Bump feed strimmer heads?

[dobbslc]

I need a new bump feed strimmer head for my Spear and Jackson/Einhell straight shaft strimmer.
Do I just buy anything that fits a 10mm left hand thread or are there good and bad out there?
The one I have has never fed properly even when I wack it hard on the ground, hard enough that I think I'm going to break the street, are they all like this?
I've had 1.5mm cord in it, is that too thin?
Also it seems they came with a blade of some sort but I don't know what, I'd like one for the rough stuff, any ideas?

 

[MattF]

Never been a fan of bump heads personally. If you don't tighten the nut up fully, it's only a few seconds job to feed line out on a standard head.

 

[tom2207]

speed feed get great reviews ,, I had a strimmer with a simple head that took a straight bit of cord and it just poked through the hole and it sort of grabbed [ Oregon flexi blade }, it wasnt the fastest thing , but it was as good as rewinding self feed heads , Ive seen some that use cable ties as blades , may try one next .

 

[Kram]

The one I have has never fed properly even when I wack it hard on the ground, hard enough that I think I'm going to break the street, are they all like this?

I had the same problem recently with my chinese cheapy. Then I discovered I had the spring on the wrong side, which meant it could never bump!

Casing then spring first, head, bumpy bit then outer lid.

I wanted to try fancy metal cored wire. It has 1mm steel stranded core and 2.4mm OD. It does work but does not last significantly longer than normal cord.

 

[Kram]

In terms of blades, flat blades are rubbish, they will cut but then the cuttings stay on top and dont get recut or mulched like a cord will do.
Not used one but a blade with down angled tips will recut into a fine mulch.
I also bought an 8" wire wheel to fit it, as it came with the m10 LH nut that I lost, not tried it yet but I think its for weeding patio/concrete.

 

[Barking Mat]

Never had any luck with bump feed systems, sales gimmick ?

 

[Kram]

Some work well but depends on the cord. Many cords will overheat and melt to itself inside the head and stop it feeding. They say to store it soaked in water to prevent that.

 

[Gregb23]

I've got a Stihl auto cut, can't remember which one as it's the only thing I could find to fit my old fs108. No issue with it and cord seems to last well, thought for really rough stuff I've got a blade I swap out. Very handy being able to extend it on the fly

 

[reb78]

I've got a Stihl auto cut, can't remember which one as it's the only thing I could find to fit my old fs108. No issue with it and cord seems to last well, thought for really rough stuff I've got a blade I swap out. Very handy being able to extend it on the fly

I have similar. Works fine. I've never had a bump feed that doesnt work (we have 12 acres so its not a tiny back garden, the machines get heavy use). On the odd occasion the feed is poor it's down to the way I reloaded the cartridge. Mines now a generic fitment from Ebay (was advertised as compatible with my machine) and it works fine. Only replaced as I obviously hadn't clipped part of the original together properly and it fell apart in use and I lost a bit. But that was my fault, not the strimmer/type. I use genuine stihl nylon too - lasts ages.

The flat blades are for the tough stuff like bramble and dock so they have their uses. Nylon won't last five mins there but good for grass and nettle.

 

[jmp49]

I had a plastic one that I wore through the bump bit on after a few seasons, but I have one with a alloy centre now to avoid that and its holding up fine a few years later, in fact its on its second strimmer, as the original one broke.
Cant say either were a known brand, just cheapies that were on the shelf in a merchants at exactly the right time.

 

[Pete.]

I was having trouble witrh my cordless strimmer feeding poorly and welding the line together in the spool, after the original line ran out and I fitted some more . I cured it by dumping the line and getting the heaviest one that I could find on the day (3mm strimmer line from the local B&Q). It lasts longer, feeds better and doesn't get all bound up when the spool gets low.

 

[chrismac]

The one on my Echo strimmer is the first one I have had that actually works, it works so well that even if I am skimming the ground and it bounces its feeds more cord out!!

 

[dobbslc]

Thanks for the replies, it sounds like mine is knackered then.
I just need to check what thread pitch my machine is then I'll order something off eBay.

 

[Kram]

I use genuine stihl nylon too - lasts ages.

The flat blades are for the tough stuff like bramble and dock so they have their uses. Nylon won't last five mins there but good for grass and nettle.

Local council only bought Stihl cord and some of it was rubbish, lasted seconds before melting and the boss claimed he jad tried soaking in water, made no difference.

4mm cord will do bramble with no issue. On rail de veg clearance, nylon cord is all they are allowed due to the signal cables and fragile stuff, and track stones being launched miles by anything heavier. Whatever they used, it worked well. Spools that were so old they had lost their labels. We would only take a little spare for miles and miles of clearance work.

However i always prefered to hedge the majority of the bramble and let the strimmer follow a good distance behind. Many teams would lead with strimmer and the hedger guy would have nothing to cut.

 

[reb78]

Local council only bought Stihl cord and some of it was rubbish, lasted seconds before melting and the boss claimed he jad tried soaking in water, made no difference.

4mm cord will do bramble with no issue. On rail de veg clearance, nylon cord is all they are allowed due to the signal cables and fragile stuff, and track stones being launched miles by anything heavier. Whatever they used, it worked well. Spools that were so old they had lost their labels. We would only take a little spare for miles and miles of clearance work.

However i always prefered to hedge the majority of the bramble and let the strimmer follow a good distance behind. Many teams would lead with strimmer and the hedger guy would have nothing to cut.

I imagine mine is only 2.4mm so may explain the difference on the bramble. The big strimmer might handle that but I keep a blade on that one. Some of the bramble is so woody I'd still use the blade. But then I got a self propelled scythe a couple of years ago and that will drag itself up the slopes and deal with the bramble more easily now.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I've got a Stihl auto cut

+1 for Stihl...replaced the head on my DeWalt strimmer with the Stihl head after I got utterly frustrated with the original. Since I replaced the head it's never given any problems.

I seem to remember the old head was a single spool...just kept getting tangled constantly!

 

[addjunkie]

Im in the sthil camp too, gets a lot of abuse, works fine if kept clean and the correct sized line used. We dont have enough brambles to worry about, but nettles…..arghhhhhh I strim lots and lots of them. For anything else its the flail mower.

 

[Guzrik]

Had lots of isues with my previous one, now Sthil works a lot better.
Storing the wire in a bucket of water also helped .

 

[Turbo]

I had an oregon one and it was rubbish and lasted no time.

Friend was a groundsman at a country club with 2 golf courses and they discovered that the Stihl bump feed heads were the only ones that lasted.

I fitted one and I am impressed by it.

Note - it is very important to get the correct size head for the cc of the engine. Too big and the engine will not get it up to speed.

Likewise with the line. Thick line will slow your machine down and it is the speed that does the cutting.

 

[frank horton]

I only use and sell this type, well for the last 20 years..

this along with a 5mm twisted line does it all.....not often do the rocks break the line....
in fact I use the same line with my home made strimmer....cant find it on ebay but gfet mine from the farm supplies...it's made in the USA.....

have 7,000m2 to take care of and not a lawn in site....hahaha...