Weed Eater

[kurt]

Looking for something with some power. I am fed up with the ones that bog down when you are getting after it. I want to hit that throttle and just keep walking while it lays down the grass. My budget is $300 and i don't want to go over that. If i can't get anything decent for that then i will get an el cheapo $100 one and just deal with it. I am looking at echo right now but i have heard they aren't made like they used to be.

Talk to me. Whats a solid weedeater? No heresay, i need some first hand feedback.

Husqvarna has a 28cc one out......

 

[Just_Gerald]

husky professional grade are one of the best. thats what we use on the farm. Put the saw blade on it and can shop down small trees.

 

[DonsATV]

:mrgreen:

 

[dkf]

I have two echos(on early 80s one mid 2000s, a Husqvarna, a Tanaka, an older Stihl and several older 25cc and 30cc Homelite powerheads. All the major engine components of each brand will last a long time with care. The componets that surround the engine is usually what breaks and wears out. The Husqvarna I have is very good but its an older higher end professional model. The lower end consumer grade Husqvarnas are not so hot IMO. Stihl uses some weird designs and engine configurations, I'd buy their chainsaws but thats ab out it. A good Homelite trimmer hasn't rolled off the line for over a decade. I would go with the Tanakas personally, they are made very well and use quality componets. The Tanaka engines are tight from the factory so break them in with dino oil (about a gallon of mix) and go to a full synthetic oil. The straight shaft models come with solid driveshafts which are more duarable than the curved shaft trimmers with flex cables. Flex cables are only good for string heads and not blades. The biggest problem with small engines today is the EPA. The one Tanaka I have has a cat converter on it. The fixed needle compensating carbs can be an issue over time as well. The new Echo I have didn't run very well from new because of the carburetor it came with. After a carb swap to an adjustable carb it runs great. Fooling with 2-strokes is a hobby of mine so sorry for the long post.

 

[thumper68]

I've been useing these since to early 90's, had 3 of them and they rock, I beat the hell out of them, cutting trails in the woods for the wheelers, snowmobiles, and the paintball fields, along with useing them commercialy doing lawn care. In 91 I bought my first 2 to replace a sthil that died after 3 years. I still have the first 2 and added a 3rd a couple of years ago.

http://www.shindaiwa.com/

But my best advice would be to find a small eq dealer near you and buy the best thing you can afford from them. That way you have a service center near you that services your brand.

 

[72Blazer]

I just bought a Stihl FS 46.http://www.stihldealer.net/productd...toplvl-16-catid-16-subcat-16-catprods-68.aspxIt replaced a Weed Eater brand cheapie I got at Sears as a reconditioned one.Before that I had a Homelight which didn't last more that a few years.The Stihl has plenty of power for me plus this model has a longer shaft so its more comfortable to use.Its a little on the heavy side but no biggie.So far I like it.Last year I bought a Stihl blower and have had no issues with it so far.My neighbor let me try his Troy Built 4 stroke trimmer.I was nice but pretty damn heavy,heavier than the Stihl.Plus it had a straight shaft which was a little awkward to me.One of the pro use Stihls would be even better if you want to spend the $$.

 

[JeremyH]

 

[goobs]

husky FTW"thumbsup"

we use a 123l around the house and it works awsome.
we've had it about 5yrs and the only thing we've replaced was the the thing that holds the string.

 

[rugerboy]

you guys can dog homelite all you want. this thing kicks ass. i would put it against any weed eater but it does blow the string off some times:mrgreen:


i had this ddm dominator for my 5b laying around..... so one a.d.d. driven afternoon watchin lumberjack challenge (hot saws) i thought... ddm dominator..... 26cc weed eater..... and this was the result:shock:

do yard work

 

[Twiztid Metal]

Just my .02 cents, I'm sure youv probly tried this but. Have you tried running premium gas threw it? maybe get a different spark plug? also the mixture of 2 cycle makes a differance if mixxed wrong.

I know iv ran accross several push mowers that people thought were junk and bogged down in high grass, but just changeing the gas to premium and a better quality spark plug it ran better than new...

 

[thumper68]

Just my .02 cents, I'm sure youv probly tried this but. Have you tried running premium gas threw it? maybe get a different spark plug? also the mixture of 2 cycle makes a differance if mixxed wrong.

I know iv ran accross several push mowers that people thought were junk and bogged down in high grass, but just changeing the gas to premium and a better quality spark plug it ran better than new...

