Need weed eater recommendation

Mine is a Husqvarna two stroke, one of the heavier duty "Landowner" models, I forget which one specifically. I've had is 3 years now with about 600' of fence to trim plus various other spots of my yard. I have no complaints.

I don't think I'd buy a 4 stroke for the reasons listed above, heavier and slower head speed, but I've never owned one.
 
I mow professionally and have done so for 30 years. Get the ECHO 266 and you will never buy another trimmer....period! STIHL and Husky are good units but they want money for the name. Also, go to a ECHO dealer, not home depot.
 
You can't go wrong with Stihl, Husqvarna, Shindaiwa, Echo, Redmax, or Dolmar. Like others have said, the ones at Lowes/Home Depot aren't quite the same quality. Since I'm a cheapskate, but always like high quality stuff, I bought a used Stihl FS85 pro grade trimmer off of craigslist for $80. It looked rough, but ran great. I've been using it for 5 years now, no issues. I think the gas it in is even over a year old, but it still starts every time.

frankenyoter said:
I have no real reason for my disdain of 4stoke weed eaters, but I would'nt have one unless it was free.
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I feel the same way, it a noise to speed ratio thing I guess, but it just doesn't seem right to have quiet outdoor power equipment!
 
I'm on my 2nd Echo. The first one was bought before I was born and it lasted about 20 years. One day the flywheel broke in half.. Why? Who knows...

Bought the equivalent replacement and kept on keepin on! If I remember right, the new one was a hair over 300 bucks, but well worth it to me. I've probably got 20+ blades of various tooth designs and the auto feed string head. It's never missed a beat! The only thing I've done to it was remove the spark arrestor since it would constantly clog up.

My buddy has two Husky weedeater. They're alright, but they don't seem to spin as fast as an Echo (both 2 strokes), they were right at 100 more, and I hate their controls! They Echo triggers are much nicer and the handles are more comfortable to me than the Husky. Never used a Stihl weedeater, but their chainsaws are amazing.
 
I know yall are gonna laugh at me, but I bought a $60 Weedeater brand at Sears in 2006. It still runs great. Starts on the 2nd pull every time. I do run 93 octane gas with Husqvarna 2 stroke mix.
 
sgtbriangreen said:
I know yall are gonna laugh at me, but I bought a $60 Weedeater brand at Sears in 2006. It still runs great. Starts on the 2nd pull every time. I do run 93 octane gas with Husqvarna 2 stroke mix.
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HAHAHAHAHA
But I pulled a Weedeater brand one out of my grandparents garage that had been sitting for at least 3 years and it started right up.
 
Back in the day, I had a Homelite that I literally tried to kill. My Dad gave it to me, somebody had given it to him. It had a bad trimmer head. I fitted a universal head and it worked like a champ. I left it outside all winter every year. In the spring, leaf cutter bees would pack the muffler full of leaves. Sometimes I'd have to pick them out with a nail, sometimes they'd blow out with the first couple of pulls. Anyway, it just kept running until one day the driveshaft broke or uncoupled or something. I was psyched, until I went and bought a new Troy-Bilt. It was an absolute dog compared to the Homelite! Took forever to warm up and never cut as well. I had to work on it every year. A buddy had the same one, and it chucked a rod the first year he owned it, so I used it for parts. I forget what killed it, but it's on the scrap pile now.
 
Stihl FS85 and 2 echos. Stihl had faulty carb from the factory, and never did start good. Finally fixed it. It has the handle bars, and shoulder strap. But the Echos always seemed more reliable. Im more of a Husqvarna guy in the chainsaw department, but cant fault the Stihls. Buy quality, and use good oil and gas.
 
Stihl has a one year warranty. But they have a synthetic oil you can buy. If you buy just ONE little bottle of the synthetic oil on the same invoice that you buy a new trimmer, your trimmer will have a TWO YEAR warranty, even if you never buy another bottle of synthetic oil. (keep your invoice/receipt)
 
I bought a Stihl FS130 about a month ago. 4mix engine. Uses 2 stroke oil but is a 4 stroke engine. Bought a pack of synthetic mix oil and doubled the warranty from 2 years to 4 years. Its the biggest pro series you can buy without going to handlebars and it is impressive. Weighs just over 12 lbs. I wouldnt buy anything else after running this one.

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My father has a Stihl FS85. Hes had it as long as I can remember and it always fires up.

I bought a Stihl FS80 back around 1998/1999 and it has been the best yard tool I've ever bought. I don't have a huge yard but that trimmer just keeps on going and fires right up, every time. choke, pull twice, choke off, and it fires right up, exact same as day 1, even after sitting all winter. Never done any maintenance, not even spark plug and its just flat out awesome! Well worth the $$$. I was considering the Shindawia but given the good luck my father had with his, I just couldn't pass up the Sthil and am 100% satisfied with it, so much I wouldn't even consider any other ones, even if they were free.
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
Just watch out each brand like stihl and husqvarna have economy versions like they sell in lowes and commercial versions sold at actual dealers. I swear by redmax as well been using for years and never missed a lick. I do however only run pure gas and none of the e10 in my small engines.
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Correct! Be sure to go to a landscape supply and buy it, not lowes or HD type places!
 
