I think this has got to be one of the most frustrating things I have ever tried to do in the yard. Literally every 3 feet or so I have to stop the weedeater when Im edging and re-load the damn spool. Its like It takes FOR-EV-ER! Does anyone have any tips or tricks, or do I just need a new Weedeater? Ive literally tried everything I can think of.....
Why don't you just hire people to mow your lawn? There are professionals out there that specialize in this kind of thing. They work on the cheap, too!
Seriously, though, it sounds like you're not anchoring the line in the spool properly. Make sure it's in there good and held down at the end before you fire it up.
Sounds like you need to get an edger instead of using a weeder to edge. I do the same thing too and if your trimmer spool is too thin then it will break easy and you'll have to keep on letting it out. Lately I've been using my edger (which is what it's for) and have cut down on my edging time to a 3rd of what it used to take. Plus it's cleaner now.
I have similar problem with my trimmer. I guess the quality of the string is probably an important factor. Almost in all cases, I find high speed spinning causes part of the plastic string melting and stricking together thus unable to extend out of the spool. I'd say try different brands of string until you find one that's most heat resistant. BTW bigtexxx, you seem to be quite handy in this job. How much do I need to pay you do to my lawn?
My thoughts exactly. I would rather spend $20 bucks to hire some guys to take care of my lawn in 30 minutes then waste 2-3 hours of my weekend.
I think a lot of it has to do with the type of string you're using. The lightweight stuff will break easy. And also make sure the spool is insterted correctly. Also if your trimming too close to the grass it'll cut the line right off, so make sure you're not too close. I have had problems like that before. Don't have to worry about it now though cause I have an automatic feeder which works perfectly. And I didn't know people still used edgers. I always thought weed whacking it was faster.
I got a Black and Decker Edge Hog (electric edger) that works great. You can get one for the price of a decent electric trimmer. Once I edge woth it, it requires minimal weedeating over the next few months as long as you dig a nice trench (2 inches wide)
I'll vouch for the Edge Hog as well. Thing works like a champ. We have that thick St. Augustine grass and the aforementioned Hog works great.
i like working in my yard except edging. I like making pretty lines in my grass. That's only in the Spring time, before my grass dies again. My yard looks like **** right now.
Buy you one of them TWO-string edgers. Much easier. I have a convertible craftsman edger/weedeater/blower I just switch when the deed is done with each. You may be trying to weed-eat something too close or too rough for the threading. WO-HOA. 10 posts beats the record of first mention of us "beaners" when a LAWN CARE thread starts. Good job, everyone. Good times.
The best part of edging is when you kick up something into your face at a really high speed. I can't tell you how many times I've been hit in the mouth or face by something. Usually I wear sunglasses and yesterday I didn't. I had a piece of something hit very close to my eye. Not good.
call me a wimp, call me what ever you feel. my wife does the ALL the gardening(she enjoys it), with the exception of actually mowing the lawn, thats my baby. 2 me gardening is a damn waste of time. Dont tell my wife i said that though. when im 75 and retired and got nothing better to but be an old man on the back porch - then i'll consider it ..... then i'll just call out the wife and tell her the lawn needs mowing
aussie - lucky man! I got welped in the face yesterday too - that was fun. Something hit my chin and now its swolen and cut. So basically its going to look like I cut myself shaving everyday in the same place for the next few weeks. BTW Ive tried differnent types of line and they all melt in the middle when I try to edge. Its always stop, reload, edge 3 feet, stop, reload, edge 3 feet.
My wife won't mow or weedeat. She claims she will weed the flower gardens, though. But somehow, last weekend when I had just finished up all my lawn work, I get asked to weed around our tree in the front. I guess the idea of weeding sounded like fun, but not the actual practice.
If its not the line it might be the spooler. sometimes the internal part can get rough, notches etc and that screws up the line. I had the same problem and got a new spooler piece and it solved the problem. Might consider getting an edger attachment if your weedeater can handle it
i pay $20 every two weeks to a guy who edges and mows my yard. he and a co-worker makes my yard look 10x better than i ever could doing this myself.