Strimmers that make the cut and how to use them effectively and safely

Strimmers are an essential bit of kit for most gardens with any lawned area or steep grassy banks

Corded machines are lightweight and perfect for strimming grassy areas, edging and tenderly trimming around areas and planting not possible with a mower; Flymo Contour XT with 10m cable, €74.

Purchase a cheap mower and you’re more than likely to be offered the matching slicing wand as an optional extra or thrown in for free in a bundle. Many mowers have limited talents at the lawn’s edge and cornering around shrubs and trees isolated out on the acreage. This is where the finessing abilities of your strimmer will shine. Let’s start by power type.

Power type and size

First of all, there are batteries, for my money (using a multi-tool platform): the go-to for most homes in 12V to 48V. Second up is an electric corded strimmer (250w-400w) made safe through an RCD plug to prevent you from lighting up the neighbourhood.

Armoured cables for these suburban favourites can extend to up to 10m, and with less moving parts models by Bosch and Flymo they have less ongoing maintenance hassles that a ICE. Finally, there’s the muscle of the two-stroke petrol strimmer of 26cc-55cc using an oil/fuel mix, obviously also cordless, but in commercial sizes far from the spec of a battery model.

Standard fare in stately gardens, I don’t know what sets my nerves abuzz more than the memory of lashing up a fully loaded petrol strimmer. Exhausting. It’s vital to get it right when strimming coarse grass, brambles, and maintaining areas underneath field and paddock fencing. A powerful petrol-powered strimmer will often include a blade option. Brush cutters are basically a larger carry model or a four-wheeled push type that you trundle around a larger garden or field. You can manhandle these bad boys into a large clump of weeds and brambles, and (sized appropriately) they will chew their way through just about every stalked growing thing without effort, even saplings.

As the upper muscles of our right arms grew, and our backs bowed, we gave up the petrol strimmer for a large battery-model strimmer (with a spare battery) backed up with a petrol brush-cutter on a trolley with a blade. Has the choice of a battery strimmer ranged over eight acres of boundary chewed through my battery gain, and forced replacements? Absolutely. It’s proved expensive to maintain.

That said, the lightweight of the battery strimmer (I use the brand Ego) means I can approach the work without fear of potentially hurting myself. Quiet, simple to reload with line, I time my charges and run times of around 20 minutes with a larger 40V battery attached. For super-easy strimmer models with batteries, stick to a working weight of 3kg or less.

The alternative, as a smallholder with extensive soft boundaries, is the local hedge cutter, using a commercial blade on the ground to avoid the hedges and nesting birds. That’s expensive, and when the weather is wet, a tractor can really tear up the ground. On the downside, the head of a powerful strimmer is like a soup plate, and splicing through invading plants or grasses near trees, there’s imminent danger of hitting the tender outer bark. So, I’ve been forced into a small strimmer to do the polite horticultural work.

How big is your plot?

If you have under a third of an acre, there’s no solid reason (bar prejudice) to vouch for the carbon-heavy roar of a petrol machine. Corded machines are not just highly affordable, but always ready for consistent action that won’t die when a battery does. Both battery strimmers and corded strimmers have zero emissions at the point of use, making them Earth-friendly choices.

Line operation is one of the most irritating aspects of strimmers, as plastic line degrades with use. If you’re a little heavy-handed with the machine, the line is too fine, or your target plants are very hoary and tough, you can expect to spend a lot of time hunkered over the strimmer quietly (or loudly) swearing with line wrapped around your ankles. There are cheap little strimmers with a small plastic blade that eschew the need for lines, but these are really only good for small gardens, beheading patio weeds and trimming finer grass at lawn edges. Don’t expect too much. Quality bladed strimmers and brush-cutters may cost more, but the metal and latest nylon-composite blades are durable and effective.

What to seek when buying

When buying a strimmer, look for edging tools that can be used with the strimmer tilted. As we’ve seen, some hybrid machines can use both a blade and a single or double line as needed to suit the situation. Ensure you keep a spool of the recommended line for your strimmer, and a new blade for a bladed machine tucked away in the shed. Dupes and cheaper lines break quicker — you get what you pay for. The thicker the line, serrated or square, the tougher it is, but it must fit your model of strimmer — don’t stuff it in, if it’s not to spec; 3mm is robust.

Loading and line feed should be simple. Examine the loading technique for the model you’re considering, and how the fresh line is released while you’re working. Manual line feed (a total pain) means you stop the machine and physically pull the line out as needed. Bump-feed allows you to gently tap the machine head on the ground, letting out more line. Automatic feed takes the task in hand, maintaining a set measurement of line for you at the touch of a button.

Ensure you are comfortable with routine handling of your strimmer, including battery changes and adding new wire; Stihl FSA57 cordless, from €240.

Bump-feed is very convenient. You do need to ensure you’re not roughly bashing the head off the ground as you work and spooling out your line as a result. Larger strimmers are set on a harness, and it’s easy to forget the impact you’re making on the head, because (hopefully) you’re not feeling all the weight of the unit.

Supplier B&Q suggests the following head widths for strimmers. Keep in mind that the larger the head, the quicker but less precise the work:

• 200mm to 300mm for light grass trimming and small-to-medium lawns
• 301mm to 399mm for thicker grass and medium-to-large lawns
• 400mm plus for heavier work, like thick grass, undergrowth, and large gardens

Protect yourself and your surroundings

Even if you buy a simple weed-whipper from JML, always protect your eyes when using any strimming or weed-cutting device. Small stones can ping up from the ground, and a small shard of anything hard can cause both skin and eye damage.

Gloves, long stout trousers and sleeves are also essential once you move to any middling machine, no matter what its fuel type. Carrying a running machine — weight, noise, and the temperature of the machine will make a difference to the experience.

Cordless machines offer eco and turbo modes to save power and reduce noise.

Petrol machines will slice effortlessly through a range of going, but the tank in a larger machine with greater cubic centimetres can be heavy, and it can get very hot while running with reverberation that can be painful on the arms and shoulders for hours afterwards.

Full protective gear, including long gloves, will be essential. Wear stout shoes and don’t clamber up or down steep inclines with a running machine.

Don’t ignore the harness and its fit. It equates to less stress on your body and additional control of the machine. Bicycle-style handlebars are useful for manoeuvring a larger strimmer, which will cut out with a dead-man switch once you release the throttle or on-switch.

Examine all controls, as even the pressure on your thumb can climax into a painful cramp. Time those strimmer outings, and don’t overdo it if you’re less than young and fit.

Finally, please be aware of wildlife when using any lined or bladed equipment in your garden. Even a patch of longer grass could contain a tiny mammal or hapless young frog.