Weed Eater String Soak

[Manche757]

Not a relevant topic to Jeeps, but here goes.  I suppose I am late to learn that weed eater string should be soaked in water to reduce brittleness, as well as, to prevent it from melting together.  Snapping string has got to be one of the world's major frustrations when trying to finish the task only to have to frequently stop and rewind.  After stumbling across this information, I researched and found that Stihl recommends it also.  Soaking for 24 hours to storing the string in a zip lock bag with water.  What are some of you doing?

[500 MJ]

I don’t get it. How does water help plastic string become less brittle? We are talking about the plastic string on the cutting head right? 

[Manche757]

Per Stihl,  it is Hygroscopic.  Huh?  The string is nylon.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq12a2Z1fSY

 

https://www.greentractortalk.com/threads/per-stihl-soaking-your-trimmer-line-in-water-is-a-good-thing.4058/

[Eagle]

Never heard of it. Doesn't make any sense.

 

[Dzimm]

I have never had issue with trimmer string on any weed trimmer I have used, as such I've also never heard of line being soaked in water to fix any issues.

 

Currently I use a Dewalt 20v string trimmer with the DeWalt trimmer line.  The line only really breaks when it hits the fence or after prolonged use it gets too short to be effective.  

 

SmarterEveryDay on YouTube has a video about string trimmer line.  It's quite interesting.

[Pete M]

11 minutes ago, Dzimm said:

SmarterEveryDay on YouTube has a video about string trimmer line.  It's quite interesting.

 

yup, slow motion and everything.  

 

I switched to blades a while ago so I no long have a dog in this hunt. 

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

37 minutes ago, Pete M said:

switched to blades

blades you say? What kind of blades?

[Pete M]

plastic weed wacker blades.  I had to invent a way to adapt them to our particular trimmer, but they are pretty sweet  

 

 

[Money_Pits]

*Hygroscopic. Which apparently auto correct doesn't think is a word...

 

I started typing out a longer response, clicked on the threads above, and saw the post about the trimmer line being nylon (I always thought it was just a cheap plastic), thus rendering my post moot.  Same principle as the bristles on your toothbrush, how they become more flexible when wet, but stiffen out when dry. Neat.

 

 

I also used blades for years, but I couldn't find a set that lasted as long as I would like for what they cost. And I didn't want to dabble with the metal ones, I have a lot of stones I trim around, and I like my legs.

[Pete M]

it is important to match your weapon to the task at hand.    my main enemy is the briers out in the back acre.  string is just about useless. 

[mjeff87]

I've heard about the soak method but have never tried it.  I use a double-string head with cut length pieces of line....feed them through the holes in a "U" fashion and you end up with four cutting lines on the head about 8" long.  I use .095 line, usually one set of them gets me through a cut session.  Upside is 4X the cutting ability and not having to try to bump-feed the line out of the head (or wrap new line into it).  Downside is once the lines are worn down too far you end up changing them and throwing away a couple of 3-4" pieces of line that are untouched.  I take the tradeoff of that for ease of use.

 

Lowe's has them for about $20.  I get about 3 years out of them, cutting weekly about 9 months out of the year.

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shakespeare-Push-N-Load-Trim-Head/3381658

 

[Manche757]

21 hours ago, mjeff87 said:

I've heard about the soak method but have never tried it.  I use a double-string head with cut length pieces of line....feed them through the holes in a "U" fashion and you end up with four cutting lines on the head about 8" long.  I use .095 line, usually one set of them gets me through a cut session.  Upside is 4X the cutting ability and not having to try to bump-feed the line out of the head (or wrap new line into it).  Downside is once the lines are worn down too far you end up changing them and throwing away a couple of 3-4" pieces of line that are untouched.  I take the tradeoff of that for ease of use.

 

Lowe's has them for about $20.  I get about 3 years out of them, cutting weekly about 9 months out of the year.

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shakespeare-Push-N-Load-Trim-Head/3381658

 

 

That thing looks worthwhile and I will look for it.  I bought a 60V battery Green Works weed eater from Lowes and am surprised at the torque and how long the battery lasts before it needs to be recharged.  Then comes back from the dead in 15 or 20 minutes. It runs with full power until the battery goes out.  It came with .80 string.  I have been cleaning up some honey suckle, common ivy and poison ivy all grown together and tangled in some scrub trees, bushes and dead limbs. A three foot tall mess.  The area is on a golf course side of the property line I share with it. I got tired of looking at it and tore into it with the weed eater.  A bush hog would be more appropriate but the weed eater surprisingly has the power but it is more than the string is designed for.  I will  have to try the .95 string that larger weed eaters use.

