Need Advice on Weed Wacker

[Solid State]

OK, time to buy a new one. Had an original WeedEater for 12 years (the green painted one - 2 stroke). Then a 2stroke Echo for 10 years that needs parts/repair. Wife bought me a Sears deal for Fathers Day- 2stroke. It's a piece of junk. Weighted a ton and vibrated my hands into total numbness. Also had a handle that had a huge seam across the palm. Took it back last week. Now need a replacement.

I trim both sides of 120' driveway plus the pad, 60' sidewalk, 220' frontage, all around the house and edge around trees and so on. Takes a good hour to do the trimming with the week wacker each week.

Don't know what brand to buy. Went to get parts for a Kubota tractor today (they ordered the wrong parts again!) and they sell Husqvarna and Stihl. They had a couple homeowner 2stroke Stihls - didn't find one that felt good. Had a bunch of Husqvarna’s - all commercial 2-strokes and 4-strokes. Prices started at $279 for either make/model. They even had models that were 4-mixes. They are supposed to be 2-strokes with valves! I asked what's the advantage of that and the parts/sales guy said EPA.

What's up with 4strokes? Looks like they hold about 2 tablespoons of engine oil. Seems like they might burn up faster than 2-strokes and weigh much more.

Can anyone give me the skinny on a make/model or even 2-stroke vs. 4stroke for my needs. Don't really care about the cost. Just want ten years of 1hr/week with little/no maintenance and good balance with light weight. My back ain’t what it used to be.

Much appreciated.

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

I just can't imagine how a 4stroke could be anything like lightweight. I have a lot of week-eating I do too.......Bought an Echo (2stroker) a few years ago, thinking they were highly rated, and it hasn't been the most dependable. Next time I'll go with Stihl...........they make awesome chainsaws. Husky has a good rep too, but I have no experience with their wackers.

 

[AndyO]

Without question Stihl have the lightest most reliable weedeaters on the market. Use your bikes premix gas and in about five minutes the yard smells like the track!

 

[junkjeeps]

I currently own an Echo(about 4 years now) and have been pleased. Stihl makes a very nice machine but they are pricey. Robin makes a machine that is super light but again pricey($400 range). If you weedeat that much driveway, have you considered an edger? They roll vey easy and the blades can adjust for depth and width. Whatever you buy should definetely be commercial otherwise it won't hold up if you do as much as you say. I work on a lot of small engines and most of the Homelite, Sears, Ryobi, Weedeater brand stuff is junk. They're disposable. Use them until they break and throw them away. I won't work on those types. I tell the person to toss it and buy another. Only ones I'll waste any time on are Stihl, Husky, Robin or Echo. I've never had the pleasure of using or working on a Shindawa, but I hear they are very good machines as well. Most of the commercial lawn guys around here use them. Don't know much about the 4 strokes, but for the task at hand, seems a 2 stroke would be better suited for the job. Just my 2 cents.

Mark

 

[mideastrider]

I had a Green Machine that I got new in about 1982. It ran forever, about 4 years ago it just didn't work any more could not find parts to rebuild it. I needed something quick so I found one at big lots for 49.95 worked good about 3 times.(junk)
I got a new 4 stroke Honda weed eater about 2 years ago works great. Yes it holds about 2 or 3oz of oil but seems to be all it needs. Have never had to pull more than twice to get running.(I like that part)
Its not got quite the power of a big size 2-stroke weed eater. If you weed eat the same spots ever week like me not a problem. The only time you would really notice the power is not that of a 2-stroke is in big stuff like knee high big weeds.
Very happy with it no problems at all.

 

[bobbygrin22]

Toro or honda

 

[sparkysakitas]

or a couple of goats :)
no pre mix needed
most of the commercial guys around here use the stihl's
seem to hold up well
my lawn guy will be here on tues if its not to late ill ask him

 

[SpDyKen]

I have a Stihl FS74, I think; 11 to 13 years old. The only parts I have needed were a gas cap, a choke knob, (both broke,) and a new plastic string head, due to wear. I would say that mine runs just about as good as when I got it; mine has been used extensively for heavy weed & brush cutting, both string cutting and with the optional metal blade.

You will NEVER have problems getting parts for a Stihl because there are literally millions of them being used by landscaping professionals. Most parts are shared by more than 1 or 2 models; dealers are everywhere.
Some models have interchangable tool head options - weedeater, edger, hedgetrimmer, etc.

You will not regret spending the money for a Stihl, IMHO! :cool:

 

[Patman]

Shindawa. It's a beast that has cut ACRES of small trees as well as miles of line trimming. I have replaced the air filer and spark plug.

 

[nikki]

Stihl with the straight shaft :cool:

 

[Tony Eeds]

or a couple of goats :)
no pre mix needed

But the post mix residue can be smelly :nod:

The lawn guy across the steet uses Echo. That is what I have ...

