How are you supposed to use these pieces of shit? I have this same 24v kobalt model and it works for about 5 seconds before the string gets too short and it doesn't cut anymore. Then I have to open it up and spend 5 minutes trying to re-spool and untangle the string so it goes out more. Are all string trimmers this useless or did I just buy a shitty model?
Have you seen the kind of people that use weed wackers every day? Like lawn crews and shit? Crazy boomers that mow every day?
You're actually somehow more stupid than those people.
It's probably a tap to release. Tap the bottom of the can lightly against the ground once or twice then trigger it. It should release some more thread.
I've tried that many times and it does absolutely nothing. Come to think of it, it did work like that with the string it came with, but when I bought new string to replace it, it doesn't anymore. And I know I made sure to buy the exact replacement string for this model.
triple check that its wound in the right direction, and uniformly on the spool so it doesnt clamp down on itself....and isn't wound too tight that the wraps get pinched.
also, that feed mechanism can be finicky even on better machines and needs to be kept clean and occasionally needs the cover popped off and given some help to get the strung unspooling again.
there are aftermarket heads that may work better for your purposes, whether they'll fit your unit or not is another story.
finally, in my experience as long as the string physically fits the holes in the mechanism, theres no such thing as "too big" and the heavier string unwinds easier, on top of cutting better/longer before breaking and needing to be refreshed.
theres two basic schools of thought for weedwacker string. Either you put the right amount of string in and use it as is, wrapped around the head and when its gone, its gone. Or you get a rolled string device that unwinds itself when you tap down on some part of the device, usually hitting the head to the ground, which releases a trigger to spit as much string as the duration of your applying pressure to the head while its spinning.
either way, if you are running out of string quickly its because you are allowing the string to destroy itself through friction. Either directly on the ends, or by letting the string move in such a way that it gets cut off at some point. Which means you are either angling it incorrectly or trying to cut through things that are physically harder than the string.
These devices are designed to cut grass and small soft stems. Plastic string > grass leaf. When the string meets the grass, the grass loses the battle and is cut in half.
However, Plastic string is not stronger than concerte, rocks, or wood. If you try to weed the area around a building, for example, and the string hits the concrete siding of the building, what you are actually doing is grinding the string into the concrete. The concrete wins this battle, resulting in disapearing string. This applies to fence posts, wire fencing, trees, rocks in the yard, ect. You can also ruin your string by just trying to weed into the ground itself. While dirt is technically weaker than string, remember: no matter what you cut you are still generating friction and heat which will inevitably eat away at the string.
Take your time, angle properly. it may look like a moron machine for a moron job but it still requires a bit of effort to use/do properly.
Then what tool should I use to cut the grass at the edge of my house if it's such a finicky tool that's going to keep breaking after 5 seconds of use? Should I just get out some garden shears and do it manually? Because I think that would actually be faster and less frustrating than this piece of shit.
It shouldn't be completely breaking off after 5 seconds.
When you're trimming right up against the house, make sure that only the tip of the spinning string is hitting the concrete. Pretend that it could cut through your house, and try to angle it in such a way that it trims the grass/weeds, but barely touches your house.
It's also entirely possible that you somehow got some exceptionally awful string. Wrap some zip ties around the head of the trimmer, and see how quickly those get worn down.
This. Be careful when edging around the sidewalks. It can be done with the string as long as your sidewalks are not overgrown terribly.
They do make an edging tool/attachment for some weedwackers that have interchangeable parts just specifically for around the sidewalk/driveway that uses a metal blade rather than the plastic ziplines.
Forget that use one of these or a flat spade. It dosen't take very long and you are still going to need to dig up the overgrown lawn. That attachment is more for people who don't want to hold up the edger for long lawns but proves useless when you are on anything other than pavement. The attachments that cut sod are a joke imo they make a heavy duty machine that you can rent. I've used one it works fine but it is just as much work and you get better results with a shovel. Do it once trim and trim your edges every time or every other after you mow. It can be a big job getting the edges of your lawn and beds defined but once you do it once and maintain it it's really no big deal. It adds like 10-15 minutes to my mow and I've got fairly large lawns.
this
>triple check that its wound in the right direction, and uniformly on the spool so it doesnt clamp down on itself....and isn't wound too tight that the wraps get pinched.
