Which Weed Eater to Buy

[Old Monkey]

I need a weed eater for work and the home, does anyone have a make or model they especially like?

 

[woodworkingboy]

They are selling four cycle models here now. Lots of power I'm told, and no mixing the g with the o. Somewhat heavier in weight perhaps.

 

[lumberjack]

The 4 strokes here still require mix gas.

 

[squisher]

My Stihl weedwacker works like a charm. I can't remember the model but I bought a pro model, two stroke.

 

[rumination]

We used the Shindaiwa T270 model at the Arboretum when I worked there. They got some serious use and abuse and held up well and were reliable and easy to work on. A decent amount of power too.

 

[woodworkingboy]

The only four stroke I've seen had a separate oil tank. Farmers use them heavily around the perimeter of their rice fields, some connection between tall grass and undesirable insects. The person with the four stroke tells me that it's pretty much the only one he uses now, though his garage is full of two strokes.

 

[Altissimus]

Husky 235 can take the beat and run all three popular head styles ..... For the $$$ Red Max makes a decent trimmer ..... stay away from shit brands such as Ryobi or Green Machine which are NOT worth fixing (or buying) ...

 

[woodworkingboy]

I also had a Shindaiwa, years of use through abuse.

 

[sotc]

My first one got stolen, I replaced it with the fs 130 r. It is smaller than the last one but has worked well for me, I have put the circle blade attachment, the hedge attachment and the weed head on it. Also heard it will run the chainsaw attachment in smaller wood but havent tried it. :thumbsup: from me

 

[sawinredneck]

I swear buy the Shindawia weedeaters. They do have "four mix" models out now. Mix the gas and oil as normal but it's a four stroke.
My dad bought a 22t homepro about six years ago. I put a new ring in it for him last year. Still going strong! I've had my powerhead for seven or eight years now. Clean the carb every other year but I think the coil is getting weak.
I like them, easy to work on, reasonable parts etc.

 

[Frans]

Shindawia is a great brand and less $ than Stihl. I have run the Shinsawia's into the dirt and they still keep on ticking.

One nice feature about them is their longer shaft. Which means I don't have to hunch to one side to comfortably wack weeds.

You may want to consider that point in your selection

I also really really like the fs250. But when I bought it, I think I paid almost a grand for it.
Works like a charm

 

[Chisel Tooth]

Darin most of the Park and Rec crews back in KC. were running FS80 and FS95 Stihls. Theses are straight shaft trimmers, with the four mix engines on them, pretty much the same powerhead that is on the Ht101 and HT131. They have a life time warrany on the drive shaft, and I didn't see many problems with them other than abuse, and use. Oh yeah, this can also run a blade.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I don't see why anyone would want to not run a blade, unless you are working around a lot of rocks. You can sharpen the blade yourself too.

 

[Chisel Tooth]

You can also run a poly cut head on one of these, some here like to run a blade in taller grass.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Blades cut so much faster, and thicker stocks, don't they? Just wear some leg protection, they can really sling a rock.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Please see edit at bottom of this post.

I bought two Echo's last year and they have not had a problem at all.... The last 4 Stihls I bought were nothing but a liability... Two are parts machines and two are still running after 3 new carburetors each over two seasons. They too are going to become parts for each other till I just have a box of parts to Ebay.
I have not tried the Echo 280U but it is supposed to have the same power as the 311 I am running now. And that 311 kicks an FS 250's behind. Unfortunately the 311 is no longer... I also have a 400U that is just a beast and will about cut anything you run into. I am going to buy a 280U next and see how it does. I would bet it will do fine and would be good for both work and home.. Buy the weed eater as a homeowner and you'll have a 5 year warranty. They give you 1 year commercial. Also ask your rep if you can rent or try one on a trial. My dealer here let me try one and said I could bring it back in 30 days if I did not like it.
They are 2 stroke. And I put over 1000 hours per year on each unit BTW.

280U on up will run a blade. I do on all my units in clearing situations.

