best string? stihl fs250

[otisd85]

i picked up a stihl fs 250 2 weeks ago, and wow does it have some power! previously my dad and i shared his echo, but i figured its time to get my own. i decided to get the stihl fs250 because i tend to let things get pretty wild behind the barn and around the out buildings. im having trouble with the string, it came wound with stihl string. the first thought in my head was WOW, THIS THING IS AWESOME! and that thought was quickly succeeded by WOW, THIS STRING REALLY SUCKS! so i pulled the rest of the stihl trimmer line out of the bump feed head, and threw it in the trash. i rewound it with what i thought was good string, some twisted stuff i get from the local farm store, that works great in me dads echo, and its no better.

the problem im having is when i hit larger weeds like thistles and such the line breaks off at the head, then i have to take it apart, unwind string manually and put it back together. its kind of a hassle to do this every time i hit a large woody stalked weed.

so i guess im hoping there is some kind of super secret miracle line out there, and someone is willing to let me in on the secret.

thanks for any advice in advance, otis.

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Not sure if you have one, but if not, try one of the chisel blades. If you have larger, woody material, that will slice through it along with tree saplings up to a couple inches. I have a smaller stihl and the blade cuts through anything, very quickly. The only word of caution, don't hit the blade against rocks or dirt because that will dull it.

As far as the string goes, I haven't found anything that stands up to everything. When I'm around material like that where the string is likely to break against material it can't cut, I just ease up on the throttle a bit.

You could look at one of those heads with the pivoting plastic blades.

But, don't hate the trimmer. Can't get mad at it for having a little power. I've had mine for about 8 years and I've run it through very tough stuff (weeds, brush, saplings) and it stihil runs great.

 

[otisd85]

definitely not hating on the stihl, i love the power behind it. just loking for some string that will hold up to it. i plan on getting a blade, but i mostly trim around buildings so id like to find some good string. im not trying to cut saplings, but i do have quite a few thistles and some other kind of broadleaf (im not sure what it is)with a pretty stiff stalk. these would bog the echo, but working into them slow it would cut them, with this stihl it tears them up, but it breaks the string off at the head so i cant even use the bump feed, i have to take it apart and feed the string back out by hand. kind of a ptia.

thanks

 

[Scooby074]

1. Grass triangle blade. you have to use a bike handle and harness with a grass blade. I run one on my Husky 252RX. 3 Hp of fury... nothing will stop it.

2. when it comes to string, the strongest by a wide margin Ive found is the Magnum Gatorline. Its a Oregon product. Its probably 2x as durable as regular line, maybe more so. Its so strong, i had to stop using it on my Honda for regular grass trimming near houses and trees... It will literally destroy siding with a slight slipup. For day to day trimming I use Stihl .080 Green Star line which is much safer around siding and trees. With that large of a machine you could probably run .105 or .130 line which would add a lot of life as well

 

[bigballer]

i just got a new head for my FS-55 which came preloaded with stihl line. it was crap but let it run out and am now using echo .105 cross cut (8 cutting sides) and for normal grass i can run at half throttle, it rips through the blackberries and thistle no problems... it was like a got a new trimmer when i switched over.. do it..

 

[Furu]

2. when it comes to string, the strongest by a wide margin Ive found is the Magnum Gatorline. Its a Oregon product. Its probably 2x as durable as regular line, maybe more so. Its so strong, i had to stop using it on my Honda for regular grass trimming near houses and trees... It will literally destroy siding with a slight slipup. For day to day trimming I use Stihl .080 Green Star line which is much safer around siding and trees. With that large of a machine you could probably run .105 or .130 line which would add a lot of life as well

I have a FS-250 and FS-450. For brush control around seedling protection tubes I do use string. When my dealer was out of my normal line I tried the Oregon Magnum Gatorline. I hated it. I had to put new string in every tank of fuel instead of every third tank. The Gatorline broke very easily in my application but some folks like it. Now I am VERY hard on string when I use it (normally use the brushknife or chisel blade) but the string I found works the best is the Stihl X-line. (Part number 0000-930-3403 for .105") I use both the .095" and the .105" and prefer the .105" when really fighting with thick brush around the tree protector tubes. The steel blades are what you really need to use if you can however. The normal round line just does not last very long in heavy stuff.

 

[Scooby074]

Furu, interesting that the Gator line doesnt last for you. I misspoke above, the green line i regularly use is the .095 x line, not .080. There is no comparison in the durability of the Gator and the X. The Gator is so much stronger its funny.Fuel consumption is about the same with either line.

 

[1bush2hog]

I put on a Stihl 'fixcut' head on my FS250 and can run larger dia. line - up to .130. I scrapped my autocut head since it is older and will only feed the thinner orange line. You can get autocut heads that will run larger line, but not .130

Replacing the string on the fixcut head is fast and easy when necessary.

Congrats on the new FS250! You will never regret that purchase

 

[Carl_NH]

i just got a new head for my FS-55 which came preloaded with stihl line. it was crap but let it run out and am now using echo .105 cross cut (8 cutting sides) and for normal grass i can run at half throttle, it rips through the blackberries and thistle no problems... it was like a got a new trimmer when i switched over.. do it..

I concur on the Echo line - bought 250' .105 red line from Sears - that shredded against the rocks and generally wasnt that good. I switched to the .095 Echo line like you have and I can cut blackberry stalks and thicker stuff no problem now - a different trimmer all together -this is an Echo 210 unit - has been great since the line switch.

My next trimmer when this one goes will be a stihl..

Carl

 

[bigballer]

My next trimmer when this one goes will be a stihl..

Carl

A short story regarding change. I bought a troybuilt trimmer when i moved out of the city and also drug my $25 garage sale craftsman chainsaw along. I took it to a saw shop to have it repaired and the guy took one look at it and asked me a couple questions. Next thing I know I am walking out with a stihl ms310.. the troybuilt lasted one summer and I picked up this used fs55 and have not looked back. 5 years and still going strong.. my stihl family now consists of another smaller saw, a leaf blower/shredder, the line trimmer, and one mean blackberry clearing 30" double edged hedge trimmer.. the best part I can fill all of them from the se can of mixed fuel..