Weed eater question

[Richard G.]

My 20 year old weed eater bit the dust today. What do yall recommend I look for tomorrow?
It takes me about 20 to 30 minutes to do my weed eating.
I need a light weight one.
Richard in NW SC

 

[guido]

Hello Richard G,

Echo

Guido.

 

[evilboweivel]

battery powered

 

[Russ from MN]

We have a couple of Weed eater brand, they have been good for a long time, wife likes hers because it's light. When we need another we will take a serious look at Stihl. We bought a new Stihl leaf blower last year, like it pretty well.

 

[JGayman]

I had two Weed Eater brand string trimmers. One finally died. I decided to buy a Black and Decker 40 volts cordless trimmer. While I'm not normally a fan of B&D tools this things has been FANTASTIC. It only costs around $149 with battery and charger (the bare tool is $61). The battery lasts a good 40-minutes of trimming. A spool of string lasts me almost all season. Three spools cost $18 on Amazon. I ended up giving away both my gas Weed Eaters.

I'm now on my 3rd full season with this thing and it has been flawless. I've not had a single jam with the string and the battery still gives me 40 full minutes. More than enough to do my light trimming, which consists of mostly what I can't get with the riding mower.

If and when this thing ever breaks I will definitely buy another one. BTW... it is the 40-volt trimmer. They have a 20-volt version that is total junk.

 

[D beatty]

Stihl Pro line with the 4 mix engine. Quieter than standard 2 cycle engine and good low end torque.

 

[hd6gtom]

Mine is a Core brand made in Montana. It is a professional unit, battery operated. Cost me $230.00 from my pal at the lawn mower shop. You could cut hay with this thing. 1 battery lasts over an hour. This this thing is the easiest thing to restring, line up 2 holes, push about 4' of string thru, wind it up and you are done.
Nothing to take apart, no small springs to fly out. I will never buy from a box store one again.

 

[kris Jensen]

I have a stihl, combi handle with weed eater, roto tiller and hedge trimmer. It is a great machine
and I have worked it hard. rebuilt carb a couple of times and cleaned spark arrestor. I have used it commercially
One of the best is Shindawa ( also expensive)
Echo is also good.
If I were buying a new one I would give a good battery powered one a serious look.
a 40 volt with an hour or so of life per charge would be a good alternative. no more mixing gas
blessings, Kris

 

[Duner Wi]

I really like my old Echo.

 

[Dusty MI]

I have a 20 volt B&D that I really like. When I brought it home and took it out of the box, I thought, because it was so light, what a piece of junk. But like I said I really like it.

I used a 120 volt one once, that was too short, and I had to bend over a little using it, which is hard on the back.

Dusty

 

[Richard G.]

Thanks for all the ideas. Will go out looking at some in a little bit.
Richard

 

[Aaron Ford]

Do NOT buy a FS56RC from Stihl. The head had chinese bearings, which failed. $60 for a new head with new chinese bearings. The biggest complaint, by far, is the recoil assembly. I keep recoil springs and rope sheaves on hand as it tends to eat them. Good power, but I have had much better luck with Sears and Walmart machines than this one. My personal recommendation for a lightweight trimmer is the Echo SRM-225. My only concern with it is the stop button is not spring loaded so my forgetfulness tends to have me pulling a string on a weedeater that is turned off. This happens more than I'd care to admit. The Stihl has a momentary stop button that springs back to run after released. So, yeah, the only problem with the Echo... is me.

The Stihl FS56RC has cost me over 100 dollars in parts, this year alone.

Hope this helps,

Aaron

 

[rustyfarmall]

Cordless electric is the only way to go. Amazon has some great deals.

 

[ss55]

Ditto on the battery powered weed eater for trimming a lawn. 20 volt might be marginal for your application, 40 would be good for a long time.

