String Trimmer Tricks?

[Gem99ultra]

I suppose I've been using a string trimmer for something over 25 years. That said, I still have not learned how to keep tall grass and/or vines from wrapping around the head. Anyone with a tip on this or any other 'pro' tip, please share your knowledge.

 

[txdon]

I put what I call the helicopter blade on when I'm weed wacking tall grass and vines. I hit the tall grass high and work my way down.
Amazon.com : AR-PRO 12" x 3 Teeth Steel Brush Blades for Cutter, Trimmer, Weed Eater | Made from Carbon Steel, Cuts Like Butter : Garden & Outdoor

 

[Carl_NH]

as TXdon says start high and work down on the material is what I do. But the other thing is the head design. I have an Echo and a Tanaka and the Echo head has a gap between the head and the spool which wraps grasses and vines in a few seconds - I was constantly stopping and unwrapping grass/vines.

The Tanaka which has a close tolerance head design and unless its really in thick material doesn't wrap much at all.

 

[CobyRupert]

As other note, cut off shorter lengths instead of cutting at bottom of stalk where stalk just falls/folds and gets wound up.
Do it in 2 or 3 strokes starting near the top and work down to base level so there are no long stalks to get wound.

 

[mikester]

Keep the head angled to the ground and take smaller bites with the string. If your bites are too large the falling grass has nowhere to go but land on your trimmer strings and then they get wound around the trimmer head.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Sometime stilt your trimmer head side to side, I have less wrapping issue at high rpms vs low rpms, also I have found that keeping the grass fed to it at a faster rate wraps less. Then again I have a weedeater that isn't lacking for power and that helps immensely, I also use .105 or .090 line which also seems to not wear as fast and knock stuff down well.

 

[bcp]

I put what I call the helicopter blade on when I'm weed wacking tall grass and vines. I hit the tall grass high and work my way down.
Amazon.com : AR-PRO 12" x 3 Teeth Steel Brush Blades for Cutter, Trimmer, Weed Eater | Made from Carbon Steel, Cuts Like Butter : Garden & Outdoor

I hope it doesn't "cut like butter." Have you ever tried to use butter to cut weeds?

Bruce

 

[ArlyA]

We've operated string cutters on trails for many, many years each summer and here is a few things we have learned. We must operate them at max speed or they don't cut worth a hoot. If your not working among buildings or plants, you hope to not hurt, larger diameter string is better. We've ran .155 string for years but are now trying to upgrade to .180 that's recently came out. Nonetheless, some stringy weeds are he&^$ll to cut and will wrap up on your head. Dry conditions will reduce that and as others have suggested, more cuts will reduce but not eliminate that grief. Some plants are just harder to cut!

I should add that we've used every steel blade made and still have them here today. We went back to heavy string as mentioned above.

 

[oldballs]

Overall, i like the.090 string in my Stihl FS90 handle bar brush cutter. It seems like the .105 string is brittle and breaks off at the head when it hits a hard object....like a rock or post. I have used the saw blade the helicopter blade and others for woody growths...up to about an inch. The tall grass I follow the routine that others have mentioned ....cutting high and working down so wrap around doesn't happen.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Thomas]

If you don't have blade try cutting tall grass half way down than close to ground,as others said shorter string high rpm's go slow works well.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Some excellent suggestions here and Thanks!

Some of which I've tried but have yet to find any that works full time with that what I call 'wire grass', of which I have plenty of around the ponds. Some call it Bull Grass. Very tuff long stringy stems, solid thick.

I'm using .95 Titan string in a medium size Husqvarna 128L trimmer, as well as an 8" - 32T blade. The trimmer has adequate power but is fairly light. I can only handle a couple of hours straight of heavy duty trimming... then its break time.

Knocking the top part of the weeds off in one swing, then with tilted head raking down low on the return, seems to be the best way for me. But still, about every 2-3 minutes I have to shut down and unwrap chunks of weeds. I'm thinking that's the time when the seed ticks are attacking me! Good ole' sweaty 79 y/o skin. mmm good.

The Tanaka head sure looks like that would be an improvement. I'm going to see if I can buy the Tanaka head for the Husqvarna. Mine's about worn out now anyway; the bearings in it are talking to me. If not, I WILL replace the Husqvarna with a Tanaka trimmer.

Thanks again for the thoughtful suggestions.

 

[two_bit_score]

Use a metal blade.

 

[Darryle]

Buy a fixed line head that uses pieces of .155" string and run that weed eater on the verge of blowing up($99 Homelite straight shaft, when it blows up, about every 3 yrs, go get another one). I can weedeat 2 acres, around multiple outbuildings, fences, equipement, vehicles, trailers and a host of other farm items with 4 pieces of Rino Tuff line. I used to use the Echo Cross Fire line, the Rino is slightly cheaper and so far appears to be more durable overall.

 

[two_bit_score]

as TXdon says start high and work down on the material is what I do. But the other thing is the head design. I have an Echo and a Tanaka and the Echo head has a gap between the head and the spool which wraps grasses and vines in a few seconds - I was constantly stopping and unwrapping grass/vines.

The Tanaka which has a close tolerance head design and unless its really in thick material doesn't wrap much at all.

How long have you had your Tanaka?

 

[Gem99ultra]

Buy a fixed line head that uses pieces of .155" string and run that weed eater on the verge of blowing up($99 Homelite straight shaft, when it blows up, about every 3 yrs, go get another one). I can weedeat 2 acres, around multiple outbuildings, fences, equipement, vehicles, trailers and a host of other farm items with 4 pieces of Rino Tuff line. I used to use the Echo Cross Fire line, the Rino is slightly cheaper and so far appears to be more durable overall.

