Live Oak

I have 4 string trimmers I use for various trimming tasks around the ranch.

On the Ryobi I use .70 but it doesn't last very long especially if I am cutting taller thick stemmed grass and weeds. It works good for light up close trimming around shrubs and delicate items.

On the Homelite I use .105 which is actually too big a diameter for this trimmer but I trim the ends of the trimmer line down so it will fit in the trimmer head string knotch. It lasts MUCH MUCH longer than the .70 but can damage shrubs if you are not careful. I had a 400 ft. spool of it in the shop that I purchased for the Stihl FS450K so that is why I use it.

On my Stihl FS 36 (kind of a beater I purchased at a flee market) I had been using .150 which held up very well against heavy, thick stalked weeds and such but I ran out. I recently ordered a 300 ft. spool of .170 Gatorline and tried it yesterday and let me tell you..............that stuff is TOUGH! The cutter head on this trimmer has 2 individual one way clamps that allow you to insert an 8 inch length of trimmer line. The clamps hold the line pieces in place and to adjust them, you must push the line piece all the way through and reinstall it at the length you want. VERY simple but very effective.

On my Stihl FS450K, all I have is the optional string trimmer head that uses .105.

I would like to find another cutter head like the one on the FS 36 but have not had much luck. Anyone else seen or use one of these?

Live Oak

Figures! I checked the Stihl website and they have a trimmer head very similar. I guess it must be a new addition or I did not notice it the last time I looked. It looks very similar to the one below. It is called the FixCut head.

HarryG

I use a square cut (can't remember brand .070 trimmer line on my basic Homelite.
I also have a 6.5 HP Swisher high wheel trimmer. That machine uses .155 line.
Man that thing can be dangerous. I'd hate to have someone hit my leg with that thing running.
It'll rip through aluminum siding like a knife through butter. Ask me how I know.

__________________
God Bless our Troops

John-in-Ga

My! My! Chief. Four Weed eaters!!! Hummm……Let me see.... that one each for you, your wife, and two young uns.

My kids are all grown and gone. Wife is scared to touch anything that may crank and be use for yard work, so I get to do all the mowing and weed eating. One weed eater is all I can run at a time……so I have just one.

I use .105 dia. String that I buy in 235 foot rolls. I fling it around with a Stihl FS 85.

The large rolls makes buying the string a little cheaper than buying it in the small rolls. No more than I use, I think the string on the large rolls has a tendency to develop a memory and seems to become a little brittle before I get it used up. When I mentioned this to the guy I buy the string from, he said what I should do is store the roll in a bucket of water.

Hard to believe that hard plastic will absorb water. I haven’t tried it yet, but next spring I’m going to give what is left over on the roll I carry through the winter a good soak and see if it makes a difference.

Harry, I won’t ask how you know, but I’m betting I have a good friend up around the big Apple who has experience patching aluminum siding.

__________________
It worked until I fixed it.

Fordfarm

Yup, them things will cut right through a new pair of RedWings, too! I have two weed-wackers - one is a 4 cycle Ryobi that take heavy line (don't recall what size). and a small electric Weedeater brand that takes .065 line. I use the electric one close to the house. I have found that the electric one is a LOT lighter and will even cut big weeds. I need to find a straight shaft one I can put a saw blade onto - for saplings.

__________________
Fordfarm
http://scroungeman.blogspot.com/

"Progress stops when you can no longer improve your property, for fear of the tax burden it would bring..."

Unstyled 34 JD

We use an "Echo" weed eater... for the "big stuff" with .095 string trimmer and I personally use a "Weed Eater" with .040 or .050 for it around the house...

Both work very well for anything that grows... that isn't supposed to be there.

I am someone who "hates" weeds... absolutely drives me nuts to see weeds.... so after weedeating..... "terminate" those areas with good "killer".

__________________
" DJ "

glenn27

Well..here I come .. in response...

I use .105 line on my Echo 2100 straight shaft, only cuz I got 1/2 a big roll for free--it calls for .095 factory....Also got a bush blade to go on it--now that is wicked on a weed eater---ger back?Jack--no shorts here!!

The brand is worn off the spool, but it looks five-sided, and orange so may be Stihl......does a good job, too....I also used the kind of head that has three liitle extended palastic blades that flip out by centrifical force as it spins, and that seems to work very well for close trimming, but not good when doing arouncd concrete or bricks as they break off the knives quickly--I think that brand was made by "Weed eater"...

__________________
TO THE BEACH!! C-Ya!

Bruceman

I have a Echo SRM 2400. It's a few years old, but anyway, I use what it calls for, .095 line. I have thought of trying the .105 but the .095 works good for me. you just have to stretch the spring on the bump feed or it'll hose the line out

Bruce~