Recommend a String Trimmer!

[Cujet]

I like Echo products. In fact, I can't believe my 10 year old Echo 210 is still running after all the abuse.

I've had to replace the plug, the air filter and the fuel lines (due to ethanol) . It has many hundreds of hours use, as it is the model with the attach fittings. So I cut a massive amount of jungle vines with the hedge trimmer, I edge with it, I use the string trimmer and the blower. My hired help tortures it.

It runs perfectly, starts effortlessly, and the lightweight little engine has near zero vibration.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Echo or Stihl. The stihl is a tad heavier but is more powerful.

The 4 stroke units are made very poorly. The engines have a ton of plastic components in them.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Oh, BTW.....

Be careful with the husquvarna brand stuff, it is now made by the same company that makes poulan. You can still get the professional stuff from them, but the quality is not there anymore.

I stand firm with the Stihl / Echo recomendation.

Also honda does not make their own string trimmers.

 

[JZiggy]

Glad to know about the issue with Husqvarna. I've been leaning toward their 128 model because it has the split shaft making it easy to switch out to an edger attachment.

As I have looked through the Echo, Stihl, and Shindaiwa brands I am not seeing any that have the detachable shaft. Am I missing something here?

 

[Fordiesel69]

Yes. The attachments are only meant for light duty and more for home users. Echo / Stihl is more for pros so they choose to not offer many units with attachments.

If you have ever used the cheap ryobi attachments you will see they are a waste.

 

[mount]

Stihl or more preferable Echo. I've also had good luck with Mcculloch weed wackers as well.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: JZiggy

As I have looked through the Echo, Stihl, and Shindaiwa brands I am not seeing any that have the detachable shaft. Am I missing something here?

Echo has the Pro Attachment Series: http://www.echo-usa.com/Products/Pro-Attachment-Series

 

[Fordiesel69]

Originally Posted By: mount
Stihl or more preferable Echo. I've also had good luck with Mcculloch weed wackers as well.


Mcculloch are obsolete.

I have a few and they were good, but no parts are avail.

 

[JZiggy]

Are units with detachable shafts less reliable?

 

[2cool]

I have to disagree with the Ryobi bashing. I have an 8 year old 2-stroke. Runs strong, no smoke, and the attachments are NOT junk. I have cut saplings and brambles with the gear-head attachment and 3 edge blade. The curved shaft trimmer head has NEVER failed, nor does it make any noises. I also have a tiller head that has seen the preparation of 4 flower beds and 4 vegetable beds for the past 3 years in clay soil with nary a complaint. This is the second Ryobi trimmer in a row that I've had, and I gave the first one away when I moved to an apartment; or I imagine I'd still be running it.
I have nothing negative about Echo or Stihl, but unless you're a pro, OR Ryobi quality has tanked that much; it's overkill for your needs IMO.
Additionally, what advantages do you feel a 4-stroke trimmer would give you? Mixing 2.6oz of oil to a gallon of gas once or twice a season doesn't strike me as a horrendous burden.

 

[Mamala Bay]

Originally Posted By: JZiggy
Are units with detachable shafts less reliable?


Shindaiwa older models had a one piece blade cutter attachment that was made solid for trimmers(metal)which was used. I'd be looking how durable the attachment piece(metal) are made and design for heavy duty usage. Also you need extra power from the engine for the blades to do the job...need a commercial engine for that application.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: 2cool
I have to disagree with the Ryobi bashing. I have an 8 year old 2-stroke. Runs strong, no smoke, and the attachments are NOT junk. I have cut saplings and brambles with the gear-head attachment and 3 edge blade. The curved shaft trimmer head has NEVER failed, nor does it make any noises. I also have a tiller head that has seen the preparation of 4 flower beds and 4 vegetable beds for the past 3 years in clay soil with nary a complaint. This is the second Ryobi trimmer in a row that I've had, and I gave the first one away when I moved to an apartment; or I imagine I'd still be running it.
I have nothing negative about Echo or Stihl, but unless you're a pro, OR Ryobi quality has tanked that much; it's overkill for your needs IMO.
Additionally, what advantages do you feel a 4-stroke trimmer would give you? Mixing 2.6oz of oil to a gallon of gas once or twice a season doesn't strike me as a horrendous burden.


Ryobi, Homelite, Toro, and John Deere 2 stroke and electric products are all made by TTI, the Chinese manufacturing giant that supplies a lot of the consumer grade power tools/equipment and some pro grade stuff in most US retail stores. It doesn't make them all bad, but they are manufactured to be fairly cheap and disposable. It just comes with the price range. A $100 trimmer isn't going to have as much serviceability and reliability engineered in as a more expensive one will.

You can get a gem from TTI though. I have a Homelite FeatherLite that's a few years old. Original spark plug, never had the carb off, never had the engine cover or muffler off for that matter. I did melt the original string head in some thick grass, but since it came with the Expand-It attachment system, I just threw on a Ryobi lower shaft. I have used old, filthy gas in it before, and it still runs fine. This trimmer was something like $70, so I'd say it has paid for itself. If it breaks in a way that would cost money to fix, I will throw it out, but it's still going strong.

