How to Buy a Weed Trimmer

A weed trimmer is one of the most versatile lawn and landscape tools you can own. Surprisingly there are a lot of options and choices when it comes to purchasing a weed whacker. In this article we will take a look at all you need to know to make an informed purchasing decision.

Weed trimmers come in three basic types; gas powered, electric powered, and battery powered. Most of the pro-grade weed trimmers are gas powered, and that isn’t by accident. If you need a lot of cutting strength then gas powered is the way to go. For most homeowners – the expense of gas and the hassle of the heavier weed trimmer unit is just not worth it. For most an electric trimmer is the best option. Rounding out the selection are the new battery powered units. While battery power is convenient, it currently can’t compete with the power offered by electric or gas powered trimmers.

After you select what type of trimmer you want, you should next check to see how heavy a trimmer line the unit will support. Weed Trimmer line varies with .065 inch on the thin side all the way up to .135 inch on the thick side. The more powerful the motor of the weed trimmer the thicker the line it will be able to accommodate. Thicker line is always better if the unit can support it.

Another must have feature is an automatic line feed option. Basically the weed trimmer will sense when you are low on line will automatically feed out new line as needed. Some cheaper trimmers use a “bump feed” mechanism, which doesn’t work all the time, and usually requires you to bang the head of the trimmer on the ground to advance the line. This works ok, unless you forget to constantly bump it. If you forget then the line will break off inside the spool and you will have to take the head apart to reefed the line though the hole of the weed trimmer head (a major headache). Automatic feed is definitely the way to go.

Some newer weed trimmers also offer an edging option. Basically this allows the head of the unit to swivel so that you can use the weed trimmer to edge along the end of the lawn. While this doesn’t work as well as a dedicated edger unit, it is still a nice feature.

Expect to pay around $45 on the low end to well over $500 for a professional level gas powered model. You can usually find some great deals on weed trimmers at your local home improvement stores.

One last tip, when you purchase your weed trimmer, make sure an pick up some spare head rebuild kits, and spare line spools. These items are always available where you purchase your weed trimmer and can really become invaluable for repairing the trimmer in the event that the manufacturer discontinues the model, or if the store stops carrying the model.