Speed Feed Head Problems?

[Gorrillasnot]

Hello,


After reading lots of good reviews on the speed feed head I decided to buy one..Being a cheapskate I went to ebay and bought a china knockoff of a speed feed 400.

The problem I'm having is as soon as I first installed the head and fired up the trimmer it sucked the preinstalled .095 line inside. Thinking that maybe the spool was on backwards I took the lid off and made sure the letter L was facing out (closest to the ground).

My setup is a 31cc Craftsman straight shaft trimmer (rotates counter clockwise when running) with the speed feed 400 (copy) head. The spool is installed with ther letter L facing out, and with the bump lid facing my chest the line is wound on in a clockwise rotation (only way it will spin).

Am I doing something wrong or is it a classic case of sometimes you get what you pay for?

thanks

 

[bertsmobile1]

He who buys cheap pays twice​

A lot of what you see cheap on line from places like Evil pay and Craigs Luck are the stuff that has failed the quality control of the people who get stuff made in China.
In the USA that stuff goes in the recycle bin usually after being smashed so it has to be recycled.
In China it gets sold on the local market as "part that fits Abecef " because the margins are so low the factory can not afford to trash anything.
These defective parts go through a number of hands then end up in the retail parts system and get sold to people like you who just chalk it up to experience then go out & buy another.
For which Ifool Yoo and his extended family thank you gratefully.
Two little tests
1) check the "other items" list.
If it comes up with an inventory bigger than Walmart they are a trading company buying whatever they can cheap and flogging it off at 2 to 20 times what they bought it for.
If it come up with nothing but related items then there is a better than average chance it is a wholesaler or factory outlet.
2) is the product branded ?
If you make good stuff you want every one to know where it came from so you get repeat customers.
If it is garbage you don't want any one to know where it came from so you can fool a lot more cheapskates.

Classic example.
Hurtzl sell Stihl 070 ( lightning ) saws as an "full engine repair kit" for around $ 300 + freight
These kits are good and when assembles & fitted with a good bar will give you a good saw, a little down on power on the original 070 and not as robust.
You can buy the "same" kit from around 30 other places for as low as $ 100 including freight but usually the pars do not fit properly and many times the was will not work after assembly because it is all of the reject parts.

If you are wondering why they are sold as kits it is because the 070 does not have a chain brake so is illegal to sell in most countries

 

[7394]

Turn CCW by hand & compress the head & see if line advances OUT. If not, flip that stepped piece behind the spool completely over, that should get you hooked up.

It is made for straight shaft & opposite side is for crook-nose shaft. :thumbsup:

 

[Gorrillasnot]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The only piece I see that can be flipped is the spool. It can be put in with the R facing out or L facing out.
When R is facing out I cant get the top cover back on.

When I turn CCW the line does come out, but only after tugging on it.

I tried putting a couple washers between the spring and spool and that seems to help some, but if the string coming out of the spool is less then 3 or 4 inches it will wind itself up inside the spool.

thanks

 

[7394]

Been long time since my Speed feed 400 was apart.


Anyhow yours should be working, but check this youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOJ3alEYSDw

 

[7394]

Hate to say it but your knock-off may be the issue, Just checked mine & letter L is out on the spool. Straight shaft Shindaiaw T235, sorry about the confusion about the stepped ring, that is on the string spool. My Bad.