After market string trimmer head options that actually work

[LBrown59]

I found the head on the Stihl FS46 to be the best head I've ever seen/used.

[JimRB]

I love these commercials. It reminds me of reading comic books 40 years ago. https://pivotrim.com/

[Scooby074]

That's got to be the easiest to load head i've ever seen.

Yup. And it works just as easy in person.

Truly an excellent head. The pros on Lawnsite all swear by it and I now know why.

Another great thing is its available as a Universal kit. The threaded part is separate from the head itself, so you can get threaded inserts from Oregon/Shindi to fit ANYTHING out there. It comes with the most common threaded inserts included.

[thatguy]

To totally hijack the thread away from the OP's questions.. I did more research on the Speed Feed and it is highly recommended all over the interent..

My research on the Oregon/Shin Speed Feed head lead me to believe that..

a) the Oregon 450, the Shin 450, and the Echo High Capacity Universal Speed Feed (#78890-21001) are the same heads...

is this true? Either the regular capacity or the high capacity is available at Home Depot..

I found a post on another forum that said that to use the Speed Feed on a Stihl trimmer you need to buy (or make) some sort of plastic spacer so it doesnt rattle.. Can anyone clarify that?

Brian

[Bird]

I found that Walmart has a couple (Weed Warrior brand I think) and Home Depot has several different ones. And of course Stihl has their own version. What I don't know is whether one is better than another. I don't think I'd want the cheaper Weed Warrior heads from Walmart, but whether the Oregon/Shin/Echo are any better than Stihl's own leaves some doubt.

[Scooby074]

To totally hijack the thread away from the OP's questions.. I did more research on the Speed Feed and it is highly recommended all over the interent..

My research on the Oregon/Shin Speed Feed head lead me to believe that..

a) the Oregon 450, the Shin 450, and the Echo High Capacity Universal Speed Feed (#78890-21001) are the same heads...

is this true? Either the regular capacity or the high capacity is available at Home Depot..

I found a post on another forum that said that to use the Speed Feed on a Stihl trimmer you need to buy (or make) some sort of plastic spacer so it doesnt rattle.. Can anyone clarify that?

Brian

I believe that echo and shindaiwa are now one and the same, so im ASSUMING that the heads are as well. It certainly looks the same.

On a lighter duty trimmer, id get the smaller head. It will help the trimmer to spool up faster (less weight to accelerate)

As to fitting a stihl, Im unsure. All I use are Hondas and Huskys. I think i know what they may be talking about however. Is there a washer on yout threaded bolt that the head threads onto? The speedfeed head has a large, round "grip" above the head itself that is used to wind the string in. If this doesnt fit up tight to the flange (washer) of the threaded bolt, it could rattle.

It should be an easy fix if it rattles, just drill out some plastic to fit the bolt and wedge between the "grip" and the mounting flange.

Be sure any kit you buy has the correct thread adapter for your Stihl. It needs to be the correct pitch and direction. Some trimmers use LH thread

[nickel plate]

I took my John deere S1400 over to two very well known mower/landscape supply shops in my area-these shops also have other shops out of my area and in both cases they couldn't unthread part 29 from part 30 to even establish if a Shindawa or Echo "speed feed" bump head would fit. These guys were nealing on the shop floor straining and grunting away but couldn't get part 29 off. Prior to this I searched everywhere for my operator's manual-found every other manual (even one for a HF bottle jack) but not the JD manual so I didn't know if part 29 was threaded L or R or just pressed on.
I went on the JD site and they want money for an operator's manual download which I would have eventually done if it weren't for the fact that most other equipment manufactures will give you their download manuals for free. What's with JD??? The folks at Pivotrim were gracious enough to send me this attached schematic. So I got home, put the straight shaft gingerly in the vise, put a Rigid pipe wrench on part 30 and a box end on part 29 and turned the box end clockwise and off it came. Simple dimple.
I ordered the Pivotrim 5101PT-C from Northern Tool and a "Trimmer Assist" tether type harness that incorporates a padded shoulder strap and set of bungee cords to the trimmer from another dealer. I'll update the performance of these two products in a few weeks.

[thatguy]

From what I thought I understood on another forum was that the 'universal head' requires a different 'nut' to go in the 'equivalent part 25'/head that would then fit #29

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=351422&page=2

What i am not sure is if the nut comes out of the old stihl head OR comes with the Speed Feed head..

Brian

I took my John deere S1400 over to two very well known mower/landscape supply shops in my area-these shops also have other shops out of my area and in both cases they couldn't unthread part 29 from part 30 to even establish if a Shindawa or Echo "speed feed" bump head would fit. These guys were nealing on the shop floor straining and grunting away but couldn't get part 29 off. Prior to this I searched everywhere for my operator's manual-found every other manual (even one for a HF bottle jack) but not the JD manual so I didn't know if part 29 was threaded L or R or just pressed on.
I went on the JD site and they want money for an operator's manual download which I would have eventually done if it weren't for the fact that most other equipment manufactures will give you their download manuals for free. What's with JD??? The folks at Pivotrim were gracious enough to send me this attached schematic. So I got home, put the straight shaft gingerly in the vise, put a Rigid pipe wrench on part 30 and a box end on part 29 and turned the box end clockwise and off it came. Simple dimple.
I ordered the Pivotrim 5101PT-C from Northern Tool and a "Trimmer Assist" tether type harness that incorporates a padded shoulder strap and set of bungee cords to the trimmer from another dealer. I'll update the performance of these two products in a few weeks.

[Scooby074]

From what I thought I understood on another forum was that the 'universal head' requires a different 'nut' to go in the 'equivalent part 25'/head that would then fit #29

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=351422&page=2

What i am not sure is if the nut comes out of the old stihl head OR comes with the Speed Feed head..

Brian

In the box with the speed feed head, there are several "nuts". Actually they arent really nuts, but are the same hex on the outside with various threads on the inside. I wouldnt cut up my Stihl head to get at the nut, it might not fit.

On the shindi/oregon head, on the inside, there is a hex bore. You put whichever "nut" matches the thread on your trimmer in there. Then you assemble the rest of the trimmer head.

If the proper nut isnt included (probably 90% of the trimmers are included in the box), you can order it separately from Oregon.

Heres the link to the Oregon catalog:
http://www.oregonchain.com/pro/2012Catalog.htm

Go to page 761 for the schematic. Page 762-763 for the adaptors. I dont know what model you have, but you should be able to find it there.

[davefreeman111]

I see one that looks interesting on the Northern Tool site. Made by Better Heads LLC (fitting company name) it's called a Pivotrim 5101PT-C. I believe that it is a newer hybrid version of the older yet still available model "as seen on t.v."
The principle is exactly the same as my Bush Hog 480 Squealer rotary mower in that the two single pinned blades swing freely on the stump jumper plate so if I were to hit something immovable, the blade(s) not being ridgid mounted would fend off the object without sustaining catastrophic damage-in theory
This Pivotrim trimmer head has four rotating pins each with two string holes that you thread with a 16" piece of .095" common string through and loop back creating one double 8" station X 4=16 strings or just use two station pins for 4 strings.
Has anyone used one of the several models available?

I have one and I love it...