I think the best all around package of price, reliability, quality engineering, parts availability, and product support is Echo. For the price you can't get a better piece of equipment. You can buy better equipment, but it will cost you and you may have to make other compromises. For example, if you need Echo parts you can look them up directly on their website, and once you have the part number you can choose from a wide range of online and brick and mortar dealers who can get you the parts and they are reasonably priced. Need Stihl parts and you won't be looking them up yourself. Everything depends on how good your local Stihl dealer is because they will be looking up the parts and ordering them for you. Echo also backs up their warranty. I have seen them replace entire pieces of equipment before. When something does break, they want to know why. FWIW, Echo is associated with Shindaiwa...they are both under the Yamabiko Corporation.

I also like Hitachi power equipment, but it's harder to find and parts are harder to get. Kawasaki makes their own stuff and it is excellent, but you're gonna pay for it and it's not as widely available as Echo.

On the topic of 4 stroke handheld equipment, I don't like it. The ONLY "advantage" is not having to mix fuel. I prefer 2 strokes for this...lighter, simpler, can be used at any angle, low maintenance, and no little timing belts or anything like that. The EPA hates 2 strokes though so manufacturers are looking to the tiny 4 strokes.

 

[JZiggy]

Ranger, thanks for the really helpful input.

Here's another question for ya'll. For medium-duty homeowner use, do I need to worry about the engine size? Here are the products that I'm currently considering:

Echo SRM-225: 21.2cc
Echo SRM-230: 22.8cc
Stihl FS-56: 27.2cc
Husqvarna 128: 28.0cc

All of these are in the $200-300 range. Most of them spec ~1HP. Would the extra cc's going from, say, the Echo to the Stihl mean anything in service?

 

[Cujet]

It's been my experience that the bigger engines produce more torque. So, they are less likely to run as high an RPM as the 21cc Echo. However, that Echo is small, and therefore more vibration free.

I use my Echo for some brutal jobs. It has the power to do the job, without question.

 

[dave123]

I love my new Tanaka TBC 280PF and would tell any one to get one light weight and great power.

 

[Mamala Bay]

Originally Posted By: JZiggy
Ranger, thanks for the really helpful input.

Here's another question for ya'll. For medium-duty homeowner use, do I need to worry about the engine size? Here are the products that I'm currently considering:

Echo SRM-225: 21.2cc
Echo SRM-230: 22.8cc
Stihl FS-56: 27.2cc
Husqvarna 128: 28.0cc

All of these are in the $200-300 range. Most of them spec ~1HP. Would the extra cc's going from, say, the Echo to the Stihl mean anything in service?


The Echo SRM-410U IS THE REAL BUSHCUTTER for heavy duty work if you notice the 80 tooth blade.

http://www.echo-usa.com/Products/Brushcutters/SRM-410U

If you are using the bushcutter for soft tissue grass or lighter weeds that's a different situation.

Bushcutter has an advantage with clean cut cosmetic such as a very straight cut on edges. I'd opt for a lighter weight trimmer/bushcutter for balance and finer coordination versus the bulky heavy duty bushcutter which would not be the ideal equipment to use.

In commercial landscaping, finer cuts and cosmetic edging the lighter balance all around trimmer/bushcutter makes a difference.

Need to define what the bushcutter is being used...if you need a heavy duty bushcutter to rip apart heavy strong stems, you need the power behind it.

 

[TC]

My best recommendation for a string trimmer would be "scissors." You can buy them....well, pretty much anywhere. Just don't run with them.

 

[iand]

shindaiwa,echo,stihl,kawasaki,tanaka,hitachi(note:tanaka and hitachi are basically the same machines rebadged)makita these are all machines that Australian contractors use and recommend some people like the 4 stroke machine but i managed to destroy 3 blowers 2 hondas and a makita by not keeping a good enough eye on the oil levels in our main growing/mowing season i also don't like the power to weight ratios of the 4 stokes but i would suggest whichever trimmer you get that you fit a speed feed head to it
I've had a Shindaiwa T260 for over 10 years about 2,500 lawns a year and still starts easily

 

[JasonC]

Ive had my Stihl FS-55 for over a year and love it. Plenty of power.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl

.

You can get a gem from TTI though. I have a Homelite FeatherLite that's a few years old. Original spark plug, never had the carb off, never had the engine cover or muffler off for that matter. I did melt the original string head in some thick grass, but since it came with the Expand-It attachment system, I just threw on a Ryobi lower shaft. I have used old, filthy gas in it before, and it still runs fine. This trimmer was something like $70, so I'd say it has paid for itself. If it breaks in a way that would cost money to fix, I will throw it out, but it's still going strong.

I still have my Homelite from about 2002.
It melted the original plastic shield. I modified the plastic shield from a McCulloch to replace it. The bump head was complete garbage from day one. It was replaced with one of those, "stab the thick nylon string in" trimmer heads.
That wasn't the problem. The problem is the carburetor. The rebuild kit didn't make it any better and that's $15 I'll never see again. A new carburetor is only about $20 less than an entirely new Homelite.
It still has good compression, good spark, if you look down the sparkplug hole it is remarkably carbon free, but that carburetor.

I could get a new carburetor, but when you add up the cost of what the melted debris guard would have cost, bump-head, carburetor, and the cost of the unit originally, you're probably more than halfway to a bottom of the line Echo.

I drained out all the premix and fogged it with Deep Creep just in case I come up with a donor carburetor. It just occupies space on the back wall of my shed. I don't know why I can't get myself to just throw it away.