Which Weed Eater to Buy

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Looks like they have few dealers in Fresno... The new ones look almost exactly like the Echos I have....:/:

The biggest brush cutter Shindaiwa shows is the C3410 and that is 34 CC. That would hold up to our abuse up here. Might have to call the dealer in Fresno and see what they are priced. Also see the warranty. I do get to Fresno from time to time. Might be worth looking into. The only ones I have ever seen are owned by the landscapers with about 25cc edging lawns down in the valley.

Seriously they look A LOT like the Echos. :what:
c3410.jpg


SRM410U-2.jpg
 
Darin, we use Shindaiwa. Not sure which model, but we have had them a while and they have held up really well.
 
on a personal note ..... I'll run the clearing saw on my own land , but RARELY do I sell whacker hours to the public ..... thankfully I'm in a position to choose .....
 
those chisel blades sure can cut, buy man are they finicky. Touch one rock and they dull
 
They sell all kinds of different blades here, in various price ranges. There is a good market for them, few folks using the string types, and I see new designed blades appearing all the time. Some are high tech looking and very light. With a abrasive wheel for sharpening carbide, that you put on a baby hand held grinder, the blades can be easily sharpened. Always hitting rocks, I buy the cheap blades. One generally lasts a couple seasons.
 
Stephen, I'm pretty sure the "Sharpening Shop" in Turlock carries and services Shindaiwa. Several years back they had not met the California emissions standard but that may have changed.
 
Thanks Steve... I'll check it out.. I am interested in what Shindaiwa has to offer. I tossed Stihl brush cutters last year after all the carburetor problems among other problems that kept recurring.
 
When the last one dies Willie I will invite you to the funeral:lol:
On a good note... In that Stihl parts are expensive, the parts robbed off the dead have at least paid for another FS 250 in savings... :lol:
 
I run the Stihl 480 and am really happy with it.
I also have one of their 4-stroke jobs for using with a string head.
I have used that for 2 years with a cutting attachment like a hedge clipper for cutting aquatic plants out of waterways, cutting under water.
Doing that, the machine runs at full rpm all day, really gets a gruelling workout. It has held up to that for 2 seasons and I just landed a job clearing 55 km of ditches and creeks this summer, so we'll see if it hold up for another season.
 
I don't mind killing weeds, if they are big enough......like 4 feet DBH:D

I had a t-shirt from Humboldt county, Ca once with an oldtime picture on the front of two fallers and a gigantic redwood, the text was: Humboldt Redwoods, anything else is just a weed.
 
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Its my mother-in-laws yard that has inspired the purchase, that and we did a removal the other day in an overgrown backyard that would have been quicker to clean up if we had weed wacked first.

I bought a Shindaiwa today. I'll check the model number later.
 
Weed eating for fire prevention then leads to ladder fuel reduction that then leads to tree work :D Don't make ya rich, but it keeps food on the table when they mandate it :D And a healthy client and referral base :D
 
I would recommend getting a Stihl KM 130 R. I have one and it is nice because you can take the trimmer head off and put different attachments on like a tiller, pole saw, hedge trimmer, etc… It is a great trimmer I use one everyday. A lot of people would say stay away from the 4 MIX because of the valve problems but Stihl has corrected the problem on all of the newer models.

My vote is Stihl KM 130R


Just my $0.02...

Nick
 
Poulan also makes an inexpensive polesaw,weed eater ,tiller gizmo .

I have one and it does fine for my needs but it wouldn't be good for professional use .

As far as line feed heads ,I used to go through about one a year on the Echo .One tap to reel out line and the damned thing would fly apart sending the head at 100 miles per hour probabley ending up in the next county .

The nylon blades hold up well and they will cut down a small tree if you are persistant .In the long haul they are much more economical than buying line and new heads .Besides that they cut much better .
 
We tried several heads on the echo Al... Yup, a couple of them do that... I hit a pine cone with the heavy head and it exploded in ten different directions:lol:
I took it right back. One of the hardware stores up here had an Echomatic Pro head so we tried it... The springs on the heads are too sensitive to tapping also. Feed line constantly. So the first fix was the Echomatic Pro, better head. Then open the head and stretch the spring in it to make it harder to feed the line. Then it will take a normal tap. They also make conversion kits for the Sthil 25-2 head that I personally like. I just hate what they are charging for them now and they have cheapened the plastic on the rings and buttons. Echomatic is $22.00 up here and the buttons are about 10.00. No ring and the head lasts quite well. Stihl 25-2 head is now about $36.00 and the button and ring are about 12-13.00 apiece. The plastic on the echo head lasts a bit longer IMO and does not clog up with dirt like the 25-2 does. Tough conditions up here though... Rocks, DG, VERY LARGE pine cones (Grey Pine). BTW they all work well on the occasional rattlesnake. :lol::lol:
 
Yikes! I always warn my guys when we are working in the hills during the summer about snakes. For all the fear regarding snakes I think it's been 4 years since someone was bitten locally here.
 
Rattlesnakes always hit the head.... They strike at it... Rob has almost got hit a few times... Last year about a 4 footer.. Moving a log... For me it's always the babies I find... Just before they find me. I am a bit more aware and cautious as I worked and lived in AZ for 10 years, mostly plumbing after my business closed. They are constantly in the trenches, water boxes and wood piles. You always have a shovel, stick or McLeod to move stuff and keep in front of you....
 
The only line trimmer head I use is the fixed aluminum one where you stick the line in manually. They NEVER break and if you have the lines ready to go, they are quick to change out. I got fed up with the self feeding heads.
 
I use those too, but for more cutting poison oak and such. Pencil size. I have used it for detailing rock walls and it works nicely. However, for just our grasses here on a production basis, tap feed heads with .095 diamond line is very efficient and effective. If I use the fixed head with a crew, I suffer a 30 percent (min) loss in production. When I did the math... String was cheaper ;)
And we precut the line to carry with us. We also precut line for the tap heads and carry at least two spoolings with us per person.
 
Smoked as shot him, or smoked as prepared him to be dinner?
The guy who was bitten here was digging through a lumber pile.
 
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