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Well I have learnt something from that Gary, I did not know about soaking the line before use to make it less brittle.
It’s an old trick & got discussed many moons ago on LJN. Leaving strimming cord in hot vans for days/week’s causes problems. I’ll try to find the discussion and bump up ....
Nylone line can't absorb water and how would cold water help anyway. Hot water might have an affect but only through the heat, surely. Given that most of us use the strimmer every day and that the line is already in the head, it would not be in any way practicle to soak line for 24 hours.
I use the Stihl 3mm square line. It hardly wears away at all. My assistant can strim an entire churchyard [after I have done all the machine work] and he wll only need to let new line out possibly once, whilst mowing around gravestones. That's how tough it is.
Twenty years ago I was given an old strimmer and some line. They were both about twenty years old at the time. For the the last four years I have used this nearly forty year old line as washing line as the old normal washing line broke and I needed a quick replacement. It's been there for four years or so and is unbreakable.Perhaps it's the rain that keeps it so strong!
Now this can answer as i worked with many differing types of polymer extrusion for 20 plus years before doing what I do now. Nylon does absorb moisture as it is hydroscopic and the water absorption affects the chains in the polymer making them shorted or longer and thus changes the characteristics of the nylon. I just never thought of doing it with the stihl line.
I know its hard to believe but if you research it, nylon will actually absorb water. Never tried soaking the stuff in water though................. it seems to work pretty well without it.
Stihl blog from 2015 discusses this issue :
https://blog.stihl.com/practical-knowledge/2015/08/how-to-make-mowi...
Modern types of Line seem to become brittle/hard if left continually in a hot van and one solution is to keep it wet - however achieved.
It seems well documented by many so have no reason to discount the scenario.
I was in our Stihl Dealers yesterday discussing some requirements and it reminded of this article, so thought it worth a bump....
I use the shredder blade alot. Best thing ever. Advisable though to buy the correct guard.
I often refer to this chart in the Stihl catalogue. Like everything Stihl, its well thought out and designed with safety in mind.
I've been known to soak line in water, whether it makes a difference, I couldn't say.
I've used Stihl square 3mm line and haven't ever soaked it. The line lasts for ages - I think it's the shape that helps. I "decant" a decent amount of line from the big reels onto a small reel that I keep in the van, so my big reel stays in the not-so-dry garage. So perhaps I am letting it absorb water!!
I've always been puzzled why Stihl have several different profiles for their line............. I'd have thought they all work pretty much the same so they'd do best to just sell the one that might be marginally better?