Weed Eater and Zip Tie's....

SJGUSMC21

SJGUSMC21

IPCT+ Member
Aug 19, 2020
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San Antonio, TX
I have an EXTREME LOVE/HATE relationship with my Lowe's brand 2-stroke Weed Eater (or trimmer, whatever they call them now). From the get go, I hated the string head that came on it, so I swapped it with one of these:
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Now, except for the price of the blades it does exactly what I want it to do an it edges superbly on my sidewalk and driveway (wide blades). MOF...it is a little two strong for my liking when just doing regular grass trimming. However, the blades have always been expensive and don't last more the one or two trimmings. But, it only takes about a minute to change them and that is great.

2 weeks ago, this damn thing almost have me a heart attack trying to start it, and I finally gave up. Of course it started right up the next day. :angry: So while cruising for a new Greenworks weed eater, read the updated reviews on the replacement blades for the unit (Aero-Flex) and stumbled on this guy's review. This man deserves a freak'n award! He posted a pic of this unit with zip ties instead of blades.

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Holy shit, I feel like a dumb-ass for never thinking about it. So I ran out into the garage, found some, put them on (about 2 - 3 minutes) and holy crap, THEY WORK! And they work WELL! For my use, I need 10 to 12 " zip ties. So for a few dollars, I have have replacement blades for all summer!
Thought I would post and see how many of you already knew about this. My next adventure might be this one (have read good things about it) but not until it drops in price. Last week it was $30.

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I've got an old Sears straight shaft with a 4 cycle engine. Getting replacement string/blades was bad enough before Sears went belly up. Now I just buy bulk spools of it and cut them to length. Inexpensive and easy to keep a good supply on hand. I've looked at a replacement head to make it easier to replace the strings/blades but it's a Sears and I haven't found anything that will actually fit.
 
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Love the zip tie idea...I've done so much with those since '72 it's unreal but never used 'em in a string trimmer.

I've got a 5 year old Homelite trimmer that I put the 2 button, 2 piece of string trimmer head like below on it immediately; I've always had a hard time with the bump feed spools over the years.

The trimmer and the head were from Home Depot, it uses .095" line. I just buy a bulk spool, sit down and cut one piece to 13" using a pair of diagonal cutter then cut about a dozen or more using the first as a length gauge, tuck the cut ones into a zip-lock bag and stick in my pocket.

It cuts great, I can trim about 250 ft. with 1 pair, would likely do more if it wasn't for the chain link fence....those are rough on the string! :lol:

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This is a great discovery, however, I got an ego battery powered string trimmer early last year, and after 2 seasons I've had no desire whatsoever to touch my gas powered one. Yes, the old one has a wider swath, but the exercise of getting it to start and keep it running outweighs its advantages. I now routinely do small jobs that I never would have considered doing with the gas string trimmer because of the get-it-running overhead. Battery endurance is no issue because I'm ready to collapse when the battery runs out. I often push myself wanting it to stop. I wonder if this universal head would fit my battery powered unit?
 
tigerwillow1 said:
This is a great discovery, however, I got an ego battery powered string trimmer early last year, and after 2 seasons I've had no desire whatsoever to touch my gas powered one. Yes, the old one has a wider swath, but the exercise of getting it to start and keep it running outweighs its advantages. I now routinely do small jobs that I never would have considered doing with the gas string trimmer because of the get-it-running overhead. Battery endurance is no issue because I'm ready to collapse when the battery runs out. I often push myself wanting it to stop. I wonder if this universal head would fit my battery powered unit?
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I went Ego, too. Not knowing what head yours has, but mine came with the bump feed auto-loader head and that works very well. The problem comes, with the quality of the string being used. Ego brand .095" string, is not very good. I would like to know if anyone has a top quality brand that is .095" and not too expensive, that they recommend.
 
tigerwillow1 said:
This is a great discovery, however, I got an ego battery powered string trimmer early last year, and after 2 seasons I've had no desire whatsoever to touch my gas powered one. Yes, the old one has a wider swath, but the exercise of getting it to start and keep it running outweighs its advantages. I now routinely do small jobs that I never would have considered doing with the gas string trimmer because of the get-it-running overhead.
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I hear ya.

My old trimmer and blower were both Weed Eater brand but after about 5 years it got to where new spark plugs, fresh gas, etc. did help to get it started, especially after it was already warmed up....my right bicep was beginning to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger's.

Enter the Homelite gas trimmer and the Hitachi/Tanaka gas blower...both are also at 5 years now and still start on second or third pull, restart after warm OK but we'll see how it goes in another couple of years...my right bicep is down to Peewee Herman-size. :rofl:
 
 
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I have/had a Husqvarna 124B Leaf Blower and it was very good for 6 years. At the 5-6 year mark, started having problems with it. Replaced the carb, filter, spark plug, etc, started working like new again, then it crapped out on me at the beginning of Summer this year. Have been using my Greenworks blower along with the batteries from my dead Greenworks mower, and haven't looked back. MOF, think I threw it away. Getting tired of looking like Quagmire when he discovered the internet....

