How to Add a Fishing Line to a Trimmer

How to Add a Fishing Line to a Trimmer

Guaranteed production of a factory trimmer refill will inevitably require replacing the fishing line. Having a very rough idea of ​​how to fill the fishing line into the reel of the trimmer yourself, beginners are reluctant to take up this matter. However, with some skills, mastering this simple science does not present any difficulties, and the similar instruction presented below will facilitate this process as much as possible.

Preliminary preparation

First of all, for winding fishing line it is required to remove the reel (bobbin, spool) from the trimmer – specific actions will depend on the complexity of the configuration and the type of product itself:

  • Small electric trimmers with a working arrangement of the engine and the coil in the lower part, as a rule, have side keys on both sides of the bobbin. By pressing them simultaneously, the upper part of the reel, together with the internal contents for winding the fishing line, is disconnected, while the lower one remains on the trimmer. It is advisable to disassemble the bobbin on an even smooth place so that the spring included in the design does not pop out and is not lost;
  • Electric and gasoline trimmers with a curved rod without the possibility of installing a knife, as a rule, have coils with a special wing: in such designs, you should hold the spool in one position with one hand and rotate the locking reel on the wing nut with the other counterclockwise. After disconnecting the nut, the entire reel is removed.
  • Electric and petrol trimmers with the possibility of installing a knife on a straight bar (for example, Stihl trimmers) have a hole under the bobbin. For the motion of the rod to be stationary, a screwdriver or other suitable object is inserted into this hole and with a slow rotation, such a mutual arrangement is achieved when the screwdriver enters the hole and the bobbin is fixed. After that, the coil body scrolls clockwise (with the left thread) and is removed from the trimmer.

For the second and third cases, the coils, depending on the design, are disassembled in various ways. In bobbins with a lamb, a lamb is twisted, in coils with latches, latches-clamps are pressed and one part of the coil is released from the other. If the halves of the spool are threaded, it is enough to turn them by hand in opposite directions until they are completely unscrewed.

We carry out winding fishing line

Slowly completed disassembling the spool reel without losing its spare parts allows you to go to the main task – winding fishing line into the reel. Technological features of the design of the spool and the number of working antennae determine the sequence of actions.

Coil with one working antenna

The simplest option and a simple sequence of actions:

  1. The dimensions of the bobbin and the length of the original factory winding determine the recommended fishing line length for winding – 2 … 5 m.
  2. One end of the fishing line is inserted into the fixing technological hole located inside the spool.
  3. The fishing line is wound on the drum in the reverse direction of rotation of the spool on the trimmer product – as a rule, on the inner side of the bobbin an arrow indicates which direction the winding is going.
  4. A small section of fishing line is left free to bring it out – it is fixed in a specialized groove on the inside of the reel, designed to hold the winding when assembling the spool in working condition.
  5. The left end of the line is passed through the hole on the outside of the bobbin.
  6. The bobbin halves are assembled and put on the bar of the trimmer.

Coil with two working antennae

In this type of spools, you should determine the number of grooves for winding fishing line lying on the inside of the reel:

  • One groove – both antennae are wound together along one groove;
  • Two grooves – each antennae is wound on an individual groove.

For both cases, a 2-3-meter-long fishing line is taken. In single-groove reels, the fishing line is pulled into the through hole, its ends (antennae) are folded together and aligned, after which they are wound in the opposite direction of rotation of the bobbin on the side of the bar – the correct direction of winding is usually indicated inside the arrow. In the presence of fixing grooves, the ends of the fishing line are threaded into them or held by the fingers of their free hands, threaded into the through hole of the outer half of the bobbin, the spool is closed and attached to the bar of the trimmer.

The difference between winding fishing line in two-groove reels is that initially a piece of fishing line 2-5 m long is folded in half (to determine the middle bend), and the bend loop is inserted into a special groove between the grooves. Both antennae of the fishing line are wound each in its own groove, the fixation of the antennae and the reel assembly are similar to the one-groove variant discussed above.

The first implementation of this procedure may seem long and rather laborious, but with time and experience this task will be solved much faster and easier.

The video below will clearly show how to put the fishing line into the reel of the trimmer and wrap it correctly – this operation is not difficult and with some patience will certainly succeed:

Automatic reeling of fishing line

Video: How to Add a Fishing Line to a Trimmer


There is a variety of coils in which the automatic mechanism makes winding on its own – from the user it is enough just to properly fill the line. The fishing line is passed through the hole on the inside of the case, its antennae without winding is passed through the hole on the external case, the spool is assembled, and when the winding button is rotated, the line inside is wound up independently. In such a spool, it is impossible to make the winding incorrectly: the mechanism itself will determine the correct direction, since it can only turn in one direction.

