Here at the Weyr we take our gardening seriously. When one's garden can be measured in hectares it ceases to be something that can be tossed off in a few hours over the weekend and becomes a nearly full-time job. Not that the job is onerous; the right tools make for enjoyable time spent outdoors.

A NEED IDENTIFIED

We have been steadily decreasing the size of our lawn area over the years through the judicious use of groundcovers and by increasing the size of our pastures, flowerbeds, orchard, and shrub borders (for the Dragon philosophy of lawns, see my review http://www.epinions.com/content_2049351812). We now have the mowing down to about an hour on a riding mower and about twice that time with a walk-behind trim mower.

However, this still leaves some very delicate trim work that must be done to keep the fescue under control until the perennials can achieve their full summer growth in about another month. This could be done with hand trimmers but it would take weeks. A lightweight, compact line trimmer was called for.

HI-HO, HI-HO IT'S OFF TO WALLYWORLD WE GO!

Unfortunately, with quality comes weight in a line trimmer. The better makes sold in our John Deere store are reliable and sturdy. They also weigh ten pounds or more and need to be lugged around with a shoulder strap.

Greater weight and size make for less maneuverability in tight corners and the idea was to find a line trimmer that could fit between blooming peonies or daylilies to get at the errant fescue without beheading the blooms.

Poulan, makers of Weed Eater, have just the ticket in their FeatherLite Series of line trimmers. There are several models available but the one I chose was the smallest and lightest, at only 7.5 pounds. With reduced weight came a suitably reduced price tag, the cute little thing only cost $58.76. At that price, one does not mind treating this tool as disposable, good for the season, maybe two.

The box comes with a label indicating that this line trimmer is not intended for use by professional landscape maintenance people and is for "light use." Well, light use is all I intend to subject it too.

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

There is a negligible amount of assembly required and tools are not needed, just your nimble fingers. The trimmer head shield attaches to a small bracket above the head with a large wing nut. The handle fastens onto the shaft in a similar fashion. It is impossible to get the shield on wrong, it will only go on in the intended way.

The handle is purposely adjustable. Simply by loosening the wing nut one can alter the position of the handle from near the trigger to as far down the shaft as one wishes. Handle angle is similarly adjusted. After a few minutes of fiddling you should have things about right and it is just as easy to make adjustments later on if your comfort needs change or a different user has longer or shorter arms.

GAS AND GO!

While you are at WallyWorld grab yourself a small, gallon-sized plastic gas can. Line trimmers, like chain saws, require that you mix oil with gas to keep the engine lubricated. Small engines have very particular needs and it is important to use the correct mix of gas and oil. After years of unsatisfactory experiences we have come to the conclusion that it is easier to have a dedicated can for each tool that requires a gas/oil mix. You may think this is foolish but a very wise small-engine expert showed us in a matter of minutes what a big difference the correct mix can make when it comes to starting.

We were having trouble starting our Stihl 034 chain saw. It was so hard to pull that I could not do it and even Bill had trouble. We took it in for a tune-up and the mechanic discovered that the gas/oil mix was too heavy. The extra oil was increasing the engine compression and making it hard to pull. With the correct mix I was able, once again, to start the saw easily. We now use only Stihl oil in our gas mix for the chain saw.

The Weed Eater FeatherLite came with a pre-measured container of oil, enough for one gallon of gas. Unless you are running the trimmer all day every day, a gallon of gas is probably enough to last at least a month, or longer. So, mix up an entire gallon at a time and don't mess around with trying to measure the oil and gas in smaller quantities. Don't save gas/oil mix over the winter. Dispose of any leftover in a responsible way (I don't recommend just pouring it out on the driveway, either!)

If you run out of gas/oil mix be sure to buy Poulan brand oil. In fact, the stuff last forever unopened, so keep an extra on hand to save a hassle later on.

STARTING THE BEAST

Easy starting is a primary requirement for all small power tools. They are no good to you if you can't get them started or are exhausted by the effort. The Weed Eater FeatherLite is a snap to start.

For a cold start, pump some fuel into the engine by pressing on the primer bulb six (6) times. Overdoing this will not make it start easier. Then put the lever in FULL CHOKE position, all the way to the left. Pull on the cord two or three times then put the lever in HALF CHOKE position, in the middle, depress the throttle trigger with your finger, and pull once or twice more until it starts. Once the engine is running, remove your finger from the throttle and move the lever to the RUN position, all the way to the right.

When you are finished or need to set the trimmer down on the ground, press on the red rocker switch to turn it off. This switch is easy to find, just above the choke lever. Never set a running line trimmer down on the ground.

