String Trimmers, AKA weed wackers

[kms254]

I Just purchased a house, and I need a string trimmer, I don't want to spend a fortune but I would like something to last say 5 years(is that a bad thing when a consumer considers a 5 year lifespan of a tool a good thing?).

I was looking at this one:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001L4GGUW/?tag=atomicindus08-20


Any better suggestions? Any one have/had one of these?

 

[Bull]

Are you committed to buying a homeowner grade machine? What is the maximum you want to spend? How large is your yard? Are we talking basic whacking of 3" tall grass, or heavy duty powering through thick weeds?

 

[Arachnotron]

I just bought an Echo trimmer. It seems all the lawn guys around here use them. They do have a 5 year consumer warranty.

 

[Bolster]

I have a HD (or was it Lowe's?) Black and decker corded, < $50, and while I wouldn't go so far as to recommend it, it has worked well for the past year and has done what I asked it to do. No pride of ownership, however.

Upgrading the "string" (monofilament) made a big positive difference.

I do find the ability to turn the string from horizontal to vertical orientation, handy.

 

[bindernut]

Merk, you can get an Echo curved shaft trimmer for $150-160, and it'll last a lifetime if properly maintained. My dad's still using the one he bought back in 1994. Or you can get a Stihl curved shaft for $150. Decent machine, but the echo is better.

OP, I checked that link, I wouldn't spend $29 on that POS let alone $129. (working on & selling parts for lawn & garden equipment is how I make my living)

Besides Merk, when the infomercial POS breaks, where will you get parts? Echo & Stihl parts are easy to come by.

 

[nate379]

Stihl 45 or 48 is in the $150 area and are great trimmers.

My 5 year old $70 Weed Eater brand is still working fine though and I don't treat it nice. Ran it WOT last weekend for almost 2 hrs trimming down the ditch in the cul de sac. Figured it'd blow up, but nope... still working great!

 

[nate379]

That is what I have. Was on sale at either Walmart or the BX when I bought it.

 

[Mickey O]

If you have an 18 volt Ryobi cordless drill you can get this one for $30 refurbished.

 

[mo2872]

Echo straight shaft with EZ start.......

 

[chadster1]

I have 1.5 acres and my stihl has been doing great for the last 3 years. The troybilt **** that lowes sells would not make it thru one day.

 

[Need4racin]

Poulan pro is the absolute biggest piece of **** your money can buy. The weedeater name brand isn't far behind. They run out of compression after a year of normal use.

Buy a commercial stihl, it will last you a lifetime with just homeowner use.

 

[jhn9840]

Stay away from Craftsman they are absolute pieces of ****. I believe that they are manufactured for Sears by Poulan. I broke down and spent the money on an Echo and have never looked back.

jhn9840
John

 

[thump186]

Another vote for the echo or the weed eater. I've had both and both have been a good machine. The only problem i've had with the weed eater is after a couple of years the carbs seem to come out of adjustment. definite you want the power of a gas trimmer.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I'd stick with Stihl - thier stuff always starts for me - even after sitting all winter and really no maintainenc....I had Poulan weed wacker that wore out in about 3 seasons.....but I have about 7 acres with lots of tree-line / fence to trim around, so It would prolly last 5 or 6 years for the average homeowner. The biggest problem I had with it was that when it needed more tuning than just a new plug, I found the carb adjustments where "sealed" so you could'nt change anything wouthout breaking the ends off of them. Even then it wouldn't stay running...but hey, someone gave me back 30 bucks for it non-running on E-Pay!!

 

[philw]

I have 1.5 acres and my stihl has been doing great for the last 3 years. The troybilt **** that lowes sells would not make it thru one day.

Totally agree!

I used to buy "disposable" trimmers which would last a couple years max.

Bought a Stihl over 5 years ago and it's still going strong.

 

[sk farmer]

what are you guys talking about? if they don't sell it in california it has to be good!!!


just my .02. my old homelite st-175 that was way less than 100 dollars 20? years ago still runs good and has been beat to ****. only thing replaced from wear is the head and fuel lines. broke a few things when we backed over it but i don't think that counts. i won't say it is or was top quality but i have most definately gotten my moneys worth.

 

[KenS]

Stihl is great equipment, but I don't know what they were thinking when the put that horrible gas cap on their string trimmers. Be ready to struggle everytime you add fuel.

 

[plinker]

We've got a Sthil FS-55 bought in '02. Yesterday I put rings and a carb kit in it, which should get a few more years. It has been used A LOT.

A new one is 210$, it is a homeowner grade trimmer. The next one we get is going to be a FS-90 pro grade trimmer.

