Weed Eater, String Trimmer, Weed Whacker.....whatever ya like to call em!

[Fender1325]

FWIW, sharing a little experience purchasing a new weed whacker.

Inherited an old Stihl, limped it along, used it until it was broken beyond reasonable repair.

Yard was getting tall where I hadn't whacked so wife and I decided we needed to bite the bullet and buy another. I ruled out electronic ones based on price and lack of trigger variable speed, and more importantly torque.

I pulled the trigger on the $99 ryobi curved one at home depot and a bottle of premixed non ethanol fuel. Set up easy, started easy. Did the whole house but it bogged down in the heavier stuff, and I found myself hunching over more compared to the straight bar stihl. I knew I'd work it harder than it'd last being that it was bogging down on me throughout the first use.

Swapped it for a straight bar Toro at $179 and I'm happier. The Toro is no Stihl, and I'm certain its made in the same factory as the Ryobi. Has identical guards, and packaging. But at any rate, it did the job a little better than the Ryobi and the straight bar was better for my back.

Neither compare to the power of the Stihl, but I'm not going to drop $300 on my 1/3 acre.

I do reccomend that premix fuel. 5 bucks will get you about 2 tanks worth, which will last me a while, and I dont have to worry about gumming up the carb with ethanol or improper ratio.

 

[Bcom]

Ive ran the same 4 stroke craftsman straight shaft convertible weed whacker for 8 years now without a single problem with multiple attachements. Straight shaft is suppose to vibrate less than a curved shaft. Not sure why they even make a curved shaft anymore. Its nice not having to mix gas and oil anymore

 

[yamaha0343]

I bought a Stihl FS40C for about $160 a couple years ago and am very happy with it. I should have spent the $200 for a straight shaft, but other than that it's been a great machine.

 

[General Geoff]

Just recently got a Honda hht35sltat 4-stroke, 35cc trimmer. This is the first gas trimmer I've owned, and I have to say I'm glad I spent the extra money. Power to spare, I can trim ordinary grass at half throttle and it even has a cruise control to keep it running at half. Takes a half hour to trim my entire front & back yard, and it goes through maybe 1/3 of a tank of fuel to do that. I'm waiting on getting some blades to cut down thicker brush, but it'll take out surprisingly big weeds with just line.

 

[M6erfan]

Going on 5 years with my Husky 223L, only premix fuel it's whole life and not 1 issue...

 

[toolz]

The Echo straight-shaft (bigbox stores) has been been absolutely bullet proof for me after several years of abuse, it's a good price vs stihl, husky, it always starts and runs well. The bump head has been reliable and is not too hard to load. I would buy it again.

 

[jhelrey]

I bought a Cub Cadet 4 stoke trimmer from TSC. I have an aluminum head in which uses precut line. I prefer that because I don't have to dink around with the heads. I just carry a few pieces in my pocket. I buy 100 feet worth and cut it when bored in the garage.

Despite the reviews, it's been great.

The reviews are stating hard starting, etc. It starts just like a Honda I have used prior. Just start it on full choke and let it run for about 15 seconds, then throttle lightly, while going to half choke, then no choke. Then balls to the wall!

 

[Holzarbeiter]

After years of fighting with my old Ryobi straight shaft, I finally decided to buy something better. After some research, I opted for Tanaka (owned by Hitachi). This has been a great investment. Easy start, plenty of power and the pole saw attachment has come in handy. I would buy it again. Life is to short do deal with crappy gas powered tools.

 

[Farmall450]

Can't say anything bad about an Echo SRM-225
$200 & a 5 year warranty.

 

[gdocktor3]

I bought a Ryobi multi tool weedwacker thing (for my employee to abuse instead of an expensive unit) 3-4 years ago and used it semi professionally (have full time job) on 20 or so accounts with the curved and straight weedwacker, brush cutter and hedge trimmer. Haven't had any problem except I replaced the carburetor about two weeks ago just because it began running a bit rough and it was only like $18. It's now more powerful, but ***** down fuel. It may need an adjustment, but moral of the story is this thing really surprised me. FYI I also have Stihl FS70C and an Echo pas multi tool which are better, stronger, lighter, but the Ryobi is about 1/4 the price and has paid for itself many times over. Especially the extended reach hedge trimmers.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Sounds like you made the right decision for yourself... my Dad always had Echo/Stihl OPE and they all LASTED. When I finally needed a trimmer for my yard (~1 acre) I bite the bullet and got a Stihl FS90... hopefully it'll be my last trimmer.

 

[Beerman]

I got a battery-operated Ryobi a few years ago for X-mas and will NEVER go back to gas. Is it for pro use??? Of course not.

But being able to do the little bit of weed eating that I do and not having to F with the fuel and starting a gas operated model to me is priceless.