PROPER TRIMMING TECHNIQUE

My new Weed Eater FeatherLite roared into action and I was off to trim grass. Alas, the trimming was brought to a premature and inglorious halt when I managed to lose the trimmer line inside the head. If you are familiar with line trimmers you know how annoying this can be. It was already late so I decided to peruse the manual (a novel idea) and start fresh in the morning.

The manual is slim and in English, Spanish, and French. Basically you can learn all you need to know in about 5 minutes of browsing. This trimmer is designed so that the user can easily remove and replace new spools of trimmer line. One suspects that the mechanism is prone to wear and will not hold up to repeated line changes. This would be in keeping with its "light use" caveat.

Removing the spool is very easy, just pull it off by grasping the button on the bottom that releases extra line when you bump it on the grass. I re-threaded the line through the hole and replaced the spool with great ease. Now I was ready to trim again, but his time I planned to follow the manufacturer's instructions instead of those learned at the hand of the infamous prickman.

Poulan suggests that you keep your finger off the trigger when trimming. It is not necessary to rev the engine to the red line to trim grass and weeds. Guess what, they are correct! At the factory-set idle speed the FeatherLite does a fine job of chewing up long grass. An added bonus is that you will use much less gas this way. I trimmed for about three hours and did not use up a full tank (maybe a little over a cup) of fuel.

Poulan also suggest that you maintain the correct angle and trimmer-head distance from the grass and weeds to be cut. They call this "not crowding the head" and, once again, they are right! Prickman's habit was to push the trimmer head into whatever he was trying to cut in a full-frontal assault. I found that using correct technique not only made the job go faster but saved a great deal of trimmer line as well. By allowing the line trimmer to work as it was designed to work you should not be replacing line spools every few hours - another savings opportunity.

It is easy to advance the line in this trimmer. Just bounce it gently on the ground, not a rock, and more line will be released. Try not to over bounce the trimmer. Every bounce releases a few inches of line and if you release too much it will just be cut off and wasted.

DOWN TO THE CLOSE WORK

I am delighted to report that by using proper trimmer technique the Weed Eater FeatherLite is more than up to the assigned task. I was able to remove almost all the invading fescue grass from the Weyr flowerbeds and did not behead a single beautiful bloom. By carefully observing how the grass and weeds grow before diving in with the line trimmer, it is possible to make nearly surgical cuts and get very close to the valuable plants without damaging them. Just take your time and WATCH CLOSELY what you are doing.

The Weed Eater FeatherLite is not as light as a feather but it is light enough that a few hour's use is not fatiguing. It is easy to switch from right to left hand and one side of the body does not get all the abuse. I also found it was easier to work on one side or the other, depending on what I was cutting.

Another nice thing about this line trimmer is that it is not excessively noisy, especially when using it in the recommended fashion, at idle speed. If you are overly-sensitive to noise, use ear protection, but your neighbors should not call the police if you are out trimming at 8 in the morning.

A MINOR QUIBBLE

All of the weight of the Weed Eater FeatherLite is in the engine, at one end of the shaft. I have yet to find the perfect balance point for the adjustable handle and it may not exist for this small model. However, this did not prevent me from doing all my trimming chores. I will continue to fiddle with the handle until I am satisfied that I have it adjusted as well as it can be. Considering the small weight compared to the average line trimmer, this is not a big issue.

THE DRAGON HUMBLY SUGGESTS

Before you rush out to buy a line trimmer first assess your needs. It is possible that one of the electric models with fifty or a hundred feet of cord will take care of your yard at a lower cost and noise level. However, if you have a lot of property and need to do fairly precise trimming, the Weed Eater FeatherLite might be just the ticket.

Always wear eye protection when using a line trimmer. Little bits of chopped vegetation can fly into your face and you don't need shredded poison ivy or mint in your eyes. Wearing long pants or leather chaps is also a good idea. Those flying bits of green stuff can sting and even draw blood when they hit your legs.

Read and follow the instructions for use. You will get better results and save time and money and not a little aggravation.

Always use the correct gas/oil mix and use the oil suggested by the manufacturer. This stuff is cheap enough and skimping on pennies is foolish when it comes to your valuable time and energy. By all means consider getting dedicated gas cans for each of your tools that require a gas/oil mix. Label each one clearly and indelibly so mistakes don't happen.

Keep small children and pets away when you are working with a line trimmer. They are dangerous tools and can cause serious and painful injury. NEVER try to fiddle with the trimmer head when it is spinning!

© 2003 Pamela Matlack Klein


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