Stihl and others do make electric start gas trimmers.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I like my ECHO too but my favorite is Round Up. gm

 

[JL Ray]

I had three gas ones. Two were Homelite. All three were fairly good, but the wife went out last spring and got this battery one. Its is the berry's. I gave my gas ones away. Come this spring the wife can't find her battery trimmer. Did you look on the porch? Did you look in the basement? Did you look in the barn? Yup can't find it. Some one must of sold it she said. Hummmm. So I got to say, "See you didn't take care of your stuff". She runs out and buys a new one. A week later, I go to the barn and there hanging on the wall is the one she couldn't find. I take it down and go sit it beside the new one she just bought. A week goes by and she finally said something to me. Ha. I said it again..."see you didn't take care of your stuff". I'm still smiling.

 

[gmccool]

I love my 20volt cordless Dewalt.

 

[Mule Meat]

Only using it for 20 or 30 minutes a week. You do not need a commerical unit.

The Echo SRM 225 (21cc) is a great little trimmer and can be bought for less tha $200. Skip the SRM 230 (22cc) if you want something bigger for they cost around $290. Why pay that when an SRM 266 with a bigger 25cc engine can be got for just $10 more.

Unlike Stihl and Husqvarna you do not have to jump through hoops or be forced to pay for a warranty that last for more than 2 years. All of Echo trimmers comes with a 5 year warranty out of the box.

Dont be fooled by Husqvarna. The cheapest trimmer they sell has a larger engine than their most expensive home owner model.

 

[D beatty]

That machine your talking about is a straight shaft home owner weed eater. Did you lube bottom end bearing as said by manual? I have a FS90 straight shaft that's going on 9 years old and never had a problem or recoil starter and it takes me 1 1/2 hours to weed eat yard every time I mow. The Stihl weed eater I have used when you switch to off they stay in off till you move it back to on.

 

[D beatty]

I have an Echo chain saw and they make a good product. The only problem is their dealers are far and few in this area and my closest dealer stocks very few parts and always has to order..

 

[old]

Get one of those on wheels and you will never lug one around again. I've had both types and still do have both types. The hand held ones are a pain in the back the neck and well all around a pain.

 

[Tony in Bama]

X2. I've been very happy with mine - lightweight, reliable, sufficiently powerful...

 

[Aaron Ford]

I have had excellent luck with the older Stihl macchines. This one is about a year old and is nothing but problems. I had the grease to service the gearbox but it didn't have enough hours on it to need it. The bearing that failed was the upper. This is a rubber sealed bearing (609). The grease in the gearbox was not hardened or dry. It still looked fresh. I cannot explain why the bearing failed. I could see the lower bearing failing due to stresses placed on it by the trimmer head. The upper simply carries the cable and the tangental forces from the gear. I suspect a bad bearing from the start. I will rebuild this head with quality bearings and keep it as insurance.

Aaron

 

[D beatty]

If it's not a year old it is still under warranty and would be repaired at no charge to you.Stihl comes with I think a 2 year warranty.

 

[DGinVT]

My smallest weed eater is an ECH model SRM2200. I have used this since 1979 with no problems. Also have 2 Stiles.

 

[Dean]

Last year, my 15 year old 32 two stroke CC Craftsman weed eater became unreliable. Upon inspection, I determined that continued repair, parts, and, most importantly time, was not justified.

Accordingly, I went to my local CNH/Kubota/Stihl/etc., dealer and bought a new Stihl 4-stroke weed eater.

The difference is a paradigm shift. I will never go back.

Yes, it's a bit heavier (more on that, later) but torque is much higher and it has never failed to start on the first pull if I follow the starting instructions in the owners manual. It also does not load up and stall if left idling for long periods as small 2-stroke engines are want to do.

The mistake I made is buying the optional handlebar version rather than the "loop" handle version. The handlebar version adds weight and restricts movement. It is also more expensive.

SDT

 

[Mule Meat]

(quoted from post at 08:19:40 07/27/18)The only problem is their dealers are far and few in this area ..

