When I used to run Homelite, that was one of the problems I noticed. As far as Stihl, I have used 90's and 110's, and have never had a problem with either.

 

my stihl fs80r has burned me before when i have been trimming for hours at the graveyard i maintain. it always burned me in the same spot, so i went and bought one of those little wrist sweat band things, and used that to stop the burn.

 

My dad holds his echo trimmer in a way that burns him so he uses an archery arm protector to keep him from getting burned.

 

Yeah, I have an SRM-210 and I've noticed this to.

 

I have a shindawa and I rest my forearm on it when I trim and it would burn me so I went a got a football forearm pad and it works great

 

My FS80 actually burned and blistered me a few weeks ago. The blister from the burn was about an inch by 1/2 inch. I hold my trimmers left handed and I was used to my FS80 getting warm on my arm and reddening it a little but it was no biggy. This time I was trimming a ditch bank and after about 2 hours of that I looked at my arm and I was actually burned. So I took the trimmer home and set it on my garage floor to think about it's future as a working tool when I notice the trimmer head had rotated on the shaft. Then I saw the handle and throttle trimmer part had rotated too. It wasn't that those parts had rotated on the shaft but rather that the power head had rotated so the muffler was literally touching my arm. I turned the power head back to where it belongs and now it's back to just reddening my arm.

 

Echo has a guard that you can put on for this problem.....I am a little puzzled why this is a problem.....must be holding the unit wrong we run a bunch of units and no problem. I trimmed today for 4 hours in high temp and didn't notice ....need some arm strength to hold the unit further away.

 

yep.... i've never had a problem with the stihls that i've used... i've had the FS55, FS100 and i still own an FS250. the fs250's biggest problem is the choke location but the heat is never a prob with me. i recently bought an Echo SRM 261T and immediately put a guard on order but still havent gotten it yet. iv'e had a red spot on my forearm from it for weeks now. i had a small blister that came and went really fast but i still get burned on a daily basis.

 

I noticed one time while running a friend of mines Echo trimmer that the spark plug boot is not well shielded. I took a couple of zaps to the fore arm before I decided no Echo for me

 

My FS80 actually burned and blistered me a few weeks ago. The blister from the burn was about an inch by 1/2 inch. I hold my trimmers left handed and I was used to my FS80 getting warm on my arm and reddening it a little but it was no biggy. This time I was trimming a ditch bank and after about 2 hours of that I looked at my arm and I was actually burned. So I took the trimmer home and set it on my garage floor to think about it's future as a working tool when I notice the trimmer head had rotated on the shaft. Then I saw the handle and throttle trimmer part had rotated too. It wasn't that those parts had rotated on the shaft but rather that the power head had rotated so the muffler was literally touching my arm. I turned the power head back to where it belongs and now it's back to just reddening my arm.

Why did the powerhead rotate? Did the screws come loose? I worked for a crew once and noticed their stihl 80s did that also. As for my 80, I haven't been burned by it yet. But those echos can shock you if your arm gets too close to the powerhead.

 

What I do to keep mine from burning me is any old worn out socks I cut the ends out out of them and put them over my arm. Works great for this problem.

 

Why did the powerhead rotate? Did the screws come loose? I worked for a crew once and noticed their stihl 80s did that also.

I don't know. Everything was tight. It's seen a lot of hard hours and maybe over time vibrations get to them.

 

my stihl fs80r has burned me before when i have been trimming for hours at the graveyard i maintain. it always burned me in the same spot, so i went and bought one of those little wrist sweat band things, and used that to stop the burn.

My dad holds his echo trimmer in a way that burns him so he uses an archery arm protector to keep him from getting burned.

My echo heats up my arm pretty good somtimes. I am going to try both of thes ideas thanks guy's

 

I cured my arm burn and tired problems by going back to a shoulder
strap,moving the front handle forward and the strap connect ring forward,
then adjusted the trottle grip forward and got the thing to balance just with head barely floating above ground without me touching anything.Once I
became used to this method, I always use a shoulder strap, and the hand
seldom touches the front handle and no burns.FS80R comffy!!

 

My fs 80 only burns me after like a whole day mowing

 

I cured my arm burn and tired problems by going back to a shoulder strap,moving the front handle forward and the strap connect ring forward, then adjusted the trottle grip forward and got the thing to balance just with head barely floating above ground without me touching anything.Once I became used to this method, I always use a shoulder strap, and the hand seldom touches the front handle and no burns.FS80R comffy!!

Not cutting many ditches eh? I can see the shoulder strap working on flat ground but it's not like that around here. When you're standing at the bottom of a 5 foot deep ditch with 75 degree sides the shoulder strap would be a huge hinderance. I get quite the aerobic workout on a few of my jobs.

 

I posted last year about my fs85r burning me bad. I'm used to my Robin and lay my arm on it when using it for extended periods. I cut the toe out of an old sock and run my arm in it whenever I'm forced to use the 85r.
Some of the ergonomics of some trimmers need improvement it seems.

 

IM 6 feet tall and stihl trimmers seem too short for me. Isnt there a trimmer for tall people? Seems like it would be easier on my back.

 

KTO,
You wouldn't by chance be using a FS 55 would you? I had one and it killed my back after using it a short while. I used an Echo and Kawasaki and did not have the same problem. I am 6' 2". The commercial grade Stihls and others are a few inches longer than the FS 55. It makes a great difference. I took back my JD XT that I started this thread about and ordered a FS 110R. It is the same length as the Kaw & Echo.

 

haha i burned my upper arm because i flipped my shindawia over to trim and the exhaust melted my "fleece", more like acrylic sweatshirt.

 

I used the arm band thingy for a while, but then I finally figured out I was just holding my Stihl the wrong way. Since I changed it, no burning.

 

Not cutting many ditches eh? I can see the shoulder strap working on flat ground but it's not like that around here. When you're standing at the bottom of a 5 foot deep ditch with 75 degree sides the shoulder strap would be a huge hinderance. I get quite the aerobic workout on a few of my jobs.

My thoughts too at first, I had not used a shoulder strap in years,but a friend of mine helped me get the hang of it, you really have to find the
sweet spot on the trimmer for the mounting ring, for me it was forward
more. The other thing is to master the "swing" by rotating your wrist as
you swing up the side of that ditch trying to do both sides and the middle
in one long stroke. Sounds crazy I know, but it does work in most ditches
but there is always one that is a pain no matter what.

 

It's just pain, I used to get myself in the leg with the string at first, burned myself on the muffler more than a few times, ditto on the Echo plug ZAP (feels good thou, the muffler burn is comparable), and I've also touched the head after it was running for some time....

But it's not that bad, what really hurts is hitting something solid with the Wb at full speed, teh flight over the handlebars, ahhh yes!
That, to me, is the absolute most excruciatingly painful PITA Bee Ess part of the job, even yellow jackets don't do much after a few of these type of 'OMG the muffler and the engine is coming MY way' unplanned stunt maneuvers.

I find the worst part is stifling the scream that wants to come out of my mouth, for everything else there's Motrin.

The marks disappear, thou I still think hitting yourself in the leg with the string is the best, this only happened the 1st year, some the 2nd, after that never again. Now after 3,000-some lawns it just doesn't happen anymore...
I don't rest my arm on the thing, I hold it properly, I can hold it right or left handed and I am actually amazed I haven't hurt myself with it in close to 2 years... Even the echo with the cover off and the muffler and plug wire fully exposed (there's no more boot on it cuz it broke and I fixed it lol), nothing.

And so it probably boils down to practice...

 

I've felt the warmth on my forearm from my FS80R, but I've not been burned by it. It's a terrific trimmer.