A Guide to Buying a String Trimmer

String trimmers can cut through pesky weeds and groundcover, helping you to clean the look of a field or yard. Here’s a guide to buying a string trimmer.

String trimmers make cutting grass and tidying up areas overgrown with unruly weeds, shrubs, and other groundcover simple. They rotate lines of string at high speeds to generate their slicing force, which makes them useful for cutting areas around trees and other obstacles where a lawn mower could not reach. Here’s a guide to buying a string trimmer that you can use to pick a suitable one out.

Think About Your Needs

Before getting into the specific features of string trimmers, you should have a clear picture of what you want. Take a moment to consider how much area you’ll need to cover with your trimmer and what kinds of objects you’ll need to cut around with it. Trimmers may vary in size, so you’ll need to figure out whether a smaller or larger model will fit you better. Some trimmers must also use cords to maintain power, and this could hinder your movements when you need to cut a wide section of land or maneuver near difficult obstacles. The last thing you want is for the cord to become tangled or unplug completely. Therefore, finding string trimmers that are cordless is ideal.

Power Type

The power type determines what energizes your string trimmer. Here at Swisher Acquisition Inc., we provide made-in-USA 4.4 HP Honda engine trimmers that run on gas. These effortlessly fit the bill for convenience and ease of use because they don’t need any cords to function. You can move wherever you want across an expansive space free of any physical restrictions. On a single tank of fuel, your trimmer will last a long time so that you aren’t constantly stopping work to replenish it as well. This is an invaluable advantage for anyone who must care for a spread-out area. In addition to all this, gas motors grant string trimmers superior strength, enabling you to cut through thick brush and weeds. So, you can tackle whatever obstacle you face over the course of a trimming job without fearing that your trimmer won’t be up to the task.

Cutting Width

Cutting width describes how much reach your string trimmer has in a single pass over the ground. A greater cutting width is preferable for cutting sizeable fields and yards since it reduces the amount of work you must do. Common widths that you might see fall within the 12- to 14-inch range, but the Easy Glide and Trim Max models that Swisher stocks have impressive cutting swath widths of 22 inches. This means that they can compete with many lawn mowers in terms of how much they can cut at once. Simultaneously, they also give you the precision that characterizes string trimmers exclusively. Furthermore, the four strings that they possess equate to eight cutting lines that ensure clean, thorough trimming throughout any portion of brush or weeds that you push them over. If needed, you can adjust the cutting head height from 1.5 to 3.5 inches on the Easy Glide model and 1.5 to 4 inches on the Trim Max model.

Self-Propelled Design

Lots of companies produce string trimmers that the user must hold while using. For those trimmers with smaller cutting widths, this is alright. However, the tool can become unwieldy as your size and power need to increase. The good news is that Swisher has trimmers with self-propelled walk behind designs. They have handles and two posterior wheels that allow you to direct them in front of you in a similar manner to that of lawn mowers. Simply pull the bail loops near the handles to activate their self-propulsion.

Due to this design, you won’t become fatigued while trimming. Self-propelled walk behind string trimmers fill in a need that other equipment cannot. They’re larger than handheld trimmers and make covering a lot of ground much simpler. At the same time, they’re capable of handling thick brush around obstacles that heavy lawn mowers can’t deal with. The wheels of self-propelled walk behind string trimmers also have sufficient clearance for rolling smoothly over bumpy terrain.

Fixed vs. Pivoting Trimmer Head

The structure of a walk behind string trimmer places the trimmer head up front and facing downwards towards the ground. There are both fixed trimmer head string trimmers and varieties with rotating trimmer heads, though. As you might guess, fixed heads always remain in that down-facing position. They’re adequate for most situations where you are pushing directly into edges and open spaces on land that is overgrown with weeds and brush.

Some people may want extra meticulousness with their trimming, though. In that case, pivoting trimmer heads are good to look out for. These can either sit in a downward configuration or turn 90 degrees so that they are fully perpendicular to the ground. When pointed sideways, the trimmer head can neatly touch up the borders of a lawn that are adjacent to driveways, sidewalks, and garden beds. It’ll cut exactly where you want it to without hitting those bare surfaces.

Upkeep Requirements

As with any tool, as you use your string trimmer, you’ll need to perform maintenance on it. The strings, which manufacturers also refer to as cutting lines, will eventually wear down. So, every trimmer will have some sort of mechanism for taking old ones out and putting in new ones. Ideally, you’ll want one that doesn’t call for additional tools just to replace the cutting line. It’s also good to know just how you’ll need to go about feeding and loading in string so that you don’t run into problems down the road.

Make sure that you always use the correct diameter of cutting line for your trimmer, as putting in lines that are too thick places more burden on the motor than it can handle without becoming damaged. Beyond this, though, you shouldn’t need to do too much. Our Easy Glide self-propelled string trimmer, for example, has a maintenance-free cutter head that won’t break apart even after extended use.

Safety Features

When you use them correctly, string trimmers shouldn’t cause you to sustain any injuries. Still, you should pay attention to the safety features that they have to minimize any risks associated with running them. A basic characteristic that your trimmer must have is a debris shield. This rigid component goes over the rotating strings and serves to catch any rocks, plant matter, dirt, and other debris from becoming airborne and hitting you. Besides this, it keeps you from making any direct contact with the cutting lines. The trimmers you’ll find at Swisher possess trimmer heads that you can disengage from the handlebar as an added safety measure on top of their adjustable debris shields.

Our guide to buying a string trimmer should enable you to recognize quality products and complete your tasks efficiently when you put them to use. If you’re in the market for an optimally-designed and American-made walk behind string trimmer, visit Swisher Acquisition Inc. online.