[RANT] String trimmers ....

Blkvoodoo

Blkvoodoo

professionally useless
Moderator
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Location
Archer Lodge
... the bain of my fawking existence

My OLD trimmer, had running issues. cleaned the carb several times, flushed the tank, replaced fuel lines, primer bulb, it ran, but never ran strong ( 4stk Troybuilt) as it did the first season.

the string spool, holy fawk !! I'd cut about 4ft and the string breaks inside the spool, ok, the string came off a reel I have had for a few years, and was sitting in the sun, maybe it's brittle as fawk from deterioration.

Screw it, I bought a new one yesterday Stihl FS 56, striaght shaft, auto wind string head blah blah blah....

runs wonderfully !!! but the string keeps breaking in the head !!!

I cut a few feet, ( bumping as I go to advance line ) and then no cut, fawk !! shut it off, and sure enough, both sides of the head are broken off in the head, disassemble, rethread the line thru the head, put it back together, rinse repeat.

I removed the stock string after the first 4 times of this, installed Echo " Star Wire" or whatever the fawk it was .095 string. It shouldn't be breaking off like this !!

Yes, some of the weeds are kinda heavy, I know not to jam the thing in and force feed, of the last hour I've spent 35min rethreading the head.

the best part is the string seems to be welding to itself in the head as well, which I am sure is aggravating the issue !

Fawk me !!
 
Man, Ive had a cheap walmart weedeater brand for 5 years and have had absolutely no problems out of it. It fires right up on the 2nd or 3rd pull every time. I think I paid $70 for it new.
 
Blkvoodoo said:
...
Screw it, I bought a new one yesterday Stihl FS 56, striaght shaft, auto wind string head blah blah blah....
runs wonderfully !!! but the string keeps breaking in the head !!!
Click to expand...

I've got the same trimmer and had the same issue. Starts better than any trimmer I've had, but the string broke constantly. Replaced the string with blades and haven't had any more issues.
 
cj777 said:
I've got the same trimmer and had the same issue. Starts better than any trimmer I've had, but the string broke constantly. Replaced the string with blades and haven't had any more issues.
Click to expand...

i'm skeptical of getting a blade head, had one in the past and broke all the blades after about an hour of use.

the real pisser of this is I'm not even trimming along the chain link fence where I would expect to use line and break off inside the head.
 
I can't complain I have a 10+ year old Echo trimmer, that I negotiated in when I bought the house. I've been here since 2000, every year it starts with 2-3 pulls. Runs well, chews some string but I've gotten good at replacing it... Course now it will break and I'll be back here complaining...
 
I had a Lowes/Home Depot Homelite that served me well for about 10 years. After a while, I started having issues with the string advance, I thoght due to the head being worn down. I spotted a neighbor tossing a similar one out in the trash, so I grabbed it. Swapping the string heads out got me a few more years out of it, but the advance was still quirky. I even tried at least 3 differnet types of string. The motor started cutting out and refusing to start after it got hot, so I stopped weed whacking...that was a bout 5 years ago :lol:
Wife has threatened to buy me one for birthday/fathers day/Christmas, but I told her I probably wouldnt use it.
 
I think I've got an electric one somewhere. Not sure where, though.
 
I put the plastic blades on mine that you can buy at wal-mart.You can't cut trees down with them,but I think I have only replaced them once since I put them on 2 years ago.
 
Just replaced the head on my walmart weedeater(which works well). I got a quick change head at lowes with the 7" or whatever insert strings. They are think as hell. I just carry a few spares while I'm weedeating and replace them in seconds. I've got about 15.00 in the upfit, but its a whole lot easer than rewinding the thing every 20 minutes. (Mine jammed all the time too)
 
I will admit, I hate weed eating so it does tend to grow a bit, I think part of this issue is "the fight of the string trimmer dance" thru the summer. I get tired of dick'n with it and leave it for next time.

To that end, getting the trimmer running isn't really the issue, running well sometimes is. I've ALWAYS had issue with the string head, no matter the brand.

I have a buddy who has some larger line he uses in his trimmer, .130" so we modified 2 holes in the spool and wound it with that. it worked MUCH better, but it still breaks too damn easy.

I'm not cutting trees, maybe some heavy weed patches, but not much thats any larger than the string diameter.
 
yager said:
I can't complain I have a 10+ year old Echo trimmer, that I negotiated in when I bought the house. I've been here since 2000, every year it starts with 2-3 pulls. Runs well, chews some string but I've gotten good at replacing it... Course now it will break and I'll be back here complaining...
Click to expand...

