Hi Everyone,
I am planning to buy a string trimmer. I have about 1 acre in the back that is not mowed lawn so I need a powerful one. I also do not want to buy a trimmer that I have to repair/replace from time to time.
I have a Lowes, and a Home Depot here so I plan to pick something from what they have. I have narrowed down the choices to either an Echo SRM-266 (2 stroke) or a Husqvarna 324L (4 stroke).
The prices of the trimmers are within $30 or so of each other. Of interest in the Echo... 5 year warranty and appears to be commercial grade. Of interest in the Husqvarna... the 4 stroke engine is a Honda. Whereas other 4 strokes have periodic valve adjustments, adjustments are not even in the maintenance schedule.
Any suggestions? I am kind of done with home owner grade equipment that needs attention. I just want something now that I just winterize when done, and dig it out and start it and use it each season, year after year.
Thanks for your time,
Brad
Which string trimmer
- Thread starter DeafBrad
- Start date
+1 on the Echo.
For big jobs, I am partial to the 4 stroke engines however.
Echo all the way. I have an old string trimmer that was owned by a commercial user for a couple years, then I got it, and has only had one minor repair in the 10 years I have been using it, and still works like new.
I own and operate the echo 266 on my property.
Fantastic machine.
Engine has a lot of character, sounds like a little dirt bike.
Great for edge of the grass that transitions into the woods.
Almost out powers my Husky wheeled string trimmer with a 6.5hp Briggs
A little clumsy if your left handed other than that highly recommended.
My echo srm 225 is great. Easy to load and always starts. It is very powerfull. It will throw gravel 50ft.
I have had an Echo for 9 years and have had no problems with it, that said I had a McCulloch trimmer for the 20 years previous and only had to replace the fuel lines and filter. I have found the key to keeping 2 stroke engines running is either use them every week and use 90 octane gas or higher or drain all the gas and pull start till they dont kick before putting them away even if its only going to be 2 or 3 weeks. Even home owner models will last if you get a straight shaft and one designed to swing .095 line and use fresh high octane gas.
I have a 2 stroke Husqvarana that my kids used for their summer yard service when they were in college.. It stood up to teenager op/maintenance in commercial use and is still going strong for me 10 years later use so I can vouch for Husqvarna.
After numerous failed attempts over the years at finding a good weedeater I have concluded that the 3 crucial characteristics are correct length so you can use it standing normally, - no bending over; balanced weight so that neither hand is holding up excess weight, and weightwise, the lighter the better. Aluminum shafts are a real plus.
One more thing I like about the Echo.
Super easy to replace the line.
Don't have to pull off the head.
Takes longer to measure and cut the 18' of line than to install it.
I have a new Echo PAS 2620 and a 17 year old PAS 210. Both are the "pro attach series" that allow the use of things like hedge trimmer and roto-tiller attachments.
The 21cc 210 is a very, very good unit and has been quite reliable. The 26cc 2620 is absolutely and utterly fantastic. It's lightweight but an absolute beast, with gobs of power, runs smooth and starts on the 2nd pull every time.
By the way, there is no comparison in power between the two. The 26cc engine will allow you to run the trimmer line WAY out for heavy jobs. I don't use a line cutter and the bigger engine will cut like crazy this way. Maybe more interestingly, the bigger engine also works better than the smaller one at low RPM power settings, for careful trimming near the screen porch or fruit tree trunks for example. As it still has torque to blaze through everything. It's simply more controllable.
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I have the Echo and highly recommend it. Well built machine and starts reliably every time and it is very easy to replace the trimmer line. I also have a tiller, leaf blower, and chainsaw from them and all have been 100% reliable. With the exception of my riding lawnmower, all of my OPE is either Echo or Honda and I've been very impressed with the quality from both makes.
I have a Honda HHT35SLTAT 35cc 4 cycle costs a little more but I like it, seems to have plenty of power, third year of using it with no problem so far, only thing i've done is change the oil, don't have to use 2 cycle oil gas mix but I do use non-ethanol gas in all my lawn equipment. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Honda-35-cc-Straight-Shaft-Gas-Trimmer-HHT35SLTAT/202215611
If you have money to blow, the best is a little known brand from Japan and made in Japan called Maruyama. Everything about them is made better than any other brand. Things like the driveshaft being polished solid steel, chrome impregnated cylinder, aluminum to shaft housing, not plastic like many others use, bronze gears because steel wears faster, speed feed head with metal in the bottom center to take the wear instead of plastic, 5 year commercial warranty on most models.... . The only issue is the construction of them makes them expensive and there isn't much of a dealer network like other brands.
What about a walk-behind trimmer? My lot is an acre and I thought my hand-held trimmer would be enough, which it was, however it became quite the workout. I replaced it with a Cub walk-behind trimmer and it's much easier on the old body. You can get them in self-propelled also.
I used to live on a 6 acre property that I weed wacked the hill side and under the trees for fire safety and for years I used a Husky 325 LX the drive broke [Which was fixed under the life time warranty] but I bought a Husky 525 LS because I wanted to get the job done. The 525 LS took easily a third to half less time. The 525 LS gas tank was larger for more run time the string was thicker which along with the way more powerful engine didn't bog down. The bad part is the 525 LS trimmer requires protective equipment ,,, Safety glasses. a face shield as well and heavy gloves and boots and pants and heavy coveralls because the trimmer throws rocks etc that are big and throws them fast and what was an ow with the smaller power trimmer was a OMG the !@#$ hurts. Buy a quality brand and big power.
Echo! I bought mine in 2002, and other than rebuilding the carburetor last year, no issues.
