Do you remove the sheilds from your trimmers?

[Turf Technologies]

Kind of wondering if you do or not? We do , seems better to get the string out.

[MuskTurfKing]

I used to have my shield on but a couple people told me I would be able to edge better, and boy were they right. I can see what I'm cutting 100 times better. Just make sure you have on pants and safety glasses. ;)

Hank

[keifer]

Yes plus it makes it lighter and easyer to handle.

[MATTHEW]

Musktufking must have edged some walks where the poodles are poopin'. I think the guard is there for a reason, and it should not be removed. But... it is hard to see the cutting edge, so what I do is shave off half of the guard opposite the cutting blade. It lets me see what I am cutting while keeping my clothes cleaner.

[awm]

trimmer without the guard becomes a much more efficient tool.
havnt used one in 25 yrs or more. however if u have employees
they probably better be using guards ,to prevent liability on your part .

[AK Lawn]

Personally it does work better w/ out the guard but a good point was made it is there for a reason, i have had a lot of **** thrown in my face and it is not pleasent, what i do personal;ly is not have gaurd on my equip. and a guard on the ones my employees use, for a few reasons, one they like the gaurd better , two my insurance requires it for my employees, three alot more stuff flies in different directions w/ out the gaurd, have had to replace a few windshield and side windows
AK Lawn

[Lawn Watcher]

I'm not sure where they are from but I have seen guys around here with clear plastic guards on them that allow you to see thru them. I imagine as they get worn it is hard to see thru them due to the scruffs and grass stains.:rolleyes:

[MikeLT1Z28]

when i worked with 65Hoss he had his off. he bought a new one and we left the guard on and noticed less stuff in our faces. not sure about non-stilh's, but the guard serves as an excellent level to the ground surface. also i have no problem seeing around the guard when cutting an edge, but when my dealer finally gets my FC85 in, that'll be of no concern anyway.

[Columbia Turf]

hate to say it, but YES we also take off all string trimmer gaurds. In fact, I put a couple new ones in the "box on the shelf" the other day. If anybody needs any replacement gaurds for REDMAX trimmers, I have about 10 or 12 of them. LOL

[Esby]

They come off as soon as I buy a new trimmer. I don't feel that they really "do their job" that well in the first place, and we all know that the trimmer will operate better with the gaurds off.

[65hoss]

Originally posted by MikeLT1Z28
when i worked with 65Hoss he had his off. he bought a new one and we left the guard on and noticed less stuff in our faces. not sure about non-stilh's, but the guard serves as an excellent level to the ground surface. also i have no problem seeing around the guard when cutting an edge, but when my dealer finally gets my FC85 in, that'll be of no concern anyway.


You can find posts from me in the past saying "yes, take them off", but not anymore. As Mike stated, I had been running them off and thought it was better. I bought a new one and left it on to try it out again and I actually liked it better. It was real nice not to get nailed constantly by flying debris. I also noticed I seemed to be just as fast but more effecient. I really can't explain it, but maybe since I became very effecient with them off it really helped with them back on. Who knows. To make a short story long, I put them back on all trimmers. Its also safer with helpers.

[David Haggerty]

The new Shihls' works better with them on.

ave

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

The guards are there for a reason,,, Learn to use the tools the way they were designed and they will do the job right, with less chance of injury...... What happens when you hit a rock or nail and it comes wailing at your face.... FUN.. I think nOt..... I have no problem seeing the edge with the guard on..... And as far as edging goes you guys should be using stick or walk behind edgers, not TRImmers to do the edge along walk ways....... Can even do fower beds with a stick edger......... Work Smart and Work Safe.............

[Brickman]

I leave mine on. I have no problem seeing around the guard on my Redmax trimmers. The only thing I might do is move it back so the cutter lets the string get a little longer. Where I work there is so much sand laying around, getting a sand blasted face and legs isn't my idea of fun. To say nothing of getting 100 times more grass on your pants when working without.

[Brickman]

I leave mine on. I have no problem seeing around the guard on my Redmax trimmers. The only thing I might do is move it back so the cutter lets the string get a little longer. Where I work there is so much sand laying around, getting a sand blasted face and legs isn't my idea of fun. To say nothing of getting 100 times more grass on your pants when working without.

[TLS]

Well, I dont know if they help keeping grass off your legs, or keeping flying debris from hitting your face, but they do one thing great, and THIS is the only reason I keep mine on!......

They keep the string sharp, and at the proper length! Tap and go! When the string gets pointy and frayed, just tap it to advance the line, and the little knife on the guard cuts the string. With a fresh string the trimmer can cut as good as a mower, no grass fraying.

Without the guard, I find that with one "accidental" tap of the head, I now had a 3 foot swath of line that bogged the engine. Then had to stop trimming, shut the engine off, and cut the line EQUAL with a pair of dykes. Talk about inefficient!!!

How can you guys use them WITHOUT this great feature???
:confused:

[BAMARED]

If you take off the guard, then you also take off the auto-line clipper do-lolly. Right? Or do you just manually cut the line to length with a pocket knife or something?

Thanks,

BAMARED

[Brickman]

I am with TLS on this one. As for keeping the string the right length.

They do help to keep a little bit of stuff off of you. A small amount.

