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all i can say is before i strim i quickly walk the area im about to do if known problem for stones then my eyes are glued to the strip im strimming and i always strim in a way so the grass is kicked back onto the lawn , if i see stones in my path i knock them off the lawn with my boot that said i have been caught out a few times and had lucky escapes. theres only so much you do to prevent an accident sadly.
I think the answer is in your first sentance Tony. It's easy to become complacent with no mishaps year on year. Yes accidents do happen, but a regular risk assessment is always usful. Put simply, if you do not use a strimmer near windows, you will 100% not break one. If you recklessly blast away at full revs, you almost certainly will. If you follow all of the measures you say you do, with low revs, you will vastly reduce the chance of a breakage. Personally, I don't think it is worth the risk to strim near to low level glass.
I spray off a lot of my edges...
I prefer to have windows at 3 O'Clock to the way I'm facing. I then tilt the strimmer slightly away from the window so the string away from the glass is doing the cutting. This reduces flick-back behind the guard (which, by the way, I've removed on my D-Handle strimmer).
In really awkward spots I'll stand sideways to the direction of trimming so the glass is at my 12 O'Clock, right in front of me, with me working in the 9 O'Clock.direction.
I have 'done' a couple of windows over the years. It's very depressing when it happens. I once broke the off-side front door window on one of my own Hilux's.
Strimming in the right direction is a given of course, but also to avoid possible damage is to strim on low revs, when near windows. On well-maintained grass there is less growth and strength in the grass, so a much slower line speed will do the job. This avoids the ’bullet’ stones leaving the strimmer at high velocity. At low line speeds any stones are just flicked gently away. It will take a little longer, but worth the effort.
Thanks for the comments and if anyone has any more suggestions, I'm happy to listen. I've been thinking about this all day, (well you do when you work on your own, don'tcha?). What I've thought is this;
Years of not doing any damage has made me a little complacent
I probably used to keep the revs much lower, back then.
Modern buildings/extensions have much more glass in them
I'll probably get a lower revving cordless as the FS90 has more grunt than necessary.
It's all a bit expensive but at least no one was hurt, (my pocket excepted).
Just shows, you have to keep reviewing the situation constantly.
I find the FSA85 a great little strimmer for grass work. It looks a bit flimsy but mine is in its 3rd year and still going strong. Battery life is pretty good when you're mostly on low revs. The FSA90 is good too but if I only had one it would be an 85. I still use a petrol one for tough work. I tested an FSA65 but it has no variable speed all or nothing which makes it virtually useless for delicate work I think, and battery will go fast.
I don’t understand the need for a less powerful and/or battery strimmer. I don’t need a less powerful car in order to drive more slowly at certain times. In fact I would suggest the opposite is true. A powerful professional petrol strimmer has a lot of torque, so at lower line speeds with less revs, there is still the torque to turn the line. A battery strimmer is still capable of throwing a stone at a window.
Don’t buy an underpowered strimmer, just squeeze the throttle less firmly.
Good point Vic.
Just to echo the comments above:
accidents may still happen
work in a direction that kicks cuttings back onto the lawn
work at low revs (I very rarely use my strummer at full throttle)
keep your eyes peeled!!
i haven’t had any strimmer accidents but have gone over a stone with my mower that shot out and smashed a window. The garden in question had a gravel path that the kids would often kick onto the lawn. Obviously I covered the cost of the initial accident but spoke to the customer about minimising the risk in the future.
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