 

[PaulR]

Another vote for Stihl here, I buy Stihl everything. That said, I have a 12 year old Ryobi 2 stroke deal I've been waiting to die forever and it just keeps chugging along.

 

[malibu101]

I had the disposable mindset too when buying a trimmer 13 years ago when I bought the house. That's why I got a Ryobi. It was a long time ago so I don't know what I paid but I do know it was the cheapest at HD at the time.
I can trim everything in about 15 minutes so I don't have a huge yard.
13 years later and all I have ever done was put gas in and refill the string. Never even a sparkplug. Now that I'm talking about it-I'm sure I've never even cleaned the air filter.
I'm not neccesarilly reccomending the Ryobi, or even saying I would get one again. Just my experience.

 

[brockstar]

I just bought a Stihl FS56 and love it. I had been using a battery powered Black and Decker for the last couple of seasons and was impressed with it. If you have a small, 0.2 acre lot in suburbia, the battery one would be perfect, esp if you have other B&D tools that use the same batteries.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

I bought an Echo SRM25(?) in may 99 and this year, after I put it in the shop one time for repairs without success, I bought a straight shaft Hushavana at Lowes for around $230. I runs great and has plenty of power.

My son was in the market for a weedeater so I went to an old-school small engine repair/hardware store to get their recommendations.
For a 2 stroke, they recommend the Echo SRM25(?) which they sell for about 240. For a 4 stroke, they recommend only the stihl and mentioned it still required oil/fuel mix even though it was a 4 stroke.

They said stay way from troybuilt 4 strokes. Also, they didn't think too highly of huskavana since it is now part of poulan.

My son got the echo and a cutting wheel since he has a lot of cutzu to fight in his lower back yard. That echo has plenty of balls.

oh yeah, weedeater engine life is typically rated at 200 hours of operation for homeower grade equipment.

 

[scheu]

I'm with malibu101. I've got a "homeowner" grade trimmer. Been working well for a few years now. But I only have a small lot. If I were doing a larger piece of property I'd look at a commercial grade trimmer.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Dont waste your time and money with that Poulan. Get yourself a good Echo or Sthil unit. I have an Echo SRM230 and love it:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[Bolster]

Again, I see nothing wrong with this thread, doesn't deserve a one-star rating like it had when I checked it. Good to know which brands are favored.

 

[kms254]

Thanks sounds like you kept me from making a bad decision, I was choosing that one based off the amazon reviews. I have a fairly large yard for a neighborhood that being said, the landscaper did a quick measure of the yard and came up with ~14K feet^2 of grass. We don't have drainage ditches so it will be mostly for around fences, trees, water meter box, the house and possibly use it to cut a small section of a 4 foot tall hill that is hard to maneuver the mower on. I also was thinking of getting one of the edger attachments. I have a corner lot wit ha sidewalk, so I will be edging one width and one length of my property 3 times(1 curb, 2 outside of sidewalk,3 inside of sidewalk). If i were to use one of those attachments it would be used pretty heavily i would think. Sounds like Sthil or Echo is the way to go.

 

[PaulR]

I had the disposable mindset too when buying a trimmer 13 years ago when I bought the house. That's why I got a Ryobi. It was a long time ago so I don't know what I paid but I do know it was the cheapest at HD at the time.
I can trim everything in about 15 minutes so I don't have a huge yard.
13 years later and all I have ever done was put gas in and refill the string. Never even a sparkplug. Now that I'm talking about it-I'm sure I've never even cleaned the air filter.
I'm not neccesarilly reccomending the Ryobi, or even saying I would get one again. Just my experience.

lol, we both must have the same mutant ryobi that lasts for ever!
got mine from the dumpo around that time too! same deal, indestructable.

 

[kornjulio]

Glad this thread came up. My indestructable Ryobi that I bought around 1997 is finally having issues. The fuel lines have rotted away!!!

Now if I sound happy, I kinda am. While it's run well & I can replace the fuel lines, I really have learned to hate the curved shaft. I think I want to try a straight shaft trimmer. My goal is to ease the strain on my back & reduce the amount of **** that gets flung on me with hopefully a bigger guard.

I'm going to step up to either a Stihl/Echo/RedMax. Those all seem to get good reviews. My choice will probably come down to COO. I think Stihl is USA...Echo is Mexico I think...not sure of RedMax, but will find out....

 

[BTG]

Stihl all the way...we got a free one from a friend...it had been sitting a few years because it wouldn't start. Spent 20 minutes rebuilding the carb using a carb bought at a swap meet (yeah we keep about a doz around just for this purpose) and it runs like a champ. I've put about 8 tanks through it this year and no issues whatsoever... Like others have said, stay away from the craftsman ones as well as the cheaper ones at wallyworld.