As for keeping the string short, if you want to run with out a guard, just buy a cheesy brand of string. You won't have any problem with length.
As for me, I get .95 string, and fill up the head. I can run all week on one fill up. A friend in the business was filling his head 3 or more times a day, mostly due to the cheesy string with no guard. But then he was the same guy I mentioned in another post that after flipping his trailer off the truck drove the 35 miles to town with out it, and never knew it until he got to his first job, and wondered where his tools were.

[toby]

Just spin it full throttle against a hard surface to adjust length.

[wxmn6]

I keep the shields on my trimmers all the time. It helps reduce the debris from getting thrown on me. Don't you remember how it really hurt when a rock hit your face, arms, or legs?

Also it keeps the trimmer lines at the proper length and sharp. I have no problem seeing where I am trimming.

[TLS]

Originally posted by toby
Just spin it full throttle against a hard surface to adjust length.

And this would be where? How about being in the middle of a 3 acre estate trimming under a row of White pines, when you accidentally bump the autofeed head on an exposed root. Just as you say sh!t, you accidentally bump it again! Now you have 28" of trimmer line sticking out of your trimmer head, and cant rev it up because it drags the engine too much. Not to mention you are 100 yards away from the nearest "hard surface" !!!

Now what!

I say keep em on, just for the knife feature. They sure dont protect you much, but the benefit of a sharply cut line is priceless.

[toby]

Never happened to me. Guess I must be good.

[Martino]

Check your warranty statements. Operating a piece of equipment in any way other than it's intended use can void any warranty that you have. If your excuse is that it is out of warranty, so you don't care, consider this- for every 1" extra line that protrudes from the head beyond the spec, your engine RPMs are reduced by several hundred. This will kill your trimmer before it's time.

The bigger issue is the lack of concern about safety in operating trimmers. If you don't care enough about your own, or your workers, safety, please consider the well being of others who may be in the vicinity. All it would take is one stone travelling at a high rate of speed, putting out an eye and you would be finished. There isn't enough liability insurance available to you when that day occurs. What do you think lost eyesight to the eye of an 8 year old child is worth, from a liablility standpoint? The answer is....you're out of business.

You are endangering yourselves and others for the sake of ease and convenience. If I saw a crew on my property operating in this unsafe manner, they would be ordered from the premises and fired on the spot. If you want to edge, get an edger, but trim with all the safety features installed.

People on this forum are always asking for the definition of "scrub". I believe that someone intentionally operating in an unsafe manner fits that definition very nicely.

[BGRANT]

Much better without guard.I don't know how you could see with it.
Brian.

[Garry]

You will never experience "weed-wacker hell", until you edge sand traps with an Echo minus the shield.

Especially at 5:08 AM.............................on a rainy cold morning.

We used to call it "killer bees"

My God, I've dropped to my knees, thinking someone's shot me.



The best protection, by far, is rain-pants. (with the ass ripped open for ventilation) Although, i don't recomend that "in public"..........(chicks frown on the look)..It didn't seem to matter squat while working at some snobby private course. (you do get filthy, don't you?)


Best preformance: " I know how Custer felt".................3 week "first weed-wack" at Richmond country club in 1991..............I'll bet I got slammed 2000 times.....There were 15 of us, all trying to be tough-guys..........saying all that tough-guy stuff like "I can take it, bring it on, I love those sticks wizzing past my head"...you've all been there. (so I assume)

I'd go home at night to find, not one part of my body is free of some wacker- induced injury.

Hey, when did they start putting safety shields on them anyway?

Every Superintendent I've ever had told the crew something like........"Hey guys, we had to order them and they said it might be awhile, just give it a shot, just for today, okay?

Oh, to once again hear the roar of an "all-mighty" string of pure filth (man, could I come up with some good ones too).................as the rock you see, 1 second before the wacker does, slams you square in the cheek.

No shield is crazy enough, but, no glasses is just plain stupid.


If it weren't for Ray bans................................besides not doing a great immpression of Stevie Wonder........................I'd have been blinded many, many years ago.

[bubble boy]

martino makes excellent point. the engine has to work a lot harder with the longer string. but using the trimmer without the guard is SO much better. what to do...

i usually take them off. but i bet its one of those things where if you were to leave it on you'd be used to it after a couple days. you'd never know the diff.

[A.U.steve]

Soon as l buy a new trimmer l piss the guard off, thats usually at the dealers and chuck it in his bin.
Working with a guard on is more dangerous than without one your working blind, l stop when people are near, most of my work is clean, i usually by the same brand and keep a guard thats been hammered just in case l need to claim on insurance.

Steve

[awm]

carry a pocket knife, thought everybody did.
if u are usin echo 50-1 ,the engine is lubricated and alright
even if the string is to long. these are just small versions of chainsaw motors. that are constantly being overloaded.
ive never had the motor go on a trimmer since i started usin that mix.before that i had plenty of the mentioned problems.
this is an info forum ,so there merits to both positions.
like i said if i have an helper hes using the guard and safety glasses. the guard is in my opinion a poor protection against
getting hit by missiles.sp me no guard but glasses.course i dont trim w shorts on as some do either.

[Garry]

Simply carry some snips with you........................pruners work great.

Come on, my brothers...Let's be men about this.

Nothing lets you know you're alive like a good pebble upside the head.

[Russo]

I have to agree with Bubble-Bro.

Martino is 100% correct, but I usually take them off also. I don't know why I have to have 32 inches of trimmer line, I just do.

A.U. steve, I love it. You Kill me.