A self feeding electric weed trimmer that works??

[CraigStu]

I have a Black and Decker corded trimmer that does a great job until the plastic line wears short. Which can be 2 minutes or 10 depending. I checked into it and found I had used line that is too large so got the proper diameter line. Same thing, line gets short, I pop off the cover and unroll another 10 inches, replace cover. I see that they sell pre-loaded spools for this but they triple the price of the line and I am not convinced they would do any good. I see some 'easy feed' trimmers but have no idea if they actually work.

 

[TMcCay]

I don't know if the make a "Speed-Feed" head that will fit your trimmer. That is what has been on my Echo trimmer and I love it. Easy to feed and I don't think that I have taken the cover off mine since I bought it 10 years ago. I have a fairly large property and use it quite a bit during the season.
If you buy a new trimmer look for one with the "Speed-Feed" head.

 

[FMB4]

Most line trimmers have the well known 'tap to feed' feature. But maybe BD missed the boat on that. If your trimmer does have this feature then be sure to feed a bid more line out every couple minutes so that the overly short line doesn't the ability to retract itself* into the head making 'tap to feed' useless.

*: Trimmer lines that are worn too close to head tend to retract themselves completely into head when once the head unit isn't spinning.

 

[Bucko]

I gave up on the bump head system and bought the "ugly head" and after about 15 years and 2 trimmers one of the eyelets finally wore out and I just replaced it. I don't buy the precut string and just cut my own from a roll. It says to use the .95 string but 105 fits. It basically turns a two line trimmer into a 6 line. The old trimmer was a 4 cycle and a beast, my newer one will bog a bit at times if all the lines are fresh. I stick a few extra strings in my pocket and swap if needed.

ETA: Remembered I had a picture of the two. The design changed a bit but you can see just how worn out it was before the string eyelet broke and I could of kept using it with just the other 2. The old eyelets were all plastic but the new one has a metal pin in the spot where my old one broke. I guess they realized the flaw.

 

[Jackfre]

I ditched the self feed heads too. there are universal replacement heads that take about 8 pieces of string and it is simple to replace. If you get a self feeder wound correctly they work…for a short time. I don’t buy the pre-cut pieces which are quite expensive. I have all this thread for the feeders which I cut into pieces and have found it last longer than the pre-cuts.

 

[javyLSU]

The Milwaukee M18 fuel trimmer is the easiest to load out of all the ones I've ever used. It feeds straight through the head - you cut a long piece of trimmer line, feed it straight through the two holes in the head, and rotate the head to load the trimmer line. No need to remove the head unless something's wrong (which, in two years of use, hasn't happened to me).

 

[EasyE]

I love milwaukee tools but the string trimmer is a POS. I bought one and thought it was great so I bought one for my dad. Both of them burned up. They were repaired under warranty and both burned up again. Don't buy theses they ****.

 

[regguy1]

Ego 56 volt, easy to load and powerful

 

[amkluttz]

The Milwaukee M18 fuel trimmer is the easiest to load out of all the ones I've ever used. It feeds straight through the head - you cut a long piece of trimmer line, feed it straight through the two holes in the head, and rotate the head to load the trimmer line. No need to remove the head unless something's wrong (which, in two years of use, hasn't happened to me).

Well I'll be dipped! I bought a used M18 Quik-Lok trimmer earlier this summer. It had line in it and I haven't needed to replace it yet. I assumed it was a standard head I had to wind. I looked up the owner's manual and you are correct. You learn something new every day!

 

[BillK]

The Milwaukee M18 fuel trimmer is the easiest to load out of all the ones I've ever used. It feeds straight through the head - you cut a long piece of trimmer line, feed it straight through the two holes in the head, and rotate the head to load the trimmer line. No need to remove the head unless something's wrong (which, in two years of use, hasn't happened to me).

That is how the Shakespeare head is that I put on my McCullough trimmer years ago. Makes it real easy.

 

[larry4406]

Makita 36V unit works well.

 

[CSRPenFab]

Ego 56 volt, easy to load and powerful

Agreed on the Ego. I've got the carbon shaft model with the power feed head. So simple to load. Cut 18' of line, push it in the hole and press a button and it winds the head perfectly every time. The bump feed on the head works great too.

 

[58Yeoman]

Agreed on the Ego. I've got the carbon shaft model with the power feed head. So simple to load. Cut 18' of line, push it in the hole and press a button and it winds the head perfectly every time. The bump feed on the head works great too.

Same here. Never a problem loading the new string, and the bump head works great.

 

[bwringer]

Go cordless. I've got a cheap plastic Ryobi 18V weed whacker, and the stupid thing is fantastic, and plenty for my wee suburban lot.

Anyway, the string automagically feeds a bit when the head slows down; let off the trigger and you feel a slight "click" as it spins down. About 80% of the time this is sufficient, but if I've been weed whacking near something abrasive, I'll need to cycle it a few times.

 

[jkeyser14]

I don't understand the hatred of bump feed heads. It takes me 30 seconds to wind up more string once or twice a season and costs nearly nothing. I have 2000' of fence line I trim, so it's not like I baby the thing or barely use it. Buy good string and don't sit at full throttle while running it into immovable objects.

 

[Troy32323]

I love milwaukee tools but the string trimmer is a POS. I bought one and thought it was great so I bought one for my dad. Both of them burned up. They were repaired under warranty and both burned up again. Don't buy theses they ****.

I only had mine for a year so hopefully they improved it since you had it. But so far it is awesome. Quiet but powerful and lasts forever on a charge. It works better than my gas trimmer. Hope I continue to not have any issues

 

[vwracer]

I've had zero problems with my Milwaukee string trimmer. I haven't used my gas Echo in over a year. Thinking about selling the Echo.

 

[Troy32323]

Haha have an 8 year old echo. feel it gave me everything it owed me. Would feel bad selling it but thinking about giving it away on Craigslist. Only reason I have not is you know the second I give it away the Milwaukee will explode.

 

[sixty4]

I got fed up and hired a spanish guy, he brings a truck and all the tools!

 

[The Cobbler]

my Stihl electric works fine, I wore out the plastic bump head thingy, was $10 to replace it .

 

[The Cobbler]

my Stihl electric works fine, I wore out the plastic bump head thingy, was $10 to replace it .

 

[The Cobbler]

my Stihl electric works fine, I wore out the plastic bump head thingy, was $10 to replace it .

 

[javyLSU]

I love milwaukee tools but the string trimmer is a POS. I bought one and thought it was great so I bought one for my dad. Both of them burned up. They were repaired under warranty and both burned up again. Don't buy theses they ****.

Most of these types of complaints I've seen are due to people running the trimmer without the guard, and consequently using line that is too long for the head. The power unit is constantly measuring resistance, and shuts down if it detects too much. The result is that this trimmer head does not like to run a long line - I ran into this problem myself, because that's how I've always run my trimmers before I went electric. As soon as I reinstalled the head and ran the correct length line (automatically trimmed by the guard) I have had zero problems with it.