Self advancing strimmer - a myth?

Your cat has steel toe caps?

Throwing in my halfpennys' worth:

The bump-on-ground type of advancement always worked for me, as long as I was careful when winding a spool, to make sure that the 'string' was able to unwind easily, ie it didn't get crossed up going onto the spool.

I have also had (still have one) some B&D no-bump ones, Brush-hog or something, and they can be a real pain, never giving up new string. I found that the answer to them was to make sure that the little lever behind the spool was in its unnatural position when the spool was replaced, then they work.

Hope this helps somebody.

Which since you need to start from the middle, that means one wound clockwise, and one anticlockwise...

In which case its easier - but you still need to wind it in the right direction...

Have a look on youtube, plenty of examples of how to wind the grown up twin line heads there.

I have a simple (and old) B&D command feed strimmer ... it does not self advance .. but all you do is pull the level in handle a click towards you and it lets out a set length of line ....

I had a petrol strimmer for a while, that had bump feed ... you knocked the centre of spool drum on hard surface and it fed out length of line.

It seems to work find on the (petrol) weed-eater that I have. However I remember my dad had a strimmer - B&D I think - and the advance mechanism would clog on that one extremely easily. His was also used on a concrete patio a lot, and the impact with the concrete wore the plastic base out of the mechanism within a few years.

I don't usually put a lot at a time in the weed-eater, no more than four or five turns, and maybe that makes a difference.

cheers

Jules

No. Because they get wound from the same side. Simultaneously.

I thought I'd never seen them extend the wire.

Try looking where you're going instead of using safety workarounds.

That's ok, my garage is heated.

Cat?

I had the problem even on the original reel! So unless they manufacture them wrongly....

I was replying to Brian Gaff's post, maybe I replied to the wrong message. S..t happens. Movin' on....

and not once did I ever figure out how to make the string self-advance on a= ny of them, even after reading the instructions.

Maybe Teflon string, so that it doesn't stick to itself. Otherwise no, I've never found this the slightest use either. I stop, press the centre spool down to rotate it a notch or two and then pull at the ends to release some more string.

Probably the trick (if you care) would be to wind the spool very loosely.

not once did I ever figure out how to make the string self-advance on any of them, even after reading the instructions.

wind it with thicker stuff.

The electrics are copies of what works with petrol strimmers. Bad copies

I used to get all of the above with a cheap electric and 1.5mm 'twine' now on a ryobi with 2.5mm no issues at all.

I think John might be thinking of a drum which is more like two drums glued back-to-back and which is removed for winding; take the thing off and wind the first line CW around the "nearest" half-drum, *then flip it over* and you'll have to wind the second line CCW around what's now the "nearest" half-drum. The lines end up traveling the same way around the common shaft (and so both pay out as the drum turns), but the flipping means winding one "backwards".

If the design makes it easy to wind both halves without flipping (as is the case with the ones that I've seen), then both lines are "wound the same way".

cheers

Jules

not once did I ever figure out how to make the string self-advance on any of them, even after reading the instructions.

Recently used a very large petrol strimmer (with only one string!) which wouldn't wind either.

Indeed - I did contemplate explaining all that, but since it transpires the OP has only got a single line one, it seemed rather pointless ;-)

There is one ryobi head where you just pull a length through the head leaving a couple of equal length tails, then twist the big knob on the bottom to wind it into the head - very quick and easy.