Dad's 16 y/o Craftsman 32cc weed eater ran great until it didn't. Parts and trouble shooting but had low compression. It was a good reliable unit that could run a saw blade attachment, nice.
Nothing I'm thrilled with at the box stores.
YT mechanics like Echo and Stihl. There's a Stihl dealer here in town I may look at this week. Also a mower shop that may have used models.
So, what would you recommend or not recommend?
Weeds are getting out of control here.
TIA
I love my Dewalt battery weed eater. If he wants a traditional string replace the head with a universal Husqvarna T35 head.
2nd dewalt. 2 5ah batteries do my acre yard and i have a lot of stuff to do around
What timing, my craftsman power head is on its way out after 3 years.
I'm actually looking to go battery but want to keep my trimmerplus accessories.
I love my Milwaukee 18V tools including the yard ones. I have my old M18 weed eater for sale because I bought the new power head version to run a weed eater and edger. I have a new battery and charger to go with the weed eater as well.
No matter which brand, go battery. It's so much nicer.
Stihl.
12 years ago I saw the way and the light - tossed everything else to the curb.
I couldn't be happier with the small engine stuff... oh wait, I bought one of their battery lawnmowers recently. I was wrong, it is even better!
Cry once - buy Stihl. Bonus points if the dealer is a local business in your community.
stihl is the gold standard for a reason.
Stihl. Their dealers can actually service stuff.
Also funny timing because the ancient very basic Craftsman weed eater my MIL gave me many years ago crapped out last summer. I probably could work on it and get it running again, but I'm not motivated.
Stihl. The one.
Stihl is top notch. I've had a Husqvarna for 6 or 7 years now. Between our property and the club track it does a lot of hard work and it's been perfect. I'd buy another.
My Ryobi is a beast.
I have an Echo and I love it. I use True Fuel in it, and it always starts even after sitting for months. Best part is the trimmer head; you just cut two chunks of line and push them in the holes on the head. It locks the lines in automatically. That alone makes it awesome.
That said, when it goes, I'll replace it with a battery powered unit.
My 13 year old husqvarna is a fantastic piece of equipment, but i cannot reccomend husqvarna as a brand anymore.
I have recently gotten a ryobi 40v and absolutely love it. Been through two heads full of string already.
I haven't seriously considered battery power, yet. Most at the orange and blue stores are equivalent to a 21.5cc gas trimmer. Really? I'd like to use an attachment saw blade if possible, weeds left too long have woody stalks that string won't cut. But I'll consider them.
I'll stop at the Stihl dealer after Labor day. I like good quality stuff but if too spendy I'll look used models at the Mower shop just to get through the year.
My long time buddy swears by Stihl, preferably used and he has a lot of land. My lawn guy that I hired at Dad's place swears by them also.
I may consider others if this washes out but I gotta cut soon.
Another Stihl vote. I bought a pro landscaper's used FS100RX and it's great. Power to really handle thick growth. Easy starting. It's a big step up from consumer grade.
My huskvarna has been great. I forget the number but it is a bigger model. I saw several landscapers using them in the area a couple years back so I got the one that they use at the local mower service place that serviced many of the landscaping companies stuff. Still see them in use around town.
BTW this was not a $100 trimmer it was about $300 or so if I remember. I figure that if it lasts a season with a landscaper it will last me 20 years.
My Ryobi 40V cordless seems as powerful as any 30cc gas strimmer but requires nothing more than remembering to toss the battery on the charger and hour before use. No maintenance, no premix, no gas, no problem. I haven't had to tear down a small engine carb in years! I get 40 minutes on a single battery which is longer than I want to be doing yardwork anyway
In reply to dean1484 :
Same here. Mine's a 128. Starts on the third pull every time, even after sitting over winter. I spoke to an arborist recently who uses both Stihl and Husqvarna, saying he preferred the power of the Stihl, but that the Huskies were better built, longer lasting machines.
I'm a big fan of the battery-operated versions, I had my Milwaukee brush cutter/string trimmer working hard for 4 hours today, and there was no noise that would disturb the neighbors. I can be out there at 5am in the summer when it's light out and no one is the wiser! Same thing for the chainsaw!
How much string trimming do you have? I have a corner lot, sidewalk and curb to trim plus all the beds around the deck and house. I got a cheap B&D set, blower and trimmer for under a hundred, it lasted 5 years. Bought another set, it went up to 120 now. The stuff worked but the batteries were weak. It seemed more cost effective to buy 2 new tools as they came with 2 new batteries.
porschenut said:How much string trimming do you have? I have a corner lot, sidewalk and curb to trim plus all the beds around the deck and house. I got a cheap B&D set, blower and trimmer for under a hundred, it lasted 5 years. Bought another set, it went up to 120 now. The stuff worked but the batteries were weak. It seemed more cost effective to buy 2 new tools as they came with 2 new batteries.
I have a double city lot but what I actually cut is about 1/4 acre. City curb is 100' long, so edge curb and sidewalk. Easier to cut with weed eater than push mower because lumpy from people parking on it and gas and water company made a lumpy mess when they dug up curb, plus tree stump.
Trim around house walks, parking spots, along two garages and out back to prevent the woods from moving in. So, prolly enough.
Reminds me I need an edger attachment.
Appears everybody has their favorite brand in gas or battery. that's great info.
But, are there any brands/ models that are turds and should be avoided?
I looked on CL and FB MP, there are several on each site. $50-75 used, one Stihl for $150. Some are selling because switch to battery from gas. Seems legit for the most part.
I would avoid anything used at those prices. Brandy brand new without someone else's greasy dickbeaters all over it a Stihl gas powered unit runs between $159 and $229 depending on if you want straight shaft or curved shaft.
Used weed whackers should be at most a $20 purchase regardless of make/model/condition. I have a Tanaka that I got for $10 at a swamp meet thats got 10 years of runtime on it, all it needs is gas added. If I was going to buy new on a residential lot I would get whatever brand of cordless tools I am married to, in my case case a Milwaukee M18.
For edgers if you wanna make some hay source yourself a used Tanaka TLE-600
I'm still using the same 40v Ryobi trimmer I bought 8 years ago: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/i-gave-up-on-2-stroke-power-equipment-hello-40v-co/102423/page1/
With a 4Ah battery is handles the whole yard including blowing everything off. Runs a bush blade no problem. I'm never mixing gas again.
You'll need to log in to post.