I use premium gas in all my small engines, and synthitic oil in all the 2 cycles. Amsoil 2 cycle oil if you can get it.
Oh yeah the zerk fittings are on the equipment for a reason, hit them all once a month during the season, more often if useing hard. For the trimmers I use a higher end string with aluminium particles in it.
In the fall before they are put away add some stabil fuel treatment to the fuel and run them dry then hit all the zerks with new grease till it comes out the color of new stuff. Don't know if it really helps but I hang the trimmers upside down, for long term storage.

Another tip is to clean all the grass from the bonnet or mower deck and give them a heavy coat of wd40.
I also sharpen all blades and change the oil in 4 stroke engines in the fall so they are ready to go in the spring.

 

[dkf]

Running premium fuel in a 2-stroke is a complete waste UNLESS you have the compression for it, which pretty much all stock motors under 35cc or so don't have. Guys are running coleman camp fuel in their 6+hp Zenoahs with over 150psi of compression. Coleman fuel is around 55 octane or so. All the outboard motors I have )6hp-130hp) run the best on plain old 87.

If you have a boggy weedeater with low power the first place I would look is the carb. The ethanol in the gas nowdays has a negative effect on the rubber parts in the carburetor, like the diaphram. If you want to save yourself a lot of hassle run straight gas (if you can find it) and some aqua colored Stabil.

 

[thumper68]

Running premium fuel in a 2-stroke is a complete waste UNLESS you have the compression for it, which pretty much all stock motors under 35cc or so don't have. Guys are running coleman camp fuel in their 6+hp Zenoahs with over 150psi of compression. Coleman fuel is around 55 octane or so. All the outboard motors I have )6hp-130hp) run the best on plain old 87.

If you have a boggy weedeater with low power the first place I would look is the carb. The ethanol in the gas nowdays has a negative effect on the rubber parts in the carburetor, like the diaphram. If you want to save yourself a lot of hassle run straight gas (if you can find it) and some aqua colored Stabil.

Thats the main reason I use the premium fuel, no ethanol, I don't use it for the higher octane

 

[2500hdon37s]

a good sthil will work, we have a cupple and and they rang from 7 years old to a year old and they all work flawlessly and cut great, ive ran the 87 pro (i belive) we have for a whole day and it never gave me a lick of trouble on;y had to reline it and gaas it up!

 

[cuzican]

I worked as an airport crash rescue firefighter for a couple of years....A.K.A. grounds keeper/maint. man because how often does a plane actually crash. LOL
Anyway we used to mow/weedeat all of the airport grounds and we used Stihl trimmers. We had one that was a four stroke...but it still burned mixed fuel. That thing was a little heavier than some of the other trimmers we had but it never bothered me because I'm big enough that it didn't matter.
If you want a weedeatin machine I'd go with the Stihl four stroke. It has WAY more torque than any other trimmer I've used. We would trim MILES of fence line with ours, simply pull the trigger and walk. No bogging no problems. But if you got to close to the fence it would grab quite a bit harder than the other trimmers and try to run away from you. LOL

 

[Boogie]

I had a Homelite straight shaft trimmer for over 10 years and it's still going strong, we just have to replace the string head every couple of years. I say "had" because my parents hijacked it and won't give it back now that the wife and I need it on our farm, lol. For a couple years, it was used pretty heavily while I was mowing yards to make some extra money during the summer.

Anyhow, I needed a weedeater the other day and attempted to use some cheap ass $60 walmart special that the in-laws had. It wouldn't even run without choking it to death for a few minutes, so I opted to go out and just buy a new one after that. I wanted to get something like a Husky but couldn't justify spending $250 on one, so I opted to go with a 27CC 2-stroke Troy-Bilt. I haven't had a chance to even take it out of the box yet, but hopefully it'll last as long as my old Homelite. Anyone had much luck out of the Troy-Bilts? I'm not expecting industrial grade from a $130 trimmer, but it'd be nice if it would at least last a few years.

I would think that since most trimmers and push mowers are pretty simple, you're really just buying a name since most of the engines come from the same source like the Briggs & Strattons that are in most push mowers. Granted some of them might make shitty decks that rust out in a couple years, but the little parts that might break are usually cheaply and easily replaced. You can get some genuine pieces of junk like a Weed Eater brand or something, but I think as long as you try to take half decent care of your stuff, you can make just about any decent made piece of equipment last quite a few years. Case in point, my old Homelite weedeater and Murray 22" 5HP push mower, both are still running strong after 10+ years of some pretty heavy use. All it takes is some routine maintenance, being stored correctly and not being abused by some half-wit.