How To Line The Trimmer

21st July 2020

How do I fit the line into the trimmer? Operation Tips The article tells about such an indispensable device for summer residents as a trimmer, about its varieties and scope, as well as how to properly fill the line in it so that the equipment will last as long and reliably as possible.

Types of trimmer line

As a rule, line separation is based on different sample diameters, which can vary from 1.2 to 4 mm. The most commonly used material is a material with a thickness of 2 mm, but in no case should we forget that the choice should depend primarily on the trimmer model.

There is one main rule here: the more power the apparatus has, the thicker the line should be.

This element can also differ in the type of its section. So, it can be round (suitable for cutting plain grass) or square (for mowing soft green cover), sharp edges (tall grass), or be equipped with notches ideal for thin grass in diameter.

Do not forget that with the help of a fishing line it is allowed to mow only grass, and for other, coarser vegetation, it is imperative to use knives.

Next, you should take a closer look at the process of how to insert the line into the trimmer correctly. Indeed, it is with this procedure that many consumers often have difficulties.

What is a trimmer?

This equipment is based on the following elements:

A motor whose main function is to rotate the cutting head at the end of the rod;
The head itself, consisting of a coil, on which either a fishing line or a knife can be wound;
Knives or fishing line rotating at high speed, which are the main cutting part of the device, how to load the fishing line into the trimmer will go a little further.

An electric device is inferior in its power to a gasoline one, so it is ideal for working on a standard plot of land that is adjacent to a house with source of electrical energy. The main positive aspects of such equipment are the absence of noise during operation, light weight, ease of use and, of course, environmental friendliness.

As for gasoline trimmers, such equipment, of course, is more mobile, so it can be safely transported from place to place and get rid of annoying vegetation in any area. There is no need to use electricity here, which has a positive effect on the functionality of such an apparatus. The cutting attachments can be changed, working with weeds of a wide variety of types.

One of the most common attachments is the fishing line, so you should dwell on this element in more detail.

How do I fit the line into the trimmer?

Any machine for mowing vegetation is necessarily equipped with a spool, which, in turn, may differ in different models by the filament feeding system (automatic, semi-automatic and manual). It is from this parameter that it is worth starting from before deciding how to thread the line into the trimmer.

In order to tuck the line into the trimmer, you need to take at least 5 meters of material, which is then folded in half. The center of the cutting element must be inserted into a specially designed place, and then the cutting attachment must be wound using the visual cues on the spool indicating the direction. At the end of all the work, the lid, of course, will need to be tightened.

How do I fit the line into the trimmer?

In order for the area near the house to always look well-groomed and neat, it must be cut regularly. Fortunately, modern technology allows you to solve this problem without excessive physical effort. Electric trimmers are so easy to operate and maintain that even a teenager can use them to mow. The main thing is to figure out in advance how to fill the line with the trimmer.

How do I load the line into the trimmer?

So, our task is to properly load the line into the trimmer. Let’s take a closer look at where to start its implementation and what pitfalls can await us in the process.

Step 1. Choosing the line

Step 2. Remove the coil from the trimmer

To perform this operation, the trimmer must be disconnected from the mains and turned over with the working head up. The further course of action depends on the trimmer model and the design of the coil itself:

For small trimmers with a lower engine location, press on the keys located on the sides of the coil and remove its upper part from the head;
On trimmers with a curved bar, we clamp the coil body with one hand, while turning counterclockwise the lamb located on the body;
For trimmers with a straight bar and a gearbox, insert a screwdriver into the hole located under the coil, and then turn the coil body counterclockwise.

Step 3. Disassemble the coil

After the coil is removed from the head, it must be carefully disassembled. It is better to do this on an already mown area, since there may be a spring inside the coil, which will be quite difficult to find in tall grass. After disassembling, we will have three parts on our hands: the body (top cover), the protective casing and the coil itself.

Step 4. Measure the required amount of fishing line

Newbie mowers are usually interested in how many meters of line to wind on the trimmer reel? There are two ways to solve this issue:

Unwind a skein of line on a flat, dry place and separate half from it.
Measure 3-4 meters of line from the skein.

In any case, after the end of winding, the turns of the line should be on the body of the reel, without sliding off it. You don’t need to try to wind as much as possible, as the line will unwind poorly and break more often.

Step 5. Winding the line onto the reel

How to attach the line to the trimmer depends on the coil design. Consider the option when the reel body has one outlet for the line. In this case, the end of the line is clamped in the crevice of the coil, and then we wind the line, trying to lay the turns as tightly as possible. The direction of laying the turns should be opposite to the direction of rotation of the coil and is usually indicated on its inner part. After the end of winding on the reel, you must put on a protective cover and bring the end of the line into it.

If the reel is designed to work with two tails, then the line must be folded in half and laid in the groove in the center of the reel. Further winding will be carried out along one or two slots, depending on the coil design. The direction of winding must also be opposite to the direction of rotation of the coil. At the end of the ponytail, the line will also need to be led out into the holes on the top of the reel.

Instructions

In order to change the line, you need to remove the old one (if it was).

