Grass wrapping around string trimmer head

[rationull]

When cutting tall grass with my weed whacker, sometimes grass gets wrapped around on top of the head. I tend to take a breather and clean it off every now and again and just use it so that this doesn't happen often. My wife used it for a while today and when she came in there was grass and weeds caked around on top of the head pretty thick. When I pulled it off, I noticed the top of the plastic trimmer head had what looked like a little scorching on it.

I don't really like letting the grass accumulate there because it seems like it would inhibit cooling airflow to the drive gear housing at the end of the shaft. However, I don't really want to "correct" my wife on this unless it's actually an issue. Am I just being too much of a BITOGer or is this a legitimate thing?

 

[expat]

Too much BITOGer!
Don't give the wife an excuse NOT to use the weed whacker!

 

[JHZR2]

The OM for a trimmer we had at one point specifically mentioned watching the weeds to prevent wrapping around, due to heat buildup. IIRC, the shaft/head is packed with grease, so it if got real hot, you might consider swapping the grease - should be a two-hole deal.

Better to be less aggressive in the weeds and take more cuts at it.

 

[boraticus]

If you don't allow the grass to get so long, you won't have the problem.

Get the wife out there twice as often. Don't forget to tell her that it's entirely her fault for letting the grass get too long!

 

[oilboy123]

Maybe forcing the trimmer into the grass a little too hard?

 

[IndyIan]

If its not a big area I'll drop the trimmer from top to bottom, so the grass/weeds gets cut into a bunch of short pieces.
Or cutting WO tends to keep grass from wrapping.

 

[rationull]

Yeah I usually cut from top to bottom to avoid this, but this wasn't me cutting. This trimmer's owners manual doesn't actually mention avoiding this scenario that I can find -- just a mention in passing to make sure the engine is off when you're clearing brush from around the shaft. It also says there's no need to mess with the grease unless repairs have been done. The gear housing got hot, but when I pulled the stuff off it wasn't really too hot to touch, so hopefully no damage was done this time.

 

[chad8]

Clean the head real well and Spray it with Teflon or silicone lube to help prevent sticking.
Have her carry a rope knife to pop it off if it does get clogged.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: rationull
Yeah I usually cut from top to bottom to avoid this, but this wasn't me cutting. This trimmer's owners manual doesn't actually mention avoiding this scenario that I can find -- just a mention in passing to make sure the engine is off when you're clearing brush from around the shaft. It also says there's no need to mess with the grease unless repairs have been done. The gear housing got hot, but when I pulled the stuff off it wasn't really too hot to touch, so hopefully no damage was done this time.


It takes a great deal of heat to cause the grease to fail. The grass will be close to smoking to get that hot. If you can touch the gear housing without burning your finger, there's not enough heat to cause a problem.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
It takes a great deal of heat to cause the grease to fail. The grass will be close to smoking to get that hot. If you can touch the gear housing without burning your finger, there's not enough heat to cause a problem.



I'm pretty sure I touched the gear housing and it wasn't too bad. I didn't hold my finger on it or anything though. Not sure how close the grass was to smoking, but the marks on the trimmer head are what had me worried:

Just talking about the green/black marks near the hub. The metal flange at the hub was too hot to touch.

This is a "commercial" unit so I'm assuming it's built to stand up to some degree of hard use. I need to do a bunch more clearing today so I guess I'll find out if there are any problems!

 

[boraticus]

I'd be more concerned with the seals rather than lube and gears.