Have I been using my weed trimmer wrong?

[N7HEVN]

I don't like WOT , It sprays green crap far and wide, and really scrubs off string around the many rock at my place. If it were not for rocks, I wouldn't even have a string trimmer. But because of the rocks, I have TWO of them.

I'm like Cal on this one...

When I run my weed eater, I am feathering the throttle, depending on the material that is being trimmed/cut down, because when it's warm/hot outside, and I'm just wearing old sneakers and some tall socks, inevitably I'm hitting little rocks and twigs that just end up flinging into my shins...

Also, to the main point of the discussion, I'm feathering the throttle when using the trimmer, to help spin off material build-up. Some times, not all the time, when cutting material at one constant head speed, and depending on how fast you can swing left/right in your hip/arm motion, there's a build-up that occurs around the cutting head.

This is a good discussion item, probably a thought we've all had in our own inner voice, but thought perhaps not important enough to bring to a wider audience.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

Yes!

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Here's how I do mine.

 

[Jwmaustin]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

You guys must not have much to cut. I have to run mine full throttle all the time because I'm actually cutting stuff. I don't know what you guys are cutting but there is very little that you can slow down for when I'm cutting.

 

[Cat303]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

I would run a 2 stroke like my chain saw. My trimmer/brush saw is 4 stroke so I can run that wide open if needed lol

 

[Tinhack]

I have a battery powered DeWalt on speed one and feather it all the time.

 

[colonel54]

I say whatever makes you happy I do both as it depends on what I am triming

 

[kneedeep]

Run a chainsaw same way!??

 

[Gord Baker]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

He is a frustrated chain saw/biker weirdo. Have a chat with him. Or not.

 

[motobreeder]

I found that by not running WOT while cutting, the trimmer line would cut a LOT more before breaking. Since 2-strokes don't have a governor I think that's the operator's job. Most of my cutting is against a hard surfaces - house, stones.

 

[ismilelots]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

He's just pretending he's riding his dirt bike. Which, I'm sure, is what he'd rather be doing.

 

[Pleease]

I do that lot keeps the heat down and stuff does not kill you flying around. Full throttle for thick patches. I see no reason for wide open around breakable things like rocks or launchable nuts on the ground (Hickory, acorns, walnuts, etc).
I have cut back since I retired but used to trim around 50 campers and their stuff, hidden stuff can be dangerous to people and things.

“Launchable nuts”, lol

 

[Mtsoxfan]

You guys must not have much to cut. I have to run mine full throttle all the time because I'm actually cutting stuff. I don't know what you guys are cutting but there is very little that you can slow down for when I'm cutting.

Same here. While I do have a few areas with light grass/weeds, most of it is foot high+ of thick dense grass/weeds/hay. If I don't run WOT in those area, the grass will wrap around the head and stop it. It is not easy to untangle. My pants and shoes look like they are made of grass when I'm done. Then there's the ticks...

 

[Dr_Zinj]

WOT when cutting, idle when not cutting.
I was burning out chainsaws cutting trees and firewood until I switched up to a commercial grade logging chainsaw. Haven't burned out one since. Size matters when it comes to heat dispersion

 

[mikentn]

I should probably wear a face shield. I've been hit in the face all around my safety glasses, a few that have hurt like the Dickens, but so far safety glasses alone have protected me from any serious damage.

I did shatter the window on my back door once, though. I honestly don't know how it happened, in fact it was probably done with my edger, I just found it shattered one day after working in the yard with the edger and trimmer.

I feel your pain. Last month I apparently threw a rock and shattered the insert on my front storm door. BTW, Larson / Pella sucks at customer service. First replacement I ordered took 10 days to go from MN to TN via UPS, and was damaged upon receipt. Still waiting on the second insert to come by way of local Pella distribution center, supposedly going to take 3 + weeks. Rediculous.

 

[vallefarm]

According to my Stihl manual and dealer, speed to match load. Revving without load stresses the components and shortens tool life. A chainsaw as an example, you balance rpm with stock removal, load. Let the tool do the work, but don't overload it or race the engine needlessly as both cause undo wear and tear. The new chainsaws record use, one customer had a brand new 60 that he killed in fifteen minutes of full throttle no load set in a chainsaw board mill. That voids the warranty.

 

[Hermio]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

I see people doing the same thing with chainsaws. It makes no sense to me.

 

[Bentrim]

Here is my twenty five cents -- thats two cents with inflation.
Many years ago I worked for a dealer that sold snowmobiles and noticed if someone held the throttle wide open, as if trying to catch his buddies crossing a large field, they almost always "burned" a piston, Burned on the exhaust side. I advised the operators to leave off the throttle or 'burp" it ocassionally to allow the engine to get a breath of cool air. Most never returned for a burned piston.

As for removing the guard on a string trimmer. It is there for the operators safety, I know it would not protect from all flying debris. Most shields have a knife to cut the strings to proper length, too long of a string for a wider cut will overheat the engine. AND if the trimmer is still under warranty it may void the warranty. Yes I know most "professional" landscapers take off the shield first thing, quess thats why they always are replacing the trimmers.

 

[Zork]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

I think the excessive throttle is for his neighbor Ken.

 

[homey53]

This guy regularly trims next door.
Is this how you do it? Rev-rev-rev non-stop? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

How did you get that clip of my neighbor? LOL