My neighbour gave me an unopened strimmer which he warned was a cheapo from Tesco I believe and to be honest though it seems solidly built the line breaks if you so much as show it a blade of grass. Another neighbour with whom I share lawn cutting duties also has a strimmer but this was built for a tiny person and is very unpleasant to use for any length of time. The point of the thread is to ask about replacement cutting line and what should I be looking for as I assume there will be different types? Or buy another strimmer.
Last time I ran out of strimmer line, I went to B&Q, and there was a fair selection available. IIRC, it usually comes pre wound onto a spool that fits your particular model. Failing that, you'd need to buy what you need (maybe thicker line) and transfer it to your old spool, making sure it's wound in the right direction and position. Mine has 2 separate lines in 2 grooves in the spool, to feed the 2 lines out separately at 180 deg apart.
The line on the second strimmer ran out so I replaced it with the line from the Tesco one and it definitely was not built for cutting anything more than tissue paper, hence my question on more stronger replacements.
Agree with Arboreal. B&Q (or Screwfix) have a decent selection of strimmer line. Even the B&M next door had 2 or 3 options that we're currently using. I've found it substantially better value rewiring your own spool tho often it takes two or three attempts due to doing it wrong one way or another. We also have a few hardware stores still around specialising in DIY tools etc that sell gardening supplies. As for what strimmer line you should get, Rounded is the standard tho I have used Multi sided on thicker grass and weeds (Grass was waist high at the time). You shouldn't need serrated or twisted which are heavier duty. At that point I would be looking at a petrol strimmer. For diameter you would need to check a manual or online but it sounds like standard, usually around 1.5 -1.6mm, may be too light. I haven't had a problem with it before so it may be possible that Tesco are using very light 1.3mm. If the strimmer supports it then maybe use 2mm. If still a problem then something else is likely wrong. Another thing to watch for is making sure the spool isn't wound too tightly/too loose and that your not whacking it off surfaces.
There are different thicknesses available for more powerful machines, 1.6, 2, 2.4, and 3mm normally. For an electric trimmer you'd probably struggle to drive 2mm, but if you think the spool will accept it then it might be an option if you're constantly breaking line? Otherwise not all line is created equal, some are stronger and some cut better; you can get "star" profile lines that cut better than the regular round line. ScrewFix sell a range of awkwardly named "HandyParts" line, I've been using their 2mm star profile in my light duty petrol trimmer and it's really outperforming the line it came with.
Cheers guys. I have a Machine Mart in easy walk from me and have found this at a price which will not break the bank if it is rubbish. https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/oregon-yellow-starline-trimmer-line-2-0mm-x-2/ Any advice on a strimmer, does not not need to be all singing alll dancing though an edger would be good. I only have a small area but it does get invaded with rubbish greenery from a neighbouring garden?/
Looks like it's well worth a bash. It's gone through my mind to load mine with stainless steel wire but I dunno how that would pan out. There must be a reason plastic is the standard.
I did a bit of research on steel line last night, the upshot is that it snaps at some point and you have a bad day. There were people saying they'd tried bicycle brake cables, which immediately fray and lose the ability to cut, and others saying thicker steel wire which cuts well but ultimately fatigues and comes off at speed. One guy had even put some chainsaw chain on his (citation needed) with the obvious result. I wear safety glasses when I'm running mine, normally I'm lax with health and safety but getting a glob of wet grass in the eye is never fun.
Just been up to Machine Mart and the first thing that struck me was the lack of help from the member of staff, OK it is only a cheap item but he made me feel as though I was bothering him anyway no matter what it was I was looking for. Turns out that this is not a stock item, yet they sell strimmers, and would take around 10 days for them to get it. So I will look elsewhere.
I found generally with machine mart the store staff just see you as an interruption to their day dreaming. Call the contact centre to do a large order, super helpful. Spool wise I tend to buy just the cord itself from B&M and wind it on so far its worked fine for the last couple years of doing that, just wind it on myself.
I have bought some from Amazon. My local B&Q is a bugger to get to if you do not own a car. The stuff I bought I will use to restring both strimmers as I had the things apart yesterday and it looks simple enough.
Can I assume that there is the correct way to wind the strimmer line on and a wrong way? Replacement line has arrived and I am pretty sure that there is no indication which way the line should be wound on to either strimmer.
My strimmer has a button to allow the reel to be moved backwards, otherwise it can only be rotated one way on a 'clicker' mechanism. Unlocked, you can pull out more nylon; otherwise it rotates the other way to shorten the nylon to the right length. Hope that makes sense
If, when you look at the underside of the strimmer the head rotates clockwise, wind the line onto the reel anticlockwise, or visa versa as appropriate.