 

[chadster1]

When I bought my Stihl equipment, I went all out. I got the Stihl KM110R powerhead with the string trimmer and edger attachment. It was not cheap I do remember that. I dont regret spending the money when I go to start it and it starts easy every single time.

 

[Indy_500]

I have a Ryobi 31cc weed-eater that i just blew the motor on. I adjusted the air screw to let in less air to run it more rich and it built up too much carbon and a chunk of that carbon got wedged between the piston and cylinder wall and put a big gouge in the piston. I guess i can't say it's the weed-eaters fault. And, i only spent $5 on it at a rummage sale. Now i gotta find a new one, and all of these pos weed-eaters have this push and feed spool, which is probably another stupid chinese invention.

 

[TAftw]

We use Stihl, Echo, and Redmax where I work. I did 7 hours today and 6 hours yesterday of string trimming with a Redmax. I also use our Echo, and it also has the pruning, edging, and chainsaw attachments. We also have a Redmax reciprocator. Chainsaws and leafblowers are Stihl, but I'm partial to Husqvarna in those areas myself, as it's what I bought for home use.

The lines between "homeowner" and "professional" grade equipment has blurred. Nowadays it's "****" and "regular". The one you looked at was **** . Save money in the long run and get a decent string trimmer.

I should also mention that I use a Shindaiwa trimmer at home. I believe it was around $200, and it's been a great machine. Not as much power as what I use at work, but I've had it for over 6 years and it's been a solid performer.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Glad this thread came up. My indestructable Ryobi that I bought around 1997 is finally having issues. The fuel lines have rotted away!!!

Now if I sound happy, I kinda am. While it's run well & I can replace the fuel lines, I really have learned to hate the curved shaft. I think I want to try a straight shaft trimmer. My goal is to ease the strain on my back & reduce the amount of **** that gets flung on me with hopefully a bigger guard.

I'm going to step up to either a Stihl/Echo/RedMax. Those all seem to get good reviews. My choice will probably come down to COO. I think Stihl is USA...Echo is Mexico I think...not sure of RedMax, but will find out....

The husqavarna I bought was assembled in charlotte, nc

 

[TheGrooveking]

I agree on the Stihl, get one and it will last. I also have a old Homelite ST-65 I bought for $85 back in 1988 and used the hell out of it. I even used it to clear 1.2 acres of weeds that were between 4 and 6 feet high at my brother's old place with a triblade on it. That thing just keeps on going, I've had to replace the spool/head because the string advance mechanism was shot from so much use, but it starts everytime. NOTE: Homelite of the 80's doesn't equal Homelite of 2010, so check out the Stihl.

Oh, and Husqavarna Titanium line is the best I've found.


TheGrooveking

 

[Slip_Kid]

My Homelite trimmer lasted 18 years, replaced it with an Echo. Echo is a good trimmer, will last 10 years plus for home use.

 

[Stogies]

I vote for Stihl. I have about 5 different pieces of equip and yes they break, but parts are easy to find. I hate disposable #$%&.

 

[KEH]

Another vote for an Echo straight shaft. Of course I'm not an expert, I got my first one last year at age 70. My hands don't fit those things. I was encouraged to get one by my wife.

KEH

 

[1969]

I have a Stihl FS90R plus a couple other attachments. Money well spent.

 

[Rockcam]

I had a garage fire in 1996, which completely toasted one Nissan Maxima, and scorched my Porsche. Along with them went my lawn equipment, including a weed eater.

When I went to replace them a few months later, I went to HD, expecting to buy a Homelite or similar. When looking at them, I heard a voice say "You don't want that thing."

I said "Excuse me?" I turned around to see an older man behind me.

"You don't want that toy. You need an Echo."

I took a couple of steps down to the Echos, and got sticker shock at the (then) $199 price tag on the Echo. "No way - the Echo is 200 bucks."

"I work for the city," he said, "and I use these things all day long in the Summer. If the Echo ever breaks, you can get parts for it. Try that with the other ones when they break two years down the road."

I bought the Echo SRM 2100 straight shaft. It has never let me down once. I think it might finally be ready for a new spark plug.

Along the way, I bought an Echo backpack blower and edger as well.

I've never looked back. True story.

Steve

 

[737mechanic]

I researched this same thing 2 years back and came to the conclusion that either Echo or Stihl are the ones to go with. I ended up buying an echo and have since bought an echo edger, hedger, and blower because I loved my echo trimmer so much.

All the pro lawn guys around here use either one of those so I figure if it is good enough for them it is good enough for me.

Of course you will pay more than you probably want but you will probably never buy another one.