Weed Whacker Candidates

[eschoendorff]

You're flat out full of it this time Mr. Schoendorff. You're one of the century's great contradictors.

This coming from a guy who doesn't actually use his tools? Better stick to polishing ratchets there, Merkava. I have used these machines commercially and have tried just about every line/head combination out there. .130 is complete overkill... and will affect the performance of a machine. You have more mass spinning farther away from the center of the hub - it's simple physics. With the head you are using, it might work because you don't have a whole spool of the stuff to weigh it down, but that's only if you want to replace line every 15 minutes on that particular mowing head(every five if you are trimming along hurricane fence). That and you won't have the revs you need to really make a nice clean cut in open areas.

For general mowing/trimming, .095 line is a great all around performer. Regardless of what Merkava will have you believe.

 

[eschoendorff]

Pay attention to what the local landscapers use for the next couple of days. It'll likely be Stihl or Echo. Probably because of local dealer and parts support. You can't really go wrong with either one unless you buy it at a big box.

My dad and father in law both have both had good experiences with their three Stihl FS series trimmers (except for one bad carb). The farmer I work for part time also swears buy his heavy duty Stihls.

Yup... the FS 76 I have is a 2 stroke and the FS 110 is a 4 stroke. Both great machines.

 

[hguerrero]

just bought a 4 stroke Honda weed eater yesterday...meaning i haven't had time to take it out of the box yet.
i'll let you know if i like it soon...meaning whenever i get it out of the box.
i'm kind of ****...meaning i like to read every single owners manual first.

 

[nissan_crawler]

As far as 4-stroke vs 2-stroke, I was under the assumption that 2-stroke was a better choice for a weedeater type of application. More power over a comparable-sized 4-stroke, but not as quiet, and you've got to mix fuel/oil (small price to pay).

The 4-stroke stuff was all more expensive than I wanted to get into, and if everything I read was accurate, I'd be paying more for less power.

I'll argue this, I have a 32cc 4-stroke, friend has a 32cc 2-stroke. He borrowed my rototiller attachment to do his flower beds, and came back 20 minutes later to borrow my 4-stroke, too. Night and day comparison. I had a Stihl 2-stroke of similar cc (not sure exact number), and this 4-stroke blows it out of the water, while using less fuel.

 

[Merkava_4]

With the head you are using, it might work because you don't have a whole spool of the stuff to weigh it down, but that's only if you want to replace line every 15 minutes on that particular mowing head(every five if you are trimming along hurricane fence).

You're basing your theory on a whole spool; I have four separate 6-1/8" .130 strands; AND THEY DON'T WEAR OUT IN 15 MINUTES! I can go and cut the weeds down in both front and back yards three times over before needing to replace those lines! They do not wear down like .95 lines do; not even close!

Not a drag on the trimmer; it's a light weight head and very well balanced. If I can power it with a Ryobi electric, that same spool on an Echo 35cc trimmer would be unstoppable!

You must wake up every morning and think to yourself: "Gee, I wonder what Merkava has posted while I was asleep, I have to go online and make sure I contradict everything he's said."

 

[kythri]

I'll argue this, I have a 32cc 4-stroke, friend has a 32cc 2-stroke. He borrowed my rototiller attachment to do his flower beds, and came back 20 minutes later to borrow my 4-stroke, too. Night and day comparison. I had a Stihl 2-stroke of similar cc (not sure exact number), and this 4-stroke blows it out of the water, while using less fuel.

I won't argue this, because I don't have a 4-stroke, nor have I used one, but when I read up on the whole difference between a 4-stroke and 2-stroke engine, it seems that the 2-stroke makes more power than the similarly sized 4-stroke, as fires once per revolution, instead of once every two revolutions, or something like that.

Iunno.

The issues with mixing fuel, and keeping an extra fuel can around really didn't bother me. One little bottle of stuff treats 1 gallon of fuel. Sears sells a six-pack of bottles for hella cheap, and one gallon of fuel goes quite a long ways, as far as I've seen - I've cut a bunch with my trimmer, and haven't come close to expending a gallon of gas.

 

[davestlouis]

Hell, I have had the same Honda walkbehind mower for 7 years and have never changed the oil...it's still full too. I can't imagine going to the effort to change oil in a 4 cycle weedeater. In my limited experience, the wheels and other stuff fall apart long before engines fail on small power equipment so I just don't bother to maintain them all that well.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Hell, I have had the same Honda walkbehind mower for 7 years and have never changed the oil...it's still full too. I can't imagine going to the effort to change oil in a 4 cycle weedeater. In my limited experience, the wheels and other stuff fall apart long before engines fail on small power equipment so I just don't bother to maintain them all that well.

I'm sure you've seen the little plastic cups on the robitussin bottles or vicks 44? That's about how much oil it takes. Pull plug, drain into cup, pour a wee amount back in. I've had the weedeater for 4 years, change oil twice a year, and I'm still on the original quart of oil for it.

I can drain/fill the oil in it in 3 minutes, not a big deal. I also change the oil on the mower once a year, too.

Then again, I have a 43 year old garden tractor, and until a few years ago, a 35 year old push mower.

 

[eschoendorff]

You're basing your theory on a whole spool; I have four separate 6-1/8" .130 strands; AND THEY DON'T WEAR OUT IN 15 MINUTES! I can go and cut the weeds down in both front and back yards three times over before needing to replace those lines! They do not wear down like .95 lines do; not even close!

Not a drag on the trimmer; it's a light weight head and very well balanced. If I can power it with a Ryobi electric, that same spool on an Echo 35cc trimmer would be unstoppable!

You must wake up every morning and think to yourself: "Gee, I wonder what Merkava has posted while I was asleep, I have to go online and make sure I contradict everything he's said."

Okay then. I guess you know everything. We can shut down the GJ board and just email you from now on.

In any case, I am done with this.

 

[jwith68]

Very happy Stihl FS100RX owner here. It's their pro "grass trimmer only" model. Weighs less than anything comparable. It uses their 4MIX engine - a 4 cycle that uses 50:1 mix just like their 2 cycles, eliminating oil changes and the possibility for oil starvation in odd positions. It's very easy to handle the mix part, especially if you also have a couple of Stihl saws. About the only drawback is that it is not set up for a blade, only the various trimming heads.

I theory, yes, comparing a 2 cycle and a 4 cycle of the same displacements, the 2 cycle should make more power. However, I compared the FS100RX and the closest 2 cycle model when I bought it 2 years ago and the opposite was true. The extra power along with the lighter weight made it an easy decision, especially for my yard.

 

[W-Cummins]

I'll stick to my Stihl fs-250 and they included a string head with it, but its never been on it. The "throwing star" style blade kicks ****... I ran my friends newer top of the line Honda 4 stroke and there's no comparison to the fs250. The only upgrade to it, is a forestry saw.

William...