Stihl FS111

[BrianF]

Well, seeing as there are some recent posts on Stihl trimmers, I'll throw in a real simpleton review on this one.

I'm well into my second tank of fuel, mostly heavy tall grass cutting. There is some part throttle work but a majority is full throttle.

This thing is light, well that's relative. Lighter than my 4 stroke Troy Bilt and roughly the same weight as my 36 year old Husky 32R.

The simple loop harness works quite well, it balances well and is comfortable. Just because of the hard use, I'll look at a harness.

After setup, the trimmer is well balanced and very easy to swing. The vibration isolation is good, after half a tank you can still feel a bit of hand numbness. Is it comparable to anything? Not sure but it's liveable.

Power is very good. It is overkill for a lot of our use when we are able to stay on top things, I can get it to bog a bit and reach the power limit When burried in the very tall grass. This is stuff over waist high, approaching chest high. Now a bit more power would be great but the thing still chewed through and got the job done. While whoever set it up was very generous giving us a full spool of line, to bad it is garbage. I threw in some .090 husky line and it's a new machine.

After a few more tanks of fuel, I might play with the hi/lo settings to see if there is any improvement. I did have to bump the idle up a hair as it would die randomly returning to idle after a power run. It works good now.

 

[BrianF]

As a mention, currently running my leftover 50:1 mix. Its the same stuff that runs my sleds, Husky saw and other trimmer. Its Co-op Dynamix, semi synthetic injector oil. Its rated FB. I'll likely try the little Stihl white bottles once I run through it.

 

[grasscutter]

I was staring at your picture trying to discern whether the mixture screws are hexagon or octagon.

 

[BrianF]

Ha!!! @grasscutter that's a great question, doesn't look like any limiter capa on there.

 

[ripcord]

They take a custom screw driver. I bought a set of 8 or so for a few bucks off Amazon that covers just about all types of ope.

If you do adjust it, don't tune it for max power or it will be too lean. On most 2 cycle engines, you want to set the low speed first and then adjust the high speed so that it "4 strokes" at full throttle without load. 4 stroking is when it's rich enough to surge quickly just a little bit. I've heard it described as "bluddering." Under a load it will lean out and be just right.

Edit: oops!!! That's not a 2 cycle trimmer. Disregard my tuning advice.

 

[grasscutter]

Hexagon = 5910 890 2307
Octagon = 5910 890 2314

They got them on eBay.

 

[Cujet]

That's a really nice trimmer. The 4 mix engines are excellent. Very easy to modulate power, smooth running and gobs of torque. There is a reason people love 'em. The crisp throttle response means they are very easy to manage when cutting around a garden for example. Cranks right up when needed.

I have the larger Echo 26cc PAS weed eater. It's pretty good and has good full throttle power. But nowhere near the torque of the Stihl 4 mix for mid range modulation.

 

[Opelman]

I was staring at your picture trying to discern whether the mixture screws are hexagon or octagon.

I just put a new carb on a customers KM 130R. Had to buy the octagon tool to dial it in.

 

[BrianF]

I agree, it has gobs of torque. While I can bog it down, it keeps chewing.

Ill check the carb and see what tool I'll need. I like to err on the rich side of tuning.

Oh and hot restart is half a pull.

 

[Cujet]

This is interesting:

 

[BrianF]

@Cujet no sht!!! OK, that's cool.

 

[BrianF]

Alright, we put close to two tanks through today. The last half tank is the Stihl Premium mix.

I really like this machine, yes the 131 would be optimal, this thing continued to cut and cut and cut. I went through quite a bit of thick weeds and grass. While I slowed it down (I'm sure the 131 wouldn't slow) it kept cutting. I didn't have to make multiple passes, I just slowed my swath slightly. I use just enough throttle to keep it off the Rev limiter on the light stuff but just hold it wide open for everything else.

As well, this thing has proven really easy to start, cold or hot. Its essentially 1 pull for hot start.

I will be searching for some thicker line, the .093 or whatever it is, while good, the FS111 could pull better.

A couple more tanks and I will see if I can richen up the high side. I also pulled the spark screen as it's not needed with our situation.

 

[fantastic]

A nice trimmer has been a long time coming so I feel your excitement. That air filter is cool, I'm not sure what comes on my FS131. I'll need to check that next time. How long do you think you'll keep it?

The FS40C my sons using didn't want to idle either so I tore it down to clean up the carb etc. Upon removing the motor from the shaft it pulled out of the string head end. I didn't know it until put everything back together & the head wouldn't spin. Shop I bought it from back in 2015 said they'd only sell me a new one for $260. I bought this one for $160 back then so wow $100 increase in 11 years. Not to roll over lightly, went out to remove the cable & seen what had happened. Put it all together & turned in the idle screw to get it back to shape.

Does your take 0.105" line? I actually put the bump head back on for the wife to try out. Instead of constantly replacing 8" pieces on the duracut head just spends some extra time winding it up. I think it's better situation but we'll see.

 

[BrianF]

@fantastic well, we will keep this thing as long as it stays working. At this time, I dont see a need to get the 131 as it's doing the job.

There is an older Craftsman (whatever brand makes it) 2 stroke curved shaft trimmer for small or tight area jobs, it runs great, so the 111 wont have to be something it isn't.

I figured out the bump head well, I take about 20' of line and can wind it in. I used a bit of silicone spray on the internals so it spools easy. Ill pick up some heavy line and see how it functions. Worst case, ill get a universal head. I have an Echo on my Troy Bilt and it's awesome. The Husqvarna has a T20 (I think) and it works great.