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Flintstone61 said:
I have been buying the speed head as my buddy calls it. when it's empty you rotate the outer cylinder to a point where you can "see thru" the middle of the head thru the two holes. then grab 6 feet of string and wind the head around and it sucks it in.

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I have also been looking at this one as well...
 
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I have a Milwaukee unit that has different attachments. Weed trimmer, pole saw, and hedge.
I also have the Milwaukee leaf blower.
The Milwaukee equipment is the best thing that I ever owned for yard work.

I have all kinds of Milwaukee tools and they are top quality.
 
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I bought a Stihl backpack leaf blower, low end commercial model, a couple of years ago. Anything else I buy for yard power equipment will be Stihl in the future. The thing is built like a tank and has tons more power than anything else I've seen or used.
 
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My friend thought I was insane when I told him about the tree I was taking down by hand (big ass tree that the previous owners decided to pour concrete around for the patio slab...HUGE MISTAKE). He let me borrow his Stihl saw. What a freak'n beast it was! Never sputtered or even thought about it! Amazing piece of machinery.
 
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My problem is about 800' of fence line plus the flower beds and trees so a battery trimmer will never cut the mustard. Those same trees eliminate a battery powered blower as well. Heavy duty/commercial grade is the only thing that I can rely on to get 'er done. We bought that Sears trimmer before I knew any better, but it still does work although the gas cap is sealing tight and starves the thing of gas. Gotta look into that problem. I will say cleaning the gutter is a quick, easy, job with that backpack blower plus it blows out all the downspouts as well.
 
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weigle2 said:
I went Ego, too. Not knowing what head yours has, but mine came with the bump feed auto-loader head and that works very well. The problem comes, with the quality of the string being used. Ego brand .095" string, is not very good. I would like to know if anyone has a top quality brand that is .095" and not too expensive, that they recommend.
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Any .095 weed eater string will work and you are not required to have to buy thier "EGO" brand.

I use the Husqvarna brand myself which is found at the local big box hardware/lumber store. I owe a Kobalt 80V Cordless weed eater and love it! I also own a cordless self propelled Kobalt 80V lawn mower too which my son age 13 uses often for mowing our yard to earn his allowance with.

 
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A serious discussion that isn't about politics or covid. What a treat!
weigle2 said:
I went Ego, too. Not knowing what head yours has, but mine came with the bump feed auto-loader head and that works very well. The problem comes, with the quality of the string being used. Ego brand .095" string, is not very good. I would like to know if anyone has a top quality brand that is .095" and not too expensive, that they recommend.
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This is what I've been using, selected only because of its cost and subjective things like appearance.
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This year I ran into the problem where the trimmer wouldn't suck a new line into the head. The problem is cause by debris working its way into the head mechanism. Nothing in the owners manual about this other than buy a new head. There are a couple of youtube videos showing how to pull the head and clean it out.

SJGUSMC21 said:
Stihl saw. What a freak'n beast it was!
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I've got a Stihl chainsaw and agree that it's a beast when it runs. After about 6 years I started having starting and running problems. Been through the whole clean the carb, run seafoam, and so forth. If I have half hour or greater job it's worth the 20 minutes to get it running. For something like trimming or a fallen limb, I wish for an electric version. Possibly I should just buy a new carb for it.

sebastiantombs said:
a battery trimmer will never cut the mustard
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I won't pretend to know how extensive you job is, I'll just say that you might be surprised at how powerful the ego string trimmer is. If you have thick stalks and use bigger than .095 line, it wouldn't work. For grass and less than beastly weeds, it feels every bit as powerful as the gas trimmer, and repeating what I mentioned earlier, the battery lasts longer than my body does.
 
I can sure tell you what line NOT to buy: Home Depot's own brand called "PowerCare".
At least the .095" is bad, don't know about other sizes. It's the worse line I've used; it splits, cracks, shreds, you name it...it does cut a few weed though. You can do a lot better, IMO.

EDIT: The fragility may have to do with the hex shape; gonna go back to round if I can find it.

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A battery trimmer won't run long enough for our yard. Just trimming the fence line, flower beds, trees, areas the tractor won't fit into, mailbox and driveway curbing takes an hour an a half. Heck, I usually run out of gas with the gas powered one before I get done.
 
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It takes 2 tanks in my weed wacker to do my place. That's why it only gets done about every 4th mowing.
Battery operated, it would take a 50lb battery to carry that much juice!

I always buy the string in bulk, and get one size bigger then what it came with. Sometimes 2 sizes bigger.
The green stuff that looks like a torx driver cuts the best for my old weeds. A "T" post will wear it out right quick though.:banghead:
 
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Old Timer said:
A "T" post will wear it out right quick though.:banghead:
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And if I was ever to build a robotic chain link fence climber, I 'd use weed trimmer line for its legs! :headbang:
 
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