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can't find a good trimmer line

8 years ago

I have a Stihl FS80R trimmer and have never been able to find a good line for it. I've tried most brands including RedMax 0.95. When I bought a new mower two weeks ago at a landscape equipment retailer he recommended Ninja line since many contractors use it. I find it worse than RedMax. Any advice would be appreciated? Could it by the trimmer head causing the problem

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Comments (10)

loger_gw
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I know the feeling!

Cutting our yard in :30 minutes and 1.5 hr to trim was not making since with lots of concrete the issue.

1. I used a Sears Electric trimmer 1972–80 and can not remember the line breaking once. The cord and weather encouraged me to use a donated gas WeedWaker and Green Machine about 1982-02 (too short/heavy).

2. The weight encouraged me to get an Echo SRM 210 in 02. I c/n master not too much breakage per trim.

3. I decided I needed a Straight Shaft Hard Blade Trimmer mainly and converted my Echo SRM to that.

4. With Plenty Echo Power Heads, I now have the hard Blade, String, Split Straight shafts and Round-Up.

5. The Hard blade is my Work Horse at an angle (1 hr) vs straight allows trimming every 3rd 30:min cut.

6. The Round-Up and String allows touch-ups in tight areas flat vs soil erosions.

7. The Split shaft is string only back-up now but will serve as hard when I "find" that attachment. LOL!

8. I modified/trimmed the Hard Blade Attachment to resist holding damp dirt and added a larger clear Lexan Plastic Guard.
zeuspaul
8 years ago
Try soaking your line in water for 48 hours before using it.
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I have a Honda HHT31SLTA and love it. It works great at medium revs and doesn't have the high vibration that leaves your hands itching/numb from hanging on. I bought the 31cc model, but they also have a 25cc model. My only gripe is that it's somewhat heavy, but the included shoulder strap really helps out. It also has an easy to load head, and now that I've done it a couple of times I can be done in about 3 minutes. Most of the time is spent unspooling the line and making it even. While relatively expensive, I have no regrets about buying mine. I wanted a 4 stroke because I absolutely hate mixing gas, and growing up with Honda dirt bikes showed me just how good of a four stroke engine Honda makes. As for trimmer line getting stiff, since it's most likely made of nylon, take a moist sponge and put it in a sealable container with the line. The nylon string will absorb the moisture and remain flexible. We do this at work with some nylon components we use and you can always tell when they have dried out.
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As a manufacturer of trimmer line and head I can attest to a few things. Line quality does make a difference in performance on some scale. Soaking it in water does help the line with its longevity. Shaped line has no effect on cutting ability. Tet after test have proven this, but like every industry, perception is reality. The next statements, while self-serving, are also true: The design of the trimmer head has more to do with line life than the line itself. The problem is that with most designs the line exits the head through an eyelet of some sort. This bends it back and forth at high speeds and heads and weakens the line. This is when it breaks or begins to wear more quickly. We have developed a new design that allows the line to pivot at the attachment point. This enables the mechanics of the head to absorb the major impacts and lengthen line life by up to 20X and virtually eliminate broken lines. The product is called the PIVOTRIM and was debuted for the 2007 spring seson. I personally guarantee the superior performance of the PIVOTRIM. Happy Trimming, Mike Watts President, Better Heads LLC 800-431-4177 Here is a link that might be useful: PIVOTRIM HOME PAGE
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IMO can't point out enough that RPM speed (just fast enough to clip the grass) and distance (watch the string line at the cutting end) just enough to clip the grass but not lapping the concrete. This method will not wear the string long ways and use the tip of the string which will reduce the amount of string you us (you can look at your string and see the long wear pattern if you too close to ground, concrete, or chain link fence). IMO when doing chain link fence use very little throttle alowing the string to whip into but not around the links clipping the grass (this low speed method requires the cutting end of the string to be about 1/2" or maybe 1" closer to the chain link to get the grass beyond the side your cutting on)(again too much throttle will wear, snap, or pull the string out of the reel head). Usually just off idle is enough to clip the grass and not rip the string off or wrap it around the links and pull excess string out. I seldom run the stringer at full RPM and only use the cuttting tip of the trimmer line to cut the grass. Full RPM IMO will just wear the string down along with incorrect distance and use up the spool of string really fast. People who make living trimming don't have time to use the low throttle method, but they still watch the cutting end of the string and use it and not let the string slap wearing the string length wise. Some may say that low RPM with cause overheating. I have NEVER ruint trimmer, stringer head, or shaft. None of my trimmers are less 10 years old. One I brought new 10 years ago and the rest I've pulled out of the trash cleaned them up and still using them 5 years later or more. So if running them at low speed downgrades there duribility then I will only get 25 Plus years out of them instead of the usual life cycle of most trimmers maybe 5 to 6 years IMO.
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I know this is a bit of a necro-post but it's high on google search results so I figured i'd throw my solution in anyway.. I just came in from (attempting) a weed-whacking job around my neighbors unmowed yard.. It's like 5-foot high Johnson grass back there.. Needs a liberal application of agent orange tbh.... After 10+ line breaks in maybe 20 feet (the exposed line melts at the eye and flies away), I came inside and searched for a solution. Lower throttle bought me an extra minute or two between breaks but the solution for me was the WD-40. I sprayed a second or two worth into the eye and onto the reel of string and didn't have any more line breaks!! The line toughed it out through the whole yard (aside from normal wear ofc)! I noticed the line was kind of powdery looking when I wound it this time so maybe the manufacturer had put too much talc or something on there and it was generating friction at the eye. I bet the extra WD-40 I sprayed onto the reel is slinging off at high rpm and keeping the eye/outer layers of string oiled. Anyway, if you're having frequent melts+break-offs and your line looks a little powdery, oil it up! You'll be whacking along at full throttle in no time!
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njitgrad
Original Author
8 years ago
huh? what would that do?
zeuspaul
8 years ago
Soaking in water makes the line more flexible. It will last longer because it breaks less frequently. In some cases a lot longer. I was using some old line in my trimmer. There is no feed, I cut eleven inch pieces and mount them in the head. I was getting five or ten minutes out of a strand. After soaking in water for a few days I now get 30 to 60 minutes out of an eleven inch piece of string. Some manufacturers recommend soaking in water. Oregon makes that recommendation.
njitgrad
Original Author
8 years ago
Soaking just before using, or soaking as soon as you purchase? Does it need to be wet when spooled on?
zeuspaul
8 years ago
Good questions. I don't know the answers. It's easy for me because I don't use a spool. I store a dozen cut strands in water and then use as needed. They don't have to be wet when used so spooling on dry would be fine. Sometimes it takes me a couple of days to use a strand so the affect is good for a couple of days but for how long after that I don't know.
turnage (8a TX)
8 years ago
Google search "soak trimmer line in water":https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=soak%20trimmer%20line%20in%20water
romore_gw
8 years ago
Trimmer line gets brittle with age and soaking helps restore the flexibility. Buy smaller rolls more frequently and soak overnight if it sits on the shelf for more than a couple of weeks.It doesn't need to be wet to spool on.
I have experimented wit line and like Echo Crossfire the best. It feeds smoothly without welding, it is aggressive and wears well.
Apache RP
8 years ago
Somewhat off the OP topic but would cold weather like storing in an unheated shed make the line brittle? The line I left on the trimmer all winter was gone in a few seconds---literally. The line I put on after, that has been in a heated space, has stood up to much more abuse. Just a thought.
PRO
Huayu Electronics
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Try this trimmer line manufacturer from China, http://www.weedtrimmerline.com/ All kinds of trimmer lines in good quality and competitive price.

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