On the heels of the question for the best trimmer… Are there any after-market heads that make gas powered trimmers easier to use?
Like all those things Edison tried when looking for the perfect filament, I tried and failed with this Idea using the standard trimmer head…
Years ago, I came across some thin stainless steel cable that’s plastic coated and rated a 125lbs… So, on an old Craftsman weed-wacker, I took off the trimmer line’s razor length-cutter. I wound some of it as though it were the double line trimmer line and used a pair of electricians’ dykes to cut the cable to length…. I just new it would work… Well, I’ve always used safety glasses when using my gas powered trimmers and this was a good habit to have that day… The stainless cable fed well when lengthen with the usual bump/tap. You knew if your cable lengths were too long by the sag in engine rpm and you would have to kill the engine and trim to lengths… What didn’t work was that I was wearing jeans and dark socks that day…I began to find 1-1/2″-2″ long shards of stainless cable stuck into my pants legs and socks….
I have an Echo straight shank trimmer, and it runs smoothly and ALWAYS is easy to start… There’s got to be a better after-market head somewhere…any ideas?
Bill
Replies
Stop trying to trim rocks, trees, concrete, etc, :o
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I have used almost all of the aftermarket replacement heads. The plastic wings, the cut and add short pcs. of line, they all have draw backs and often don't fit certain brands of trimmers even with all the combinations of bolts and screws.
Some lines weld together inside the heads, some feed too fast, some just break at the feed hole.
There has to be something that universally solves the problems, but other than factory supplied bump and fixed, I have yet to find a cure.
I am currently using a Stihl, and thus far it has been the most reliable for feeding and ease of reloading, larger diameter line is not a panacea, it is the quality of the line. I find the square section line cuts and lasts longer than the other gimmicks.
Good luck on your quest.