...can you help me hate them less?
Ok, so I completely despise yard work overall, but the last thing I want to do after getting hot/sweaty/filthy mowing is having to fight with my string trimmer line. Despite taking the time to wrap it smoothly it always springs out of place when I reassemble the spool - those little tabs for holding the line don't work.
I'd definitely consider replacing the head with something else, but we have E36 M3ty(ie fragile) vinyl fence around the yard, which is one of the main things I need to trim around.
So, other than hiring out yard work(which we can't really do because we live in a jungle & value our local wildlife way more than our property value), what are my options?
Get a goat?
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/using-goats-for-weed-control.htm
"Goats make excellent pets and are a fun addition to the family."
Maybe find one to borrow before you commit.
Until I bought this last one, I'd been partial to the trimmers that used a single piece of line instead of a coil. 12-18" long piece of line that goes through the head without winding in, usually done sort of friction grab inside the holes.
Just shove the star shaped line into holes on the head.
Except my new cheapass craftsman multitool has somehow made a head that takes them without holding on very well, so it takes a lot of berkeleying around to get the line to actually stay in the head at speed. The $60 homelite I had for years worked with them though.
Bump heads and the whole winding line on thing have never worked well for me. They either never wound it on right or never actually let any out when you bumped it.
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:
Get a goat?
We actually have contemplated that. I researched our city ordinances & they specifically prohibit cattle, horses & other livestock, but not explicitly goats. Unfortunately we don't have a good enough fence to contain one(or we'd probably already have a sulcata tortoise).
In reply to RevRico :
Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I'll check out some single-line heads. I could pre-cut a bunch of pieces & carry a few around while I trim.
Goats will climb. They like car roofs. Instant hailstorm-like body damage, with the added bonus of deep scratches.
Also, you know how a bird will try to fight it's own reflection?
Goats also like to head butt shiny things if they see their reflection. You know, like the door on your car.
Sure, get a goat.
I hate them too, but I discovered last year that it's worth it to buy a nicer one. My son has been doing landscaping in the summers the past few years, so his standards for equipment are higher than mine. After lots of ridicule and 'If you buy another cheap trimmer I'm not using it', I went and got a Stihl FS91R from the local dealer. Apparently it came with the 'good head 
' which the cro-magnon new guys on his crew can't kill, so he was actually impressed. It was $325, but will most likely outlive me in home use.
I do like the goats idea, in part because it would cause my Spenderella neighbor to completely flip out.
The head on my ego trimmer is easy to use, you just line up the holes with marks on the head then feed line through so it is equal on both sides and twist the head to reel it in.
Another vote for the "shove the line into the head" style of trimmer. Have one, its a life changer.
Also second on the "get a decent trimmer" - I have a Tanaka and its the bees knees.
I was the $69 gas trimmer guy and now I've seen the light and I'm now the $200 guy. I too have a lot of fence.
yesterday I was at a party where the guy had a large fenced yard. He got rid of the grass from the fence into the yard for about 2' and filled it in with lava rock. Then the mower cuts next to grass only. No more fence trimming.
No trimming but no character to his yard.
Same - I gave up on string trimming two years ago when I retired my old gas trimmer for a Ryobi 40V trimmer/multi head tool. (I think from recommendations from this group?)
I put a Aero-Flex head on it that accepts their plastic wings and they work okay... I buy a bag of 100 the 'pro' blades on Amazon and a set (4) last about two trimmings on my 3/4 acre yard. Of course, trimming grass, etc. they last longer but get chewed up edging the curb and driveway. Changing the blades takes less than a minute.
But between the battery trimmer and Aero-Flex head, my trimming frustrations have been minimized and can be directed at other things - like my old lawn tractor and Mets baseball...
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
We have 5 large live-oaks & a magnolia tree. We don't really have much grass, then again we don't really have soil either, it's mostly sand.
So most of what I'm fighting are weird climbing viney things, some of which try very hard to kill you.
I had one that used the short, single-use lines. My problem was that I have some hairy stuff to cut sometimes. Trimming grass around the flowerbeds was great, but as soon as I hit a fence, a rock, or the mailbox post, it broke one of the lines. I spent more time reloading string than I did cutting.
The one I have now (Echo I think) uses the kind of head where you cut off 15' of line, feed it through the head to the middle, then wind the knob to wrap it inside. Then you just bump it on the ground to feed more. No disassembly and winding. I really like it.
