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Trimmer head tip?

2254 Views 15 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  Mark P
When the aluminum eyelets wear egg-shaped, here’s how you can extend it’s life a little bit.

Take a side-cutter, bite into the eyelet and then turn it either 90 or 180 degrees. Spaying a little WD-50 first will help it turn.

Remember.... pay it forward!
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Good tip! I will remeber that!

But I usually wear out the bump head out before the eyelets and replace the whole thing. How do you make your trimmer head last long enough to have to turn the eyelets?
All my trimmers have the universal head that comes standard on Echo, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, etc. The spool has the bump knob, so the spools get replaced long before the head is shot.

By the way, I even converted my Stihl FS-85 over to this head.
I am familiar with the Echo bump heads, but I was not very happy with them. Youknow the two little male knobs that insert into the bump head and you turn to lock it into place? Well they would always come loose and the whole thing would unravel.

What I woul really like is to be able to put some type of metal cap that is replaceable on the bump part of the trimmer head which is what wears out before anything else.

Anybody do something like this before?
Originally posted by svlandscape
I am familiar with the Echo bump heads, but I was not very happy with them. Youknow the two little male knobs that insert into the bump head and you turn to lock it into place? Well they would always come loose and the whole thing would unravel.

What I woul really like is to be able to put some type of metal cap that is replaceable on the bump part of the trimmer head which is what wears out before anything else.

Anybody do something like this before?
Redmax has a new head with a metal insert in the bump knob.
I buy a new bump knob,new bottom plate and 2 new eyes, all for about 13 dollars. This is for my Shindiawa 230.
Here is what I have learned about trimmer heads:
1. Any string profile other than round will double the wear on eyelets.
2. Do not bump feed on hard surfaces and bump on deceleration and you will loose the spool before it wears out.
3. Some echo style spools are made to fit CW and CCW models. THerefore you must lock them in the right way or they will come out while trimming.
4. People do not listen or even come close to being thorough enough when winding and installing spools to get it right.
5 A pair of nylons beat a full house of vinal.
had bad luck with shindawia bump head...it wore out only after 1 months time. And no we don't abuse them. We have trimmers over 3 years old that the heads have never worn out.

Well I took it into the dealer and told him of the problem. He told me that they had a recall on the part and he gave me a heavy duty bumb head...and then he charged me for it. I was so mad that he would even consider to charge me for something that was recalled. So far it has been 1 1/2 years, and I still haven't went back to him for anything because of that situation.
Bump head? What's that? ha ha ha I got off that bus and installed a kwik loader. Before I bought commercial equipment I had a couple of Ryobis that loaded from the outside, very simple. I noticed Stihl has one similar and it will fit other units also. Now I have a Robin nb253, I just got tired of fooling with it and never knowing how much line I had left. Now, I just look down to see what's left and when it needs a refill I pull 2 pieces from the pouch on my belt loop.
I hate those head on the shindawia 230's,. their is always crap inside them so you cant twist that stupid head off and then jugle the 3 different pieces just to wind the line.........uhhhhh no thanks Ill stick with the 1 piece heads....

But it still is good advice if you like those kinds of heads.
Ok pay it forward. Here goes: the reason the bump head wears out so quickly is that with out you knowing it you are running it on the ground! That isw the truth. I have had the same bump heads for four years! Just thought you would like to know.
If you are worried about wearing the knob out buy running it on the pavement, you are working too slow and earning too little.

I love to run mine on the sidewalk and zip the grass down… the faster the better. If I don’t have to buy 5 or more new spools each year I’m loosing money!
I use Veri full auto heads. No bumping. No donuts. The eyelets are made of brass. I can push them to the inside and they'll pop out, to change them.
Well I know that I am running mine on the ground, and on the concrete, and on some brick, and some asphalt.
But that is why Shindiawa makes these parts available seperately. A new head is about $30.00 and I can rebuild mine good as new for about $13.00.
As far as the Echo heads.... I like them too. I was going to try to put one on my Shindiawa, until I got used to keeping it cleaned out. :D
The only time the bump knob should be on the ground is when you tap out line or want to scalp the crap out of what you weed eating. I cut about 4" to 4.5" high so if I run mine on the knob my weedeating will look like I am scalping it. I don't worry about wearing them out. Oh and BTW I think that I can weedeat correctly just as fast as you can incorrectly. JMHO
:) Kerry on your shindaiwa 230 try spraying alittle WD on the plate, ive found this to be very helpful in preventing it to stick and like you said very hard to push and turn, It works......Marks Mowing Service
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