Chewing thru string I can deal with, it's the having to stop every 2 min because the string has broken off in the head, having to disassemble, rethread, sometimes rewind, reassemble, rinse repeat again 2-3min later
 
csudman said:
I got a quick change head at lowes with the 7" or whatever insert strings. They are think as hell. I just carry a few spares while I'm weedeating and replace them in seconds. I've got about 15.00 in the upfit, but its a whole lot easer than rewinding the thing every 20 minutes. (Mine jammed all the time too)
Click to expand...

We have done the same thing and never looked back. I actually found the right thickness in a spool so I just cut the string to the proper length and stick a bunch of extras in a zip lock bag rather than paying 6 bucks for a few pre cut strings that only came in packs of 20.
 
I've got a Stihl FS85 that I've practically cut down forests with. I run the Rhino Tuff string in it in I think .105 variety (can't remember because I haven't had to rewind it in over 2 years). Here's the string:
http://www.deerso.com/080_12LB_TRIMMER_LINE720809-details.aspx?src=gbs
I've got about 500ft of chain link fence, and that will eat up the string if you don't watch it, but it holds up well. I've cut down some saplings as big as 1/2".
 
Blkvoodoo said:
... the bain of my fawking existence
My OLD trimmer, had running issues. cleaned the carb several times, flushed the tank, replaced fuel lines, primer bulb, it ran, but never ran strong ( 4stk Troybuilt) as it did the first season.
the string spool, holy fawk !! I'd cut about 4ft and the string breaks inside the spool, ok, the string came off a reel I have had for a few years, and was sitting in the sun, maybe it's brittle as fawk from deterioration.
Screw it, I bought a new one yesterday Stihl FS 56, striaght shaft, auto wind string head blah blah blah....
runs wonderfully !!! but the string keeps breaking in the head !!!
I cut a few feet, ( bumping as I go to advance line ) and then no cut, fawk !! shut it off, and sure enough, both sides of the head are broken off in the head, disassemble, rethread the line thru the head, put it back together, rinse repeat.
I removed the stock string after the first 4 times of this, installed Echo " Star Wire" or whatever the fawk it was .095 string. It shouldn't be breaking off like this !!
Yes, some of the weeds are kinda heavy, I know not to jam the thing in and force feed, of the last hour I've spent 35min rethreading the head.
the best part is the string seems to be welding to itself in the head as well, which I am sure is aggravating the issue !
Fawk me !!
Click to expand...

Congrats to you for buying a REAL weedeater, and not that junk from Lowe's, H/D, or Wal-Mart. Now, find some non-ethanol gas and you'll be good, if you maintain it.

I sell and repair lawn equipment, and I haven't heard of anyone having as much trouble as you with string. When you say it takes you 35 minutes to reload the string, I have to wonder if you're doing it right, especially with the Auto-Cut C head. I'm not intending to call you out or pick on you, but it really shouldn't take that long, nor should it be breaking off inside the head if installed properly. You're using the right size string I see, and that Echo line isn't terrible. It's hard to diagnose way down here, but maybe you should take it back and demonstrate to the guys you bought it from what is happening so that they can get you set right.
 
maulcruiser said:
I sell and repair lawn equipment, and I haven't heard of anyone having as much trouble as you with string. When you say it takes you 35 minutes to reload the string, I have to wonder if you're doing it right, especially with the Auto-Cut C head. I'm not intending to call you out or pick on you, but it really shouldn't take that long, nor should it be breaking off inside the head if installed properly. You're using the right size string I see, and that Echo line isn't terrible. It's hard to diagnose way down here, but maybe you should take it back and demonstrate to the guys you bought it from what is happening so that they can get you set right.
Click to expand...

I think you mis-understood what I was saying.

I can load the string just fine, it just breaks after about 2-maybe 3ft of cutting and recedes back into the trimmer head.

I'm spending 30-35minutes of an hour ( not all at one time ) rethreading this thing

I may get lucky and I'll get a few bumps to advance the line but it'll break again in short order.

The line also seems to weld to itself in that short amount of time, which is probably part of the feeding issue. ( i'm going to try the baby powder idea when I re-spool it again.)

I "modified" 2 holes on the spool to accept .130" line, worked much better, but still broke a lot quicker than it should have ( having to stop every 3-5minutes to dick with the trimmer head IS NOT proper operation ) The head even advanced the line a few times before it broke. ( took longer to consume and lasted longer before it broke, but even the big line welded to itself on the spool.

Maybe I'm cutting weeds that require a chain saw ? typical stuff that grows in NC in fence lines and around buildings and other immobile objects. probably thicker than your typical Yard Nazi will encounter, but thats why I bought a REAL trimmer.
The shit I'm cutting is no different than what you see on the highway in the guardrails, you don't see the DOT guys fawking with their trimmers every 3 feet.

