Print

Welcome, Guest

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[sunflower3]

I need to purchase a reliable, easy to start string trimmer.  I know that they advertise ones with spring assisted starting.  Does anyone know if it works and/or have any advice for brands or features. 

Do they make ones that can be adjusted for short people?  (Someone should make a ladies, petite model!)  I tried to do the trim work on 2 acres and a 200-foot long ditch with the push mower today & ended up with heat exhaustion. 

[NightmarePatrol]

If it's light work an electric may do the job. If  it's even more than light then you'll need a gas one. Most of the gas ones are fairly easy to start. The four stroke models are less hassle because you don't have to m gas and oil, but they cost a little more. A trip to Lowes or Home Depot and a chat with on of the sales people will give you some better ideas. I would recommend gettin one with interchangeable tools on it so it can do double duty as a blower, etc.  You can also price them on line too.

[NightmarePatrol]

The straight shaft is a must. The head can be pivoted for edging too. I have not had any issues with the interchangeable tools, however KS has a point in that the single purpose edgers are typically more heavy duty. If you've got some really heavy stuff you may want to go that route. I have the interchangable tools and have not had any issues. I just wish my Ryobi had more power than what is does. Florida weeds are a lot tougher than the ones in Pennsylvania.

[CindyLouWho]

Home Depot has a decent selection.  I have one from there that is SO light it is unbelievable!  I can weed whack one-armed with it.  I have a very large property and do a lot of trimming too.

[gore range]

....two acres is a bit of trimming, and even the 200 ft ditch will put the hurts on a trimmer particularity if the weeds/growth are on the woody side or you miss a week or two....

....I've had both electric and gas whackers over the years and have settled on a gas trimmer  for the mile-high-bunker weekly back forty-

....an electric was adequate for the weekly maintenance whacking, but spring and fall the weed whacker gets a hefty work out making mulch out of the seasonal growth and the last electric ended up getting fried.....

....I'm not a fan of multi-tooled multi tools and I'm a bit challenged to recall any mult-tool yard tool which I've seen that I'd want to have hanging in the shed to work on 2 acres and a 200' ditch....

....the gas-whacker makes quick work of the seasonal dried-plant cutting; the only 'hassle' being the gas/oil mixing requirement of the 2-cycle engine. But I have a 'special' 1 gallon gas can that facilitates mixing that little container of two cycle oil in a gallon of weed whacker gas....

....of course, the real secret to a really good weed whacker is the string, and the string mounting....

....the tapping mechanism that dispenses the string started becoming problematic after several refills, so I hunted around and found a manually loaded head that holds two 16" lengths of string; I've pre-cut a season's worth of strings which are easily inserted in the cutter head when required.....

....and, I up graded from the run-of-the-mill round nylon cutting string to a heavy duty square cutting string; though note- NOT a thicker/heavier string as your weed whacker is usually designed and built for the diameter of string with which it came.....

....and I've learned not to run the the string hard up objects such as concrete or stone edging and metal poles as such is a boon to the string manufacturers in rather quickly eating the nylon cutting string. I've learn to edge hard objects with the end of the spinning string....

....then, too, in heavy weeds- I don't attack the base of the weed/dried plant right out of the chute; I work the spinning string down from the top slicing the growth into smaller pieces- makes the whacking noticeably easier and for better multch .....

....oh yea- EYE PROTECTION!!!!


....don't forget to go on amazon.com to read the user-reviews for a whacker you are thinking about buying ....
[/]

[NightmarePatrol]

And eyes!

[GROK]

I have a heavy duty Stihl model that you can have a string weed wacker head or a hardened tri blade amongst other options. There are 2 handles on it and a strap that goes around the shoulder. (I do not know if this is viable given your petite nature). I like the tri blade as it cuts through just about anything (2-4 inch trees, heavy grass etc.) I even hit concrete and boulders without doing much damage to the blade.

[gator]

....two acres is a bit of trimming, and even the 200 ft ditch will put the hurts on a trimmer particularity if the weeds/growth are on the woody side or you miss a week or two....

