubing of the same size, but the handle ends won't be swedged (this is cheapest). You can also get new handles, either metal or wood, which are interchangeable on all Ames True Temper 6 cubic foot products, of which Kobalt is one. Some mill supply houses, like W.W.Grainger, and sometimes Lowes and Home Depot stock them.
Comment by Vester Sat Mar 9 23:46:31 2013

The way you store the wheelbarrow upside down allows water to enter the beams on the front, near the wheel. Unless the beams are painted or otherwise coated on the inside as well (which I doubt) they will start corroding from the inside out.

I always thought the standard way to put away a wheelbarrow was to rest it on the bracket in front of the wheel and against a wall.

Comment by Roland_Smith Sun Mar 10 08:41:05 2013

Unless they've outsourced the handles since I retired, the handles are electro-painted in a vat of paint. The handles complete an electric circuit between the conveyor and the electrodes mounted in the paint tank, which holds up to 10,000 gallons of paint. I used to hate treating the paint laden water from the pit those tanks were in. The long handled tools metal handles are painted on the outside only with an electro-static powder paint process, instead of being dipped in liquid paint, as above.

Comment by Vester Sun Mar 10 13:51:04 2013





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