Edit: Since this post The Echos I bought ended up having filter problems and ingested dirt causing them to fail. Echo honored their warranty and made right by them. I also own a 280U and that also had to be replaced under warranty. We gave Echo some input on the filter issues and they handled them by redesigning the filter for the 280U.
All three are now running and have been. I expect I may lose one this season to possibly the same issues. Probably the 311U.
As far as me dissing Stihl FS 250s. I have rebuilt most all I own and they out cut the Echos in thick nasty green grass. They also use less line on the 25-2 Bump head than the Echomatic Pro bump head. Echos use less fuel. But not enough to off set the cost of line.
Stihl has the faster head speed and power. Echo more torque. The newer 400 series has a faster head speed rating than the one I purchased prior to the new design. The head is only rated 10,000 RPM however. Stihl I can run over 12000. FS 250 is a lighter weight unit also. Echo 400 series has a longer reach and weighs more. Due to slower head speed and design of the head on the Echos, they wrap more in stringy grass than the Stihls do.
I feel the Stihls had a few points against being successful and less problematic in the field.
One: Employees are harsh on equipment and never can tell when something is going wrong. Downsizing has lowered our service cost amazingly.

Two: Checking tune regular by me as the owner has helped a lot of situations. Lean out conditions seem to have stopped with simple checks on RPM and tune every day to every other day.

Three: We are hard on our gear. We run these things day after day in the summer heat and probably put a lifetime of hours on them in one summer.

Four: Dealership has a learning curve also. I feel we experienced some of that inexperience with the service on the units. We still sometimes have things come back out of the shop that are not quite right.

Five: Owner service and repair has helped offset some of the above

Six: Running a more rich mixture of oil to gas (closer to 40:1) and running full synthetic Stihl 2 stroke mix has helped keep the engines cooler and better lubricated. Especially with our ethanol fuel here in CA.

Seven: Ethanol Fuel. Synthetic mix helped the situation as did running a cleaner fuel from a name brand company such as Chevron or Texaco. We were getting dirty fuel up here.

Eight: I think Stihl has solved some of the carburetor problems we were experiencing with the Zama carburetors. Stihl purchase Zama about the time we were having these issues.

Bottom line for me now, Sthil works best for me. They are also the more expensive weed eater aside from maybe Husqvarna to run.

I hope this edited post helps future readers to make more educated decisions on their purchases. I would also like to add, that the Echo warranty is hard to beat.
Try to demo several brands. Look up parts costs. How good is your local support.
Nough said

 

[Al Smith]

I have some model of Echo which I don't remember the model number of .I run nylon blades on it and it will gnaw off a sapling if I so choose .

The most powerful I've ever seen was a McCulloch which had a 30 some cc engine it . Late model thing but more power of any wacker I've ever seen .Heavy as lead too ,I might add .

 

[sotc]

I like the chisel tooth blades for hedging

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Ditto that Willie. Easy peasy to sharpen too with a 5/32 file. Use them a lot on poisen oak stands and thinning thick stands of baby pines up to 2 "....

 

[MasterBlaster]

I prefer chain saw teeth.

 

[Koa Man]

Thorough some 20+ years of landscape maintenance, I have found that Shindaiwa makes the best line trimmers. I have the M231, which has the quick change shaft. Echo makes the best blowers. Stihl makes the best climbing saws and a couple of the bigger saws like the 460 and 660. A Stihl line trimmer that I bought did not hold up and an Echo did not last me very long either.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

You would like that blade if your option was ground cutting on your hands and knees 100 plus trees.....

 

[thattreeguy]

You would like that blade if your option was ground cutting on your hands and knees 100 plus trees.....

pole chainsaw and pole hedger are great for berries and poison oak
gin su style chopping

i use the shindiawa and love it, little rough on the hands, from the vibration, but a good machine
its like a honda mower...starts 1 or 2 pulls every time

 

[CurSedVoyce]

pole chainsaw and pole hedger are great for berries and poison oak
gin su style chopping

Got a couple of those too Both the hedger and saw on a stick

I have heard great things about the Shindaiwa. I have to consider who would service it up here though. And I like 30-40 plus cc to handle the work we have up here. A 25 cc is a waste of time up here. I use those for detail in light or dry grass. Acreage, you need all the power you can carry for 8 hours a day.

 

[thattreeguy]

i dont know if my shindiawa can be bought in ca anymore,
but i havent serviced mine, since well a few seasons ago