The reel is the part of the trimmer structure that is located inside the mower head, drum or bobbin. Heads vary depending on the manufacturer. But this article only covers Patriot, although their mechanism is used by many other companies.

Instructions on how to unscrew the manual head on the trimmer are described below.

First of all, you need to clean the head from dirt and adhering grass, if it is dirty. To do this, lift the mower with its head up and, grasping the cover, remove the special protective cover on the drum.
The next step is to remove the spool from the drum. The reel can be easily removed even with one hand, because it is not fixed in any way inside the drum.
The drum itself is fixed in the trimmer with a bolt. This bolt must be unscrewed, after which you can easily pull out the drum. To do this carefully, you should support the drum with the spool, while unscrewing the screw counterclockwise.
Now you can pull the coil out. As mentioned above, it is not secured by anything, except for a hook with a metal shaft, so it does not need to be pulled out with force. Carefully, in a circular motion, pull the spool out of the drum.
Now it remains to remove the old fishing line and follow the next instructions.

The installation of the spool and drum in their original place is performed according to the reverse algorithm.

Before threading the line, make sure you have purchased the correct thread for the trimmer. In the event that the thread is not suitable, the fuel or energy consumption increases, as well as the load on the engine of the lawn mowers.

In order to replace the thread itself directly, you need to prepare a piece of thread of the required size. Most often, this requires about 4 m of line. The specific figure will depend on the parameters of the thread, for example, its thickness, as well as on the parameters of the spool itself. If you cannot accurately determine the length, you can do the following: insert and wind the thread until the coil is fully charged (the line level will be compared with the protrusions on the sides of the coil). Make sure that the line sits flat in the spool.

The instructions for threading the line into the spool are described below.

The prepared thread must be taken and folded in half. It should be ensured that one edge is 0.1-0.15 m longer than the other.
Now you need to take the ends in different hands. The one that is smaller must be pulled up to the larger one so that it becomes 2 times shorter. When bending, maintain an offset of 0.15m.
Find the notch inside the coil baffle. Gently thread the loop you made earlier into this slot.
To continue working, it is necessary to determine the direction of winding the thread in the bobbin. To do this, it is enough to inspect the coil. There should be an arrow on it.
If the arrow-pointer could not be found, then it is quite possible that there is a written designation. An example is shown in the photo below. Inspect the coil head. It has a direction indicator. However, this is the direction of travel of the coil. To get the direction of winding, you need to wind in the opposite direction.
Now you need to load the spool with line. It is worth noting that there are special guide grooves inside the coil. Follow these grooves when winding the thread, otherwise the trimmer may be damaged. At this stage, you need to charge the coil very carefully.
When the user has wound up almost the entire thread, take the short end (do not forget about the 0.15m protrusion) and pull it into the hole located in the wall of the reel. Now you need to repeat this action in the same way with the other end (on the other side).
Place the reel itself in the head of the reel, before passing the line through the holes inside the drum.
Now is the time to put the drum back in place. After that, you need to take the ends of the line with both hands and pull them to the sides. Then you need to put the lid back on (here you can safely make efforts until a characteristic click is heard).
Remained to do the “cosmetic work”. We need to see if the thread is too long. You can start the trimmer and check in practice if everything is comfortable. If the thread comes out a little long, you can trim it with scissors.

How do I wind the line around the Patriot trimmer reel?

Almost every beginner when using a trimmer is faced with the problem of changing the line. While changing your line is easy, you need to learn how to do it right. Changing the fishing line with proper skill will take no more than five minutes. You just have to constantly practice it. This article will walk you through changing the line using the Patriot trimmers as an example.

Frequent mistakes

Although winding the line is a very simple task, many beginners can wind the line incorrectly. Below are the most common mistakes.

Many people, when measuring the thread, think that 4 m is a lot. Because of this, people often measure less and, accordingly, they do not have enough line. Do not be afraid to measure out a lot, because you can always cut off the excess.
In a rush, some people do not follow the threading grooves inside the spool and wind the thread randomly. This will cause the line to come out of the reel and may even cripple.
For winding, use only the appropriate line. This error is the most common. You need to monitor not only the thickness and volume of the line, but also its type. You should not use the first line that comes across for wrapping, which will not meet the goals. For example, you do not need to use a thread on young grass if you need to mow dead wood.
Do not turn on the device until fully wound and collected. While this is obvious, some people do it in order to check if everything is done correctly.
In no case should you confuse the direction of refueling, as this will overload the engine, and it will soon come out of working condition.

It is quite common for beginners to make mistakes, so you must follow the tips in this article.

See below for how to replace the line on the Patriot trimmer.

How to wind line on a trimmer reel: key points

A gasoline or electric trimmer is an indispensable tool in the arsenal of a modern summer resident or owner of his own home.

Thanks to these gardening devices, even a large garden plot can be mowed with ease. After purchasing this tool and performing several mows, many people think about how to properly wind the line on the trimmer spool. For an inexperienced user, the first operation to replace it will seem problematic and time-consuming, since the developers often do not fully reflect the instructions for changing the line in the operating manual.