Echo all day
 
I've always been impressed that I can let mine sit all winter and never touch it, go to use it several months later, flip the choke and it'll fire up on the 3rd pull! My dad, being a total cheap ass, has gummed up a few 2 strokes trying to use 2 stroke boat oil. It's completely different stuff and not designed to burn the same way.
 
Being in the landscape business I have the perfect answer. The one with the longest full warrenty...:D

I use all reconditioned husqvarna from Northern Tool. Can't beat price. And the warrenty.

Did go through 2 echo's last season before I went Husq and sold my last echo return straight from Lowe's in the box on ebay to recoup.
 
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buy a stihl used to work at a dealer. buy a fs90r it will last u forever. i bought a km 90 same trimmer just has attachments. dont buy an echo. they are turds right out of the box point blank ..non-adjustable carbs will give u problems in two to three years seen it one two many times that 5 yr warrenty is good but you will probley have to use it. u can get a 4yr with the stihl if u buy the Hp ultra mix oil with the trimmer. any questions feel free to ask.. i can problem answer it
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SolarYellow05 said:
I bought a Stihl FS130 about a month ago. 4mix engine. Uses 2 stroke oil but is a 4 stroke engine. Bought a pack of synthetic mix oil and doubled the warranty from 2 years to 4 years. Its the biggest pro series you can buy without going to handlebars and it is impressive. Weighs just over 12 lbs. I wouldnt buy anything else after running this one.

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you can buy the fs250 with the loop. if u like the 130 the 250 is tits lol thats all my buddy runs

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ncpartsguy said:
Stihl has a one year warranty. But they have a synthetic oil you can buy. If you buy just ONE little bottle of the synthetic oil on the same invoice that you buy a new trimmer, your trimmer will have a TWO YEAR warranty, even if you never buy another bottle of synthetic oil. (keep your invoice/receipt)
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false they all come with a 2yr buy a six pack of oil get double.. 4yr warranty

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benmack1 said:
My father bought a Stihl (I think FS40) 3 years ago. He's always been a Stihl fan for their saws. However the trimmer seems to be a piece of crap. Very uncomfortable for me to use and more frustrating is he just had the coil go bad. The wire literally broke off the plug end. Kinda a pain to try and solder. He has a small lot so it hadn't had much use. The coil is about 70 bucks and Stihl apparently doesn't allow sales other than through dealers :flipoff: . I think he's gonna give up on it and go buy a cheapo. I've had a Ryobi and Troy built, both on the cheaper side. I have beat the hell out of the Ryobi mowing a 1300 ft ditch along with my normal yard trimming and an ongoing war with brush and kudzu. The Ryobi just died after 14 years and Troy built is now gonna get the test.
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hate to keep posting but..
3yrs ago that coil had a 5yr warranty that u probley didnt know about. now they only have a 2yr . and if it seemed cheep is because its the cheapest stihl u can get. curved shaft 149.95 job but they do have power.

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cgm147 said:
hate to keep posting but..
3yrs ago that coil had a 5yr warranty that u probley didnt know about. now they only have a 2yr . and if it seemed cheep is because its the cheapest stihl u can get. curved shaft 149.95 job but they do have power.

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Thanks on the warranty info. I'll mention to my dad and have him check it out. I am sure he has all his paperwork, he is a stickler for that kind of thing. That'll make his day if he can pull that off!
 
Stihl FS250r 2 stroke...slings grass like a scalded ape!!
 
Definitely Stihl, I work part time at an ace hardware, we sell echo, husqvarna, and stihl so I get to try them all. My full time job is landscaping and nothing touches the reliability of stihl products. Not to mention all stihl units come with a 2 year warranty that is doubled to 4 years with the purchase of a 6 pack of stihl oil (11.49).
 
Stihl straight shaft. Had one for about 20 years now. Wife threw it across the yard a few years ago during a deployment as it was too heavy for her, but it still goes strong. Did go thru a carb because of the ethonal gas but that is fair.
 
cgm147 said:
you can buy the fs250 with the loop. if u like the 130 the 250 is tits lol thats all my buddy runs

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Yeah I didnt realize it when I posted that. I glanced at the 250 but I couldnt really justify another $170 since I just use it every other week for 30 mins to an hour. I was originally going with the 90 but I knew I'd kick myself for not buying the 130. I finally got it in some grass that was heavy enough to open the throttle all the way up without hitting the rev limiter. Im still impressed every time I pick it up. Runs better every time I use it. Still not broke in yet. I hate weedeating and this thing has made me enjoy it.

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