For the hairy stuff I got one of the heads with three "flails" on it. They are plastic and metal molded "bones" that attach to a central head. It's about half way between the string and a saw blade. That will cut some serious stuff, but it's not a good choice for around pretty things. It will damage siding, wood posts, and landscape edging if you touch it.
Another EGO vote. Also, .095 trim line seems to last 4-5 times longer than .080.
We had B&D battery trimmers which worked fine... for a while. I couldn't find a replacement so I bought a larger more powerful one. It works and sounds like a 2 stroke. Mrs. 914 hates it, "I think it's out of string!" I looked at it, nothing amiss but tis one you knock on the ground to get the string to extend, the B&D did this automatically.
I ran to NAPA, when I got home she was in the middle of the driveway crashing the trimmer on the pavement like she was chopping wood & cursing up a blue streak. Rolled the window down: "Trish, the engine's gotta be on".
I hate 'em too.
In reply to z31maniac :
Thanks! I found one on amazon but it was more expensive & I kinda prefer being able to go somewhere local to check it out.
I switched up to a Black and Decker battery powered one with 4.0AH knock-off batteries from Amazon and the head with the little plastic pieces. It works well for a budget setup, we have some nasty weeds that eat .095 line for breakfast. Can't speak to how it'll do with a fence.
Prior to this setup, filling the Tanaka The Brain feed (18ft of .095 line) would last about 10min before all the line was gone. I was spending more time loading line than cutting!
In reply to dj06482 :
That's how my $69 one was. After cutting the lawn for 90 minutes I would trim the yard and many times I wanted to toss it over my fence onto the road behind me.
The $200 is better and the line lasts longer.
My trimmer takes cartridges pre loaded with string. They are cheap. Usually I would be opposed to this, but they seem to last like 4+ years so I'm ok with it.
My suggestions;
- with the right equipment and execution weed-eating can be sort of fun.
- take your trimmer to a commercial shop and see if your trimmer can adapt to a .105 string bump feed head. The best have a metal nut on the bottom bumper so they don't wear out for years. The thick string can be a pain to feed but it doesn't need to be bumped nearly as often and always bump it on a hard surface. .105 string really makes a difference. If you are willing, Red Max is bar none the best weed eater but they are deservedly expensive.
-use a shoulder strap.
-use synthetic oil.
- run rpm steadily at a lowish to medium rpm, string lasts forever.
- "cheap plastic fence"; consider first running a trim mower as close to the fence as possible - makes trimming much easier. Then turn the trimmer upside down so that the string is slicing into the ground really close to the fence, moving along at a fast walking pace, higher rpm. Then trim normally but at a fast pace and don't worry about making a perfect cut. This really works and you won't damage the fence. You can also dilute rock salt (or whatever you prefer) into a backpack sprayer with warm water and apply to the remaining herbacious offenders.
- Bob's your uncle.
EvanB (Forum Supporter) said:
The head on my ego trimmer is easy to use, you just line up the holes with marks on the head then feed line through so it is equal on both sides and twist the head to reel it in.
I came in here to recommend this. I've never used it in the field but I've done corporate demos next to their guys for years and their whole line of cordless electric stuff is damn nice. Shame they don't sell at Home Depot anymore.
I bought a Stihl 2 stroke trimmer about 5 years ago. You still have to deal with winding the line but it's been the best functioning trimmer bump head I've ever used. It can be moderated from fairly gentle to brush clearing with the throttle but it might still eat old vinyl
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to z31maniac :
Thanks! I found one on amazon but it was more expensive & I kinda prefer being able to go somewhere local to check it out.
Yeah, I've taken to buying this type of stuff locally. Did the same for the Kobalt mower and trimmer, so much easier to go back to the store for an issue vs shipping it.
And like you said, it's nice to actually get your hands on the product and look at it vs just pictures.
Datsun310Guy said:
In reply to dj06482 :
That's how my $69 one was. After cutting the lawn for 90 minutes I would trim the yard and many times I wanted to toss it over my fence onto the road behind me.
The $200 is better and the line lasts longer.
That was with the $200+ Tanaka brush cutter! I tried every option, including the head where you just feed 18" of .095 line through. I would get about 2 minutes out of that! Unfortunately, we have a lot of gnarly weeds around here.
My future setup will be the Milwaukee Quick-Loc setup with the hedge trimmer/sickle bar.