I do have some .155" string; used in my wheel trimmer. I don't think the little 128LD has the horses to run more than a few minutes before exploding :laughing: Of course, the reason I use the 128LD size is for the 7# light weight. I "think" I've found a good solution though and that is I've found a closer fitting head guard similar to the one Tanaka uses. I'll be giving that a try in a few days, after the rain stops.

I do have and use the metal blade; 32T x 8" carbide. That works pretty well for small brush and to knock down weeds. It's a rough cut though, so coming back over the same area after a couple of days for the wire weed to dry out is necessary.

The metal blade, although a serious tool, is also seriously dangerous. I've seen the results caused by the operator hitting a short stump and/or rock. It slung the trimmer back at him almost cutting his head off! He lived, but carries a 10" scar across his neck as a reminder. So, when one does use the metal blade, extreme caution should be used, and the risk is assumed.

 

[ArlyA]

We've operated string cutters on trails for many, many years each summer and here is a few things we have learned. We must operate them at max speed or they don't cut worth a hoot. If your not working among buildings or plants, you hope to not hurt, larger diameter string is better. We've ran .155 string for years but are now trying to upgrade to .180 that's recently came out. Nonetheless, some stringy weeds are he&^$ll to cut and will wrap up on your head. Dry conditions will reduce that and as others have suggested, more cuts will reduce but not eliminate that grief. Some plants are just harder to cut!
I should add that we've used every steel blade made and still have them here today. We went back to heavy string as mentioned above.

Let me add the reasons that steel blades don't get used much here. There cutting radius is quite small and it takes "forever" just to get a few feet. We have rocks here and lots of them hiding in the weeds. We train new people to cut trails all the time so the large string is safer and easier to train them in with.. But they still must wear full chainsaw helmets or the sticks and gravel, with take someones eyes out. The 155 or 180 string its so durable, it will take out small trees and shoots anyway. We do have steel bladed heads here, but we rarely used them anymore.

 

[aspg4]

Some excellent suggestions here and Thanks!

Some of which I've tried but have yet to find any that works full time with that what I call 'wire grass', of which I have plenty of around the ponds. Some call it Bull Grass. Very tuff long stringy stems, solid thick.

I'm using .95 Titan string in a medium size Husqvarna 128L trimmer, as well as an 8" - 32T blade. The trimmer has adequate power but is fairly light. I can only handle a couple of hours straight of heavy duty trimming... then its break time.

Knocking the top part of the weeds off in one swing, then with tilted head raking down low on the return, seems to be the best way for me. But still, about every 2-3 minutes I have to shut down and unwrap chunks of weeds. I'm thinking that's the time when the seed ticks are attacking me! Good ole' sweaty 79 y/o skin. mmm good.

The Tanaka head sure looks like that would be an improvement. I'm going to see if I can buy the Tanaka head for the Husqvarna. Mine's about worn out now anyway; the bearings in it are talking to me. If not, I WILL replace the Husqvarna with a Tanaka trimmer.

Thanks again for the thoughtful suggestions.

Better hurry if you want to purchase a Tanaka string trimmer. Started to look into purchasing one, and could not find one locally, so called company (which is now Metabo), and the string trimmers have been discontinued. Still a few left on Amazon.

 

[Darryle]

I do have some .155" string; used in my wheel trimmer. I don't think the little 128LD has the horses to run more than a few minutes before exploding :laughing: Of course, the reason I use the 128LD size is for the 7# light weight. I "think" I've found a good solution though and that is I've found a closer fitting head guard similar to the one Tanaka uses. I'll be giving that a try in a few days, after the rain stops.

I do have and use the metal blade; 32T x 8" carbide. That works pretty well for small brush and to knock down weeds. It's a rough cut though, so coming back over the same area after a couple of days for the wire weed to dry out is necessary.

The metal blade, although a serious tool, is also seriously dangerous. I've seen the results caused by the operator hitting a short stump and/or rock. It slung the trimmer back at him almost cutting his head off! He lived, but carries a 10" scar across his neck as a reminder. So, when one does use the metal blade, extreme caution should be used, and the risk is assumed.

Can't be any weaker than the 25cc Homelight, I have so far been impressed with the HL trimmer. I have Stihl and Echo trimmers, but they had gotten hard to start, approaching 15yrs on one and 10yrs on the other. I didn't plan on owning more than one of these HL trimmers, but the price is attractive and they last about 3 -4yrs. I bought my dad one to keep at the river for cleaning up the fishing spots and it's on yr 4, my last one made it 3 seasons.

About the only heavy shafted weeds that give me trouble are poke, thistle and broomweed. The Poke I will usually eat if I find it young enough before it gets to tough and bitter tasting.

 

[two_bit_score]

Better hurry if you want to purchase a Tanaka string trimmer. Started to look into purchasing one, and could not find one locally, so called company (which is now Metabo), and the string trimmers have been discontinued. Still a few left on Amazon.

Well maybe Metabo will bring the Tanaka quality back to life with wider distribution. I still use an old Tanaka that I bought over 30 years ago. It is not as strong as it was and I’ve switched to Stihl now for new stuff but I have to say the Tanaka was the best.

 

[Carl_NH]

How long have you had your Tanaka?

4 years - bought it for 90$ on eBay as new condition but had noted there was a mechanical issue - took it apart and only problem was the one of shoulder bolts holding the clutch mechanism was loose.

Tanaka has the solid sst drive shaft and I put a grease fitting on the head where there was a fitting /screw it seemed made fit a grease zerk.

Got the brush blade and shoulder strap too - it’s rarely used now tho as bought a harbor freight 40v cordless pole saw last year.