What makes you go through the string or wire on a weed wacker? When our neighbor kid uses it we go through a spool of string/wire in nothing flat. When I use it we go through 2 spools a summer. At $8 a spool (in the 3 pkg) that adds up. Any suggestions I can pass onto our young friend? This is a battery operated machine...I don't think that matters, but thought you might want to know.
He's careless. Wacking the concrete instead of the weeds.
Also, how does string get fed out? The older ones, you bumped it to get string to come out. If you keep bumping it when it doesn't need a new string, you'd go through it fast. New ones I think have some auto mechanism. But for sure if you're hitting trees, poles, sidewalk instead of weeds, it will go fast.
My battery powered Black&Decker (good trimmer BTW) has a string advance button on the handle. I could go through a spool of string in no time if I misused it.
If like the one my wife bought with spools and battery operated I noted the spools do not contain that much string and restrung her one used spool from a large pack of string I bought years ago for my gas powered weed wacker.
On the old corded units and my present battery powered B&D - the string will last me almost all summer. It disappears faster when low, and when cutting aroiund chain link fences. Perhaps if you watched your neighbour kid working - something would stand-out as different .. John T.
My Ryobi advances the string 1/4" each time you let go of the trigger...if it get too long, it cuts it off and throws it away. It's very convenient...but wasteful.
AFIK, spools cost WAY more than rethreading the old one.
Usually it's because you're getting too close to fences, guy wires, or other things that cut the strings.
Buy a spool of the appropriately sized string and teach the kid how to wind spools.
The B&D I have advances the string only when you press the button. You can tell when you press it enough times the string hits the "cutoff" knife. I just do that when I see it's not cutting. I bought 3 spools of supposedly compatible string for 10 bucks. A spool has only 30 feet of string, and I haven't yet exhausted the original spool, but it gets pretty light use. When I run it out I'll see how easy it is to restring the spool. It might not be worth the hassle. Some kind of plastic gear mechanism in there, and I imagine it wears out pretty quick.
Yes. I used to use one to do edging. As it would hit concrete, a spool didn't last long. I bought a big spool put it on the spool myself. It takes a few minutes, but I could use a rest anyway.
I don't do that any more, since I got a real edger (with a blade instead of cutting line). It does a much better job. Now I just use the string trimmer for it's intended use and the line lasts much longer.
The obvious answer, the 8 bucks a spool is coming out of your pocket not the neighbor kid's.
The solution is obvious. Make the kid pay for the string if he uses more than his alloted amount. Deduct it from his pay. I bet he will change his ways real fast.
At the very least, the kid should be wearing safety glasses/face shield, full length blue jeans, heavy leather footwear and leather gloves. I'll bet he doesn't.
And when a small stone ricochets up into his eye, who do you think will be paying the hospital bill? Can you say lawsuit?
Truth be told, it's best not to hire any neighbor kid to do any task. If you don't believe me, ask your lawyer and/or insurance agent.
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