More advice needed on Lawn Care Equipment

Admin

Admin

Administrator
Staff member
I have a Still "weed wacker". It is currently set up to use the string. I am thinking about swapping out for the plastic "arms", but wanted to get persons opinions on this setup. I am tired of having to open up the spool to straighten out how the string is mounted on the spool to get it to self feed.
 
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G

Guest
If you are thinking about the plastic arms with the little razor blades in them I have tried them and they seem to wear out rather quickly. On my Echo which is about the same as your Stihl I used to get 'line weld' and tangled string also. Now I don't wind as much string on it to begin with and it works a lot better. Also it works better if you advance the string before it gets too short. There are also the heads with 3 fixed strings that are heavier. They are quite a bit more aggressive but they have their uses. When these wear out or go away you simply insert another fixed string. They are not really a string - they are pretty stiff.
 
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euphoric1

Well-known member
Administrator said:
I have a Still "weed wacker". It is currently set up to use the string. I am thinking about swapping out for the plastic "arms", but wanted to get persons opinions on this setup. I am tired of having to open up the spool to straighten out how the string is mounted on the spool to get it to self feed.
Click to expand...

John, if you are not cutting or up against anything solid the plastic blades work very well except.... you cannot get that head currently from Stihl and they are currently not selling them and have called back all that there was out in the field sometime in the fall of 2019, They offered one for many, many years. redesigned the head and blades and guess what.... RECALLED Probably someone with a white piece of paper that says he or she is smart better idea. If you are coming up against solid objects, wood or stone you wont be happy with that head. DO NOT but the non OEM heads with metal blades or braided wire as it is too much mass on end of trimmer and you will damage the unit or cause severe injury potentially if they would break. The problem with the string is one of two things, either the string is old/dried out or you are letting it get too short before advancing line. The head needs the weight of the line to advance it from the head and when it gets too short it will just suck back into head. Old line will dry out become very stiff, hold its shape and in some cases melt to itself inside of the head. Tip... store your trim line on water to keep it hydrated. Also if you want to stick with line I recommend the new Stihl Multi-polymer line VERY TOUGH LINE or the Duro-Cut trim head with the serrated lines you insert into it. If and only IF you find a Stihl head that uses plastic blades on a shelf somewhere, if it has the white blades its ok if they have orange blades...these are NOT supposed to be being sold at this time, as far as I know. If you are cutting weeds and grasses you will like that Duro-Cut head with the serrated line inserts and when you break a line you insert a new one. Either way if you are using a Nylon string line... store it in water to keep it hydrated and YES there is a difference in trim-lines.
 
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chunk06

Active member
I grew up using the white Stihl blades at my parents house, they wear out too quick IMO. I also will add that there is a difference in line. The stuff I'm using now is green and has been better then the past string i have used
 
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slimcake

Well-known member
Don't screw around....

If thats to extreme for you there is this option
shopping
 
snomoman

snomoman

Active member
I bought a stihl FS 56RC straight shaft trimmer in 2015, experimented with different types of string and I found the best was a .095 shaped string that has actually has five edges on it (grassgator commercial shaped trimmer line) I also am on my third head, I’m not buying any aftermarket stuff just stihl replacement heads, there a little over 20 bucks each, I just plum wear them out, it’s important that the head assembly that stores the string is real clean, it gets all filled up with debris and doesn’t function right, I’ve also found to pre-cut the string so that when I run out I can just take the head apart and wind the string on the 2 spools without having to measure anything, each one is approximately 15 feet long so then I cut a few 15 foot pieces wind them up 2 at a time and have them ready, it only takes a few minutes to reinstall new string for me, hope this helps

PS...Hey John, Did you forget something last Sunday? (hint...journal, I feel like a deprived little boy that didn’t get his weekly allowance... LOL)
 
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byr 13

Member
instead of weed whacking, if you have a lot to do , buy small tank for back of quad and ride around and spray weeds
 
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euphoric1

Well-known member
slimcake said:
Don't screw around....

If thats to extreme for you there is this option
shopping
Click to expand...

slimcake, if you like that blade use a chisel blade still handle grasses and weeds as well as big of wood you can put it through and you can easily sharpen it with a round file (referring to echo pic) the other pic.....:hororr:


for those of you who use trim line and want something tough...try the multi polymer line by Stihl, my commercial accounts who do cemeteries love it, hard to break. Otherwise shaped line...Echo Crossfire.
 
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buddah2

Member
I had a set of the nylon (?) blades for my Ryobi trimmer...threw them away after about 3 uses...they were shot anyway besides being useless...just used heavier "string" ever since
 
Interceptor

Interceptor

Member
Best line I have used for my Stihl trimmer is .095 square Gatorline. Wire reinforced center strand. Lasts way longer than plain plastic line.
 
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mrbb

Well-known member
I was looking at these recently, never used one, but does have my attention
being a heavy duty wire wheel like, should eat thru some things and last a while, but not so sure on just using to cut back larger sections of over grow grass and brush?


I once used a saw blade on a older weed wacker , and had the whole head unit come off while using, got lucky the thing SHOT off away from me, but ever since then I have been a little timid about using another one, as had that thing come off and hit me in the ankles, WOW< that would have done some damage, I think it went about 100+ ft as it came off before stopping!

so be safe when using them things!
MAKE sure your weed wacker is UP to the task, and designed for them,a s NOT all of them are!

here is thew wire wheel one I was looking at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px2LAjd7tUk
 
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Grant Hoar

New member
Good advice from others so far, including keeping the string long, and I fully agree with the .095 string.

I have found the blades work awesome great for heavy tough weed/reed cutting (think phragmites and cattails type stuff), but they just don't work well at all for regular grass cutting. 095 works best for grass
 
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katden4

Active member
I agree with the one gallon sprayer with roundup. Looks bad for the first couple weeks, then its just touch up once a month or so. I do all the tree rings, around the foundation, anything that i would need to use the trimmer. Works great for me. Not everyone's property will be the same, and some are afraid of roundup. I have a very nice Stihl trimmer, and i use it less than a tank of fuel per season.
 
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timo

Well-known member
i ended up junking my gas week wacker was about 12 years old. went with a black and decker battery powered. it's works great for the whacking I do around the house and trees shrubs etc,,, the gas one was overkill. Best part about the electric is you just buy the string cartridge, no winding just snap it on and your good to go.. never have had a problem with string not coming out,,just tap it on the ground,, no mixing gas,,, it's light as a feather. it also doubles as an edger which is really nice.
 
Admin

Admin

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks everyone! Some great advice here. Sorry for misleading some on it being weeds I want to cut. It is mainly grass and is around things like the foundation of the house, trees, etc. So I cannot use any chemicals (due to dogs) or the steel cutters. I actually have the Still powerhead that you can swap out tools with and one of the tools is the guillotine.

I am guilty of letting the string get too short and will also upgrade to the .095 line. Plus I will store the line in water to not let it dry out.

This tool nut would love to get a cordless version, but Nora would kill me for getting another tool that I already have 2 of!

Thanks again!
 
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