buying a weed trimmer

Reid

Reid

Hasnt Seen Dirt in Years
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Location
Winston Salem
moving away from the "disposable" yard tool.

what should i be looking for in the way of gas trimmers?
 
For just a simple trimmer, I recommend Worx [ www]! Their battery powered, I have an older one with regular 18V battery. My Brother bought 1 after they switched to Lithium. We Both happy!
For Heavier cutting, stick with gas.
 
John Deere trimmers are only available used now. Shindaiwa or Stihl, or go home. If Shindaiwa, go with a larger model like the T282X (the X means it comes ready for a blade). If Stihl, go for the FS90R or larger. Shindaiwa carries a slightly better warranty, but I've worked on less Stihl. I'd have to push you towards a combi-system, where you can swap the attachments. Less tools, more abilities.
 
f i s h said:
One word



Stihl


Don't care how old you are, take care of it and it will be the last one you buy!
Click to expand...
….everything in my garage is Stihl…chainsaws, blower, pruning saw, backpack sprayer,weed trimmer,hedge trimmers……spend the money once and you're done. Made in the USA too!
 
the best closest to commercial grade you can find/afford.

Stihl has been pretty good once I got the line feed broken in.

thing I found was the fuel I was mixing was never consistent, so I had to run the hell out of it to get anything done, yeah, I used non ethanol fuel, but even mixing only a gallon at a time, the mix was lacking by the time I got half way thru. and by the end of the gallon, it was running like ass.

the one Quart premixed fuel in a can is the shit ! my Stihl has never run better, and runs well ALWAYS, 5 primer pushes, choke and one pull, it's running, and stays running, when hot, one pull and it's running again. even after sitting the winter, started right up like I had just fueled it.

yeah, its a bit more expensive, but so are repairs and down time dicking with getting it running again. choose your battle.
 
Last edited:
In Wendell at the john Deere place u can get them anytime new. Not sure where u heard that they are only used. Comes with a 5 year free replacement warranty on shaft and lifetime warranty on motor.
 
Feeding any gas power tool fresh fuel is critical. I put Stabil in at every fill up of my fuel tanks. I've made that a habit better safe than sorry. 93 octane isn't a bad idea either.

I can go take pictures of two POS trimmers that my Stihl replaced ready to give to some other poor soul wanting a headache!
 
standalone


Buy USA!
 
f i s h said:
Feeding any gas power tool fresh fuel is critical. I put Stabil in at every fill up of my fuel tanks. I've made that a habit better safe than sorry. 93 octane isn't a bad idea either.

I can go take pictures of two POS trimmers that my Stihl replaced ready to give to some other poor soul wanting a headache!
Click to expand...

yeah, I used non ethanol 93, and Stabil and just a bit over oiled the fuel, still never used the fuel fast enough to keep it form going bad, part of it is me, I really dislike using trimmer, and for that reason I'm sure it's why I've had such issues with them.

well that and trimmers are sized for the "average" operator, 5'6" or so, I'm 6'4", and I have to stoop to use one, kills my back, and I hate it.
 
thanks for the input guys.

Stihl would be my brand of choice. i have heard about the pre-mix. if i dont do 4cycle i'll probably start using premix fuel. I already have a stihl leaf blower, hand me down from my dad 8 years ago. runs great. And just picked up a stihl chain saw i need to do a little work on.


Can anyone tell me about curved shafts and straight shafts? also, bump feed and ?? what other options are there?
 
Or just buy a lithium-powered one.
 
liftedblazer97 said:
In Wendell at the john Deere place u can get them anytime new. Not sure where u heard that they are only used. Comes with a 5 year free replacement warranty on shaft and lifetime warranty on motor.
Click to expand...

They must have a huge amount of old stock. I work for John Deere, and they don't offer handheld power equipment any longer. They never really even made their own equipment, most of it was rebadged Echo or Poulan pieces.

@Reid Curved shafts are great for ditch banks, but the drive cable is the weak link. I suggested the higher end models with straight shafts (better for getting under bushes) as they are a solid driveshafts, not a twisted strand cable. As for the heads, the options are practically endless. What I'd suggest is a speed loading bump head (pick your brand) with a Gator line (made by Oregon). Stick with a round line in a bump head. Square cuts better, but doesn't feed out as well.
 
Last edited:
Reid said:
thanks for the input guys.

Stihl would be my brand of choice. i have heard about the pre-mix. if i dont do 4cycle i'll probably start using premix fuel. I already have a stihl leaf blower, hand me down from my dad 8 years ago. runs great. And just picked up a stihl chain saw i need to do a little work on.


Can anyone tell me about curved shafts and straight shafts? also, bump feed and ?? what other options are there?
Click to expand...

Straight shafts are great for flat ground and sawing brush/small trees, curved are better for weeds and hills and ditches.
 
Stihl
Straight shaft
Blade capable

Sold this stuff for a few years. All I own/owned is commercial grade Husky or Stihl.

Only exception is the Poulan Pro I got for .10 on the dollar when I worked for bLowes. Made it a cheap project. Gutted the muffler, tweaked the carb a little and opened up the chain oiler ports with a drill bit. We have yet to be able to kill it. It stays at my buddy's hunt camp to rip firewood and clear shooting lanes. If it falls out of the rig or off the 4wheeler we aren't out a ton of $$.
 
Have a stihl for the last 10 years use the still mix it has stabilizer in it fires after the second pull in the spring.
 
Not sure I believe that. Kinda hard to believe its not there product. And they definitely still sell handheld. The one in Wilson also has them. Look online if your confused. Don't know why the one in Wilmington is so different then the others. My zero turn also came from the one in Wendell.
 
Once again, Stihl. I had a Troy-Bilt 4 stroke that I thought was pretty good. It died after 2-3 years and I nursed it along the last year. I picked up a Stihl Kombi FS110 powerhead for free from a guy that said it wouldn't run and only good for parts. an hour of tinkering and cleaning and it runs better and stronger than the Troy-Bilt when it was fresh out of the box. The Kombi is a great deal too. change out the end for trimmer, prunner, blower, edger....

Buy Once, Buy Stihl.
 
I just recently bought a Dolmar 4-stroke trimmer. Been a really good one so far. Easy to start, no mixing gas, and is really quiet. I personally dont think the new Stihl stuff is as good as the older models, but thats just my opinion.
 
I ran mine about 40 minutes each time. It was NOT dead, I was just finished trimming edging, my lot.

The string is nice and thick also .080"
 
Back
Top