No matter how well I took care of the gas operated models I've owned, starting the damned thing would always almost break my arm.

 

[Askme42]

Stihl fs90. Had it 6-7 years. Starts within 2 pulls almost every time. Well worth the money for the reliability. I have a local gas station that sells ethonal free fuel and it's all I use in my small engines.

 

[Hivolts]

Stihl FS 70 here. 2 acres, only way to go. Love it. Amsoil 100:1 mixture

 

[General Geoff]

No matter how well I took care of the gas operated models I've owned, starting the damned thing would always almost break my arm.

There is something to be said for effortless starting of electric models. That was one of the reasons I hesitated to buy a gas trimmer for over a decade, despite my need for the extra power. All the older two-stroke trimmers I've used when helping friends/family do yardwork, have been a bear to start.

So far though, the honda trimmer has been a one-pull wonder. Set choke to closed, pump primer bulb 5 times, one pull to start, wait 5 seconds, open choke. ready to go.

 

[Certified Drunk]

I've had the same one for 22 years.. Shindaiwa!

 

[Empty Pockets]

I have a 4 cycle walk behind, and a 2 cycle curved shaft, both labeled Cub Cadet. Each has it's own purpose, and both have served me well for several years

 

[dbabicky]

Just bought a Craftsman straight shaft with the changeable heads. It comes as a weed whacker and you can buy different attachments like a limb trimmer ect. 2 Stroke seems fine by me. It replaced a different Craftsman I had used for over 12 years. It had gotten a little finicky so I said for the $100.00 it had served it's purpose and replaced it.

 

[MattVette89]

I'd had a couple of Ryobis and was always fixing them. I finally bought an echo straight shaft a few years ago and that is a fantastic piece of equipment. I also run the premix fuel here because we don't have any ethanol free gas stations.

 

[03fan]

Small engines are a pain to keep running. I am sticking with Stihl but wouldn't hesitate to buy Echo either.

 

[mad german]

The Echo straight-shaft (bigbox stores) has been been absolutely bullet proof for me after several years of abuse, it's a good price vs stihl, husky, it always starts and runs well. The bump head has been reliable and is not too hard to load. I would buy it again.

Same here, but I put a Pivotrim head on mine. Works great. I don't like the bump head design.

 

[thurman.]

I got a craftsman weed eater off Craigslist for $25 about 3 years ago. I changed out the carb. I think the carb was around $18 also. But I think the storage of the unit during off season is important to long life. I of course add oil to my gas can(don't know why we call them cans, they are usually plastic now) also add fuel stabilizer. The end of year I run all the gas out and unscrew the gas cap to allow the remaining gas throughout the system to evaporate. Please don't leave OLD GAS in the unit. Also change out the spark plug every other season. I mean it won't hurt if done every year. But my craftsman has been great over the years.


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[WheelsNT]

Stihl. Cry once.

 

[MattPersman]

Stihl or echo have been excellent for power equipment

As you find out that Ryobi, home lite, craftsman, poulan stuff is usually more than 50% of the cost of a actual straight shaft echo or Stihl and lasts like 1 or 2 seasons tops typically


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[thool]

I got a battery-operated Ryobi a few years ago for X-mas and will NEVER go back to gas. Is it for pro use??? Of course not.

But being able to do the little bit of weed eating that I do and not having to F with the fuel and starting a gas operated model to me is priceless.

No matter how well I took care of the gas operated models I've owned, starting the damned thing would always almost break my arm.

I have the 40v Ryobi with the shaft that comes apart, and love the thing. Charge lasts a long time, no mixing fuel, low noise, no smell, always starts, head tips for edging, easy string feed.

Only gripe is the variable speed switch. It is actually many closely spaced speeds as opposed to an actual continuous trigger like gas units have. A couple lower speeds crapped out, so I had to replace the trigger assembly.

 

[CSRPenFab]

Just sold my Stihl fs85 string trimmer and Husqvarna gas blower on craigslist... I've switched over the DeWalt 20v li-ion string trimmer and blower. They both work great and I can do the entire front/back yard on 1/2 a battery charge.

 

[slc97sr5]

Echo SRM-225, I'm on my second year and it has been fantastic. I either use Stihl full synthetic oil or the Echo oil. We have an 89 octane ethanol free pump in town. It runs the very best on the 91 Echo pre-mix. I'm a big fan of Echo as my PB-1000 blower has been in use since the early 90's.

 

[Lhorn]

I've got a Craftsman straight shaft about 6-7 years old. Don't use it a ton but it works great. I bought the hedge trimmer attachment and it works well.

What other attachments are worthwhile?

You can't get gas without ethanol where I live so I started buying premixed oil/fuel. More expensive but longer shelf life. When I'm done I pour the fuel out of the tank and run the thing until it won't run any more to clear fuel out of the lines, carb.