Stihl String Trimmers... I need a LONGER shaft.

[Dadnatron]

I purchased a Stihl Kombisystem for my farm, and it works very well. I use it mainly for the chainsaw attachment and string/blade trimmer although I have both sickle attachments as well. My string trimmer heads are straight shaft style.

My main issue with it is that the shaft is TOO SHORT for me to use comfortably. I'm 6'2" tall and for me to comfortably hold the machine at normal 'arms length' in a normal standing position, the cutter head is at a pretty steep angle. I can't get either the string or head to be relatively 'level' to the ground unless I either stoop or squat a bit. Just a little, but after about 15min of it, it wears on me. If I stand straight up in a comfortable position, I am cutting half round 'grooves' in my grass or whatever else I am cutting.

I've decided that what I need is a shaft that is about 4-6" longer, which would put the head out a bit further and allow me to keep it level with the ground. Either that, or I need a cutter head which is at a different angle, thereby pulling the head in towards my feet more, but keeping it more level.

Any ideas on what I can do? I have thought about purchasing Stihl's Shaft Extension and doing some major modification, (I have one but use it for my chainsaw extension) creating a short extension to put between the powerhead and the cutter shaft... but I'm not sure if I can make one short enough, to give me the correct connection and the correct angle.

 

[atsah]

This is why I opted for the Honda Verattch 4 stroke, I have the chainsaw head, string trimmer and brush cutter heads. I also bought there 42 inch extention. Don't know what you can do with your Stihl..

 

[rekees4300]

Either that, or I need a cutter head which is at a different angle, thereby pulling the head in towards my feet more, but keeping it more level.

Would the curved shaft trimmer attachment work?

FSB-KM Curved Shaft Trimmer | KombiSystem Attachments | STIHL USA

 

[Dadnatron]

Would the curved shaft trimmer attachment work?

FSB-KM Curved Shaft Trimmer | KombiSystem Attachments | STIHL USA

It would actually be worse. The curve shaft is shorter overall from machine to head, I believe.

 

[CADplans]

Stihl offers a complete weed eater that has a longer shaft,,

I am 6'6", the long weed eater is amazingly comfortable, although, I did not buy it.
I seldom weed eat,,,,

 

[ultrarunner]

Have the same problem... some do offer extensions but the one I wanted was not sold in the USA...

My old 1982 SRM300 is still my goto because it is longer than my others... size matters if only an 1" or 2

 

[sklunk]

Does the Stihl system use a square head on the driveshaft? If so you could look into an Echo head unit. I'm not sure what the measurement is but when I looked at both at my local dealer the Echo one seemed to be a few inches longer from the trigger to the shaft coupling.

I only asked about the shaft so that you wouldn't need to replace all your attachments. Obviously if the Stihl attachments won't mate up to the Echo head it probably isn't worth your money and hassle to switch out.

 

[Dadnatron]

It is square. Not sure of measurements. But that is an interesting thought. I'll have to check it out and take some measurements.

 

[aczlan]

I would hazard a guess if they are probably compatible. I know that Ryobi quick change attachments will go on to a Kobalt quick change 80v electric powerhead and Ryobi quick-change attachments will also fit on a Toro quick-change gas powerhead.
Aaron Z

 

[mikester]

I purchased a Stihl Kombisystem for my farm, and it works very well. I use it mainly for the chainsaw attachment and string/blade trimmer although I have both sickle attachments as well. My string trimmer heads are straight shaft style.

My main issue with it is that the shaft is TOO SHORT for me to use comfortably. I'm 6'2" tall and for me to comfortably hold the machine at normal 'arms length' in a normal standing position, the cutter head is at a pretty steep angle. I can't get either the string or head to be relatively 'level' to the ground unless I either stoop or squat a bit. Just a little, but after about 15min of it, it wears on me. If I stand straight up in a comfortable position, I am cutting half round 'grooves' in my grass or whatever else I am cutting.

I've decided that what I need is a shaft that is about 4-6" longer, which would put the head out a bit further and allow me to keep it level with the ground. Either that, or I need a cutter head which is at a different angle, thereby pulling the head in towards my feet more, but keeping it more level.

Any ideas on what I can do? I have thought about purchasing Stihl's Shaft Extension and doing some major modification, (I have one but use it for my chainsaw extension) creating a short extension to put between the powerhead and the cutter shaft... but I'm not sure if I can make one short enough, to give me the correct connection and the correct angle.

View attachment 563990View attachment 563988View attachment 563987

I had a standard weed trimmer that I converted into a combi-system. I bought the Stihl shaft extension and modified it to use in place of the original long weed trimmer shaft.

The extension shaft is a little longer than the stock combi-head unit shaft so that might help you. I left mine longer to give me a little more reach on my pole saw and hedge trimmer attachments.

FYI It's an easy conversion you won't need a machine shop to make it work.