I'm not taking huge swipes at this stuff, just lowly working it back and forth with a 'bump' to advance line when I hear the RPM's go up slightly as the line is consumed.

I am aware that the line will be used, and in heavy use, used quickly, but breaking off INSIDE the head EVERY TIME after 2-3 feet of cutting isn't normal, I am not that inept ( maybe I am ? )

As for going back, I was on the way back there this afternoon, and was quite hot about the deal, then decided to stop by a friends house to see if he saw something I was missing. this is when we opened up a pair of holes and try the .130" which is pretty heavy line, and I won't stay with that size, I think .105" or .118" is more appropriate. He's had similar issues with his trimmer, which is why he has the huge line ( he has to cut off a long enough piece and fit it in, lasts him a couple sessions, but he's more into the lawn care thing so he has few heavy weed patches.

I really don't want to go back to the place I bought the trimmer, when asking about service parts and other things it was pretty obvious they weren't too hip on the idea.
NOT to mention, I got the manual for the trimmer, but not one for the trimmer head ( info for the trimmer head is NOT in the Stihl manual, it even tells you to refer to the separate manual)

They were close and had what I wanted, the only reason I bought there.

The trimmer itself runs well and has excellent power, I think it's mostly the trimmer head and line I have issue with the stock line wasn't any better than this Echo " Cross Fire" ( the actual name ) stuff ( both .095" )

EDIT: After looking a round the net a bit, I'm not the only one having this problem. same trimmer, same head.
 
Got a Stihl FS106 with a head that uses the pre cut string thats like 12 inches long. Its the head were you have to lace the string and you end up with 4 leads coming out of the head. I wouldn't go back to the other for anything. I just keep my leatherman in on me and extra string. NNice thing about the heavier Stihl is you can also use the brush cutter blades. :bounce2:

Dave
 
oscar80 said:
Got a Stihl FS106 with a head that uses the pre cut string thats like 12 inches long. Its the head were you have to lace the string and you end up with 4 leads coming out of the head. I wouldn't go back to the other for anything. I just keep my leatherman in on me and extra string. NNice thing about the heavier Stihl is you can also use the brush cutter blades. :bounce2:
Dave
Click to expand...

I went with the FS56 over the smaller FS55 mostly because it did have a little more power, and the ability to use brush blades in the future with little issue. this thing has power, there is no doubt about that.

I'll have to look into the type of head you are talking about
 
Ok, how long are you letting the string run out of the head? Are you loading both spools in the same direction? Are you cutting two lengths of string and then loading them, or loading from the package to your spool? Are the lines crossing on the spool?

If you're not letting the string "trim" itself on the deflector, it will do what you describe.

If both spools aren't loaded in the same direction, that will cause your problem.

If you're loading from the package or another spool, it will twist on the spool. If the line crosses on a spool, it will weld itself.

I can't agree with using such a large string on that small of a trimmer, though. Maybe look into some Gatorline of the original .095" diameter.
 
maulcruiser said:
Ok, how long are you letting the string run out of the head? Are you loading both spools in the same direction?
Click to expand...

String trims itself when it does feed, spool is wound in the head, as designed ( insert end of string in hole, wind spool per direction of arrow on spool

Are you cutting two lengths of string and then loading them, or loading from the package to your spool? Are the lines crossing on the spool?
Click to expand...

I wondered about the twisting coming out of the package, So I cut it loose from the package and let the line untwist, then spooled per design, I have even wrapped the spools by hand in the proper direction

If you're not letting the string "trim" itself on the deflector, it will do what you describe.
If both spools aren't loaded in the same direction, that will cause your problem.
Click to expand...

See above

If you're loading from the package or another spool, it will twist on the spool. If the line crosses on a spool, it will weld itself.
Click to expand...

well, the line seems to cross no matter which way it's wound, the natural coil action of the line causes it to spring out if you let tension off once it's in the head.

I can't agree with using such a large string on that small of a trimmer, though. Maybe look into some Gatorline of the original .095" diameter.
Click to expand...

I wasn't crazy about the .130" line, but it was an option (free of cost) presented at the time. it did actually perform better/longer before breakage.

I'm not opposed to trying different options, but I am frustrated I spend this much and am having a similar issue to the junk from the box stores. I bought a light commercial tool and it's not handling consumer grade work.
 
the holes you upsized should have had brass or bronze guides....my echo does and when one of them got knocked out I had that problem replaced the head to get the guides back and viola...but seriously i would swear you are just wrapping he shit backwards if I didnt know you are a fairly mechanical sane person....
 
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