String trimmer equals sore back - recommendations please

16 years ago

I have a an old homelite string trimmer with a curved shaft. My prevous home required about 5 minutes of work with the string trimmer...piece of cake. Because we moved, my new yard requires at least 30 minutes of work with the string trimmer. Afterwoods, my back will be painfully sore for 2 days. I'm tall, 6'3" and seemingly if I buy a trimmer with a straight shaft this sore back issue will be remedied because I won't be bending over. Any shared advice or experiences would be much appreciated! Thanks!

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computeruser

16 years ago

Definitely upgrade to a straight-shaft machine since all the hunching over that comes with a bent-shaft machine is clearly not good for you. Consider the machine weight, too - either get a bike-handle/harness setup or a lightweight conventional model (which can still be used with a harness, if you wish).

The RedMax TR2300S is a super light straight-shaft trimmer that might be worth looking at.

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Comments (12)

rdaystrom
16 years ago
Get a lightweight string trimmer with a straight shaft. My Robin weighs about 9 lbs.
Greg Goyeneche
16 years ago
Most curved shaft trimmers are shorter than straight shaft, and if you're tall your back will take a beating.

I'm sure there are others, but I know both Stihl and Tanaka make longer shaft curved trimmers. Both are very good machines, much more expensive than the cheap stuff at H-D or Lowes, even with straight shaft.
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dmullen
16 years ago
I have a Stihl curved shaft and an old Green Machine straight shaft and have the same problem. If a taller handle was available it might make the curved shaft model a little easier to use but I cannot find one yet. Until then, most of my weed trimming will be with the straight shaft.
nevada_walrus
16 years ago
Straight shaft yes. You may also want to consider bike handles and a hang harness. These are usually only used with a hard blade for better control but in your case I think it will help with the ole back. Take a little time to strap on the harness but it has a quick connect to the shaft so if you need to put it down to do something else it is easy to do. Just leave the harness on for when you come back to the trimmer.

When the trimmer shaft connection is placed right it will just hand there perfectly balanced, then you use the bike handles to control it. The long straight shaft will get to the ground without you needing to bend over when it is all set up right.
kubotabx2200
16 years ago
Swap out your string trimmer head for the Gator Blade trimmer head that has plastic blades. That way you are not always bending over to mess with the string. I have never been able to get one of those bump-and-go string dispensers to work.
masiman
16 years ago
The only time I can't get a bump-and-go head to work is when I wind it wrong or it is a cheapie that is worn out and stuck. I have not had a problem in two years with my Stihl. I have not read on here of others having problems with their bump heads unless it is to wind them.

What trimmer are you using? Is the head stock or aftermarket? How old? Was your line old?
computeruser
16 years ago
Ditto what masiman said.

With one exception I have never had a problem with bump heads, whether commercial units (Echo, Shindaiwa) or cheap single-line WeedEater line heads. The only exception has been with cheap two-line heads on throwaway units - craftsman, McCulloch, etc - where they are just poorly designed. These heads were poor feeders and liked to suck the line back in easily. Yet another reason not to buy garbage machines, I guess...
kubotabx2200
16 years ago
On my piece of junk Ryobi it never worked from the day I got it and the Echo I replaced it with is not much better. So I just replaced the head and be done with it. It was always like some loop of string would snag and jam the mechanism.
masiman
16 years ago
I can kind of understand the Ryobi having problems. Mine worked ok..... for 1.5 seasons. Others have had great luck with theirs. I am honestly glad for them, but I won't go route ever again.

It sounds like yours was not wound right. If you bought it from a dealer, they should/would/could have helped with that. If from HD or Lowes...probably not.

It does not matter though as you found a good solution. I don't want others that might read this to think that all bump heads are trash. A good one works quite well. All the landscapers I have seen use bump heads. Not a special industrial one either, they use stock ones on their commercial machines.
hatcher
16 years ago
Has anyone used a Sarlo trimmer?
davidandkasie
16 years ago
when you get a new one, make sure you get the strap at the correct balance point. My Troy bilt was killing me until i figured out the strap needed to be moved back a little. i moved it back a inch or two, and no more back pain! of course, i also went to using RU insstead of a weed whacker for most areas at the same time! ;)

String trimmer equals sore back - recommendations please

computeruser

Comments (12)

rdaystrom

Greg Goyeneche

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