I was going to replace some old gas trimmers and the one thing I hate is getting the spool to feed properly with the bump and go trimmers. I have not done a lot of research but have seen a few road crews use the type of trimmer which uses a pre-cut line that you simply feed into the head. When I was in SEARS I saw some there and the guy said you can use ANY trimmer line in these trimmers (from a spool for example more economical) rather than buying a package of 15 pre-cut lines. Is anyone using these very much and can you truly use most any mfg.'s line and cut your own rather than the pricey prepackaged stuff? Which mfg.'s make this type of trimmer? Thanks for any help.
Rapid Loader from Echo. I put one on last year and love it. It takes a bit longer to add new line then just tapping the head, but at least you have a FRESH piece that cuts good. Plus you can use whatever diameter line you want, if you have some tough weedy areas, I put .105 line on, normal use I put .95 on. Takes a few seconds to replace the line when needed. I still buy it on the spools and cut it myself when I need a break from the kids...gets me out of the house. Some guys don't like it (Rapid Loader), but it's the ticket for me. Buck
Why don't you just get manual heads? Faster than a "Rapid Loader" and with a built-in line holder, and basically nothing to break or jam as with auto heads.
I have a craftsmen trimmer unfortunatly, the only peice of equiptment that I use that isn't commercial. It is the farthest thing from efficent that there is. Everytime I need new line I was about 7 inches of line becuase most of that line isn't outside of the spool of the trimmer when you are using it. I bring with me a spool of trimmer line and a wire cutter and I use atleast 12 inches of line on each property.
I kind of liked the idea of being able to switch from .95, .105, etc. much easier with these rapid loaders as long as they took whatever you put in them that was my biggest concern. The line should hold up in them just as well as my other trimmers just may be adding line more rather than bumping and going but I figure with the feed problems I incur I would still be ahead on time by stopping and manually inserting a pre-cut line. I will check out Echo as Up North suggested. I wonder if Stihl makes one?
I greatly prefer the standard heads for myself. They just work for me, maybe some people like something else, but you're allowed to have different prefs for different people thats what makes a discussion interesting.
I have a rapid loader from Oregon.....works great. I do sometimes have a little trouble getting the old piece of string out. So I carry a small pair of needle nose pliers in my pocket. Derek
I use an echo pro head... it RARELY gets jammed or tangled. I'd stick to the spool heads. That craftsman stuff is crap... I managed to destroy 3 trimmers in 1 week, and they have too much dead weight. Their auto-feed head was a complete waste of my time.
I agree the Craftsmen are not up to commercial grade those just happened to be the first ones I looked really close at. I rather stick with some of the commercial brands I just have not had a chance to see what was out there this summer but the way the rain has stopped here in Nashville there is no grass.
I have got a rapid loader Echo. I carry 4-6 pieces in my pocket and run around the property in case I need them. They seem to cut easy when trimming, more so than my normal spools.