The trimmer is an excellent modern device designed for mowing unnecessary grass, and its main advantage is that you can use this technique in places where a regular lawn mower will simply not be able to get because of its massiveness. It is necessary to understand in more detail what kind of trimmers are, and how to choose the best option for a particular summer cottage.

What is a trimmer?

The basis of this equipment is the following elements:

  • An engine whose main function is the rotation of the cutting head at the end of the rod;
  • Directly the head, 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, about how to charge the fishing line into the trimmer, we will go a little further.

An electric apparatus is inferior in power to a gasoline one, so it is ideal for working on a standard plot of land that adjoins a house with an electric energy source. The main positive aspects of this technique are the absence of noise during operation, light weight, ease of operation and, of course, environmental friendliness.

As for gas 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. It is not necessary to use electric energy at all, which has a positive effect on the functionality of such an apparatus – the cutting nozzles can be changed while working with the most diverse weeds of their type.

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

Types of fishing line for trimmers

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

Here there is one main rule: the more power the device has, the thicker the fishing line should be.

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

Do not forget that with the help of a fishing line it is allowed to mow exclusively grass, and for other, rougher vegetation, knives must be used.

Next, you should consider in more detail the process of how to insert the fishing line into the trimmer correctly. Indeed, it is with this procedure that many consumers often have difficulties.

How to fill the line in the trimmer?

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

In order to fill the fishing line into the trimmer, it is necessary to take at least 5 meters of material, which is then folded in half. The center of the cutting element must be inserted in a place specially designed for this, and then, using the visual tips on the reel that indicate the direction, the cutting device should be wound. At the end of all work, the cover, of course, will need to be tightened.

Fishing line adjustment

One of the main rules when replacing and adjusting equipment is that any manipulations with the mechanism should be carried out exclusively with the engine turned off and the plug of the device disconnected from the network.

Perhaps these tips will tell you how to fill the line into the trimmer as correctly as possible and, accordingly, give your site a neat and aesthetic appearance. All that is required is to correctly select the type of cutting material necessary for the type and, of course, determine the category of the most used trimmer.

To ensure that the area near the house always looks neat and tidy, you need to cut it regularly. Fortunately, modern technology allows us to solve this problem without excessive physical effort. Electric trimmers are so easy to control and care that even a teenager can mow the grass with their help. The main thing is to figure out first how to refill the fishing line in the trimmer.

How to charge a fishing line into a trimmer?

So, we are faced with the task of properly charging the fishing line into the trimmer. Let’s understand in more detail where to start its implementation and what pitfalls can await us in the process.

Step 1 – choose a fishing line

Step 2 – remove the coil from the trimmer

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

  • For small trimmers with a lower engine arrangement, press the keys located on the sides of the coil and remove its upper part from the head;
  • On trimmers with a bent rod, hold the coil housing with one hand, while simultaneously turning the lamb on the housing;
  • For trimmers with a direct boom and gearbox, insert a screwdriver into the hole located under the coil, and then turn the body of the coil 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 mowed plot, since there may be a spring inside the coil, which will be difficult to find in tall grass. After disassembly, we will have three parts on hand: a body (top cover), a protective casing and the coil itself.

Step 4 – measure the required amount of fishing line

Novice mowers are usually interested in how many meters of fishing line to wind onto the trimmer reel? There are two ways to resolve this issue:

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

In any case, after the end of the winding, the turns of the fishing line should be on the body of the reel without sliding off it. No need to try to wind as much as possible, since the fishing line will be badly unwound and more often torn.

Step 5 – reel the line onto the reel

How to install the fishing line on the trimmer depends on the design of the coil. Consider the option when in the coil body there is one outlet under the fishing line. In this case, the end of the fishing line is clamped in the crevice of the reel, and then we wind the fishing 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 winding up on the reel, it is necessary to put on a protective casing and bring the end of the fishing line into it

If the reel is designed to work with two tails, then the fishing line must be folded in half and laid in a groove in the central part of the reel. Further winding will be carried out in one or two grooves, depending on the design of the coil. The winding direction should also be opposite to the direction of rotation of the coil. At the end of the ponytails, the fishing line will also need to be pulled into the holes on the top of the reel.