There is a chance the tap to release got stuck but unlikely if you barely used it
I could be that the string is too thick or star/square shaped because they tend to get more stuck in my experience
The heads that come on these things are usually ass, an aftermarket head will save you a lot of headache assuming it can accept such. I put one of these simple ass caveman tier heads on my grandads trimmer. I buy the fancy steel wire core line, snip a few pieces to identical length and walk around with them in my pocket and replace as needed while whacking. It relieved a ton of frustration from the task, is what I personally recommend.
Well first of all your pic shows a guy using it where a lawn mower would be more appropriate.
You should be happy that yours has a string. I once tried a cheap model with plastic fins. The metal bolt holding one of the fins sheared off after about 2 minutes of use and I couldn't find it in the lawn afterwards.
Just press the big black button at the bottom and pull more string out manually. And cut more carefully as other anons recommended. Took me a while to figure it out with the Kobalt trimmer too.
I did OK with my DeWalt head for two seasons then went Echo and life is good.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KGHS7QP?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
They sell adapters if want so do some reading.
skill issue
I got the 40 volt and it's awesome
OP, I have the same 24v model. I'll be honest, I struggled before with the same issue, and I realized I wound the string too tight. You don't bump it. It auto retracts. Also, there's a cutter on that guard that you can adjust to make sure it spools out the max amount of line. Lastly, it comes with a metal "flower guard" that goes on the front. Especially for peanut brittle b***hes that don't know how to use a trimmer against bricks/trees/bushes. I've never used it.
I love my trimmer. I have the blower and pole saw. All on the same battery. I'm about to get the push mower next year so I can hang that b***h up on the wall with all the other tools that need not take up floor space.
>you need an electric version of those stop using a shovel
Damnit you're right
>my daughter is mostly single I don't want her to date this other guy.
>Got damnit you know I'm never going to finish shoveling just say that as long as you want
Stihl FS56RC master race here... I string trim miles and miles of gated pipe for irrigation on my fields. One thing that I heard somewhere is to soak your line in water for a few days before using it, and damn does it help!
I actually buy the big spools of the commercial string trimmer line. The plain round green stuff branded Raptor by Russo on e-bay is the best line I've found yet... I keep it in a small bucket full of water with a splash of bleach to keep the water from getting nasty. Put a lid on the bucket with a small hole in it to pull the line out. Works great. The lid keeps pretty much all the water from evaporating out and I barely have to add any all summer long.
>Stihl FS56RC
Yeah that's the one I got. Good deal at the stihl shop for 180 too. They gave me their newer spool and it's a lot easier than the older modelI have to load up.
I have 3 of the FS56RC string trimmers and a Stihl KM90R. I like the FS56RC trimmers better than the bigger/better KM90R. The FS56RC's are 2 stroke and rev up a lot higher and are a lot lighter than the KM90R 4 stroke model. But the KM90R has the Kombi system so I have a brush head, string trimmer head, pole saw, and leaf blower attachments for it which is handy.
Everyone switched to electric? I just bought my second Sthil for $180 and they run great. Have a problem with it and their shop is right around the corner. First one has big handles for clearing large areas and the second is your run of the mill I use for edging my yard. It's a bit of a forearm workout doing the whole yard with that heavy thing but the dewalt looked meh and I kinda have to go with dewalt because I already bought their printer cartridges.
I despise these things just because the plastic will snap if you hit anything remotely woodish. If you got one of those tap down things the string will get bound up and you gotta pull it apart to get a knot out. What I like to do is just use it till the string is gone and then hide it in a storage area until the person asking me to use it forgets I have it. Then maybe once every 5-10 years they'll be like well haven't we got a weed whacker somewhere? Nope no string don't know where it is good luck finding it.
Have you considered the possibility that you may be mentally disabled? 70 IQ border crossers can figure it out, yet it surpasses your abilities...