....I've had both electric and gas whackers over the years and have settled on a gas trimmer  for the mile-high-bunker weekly back forty-

....an electric was adequate for the weekly maintenance whacking, but spring and fall the weed whacker gets a hefty work out making mulch out of the seasonal growth and the last electric ended up getting fried.....

....I'm not a fan of multi-tooled multi tools and I'm a bit challenged to recall any mult-tool yard tool which I've seen that I'd want to have hanging in the shed to work on 2 acres and a 200' ditch....

....the gas-whacker makes quick work of the seasonal dried-plant cutting; the only 'hassle' being the gas/oil mixing requirement of the 2-cycle engine. But I have a 'special' 1 gallon gas can that facilitates mixing that little container of two cycle oil in a gallon of weed whacker gas....

....of course, the real secret to a really good weed whacker is the string, and the string mounting....

....the tapping mechanism that dispenses the string started becoming problematic after several refills, so I hunted around and found a manually loaded head that holds two 16" lengths of string; I've pre-cut a season's worth of strings which are easily inserted in the cutter head when required.....

....and, I up graded from the run-of-the-mill round nylon cutting string to a heavy duty square cutting string; though note- NOT a thicker/heavier string as your weed whacker is usually designed and built for the diameter of string with which it came.....

....and I've learned not to run the the string hard up objects such as concrete or stone edging and metal poles as such is a boon to the string manufacturers in rather quickly eating the nylon cutting string. I've learn to edge hard objects with the end of the spinning string....

....then, too, in heavy weeds- I don't attack the base of the weed/dried plant right out of the chute; I work the spinning string down from the top slicing the growth into smaller pieces- makes the whacking noticeably easier and for better multch .....

....oh yea- EYE PROTECTION!!!!


....don't forget to go on amazon.com to read the user-reviews for a whacker you are thinking about buying ....
[/]

Very well said Gore. I agree 100% with you on everything you said..

[pinball]

I've owned 2 gass trimmers & 2 electric and hated them all.  The gas ones eventually would not start.  The electric ones were never as good as advertised and all of them would stop feeding the line while bumping them.  The 5th time was a charm, I bought a high wheel trimmer at Sears and it works like a charm.
 
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07177374000P?keyword=high+wheel+trimmer&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1
 
After a month away from my camp the grass was waist high.  Cut right thru like butter on 1 set of strings.  I had to cut over 1/2 acre.  Well worth the money in my book.  Tractor Supply sells them too. 

[Puffin]

Pinball, I went thru the string trimmer shopping thing last year.
My plan was to get a 2 cycle one that used the same fuel mix as my  Husqvarna chainsaws and blower. Unfortunately Husky doesn't make string trimmers.
Plan B was a 4  stroke, that would use straight gas like a lawnmower. Got a Trot-bilt, but it leaked gas out of the carb like it was goin out of style. Was heavy as hell too.Replacement unit had same gas leak problem.
Settled on a Troy-bilt 2 cycle, curved shaft . Starts on the second pull everytime. Uses different gas mix. I can live with that. I would recommend it

[CindyLouWho]

pinball, how the heck do you get up around trees and along a sidewalk/steps with that thing?

[gator]

I have a Homelite chain saw which uses 5:1 and a Weedeater (brand name) which uses 4:1 and either mix works well in both. All you have to do is adjust your mixture screw 1 time to compensate for the different mixture and your then good to go.

[pinball]

Side walks?  We don't have sidewalks.  In fact no one around me has sidewalks come to think of it.  In fact no onen says anything when the grass gets waist high.  Just looks like ...well you know.  The trees I have are spaced far enough apart that I can just zip around them.  This thing is only generally used when the grass is too high for a mower to go thru.  Sometimes we don't get up there for 3 weeks at a time.  Plus we bought a couple of the lot next to us and we are clearing them out a little at a time, so for us it comes in handy.  It's really not for ordinary trimming. 
 
 

[Puffin]

sounds like your a candidate for a brush hog.
gotta have the right tool!
 

 
they come in widths 5' to 12'. no mixing fuel necessary