My nearest Echo dealer is almost 40 miles away. I still would rather drive there than deal with Husqvarna that's just a 1/2 mile from the house or Sthil just beyond them. Buying from dealer that that is also authorized to do warranty work is far different than dealing with just an outlet like Lowes. Had Stihl for a couple of years and could not get rid of ghem fast enough. They ran good and all. My problem was they were so uncomfortable to use that it felt as if you had to fight them the entire time. The rubber handle was to soft and wanted to twist while the design of the angle head did not work for me.

 

[Two Dogs]

The only weed eaters I have found to be reliable are a goat and Roundup.

 

[bishopNlouisiana]

Do not buy Ryobi.

I bought a gas powered Ryobi a couple of years back. It lasted 1/2 season then the head quit spinning. I call factory and ask them about Ryobi's 2 year warranty. The lady said it was a no questions, total warranty. I took it to a local dealer shop.
The shop called me in three days and said it was ready.
When I arrived the dealer shop said it would cost me $35 for the repaired spinning head.

I baulked at the cost and ask why any fee at all it has a 2 year warranty.

The service man wrote up the repair ticket as CUSTOMER ABUSE.

I raised a ruckus and paid. Vowing never to return to this shop.

The repaired spinning head came loose about three weeks later. BFI picked it up that Thursday.

 

[grandpa Love]

20 volt DeWalt. 2 batteries should do for ya!

 

[davyfireball]

I had a echo for 15 years and then it wouldn’t start. I got a new carb from Amazon cost $12 still wouldn’t start the coil moved it was 0.25 moved it to 0.12 thou and it runs like a Scalded dog. If it doesn’t start on the first pull. It’s because Kill switch was on . To replace string cut 7.5 inch and just slide it in the cutting head. So easy a caveman could do it.

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

What is BFI?

 

[4520BW]

Just recently purchased a Milwaukee 18v weed eater. All my cordless tools are Milwaukee so I went with it. I can run it about 30 minutes on a amp hour battery. A week after I got mine they can out with a deal if you but the trimmer you get a free blower or hedge trimmer.

 

[Mule Meat]

(quoted from post at 19:04:36 07/27/18) What is BFI?

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

Mule Meat; I thought it might be something like that, but I also expected the letters BFI to stand for some raunchy phrase like WTF. I never would have figured it out. Thanks.

Stan

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Richard,Carol bought herself one of those two wheel walk behind weed eaters about 15 years ago from TSC when she worked there.It cuts great and easy to use sure beats carrying one around.

 

[RWT]

Hey Stan,

It's the garbage man.

RT

 

[oldsarge]

Browning-Ferris Industries aka Sanford & son

 

[oldsarge]

But I bet you don't get no pie....................................................gtm

 

[W_B]

(quoted from post at 12:11:33 07/28/18) Richard,Carol bought herself one of those two wheel walk behind weed eaters about 15 years ago from TSC when she worked there.It cuts great and easy to use sure beats carrying one around.

I bought one a few years ago and hate to use it, it is too hard to use around the farm on fence rows and barnyard. I fell like I have done a week's work in just a few hours. I prefer a carry around one. To each there own.

 

[Hobo,NC]

I brought a Husqvarna this spring at Lowes for $179 and love it. My uncle Brought a Stihl the carb needs adjusting all the time. I don't think its unusual because right regular a customer stops by with one in the bed of there pick up headed to the dealer because it does not idle well. The local Kubota dealer has Stihl, Echo, and Shindawa they swear by the Shindawa. They had a open house a few weeks ago the Shindawa's were on sale the cost was inline with the other top of the line trimmers.

I have no complaints with my Husqvarna it starts well and runs well. I am using there gas cuzz I brought a bunch to get the extended warranty..

 

[booyah11]

Spent many summers weed eating at the Airport, we had a variety of brands, heads, shaft designs, bars, straps...they all sucked.

I learned how to tune carbs, treat burns and understood the value of safety equipment, but other than that working a gas powered trimmer is miserable.

Definitely go battery powered, I have a 40v Green Works. The stock head is junk so swapped it for this one. With four lines of 0.105 I can make it through the whole yard without changing.

Less vibration, less noise, no fuel mixing, no concerns about long term storage, no tuning and best of all...no more burns.

-Tyler