Stihl makes great chain saws for sure and that will likely be the direction I go next time.

 

[sparkysakitas]

But the post mix residue can be smelly :nod:

The lawn guy across the steet uses Echo. That is what I have ...

Stihl makes great chain saws for sure and that will likely be the direction I go next time.

but think how green the grass and weeds would be :laugh:

 

[billtx]

Echo - have been using the same one since 1992. It runs well on Motul 32:1.

 

[DWreck]

Stihl with the straight shaft :cool:

We have had good results with these, I work at a golf course so our equipment gets a lot of hours on it in a hurry.

The straight shaft is the only way to go if you use them a lot.

 

[Okiewan]

Echo. Done.

 

[bsmith]

Echo :cool:

I have a record of breaking almost everything, and the Echo keeps taking the punishment!

I strap on the straight shaft and go to town :cool:

Maybe I should say, I use a shoulder harness, with the Straight shaft line trimmer, and go trim some bush :)

 

[Solid State]

WOW! Tremendous responses. Thanks for all your inputs.

I went to Home Depot where they have three types of Echo's on display - a homeowner curved shaft, a commercial straight shaft and a heavy duty commercial straight shaft.

The homeowner one was very light and the line reel used two strips of line that were pre-cut and inserted by hand with no auto line feed so that wont work for me. The commercial straight shaft one felt OK, but seemed to need a strap as it was heavier than my old Echo. It also had a reduced starter pull feature that was good, but did not have a strap or a link on the shaft to attach a strap (maybe you can purchase optionally?). It used a auto feed dual line deal. The heavy duty one was indeed heavy duty without the reduced pull feature. It was pretty heavy and had a link for a strap, but it appeared that the strap was not included. I think this one is too heavy. I did like that it had 20% more output and an engine vibration reduction feature.

So Goldilocks thinks maybe the straight shaft lighter commercial Echo with a strap.

Thanks for all you help. I’m surprised that so many DRN’ers have distinct loyalties to weed wacker brands – almost a Honda vs. Yamaha vs. Suzuki vs. Kawasaki thread!

 

[XRpredator]

I went to Home Depot

Buyer beware, the "name brand" stuff at Home Depot (Echo, John Deere, etc) is ALLEGEDLY second-tier stuff. You'll really only find the good stuff at your local dealer.

 

[Okiewan]

True, Echo's top of the line models aren't anywhere but their actual dealers. However, the models they supply thru Home Depot are still VERY GOOD stuff, not second tier, just not the top of the line. I've got their PE200 stick edger and ES-210 Shread "N" Vac. Used to have the 21cc trimmer as well, MUCH abuse over two years maintaining a moto track, left it for the owner when I moved.

 

[Thump]

I strap on the straight shaft and go to town :cool:

I use a shoulder harness, with the Straight shaft and go trim some bush :)

:whoa: Man, that don't sound so good. :yikes:

 

[bsmith]

;)

I looked tonight I have a SRM 2400, I think. The numbers are right not sure on the letters. I bought it at Spokane Power Tool, who's also an authorized dealer and repair shop.
As per Home Depot, like XRP Guy, I wouldn't buy any power tools there. Take the price and go to a dealer, see if they have something close.

 

[mdkuder]

Husqvarna chain saw, my wife has a White sewing machine (Husqvarna), I would own a TC250 if they would ever get any in the states and after my Ryobi explodes soon a straight shaft weed wacker will be my choice as well.

 

[CaptainObvious]

I think the quality of these types of power tools has taken a dive over the years.

My first string trimmer was a Ryobi that served me well for 10 seasons. I bought many attachments for it, including a tree trimmer/pruner and a brush cutter. The thing worked without any problems until the pull start went. Rather then repair a 10-year old unit, I bought a new Ryobi as a replacement that was very similar to my old unit.

It lasted one season.

In retrospect, I wish I had repaired the old unit. I use the attachements for the srting trimmer as much, if not more than, then the string trimmer itself. I don't want to purchase another Ryobi unit, but I also don't want to replace all of the attachments if I purchase a Stihl or Echo unit.

Damn the lack of quality products. Ten years ago we did spend more money for light power tools, but they lated a long time. Now they are half the price, but only have 25% of the useful life.

The only thing low cost labor (China) has given us is crappy products. Buy American.

 

[MX-727]

What I really hate is how they've made carbs hard to adjust. Who ever heard of a small two stroke that didn't need a little and sometimes a lot of tweaking. Some have caps that allow slight adjustment, but that isn't always enough. If you take the caps off, you need a special tool. Does anyone know where to get that tool?

 

[Solid State]

Thanks for the heads-up on the second tier stuff. I was a little suspicious that there was no strap on the $250+ unit even though the apparent quality looked good.