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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 7:27 am
by lutonlagerlout
I am now the proud owner of one of these beauts
i know some of you fellas do maintenance etc. and just wondered the best place to get different heads and any tips you may have on maintenance
cheers LLL
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 9:52 am
by GB_Groundworks
dont hit a concrete post with one of those metal brush cutters, we've got a big honda brush cutter and shattered one of them luckily didn't hit me in the legs.
we have one of those heads with 3 plastic blades for grass cutting
then have a normal line head for weeds and for working rd fences etc
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 7:41 pm
by Dave_L
Try ebay LLL.....you'll be surpised.
Nice machine. I'm a fan of Stihl products!
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 8:08 pm
by msh paving
I used to own one, clearing brush a few years ago with a blade like that one , hit a log -blade went into log so far and the power from engine twisted the drive shaft from the engine, still usable but engine was sitting at angle not upright,
be very carefull with those grass blades, personally i would swap it for the plastic fingered heads as Giles said or a normal string head MSH 
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 9:42 pm
by lutonlagerlout
i did my allotment tonight and just with a 40-4 3 mm nylon head it went through half inch brambles like a knife through butter
also managed to decapitate some onions and garlic 
its a powerful beast for sure,and i may swerve the metal heads they sound like a recipe for disaster
cheers
LLL
Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 8:28 pm
by Tommy
If you are going to use it regularly, you should invest in a proper two shoulder harness for it.
That, and make sure you grease the gear bearings on the end of the shaft regularly.
The powers that be at our place are doing their nut in that the heads on our FS 80's are worn after a year, despite 6 hours work a day, 5 days a week
Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 8:37 pm
by GB_Groundworks
we use the the big padded shoulder harness with the padded thigh protector thing very good when your strimming all day, our big honda one is a heavy brute 50cc engine.
my dad came back from the auction with one of these the other day
yet to give it a try but be interesting to see how it copes with rough ground etc compared to a strimmer
Edited By GB_Groundworks on 1273693392
Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 8:54 pm
by irishpaving
I'd be wearing some thick boots near that thing ???
Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 7:48 pm
by henpecked
Bought one off Ebay a couple of weeks ago for a fiver (honest) the guy who sold me it wasn't best pleased.
He ran a landscaping company and we got talking (after a bit )
And he recommended using the rubber bungees you use to lash stuff down with in the car, he reckoned it was alot more manoeuvrable than the harness.
just a tip
Hp
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 7:51 pm
by Pablo
Until they release under tension and whip your eye out thats a terrible tip please don't try it.
Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 10:33 pm
by Tommy
The whole point of the harness is to spread the load of the strimmer across your back and shoulder's evenly. Using Bungee's would be ok for about 10 minutes, but even with the harness you will feel it after a few hours using it.
And if you are using the strimmer heads, try and get hold of a bump head, that feeds it automatically, saves stopping, adjusting more cord out, then starting up again, for 10 minutes until you have to do it again.
Also, get hold of the orange 'H' profile cord from Stihl. Pricier, but is a lot quieter, and lasts helluva lot longer.
The best tip. Keep a good eye out for dog crap. Tends to get atomised, and the lads who are in your van won't be best pleased.
Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 11:55 pm
by lutonlagerlout
have used existing strimmer cord and have ordered 70m of 2.7mm stuff from stihl
the more i have used it the more i have become accustomed to the vagaries
wouldn't fancy anything stonger than nylon as that seems to do much about everything
cheers fellas
LLL