What Type of Line Do I Use With My Trimmer?

Trimmers make use of a monofilament nylon line for cutting. You can buy this line in spools or rolls of varying lengths and cut it to size. Lower powered electric trimmers are normally used with fairly light gage line, about 1.5 mm (1/16 inch). This is fine for trimming light grass growth around curbs, edges of lawns and flower beds. Higher powered gas trimmers can also be used with light gage line, but for cutting thick vegetation in overgrown areas such as long grass, nettles, docks and other weeds, heavier gage line is pretty much essential to avoid breaking or tangling the line. This is available in sizes up to 4 mm (0.16 inch). You can also buy line which has a square profile rather than round, and supposedly the “corners” cut better. I use a 2.4 mm line (about 0.1 inch) with my gas trimmer, which is a low cc model, and it gives good results with light and small amounts of heavy growth. Thicker gage line requires a correspondingly higher powered trimmer so that the head can spin sufficiently fast without the engine struggling and slowing down in thick vegetation. As always, its better to consult your manual to see what the manufacturer recommends.

Trimmer Line Replacement – Winding the Spool

Make sure the end of the line is fully attached to the spool by feeding it through the thread hole or guide designed for this purpose. The line should then be wound tightly and evenly around the spool in the direction of the arrow (pull the line tight to tension it as you are doing so). If the line is wound slackly, excess line will feed out of the spool during an auto feed, or when you bump the cutting head to release line, and just end up getting snapped off by the knife on the guard of the trimmer. Neat winding helps to ensure that line feeds out ok and doesn’t bind. You don’t have to be overly fussy about this. Just make sure all the line isn’t bunched up at one end of the spool or is very loosely wound around it.

1.Thread the end of the line into the hole and wind it in the direction of the arrow

replace trimmer line

2.Replace the Spool Into the Cutting Head

evenly wound spool

3.Feed the end of the line through the hole in the cutting head of the trimmer and replace the cap.

feed the end of the line

4.Replace the Cap on the Cutting Head (if Fitted)

replace the cap on the cut