My brother has asked for a strimmer for Christmas. I believe the bump feed heads are more reliable than auto feeds, but is a double feed head required on anything that is decent ?
** This looks good to me, mid-range, etc. but is only a single feed head? *
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I also looked on the Which site, and they said "most" strimmers have dual l ine, which is patently not true from my web search, so I gave up on them at that point. They did say a dual line lets you cut quicker, which is sort o f obvious, but there are various other factors that could also affect cutti ng rate. So a more powerful single feed might be a good choice.
I've always found the dual feed feel more comfortable to use, possibly due to balance? What I have also recently discovered is square cord, it was recommended by a local agricultural merchant, it cuts a lot better than the round cord, maybe because there are 4 sharp edges?
Duuno, can't even remember what mine is. It is autofeed though I don't really remember any real problems with it.
If I was buying one now I'd certainly consider a good cordless one. I was helping a friend with their garden and they had one, it was nice to not have to worry about the cord, and I think I'd use mine more regularly if I didn't have to get the extension out etc.
The reviews for strimmer are all over the place, often due to idiot users ! A lot of people say auto feed does not work. Fair enough. But many also com plain that their bump-feed strimmers are not auto-feeding ! I also suspect that the problems with the line disappearing back into the spool are when y ou do not bump-feed often enough.
OK my take on these things is this. Single feed though unbalanced does make the feed simpler to sort out when it jams, and also loads the motor less than a double feed does, but it does vibrate more. Most strimmer line hates being in a frosty garage, so always remove it over the winter, or it will just break all the time. Petrol ones are a whole lot better than electric ones for sheer power and of course one can go all the way to the flail type where you start getting the need for serious safety gear like steel te capps, shin protectors and goggles. Not to mention watching out for stray dogs cats and humans!
It really depends on what sort of use its for. general small gardens are fine for the cheap electric models, but get involved with large plants etc, and you need something with a bit more guts. Brian
I have used Stihl Strimmers/brushcutters. Without doubt a dual head is superior for cutting and vibration/balance. Bump feed over manual every time and, yeah, square does seem to have more cutting power though, I cannot remember rates of use for either.
Square gives a different noise when both in spin and when cutting. It gave the impression it could do work. Too thick and it would break off in chunks too often.
Whatever you do, get a petrol one. Electric ones are just toys by comparison. I used to have an electric one, several in sequence in fact, as they broke or I was dissatisfied with the one I had. Then I got a petrol strimmer, and I'll never go back to electric again!
No point at all in getting an electic one if he has a nettle patch to deal with but a machine that'll cope with that would be overkill for edging the lawn or a few stray blades of grass around the cold frame,
Personally I'd go for dual line if only due to better balance and much reduced vibration. How long are his strimming sessions going to be? Vibration White Finger is a recognised industrial disease:
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I'm certainly aware of some of those symptoms after a full session with my petrol dual line strimmer (that's something over an hour non-stop use). When one of the dual lines breaks the increase in vibration is very noticeable, I'd not want to use a single line machine for very long at a all...
Auto/bump feed, both a good way to sell line... Mine is supposed to bump feed but doesn't in any reliable manner now. But TBH I prefer, essentailly, manual feed. Hacking back the nettle patches or just plain grass the line doesn't break particulary quickly (3 mm line IIRC, powered by a 35 cc 2 stroke petrol engine. What does eat line is striming along the bases of walls.
The bump feed did work but since it became unreliable line consumption has dropped considerably with little added inconvience.
I never bother with the bump-feed. Whenever the cutting starts to drop off, I just put the thing down, manually press the button in, and just give the ends a little tug. It's a good break every few minutes, if nothing else, to slow the onset of fatigue down.
Think ours is up around 800W, but it's the type that has the motor in the top part, like a petrol one. IMO it makes it easier to use as you don't have the mass of the motor at the bottom.
Though you could just as easily argue that having the weight at the bottom makes it easier to set up a swinging rhythm :)
Yes, but the different torque characteristics mean that the electric powered one is just as effective (if not more so) than the petrol one even though its maximum power is somewhat less.
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