Trimmer head with two antennae

Double flute head

After removing the spool from the reel body, we determine the number of strands for winding the line (1 or 2). There is no fundamental difference between bobbins with one and two grooves, but if carelessly threading into the twin groove, there will be operational problems. Due to the likelihood of interlacing adjacent lines of the tool, a situation may arise when, after wear of the working antennae, it is impossible to remove new ones.

Regardless of the number of streams, a fishing line with a length of 1.5 to 3 meters is taken for refueling. Winding must be done in the opposite direction to the rotation of the head, since winding in the direction of travel will lead to the fact that the line will not be removed from the reel. After the fishing line is tucked into the trimmer coil, thread the free ends (15-30 cm) into special holes. Next, we assemble the head in the reverse order of disassembly and check the operability. Do not worry if the ends of the two antennae are very different in size, because when you start the trimmer, the knife installed on the protection will cut off the excess.

Winding the line to the trimmer

Measured and neat dismantling of the spool from the spit coil makes it possible to go directly to winding the line. The design features of the head, the number and location of the fixing holes dictate the sequence of actions when performing this operation, and also determine the methods used. Today there are several types of reels, depending on the number of line antennae and the methods of threading it:

Trimmer head with one working mustache;
A bobbin with two line antennae;
Auto-winding reel.

What types of woods are there

The most common type of line, which is suitable for almost all types of reels. Round cord. This is an ordinary fishing line, suitable for cutting succulent grass, but it will be much more difficult to cut dead wood with it, and even more so it will not cope with shrubs.

As a rule, the diameter that can be used to cut young grass does not exceed 1.6 mm. The thicker the thread, the more coarse grass it is able to overcome.

There are fishing lines with sharp edges in the form of an asterisk or a square, this option is more adapted to mowing dry grass precisely due to the existing sharp edges, but its disadvantage is greater wear and is inferior in strength to a round cord.

There are fishing lines with improved aerodynamics with characteristic dents, scales and notches, such a product makes less noise, but it is used only on lawn mowers, since the exit of such a thread from the reel is difficult, it is used most often with discs into which segments are inserted. The disadvantage of such a product is its fragility.

Most often in gasoline trimmers with an engine with an output of more than 1.5 hp. Use cords with a metal cable inside.

This thread is ideal for cutting dry grass and small bushes. The presence of a core has a positive effect on the wear resistance of this material.

The disadvantage of such a cord is its price, which is significantly higher than the listed opponents.

How to change the line in the trimmer and which one is better to choose

Since we considered the choice of a trimmer in the previous article, today we will tell you how to properly fill the trimmer with fishing line, and which one is better to choose based on the working conditions.

After you bought a trimmer and began to actively use it, sooner or later the question of replacing the fishing line will arise, since this is the most wearing element in the tool, then intensive use of the trimmer will lead to frequent replacement of consumables.

How to remove or tuck the line into the trimmer

It will take about 10-15 minutes to wind the line. What is a trimmer coil? Plastic body with a cassette inside, which has a special hook for easy winding of the fishing line.

Almost all trimmer reels have a similar fastening principle, this is a central screw-button, when pressed, it becomes possible to pull out the line of the required length. The photo below shows a few examples of different trimmer spools.

The bobbins of the trimmers, the motor of which is located near the ground, have a different attachment to the axis of rotation, they have two buttons on the spool located on the sides that need to be wrung out, otherwise the replacement of the thread is no different from other cassettes.

The principle of correct winding of the fishing line is similar in all of the above cases, therefore, for example, consider the standard version with two antennae.

To remove the spool with the fishing line, you need to unscrew the screw located in the center, but note that the thread is left there, so you will have to turn it clockwise, this was done on purpose so that during operation it does not open under the influence of centrifugal force.

Next, using a screwdriver, disassemble the head and remove the spool onto which the fishing line is directly wound.

Having measured the required length and folded in half, you need to tuck the line into the spool, eventually bringing its ends opposite each other (for this there are special slots for fixing)

After that, it is necessary to assemble the head in the reverse order, threading the ends of the cord into two corresponding holes.

If you have doubts or it is not entirely clear how to load the line on the trimmer, we recommend that you look at: how to properly wind the line into the lawn mower.

In this, step by step, the instructor will open the trimmer head, measure the required amount of line, usually from two to four meters, and demonstrate assembly and installation on the trimmer.

What types of woods are there

As a rule, the diameter that can be used to cut young grass does not exceed 1.6 mm. The thicker the thread, the more coarse grass it is able to overcome.

There are fishing lines with improved aerodynamics with characteristic dents, scales and notches, such a product makes less noise, but it is used only on lawn mowers, since it is difficult for such a thread to come out of the reel, it is used most often with discs into which segments are inserted. The disadvantage of such a product is its fragility.

Most often in gasoline trimmers with an engine with an output of more than 1.5 hp. Use cords with a metal cable inside.

This thread is ideal for cutting dry grass and small bushes. The presence of a core has a positive effect on the wear resistance of this material.

The disadvantage of such a cord is its price, which is significantly higher than the listed opponents.