It's finally cooled down a bit, and I quit procrastinating. Fueled up the FS131 with 91 octane, no ethanol from BP. Note to everyone, the Stihl manual says 89 Octane minimum. I was going to go and get non-ethanol at Casey's, but it is 87 Octane... On pumps that dispense multiple grades with the same hose, I fuel up my vehicle first to get the 3 tenths of a gallon of whatever grade flushed out of the hose. Used the Stihl oil, add it to the can first, when add 1 gallon of gas. Done.
I use a 1.25 gallon "No Spill" gas can, it's got a pretty good push button valve and the spout fits beautifully into the Stihl's gas tank opening. Short of the old flexible metal spout, it's pretty easy to use. Worlds better than those complicated safety nozzles with the heavily spring loaded red thingmabobs that make fueling a push lawnmower into an exercise in futility...
Got two long path trimmings done, both took a tank of gas [0.7 L] and lasted an hour. Getting the technique down, like using a power scythe. Swing left with the head at about a 45 degree down angle [close to the soil], and then sweep the head up, flipping the remaining RCG up and out.
Starting the FS131 has made me soft. Choke it, maybe four pulls to pop, then open the choke a bit, then maybe two more pulls to catch and run. It is well designed, I've run it dry twice and it never misbehaved until it started to throttle down. Even with swinging it side to side when low, it didn't sputter or miss.
I tried the Stihl string trimmer head, but that only lasted maybe five minutes before I gave up on the string trimmer in heavy grass. Installed the metal tri-blade, and life became a lot easier. Installing the tri-blade was a bit of a head-scratcher unil I figured out that it was just a pressure fit, where the "cup" provides a clamping force to hold the blade in place. Another observation, the arbor is not keyed, it's just a 1" hole. It fits over a matching boss on the underside of the gear head. If you whack something solid with the tri-blade, it will slip a bit, but won't shear anything.
Used a Husqvarna Functional Forest Helmet (with a Wheel Ratchet). The wheel ratchet beats the plastic knob and hole adjustment all to pieces. The mesh shield didn't impede vision and stays in place. Muffs are OK, but I do foam plugs -AND- muffs. I wore Walker shooting glasses, no problem fitting them under the muffs.
Any time there is a side wind, safety glasses help keep chaff from blowing behind the mesh and into your eyes... A few small bits of duff bounced off my neck. Any one could have been extremely annoying without eye protection...
The Stihl harness is a monument to minimalist design. Not my favorite. Supposedly, the Husqvarna harness is better. While trimming on a flat, I didn't need as much of a death grip on the handlebars. Hands were tingling at the end of my first long trim.
BUT trimming cross-slope sucked with the motor head swinging downslope. While trying not to trip over grape vines...
Need to get anti-vibration gloves, perhaps the Echo Chainsaw gloves.
I use a 1.25 gallon "No Spill" gas can, it's got a pretty good push button valve and the spout fits beautifully into the Stihl's gas tank opening. Short of the old flexible metal spout, it's pretty easy to use. Worlds better than those complicated safety nozzles with the heavily spring loaded red thingmabobs that make fueling a push lawnmower into an exercise in futility...
Got two long path trimmings done, both took a tank of gas [0.7 L] and lasted an hour. Getting the technique down, like using a power scythe. Swing left with the head at about a 45 degree down angle [close to the soil], and then sweep the head up, flipping the remaining RCG up and out.
Starting the FS131 has made me soft. Choke it, maybe four pulls to pop, then open the choke a bit, then maybe two more pulls to catch and run. It is well designed, I've run it dry twice and it never misbehaved until it started to throttle down. Even with swinging it side to side when low, it didn't sputter or miss.
I tried the Stihl string trimmer head, but that only lasted maybe five minutes before I gave up on the string trimmer in heavy grass. Installed the metal tri-blade, and life became a lot easier. Installing the tri-blade was a bit of a head-scratcher unil I figured out that it was just a pressure fit, where the "cup" provides a clamping force to hold the blade in place. Another observation, the arbor is not keyed, it's just a 1" hole. It fits over a matching boss on the underside of the gear head. If you whack something solid with the tri-blade, it will slip a bit, but won't shear anything.
Used a Husqvarna Functional Forest Helmet (with a Wheel Ratchet). The wheel ratchet beats the plastic knob and hole adjustment all to pieces. The mesh shield didn't impede vision and stays in place. Muffs are OK, but I do foam plugs -AND- muffs. I wore Walker shooting glasses, no problem fitting them under the muffs.
Any time there is a side wind, safety glasses help keep chaff from blowing behind the mesh and into your eyes... A few small bits of duff bounced off my neck. Any one could have been extremely annoying without eye protection...
The Stihl harness is a monument to minimalist design. Not my favorite. Supposedly, the Husqvarna harness is better. While trimming on a flat, I didn't need as much of a death grip on the handlebars. Hands were tingling at the end of my first long trim.
BUT trimming cross-slope sucked with the motor head swinging downslope. While trying not to trip over grape vines...
Need to get anti-vibration gloves, perhaps the Echo Chainsaw gloves.
