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I don't recall hitting the pavement/concrete when edging but is this normal for an edger to do? I returned it back to Sears and got back my refund. But I am skeptical about the other edgers out there in Lowes/Home Depot. Am I missing something or are trimmers in general very delicate?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,147,605 times
Reputation: 57767
Quote:
Originally Posted by taimaishu
All you had to do was get a better quality line. Some string are poor quality, brittle. Some may just be bad from storage.
The price of a quality line would cost about half of what you paid for the trimmer. LOL
I agree, that is quite common with string trimmers, buying another one won't help. The same thing can happen with good quality string when it sits all winter and you go to use it again in spring. The problem with buying from Sears is the trimmer and roll that came with it may have been sitting a long time, with so many people buying that sort of thing from Amazon or Home Depot/Lowe's now.
To help with this fraying problem, when you buy a coil of string immediately cut it to length and immerse the cut pieces in water. Leave them there until you need one. It will not eliminate the problem, but it will help. If your trimmer head is automatic feed, soak the whole coil.
The same goes for the plastic blades for trimmer heads. Soaking them in water helps them last longer.
My trimmer is a Stihl, with the poly head (plastic blades). I buy the blades a dozen at a time, and as soon as I get them home they go into a Tupperware container full of water. They stay there until I need them. I also use string in the poly head. I cut the line into 16" (more or less) pieces and put them in the water with the blades until I need one.
Be sure to use the heaviest line your trimmer will handle (follow the manufacturer's recommendations). That also helps it last longer.
Heavy weeds (3/16 inch stems or larger) will damage line more than grass will. If you have to trim that kind of stuff, get a trimmer head designed for it. Don't expect string to do a good job cutting stuff that really should have a blade of some kind.
To help with this fraying problem, when you buy a coil of string immediately cut it to length and immerse the cut pieces in water. Leave them there until you need one. It will not eliminate the problem, but it will help. If your trimmer head is automatic feed, soak the whole coil.
The same goes for the plastic blades for trimmer heads. Soaking them in water helps them last longer.
My trimmer is a Stihl, with the poly head (plastic blades). I buy the blades a dozen at a time, and as soon as I get them home they go into a Tupperware container full of water. They stay there until I need them. I also use string in the poly head. I cut the line into 16" (more or less) pieces and put them in the water with the blades until I need one.
Be sure to use the heaviest line your trimmer will handle (follow the manufacturer's recommendations). That also helps it last longer.
Heavy weeds (3/16 inch stems or larger) will damage line more than grass will. If you have to trim that kind of stuff, get a trimmer head designed for it. Don't expect string to do a good job cutting stuff that really should have a blade of some kind.
Water to preserve plastic? You're kidding. Do you know anything about plastics and how hydrophobic they are (with very rare exceptions).
The real issue is that lightweight, cheap trimmers have line that is also lightweight and cheap. The lightweight line is no match for anything beyond a few grass blades.
Edging is among the hardest tasks a string trimmer can do, so it eats line fast, especially if you edge against sidewalk or other hard materials like brick. A concrete or brick can shred a line in seconds, even a heavy duty one.
I agree, that is quite common with string trimmers, buying another one won't help. The same thing can happen with good quality string when it sits all winter and you go to use it again in spring. The problem with buying from Sears is the trimmer and roll that came with it may have been sitting a long time, with so many people buying that sort of thing from Amazon or Home Depot/Lowe's now.
But this was brand new from the box and all I trimmed was really 2 feet (1-3 mins of use)? . I have heard people rave about Sears products and I can conclude that this is a sub-par product. I tried getting a manual edger from Sears before this and it wouldn't budge or even trim anything. I am thinking of getting this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Dec...sem#about-item
I don't mind getting a Black Decker edger with a string but the concern is the string will again tear.
Any recommendations of edgers with a thicker string?
I strongly disagree with Hemlock regarding aging of string. Maybe he's thinking batteries? Or gasoline? trimmer line is nylon plastic, sometimes with fiberglass fiber. While nylon can degrade, like most plastics, it takes sunlight to degrade. You could take 10 year old line, stored indoors out of sunlight, and it would work as well as brand new.
Your problem is two part:
1. String trimmers are not designed for edging. They're for weeds and grass. Yes, people edge all the time, but carefully and using a lot of line in the process.
2. Your technique could have abraded the string even faster if it was hitting concrete much.
Dedicated edger, with a solid metal blade, is your way to go. I've used metal blade edgers as well as string trimmers for edging. String is frustrating because you eat string fast (and feeding automatically often does not work) and it's hard to have a straight edge. Metal makes the dirt fly, lots of sparks when the blade hits concrete, but the job is quick.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,147,605 times
Reputation: 57767
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbear99
I strongly disagree with Hemlock regarding aging of string. Maybe he's thinking batteries? Or gasoline? trimmer line is nylon plastic, sometimes with fiberglass fiber. While nylon can degrade, like most plastics, it takes sunlight to degrade. You could take 10 year old line, stored indoors out of sunlight, and it would work as well as brand new.
Your problem is two part:
1. String trimmers are not designed for edging. They're for weeds and grass. Yes, people edge all the time, but carefully and using a lot of line in the process.
2. Your technique could have abraded the string even faster if it was hitting concrete much.
Dedicated edger, with a solid metal blade, is your way to go. I've used metal blade edgers as well as string trimmers for edging. String is frustrating because you eat string fast (and feeding automatically often does not work) and it's hard to have a straight edge. Metal makes the dirt fly, lots of sparks when the blade hits concrete, but the job is quick.
I speak from experience, having a fairly high-quality Toro that I bought new, with a spare roll of string. After 2-3 years, buying new line as needed, I stumbled upon the old original spare spool and when I used it, had the same symptoms as the OP. I found it in a cabinet beneath the garage workbench, so it had not been in the sun. I suppose the content of nylon vs other materials in the polymer can vary with brands.
OP, you only used it for 2 feet and gave up??? Why not continue to try to see if a little more line down the line could have worked.
I have to agree with Hemlock and RedRaven. I've had the same thing happen to me, over and over and over again. I was getting frustrated. When I changed the line, I didn't have the issue any more. It was not the machine, but the line.
A simple Google search will provide a lot of information of this happening, and why. Another Google search about soaking the line in water will provide a lot of websites that discuss this as being a true solution for brittle line, such as this from Stihl:
Quick Tip: When storing your line keep it out of direct sunlight. If becomes dried out or brittle, soak the spool it in a bucket of water overnight. It is always recommended to start each cutting season with fresh line.
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Why not continue to try to see if a little more line down the line could have worked.