[mjeff87]

Are those batteries lithium-ion?  I love the power they provide but HATE how they just go from full power to dead at the drop of a hat.  At least with older battery technology you knew the battery was draining by the performance of the tool.  I know....get off my lawn....

 

I've got a 20+ year old Homelite weed whip (2 stroke) that absolutely will not die.  Every spring I pull it out expecting it to finally quit working, but it starts up faithfully every year and keeps running through the season.  I want to buy a Stihl to replace it with to match my other power equipment, but can't justify throwing out a good running unit.

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

34 minutes ago, mjeff87 said:

can't justify throwing out a good running unit

Let my wife run it for 1-2 sessions and it will not longer be good, nor will it be running. I have no clue how she kills things so damn quickly, but she does. Weedeaters, cars, trailers, electronics, plants from the garden, it doesn't matter. She touches them and they die.

[Manche757]

4 minutes ago, JustEmptyEveryPocket said:

Let my wife run it for 1-2 sessions and it will not longer be good, nor will it be running. I have no clue how she kills things so damn quickly, but she does. Weedeaters, cars, trailers, electronics, plants from the garden, it doesn't matter. She touches them and they die.

 

I would not antagonize her if I were you.

[FairFrank]

On 7/26/2020 at 4:18 AM, Manche757 said:

Not a relevant topic to Jeeps, but here goes.  I suppose I am late to learn that weed eater string should be soaked in water to reduce brittleness, as well as, to prevent it from melting together.  Snapping string has got to be one of the world's major frustrations when trying to finish the task only to have to frequently stop and rewind.  After stumbling across this information, I researched and found that Stihl recommends it also.  Soaking for 24 hours to storing the string in a zip lock bag with water.  What are some of you doing?

Hey, prorbably it's too late but it works.  The string becomes more ductile and less susceptible to fissures. Doesn't matter that it's plastic. From a physical point of view, it is easy to explain

[watchamakalit]

On 7/28/2020 at 11:55 AM, Manche757 said:

 

That thing looks worthwhile and I will look for it.  I bought a 60V battery Green Works weed eater from Lowes and am surprised at the torque and how long the battery lasts before it needs to be recharged.  Then comes back from the dead in 15 or 20 minutes. It runs with full power until the battery goes out.  It came with .80 string.  I have been cleaning up some honey suckle, common ivy and poison ivy all grown together and tangled in some scrub trees, bushes and dead limbs. A three foot tall mess.  The area is on a golf course side of the property line I share with it. I got tired of looking at it and tore into it with the weed eater.  A bush hog would be more appropriate but the weed eater surprisingly has the power but it is more than the string is designed for.  I will  have to try the .95 string that larger weed eaters use.

Check your strimmer. Using larger than called for line can have a huge effect on performance. I found the hard way that the wrong size line is almost as useless as a poorly running engine. It can suck alot of power. There is a reason smaller machines don't call for big line.

 

 

Edit:  I have heard of the soak technique but never tried. Strimmer line isnt one of the major expenses in my life.  If I wanted to save money, hassles, and wasted time in my life I wouldnt have jeeps. Lol

[Torq_Shep]

Interesting. I hate string trimmers for this reason and the fact that I could never keep one running longer than a few seasons. Gave up and bought a Worx battery one. Its... Fine. I like the fact I don't have to start it but it doesnt have the cahonies of a gas one. 

[scaleless]

6 hours ago, Torq_Shep said:

but it doesnt have the cahonies of a gas one

I have a Milwaukee one with the big chonker battery (the 12Ah one or whatever the biggest one is) and it definitely beats out my gas one.  My gas one is crap, though, so I don't know how good of a comparison that is

[Jesse J]

1 hour ago, scaleless said:

I have a Milwaukee one with the big chonker battery (the 12Ah one or whatever the biggest one is) and it definitely beats out my gas one.  My gas one is crap, though, so I don't know how good of a comparison that is

same (its my dads) but the big honker battery lives on the impact now

[watchamakalit]

I'm a makita fan boy. I have a 36v makita that is as powerful as a big gas model.

[Car Enthusiast]

I am going to try that water trick. Hopefully that works because the string in my weedeater always tightens on itself and won't bump feed and I have to stop and pull the head apart and pull it out. Maybe I am winding it wrong.