Weed eater recommendation and rant!

[Brothers In Arms]

If you have light amounts of weed eating...get a stihl fs70 or fs 90....or an echo srm 266. If you have lots of trimming, or like me, you help out family members from time to time and their stuff is WAY out of control....get a stihl fs 110 or fs 130....echos largest srm 280 is only 28 cc's, so my money is on larger stihls there. I sell both every day at work and help tons of people get the right tool for the job. As others have said buy trufuel or sef 94 brands of premix.....expensive....yes....problems and headaches.....no. Go visit a reputable dealer in your area.

 

[SlowMotion]

I prefer Stihl but have an Echo edger and it works fine. The key, like others have said, is ethanol free fuel.

 

[harrycalahan]

Stihl bro. I'm still running a FS80 I pulled out of the dumpster back in 2008. Prior to that it was used commercially for a decade or better. Put the right mix gas in them and they'll run practically forever.

 

[Shortcut]

Stihl commercial from a dealer. use non ethanol gas and you are good to go

 

[k_c_bass]

Echo is the only way to go!

 

[Old_School]

I'm done with the big box equipment. 25 years ago, I was able to buy a commercial-quality trimmer that lasted for 15 years before it lost so much compression that I finally sold it. Over the last 10 years I've been through 3 different trimmers and blowers from the big box stores and quite frankly, I got tired of working on them nearly every weekend, just to get them to start.

I finally threw in the towel and purchased a commercial Stihl blower and trimmer and they've been trouble-free the last 4 years. The trimmer always cranks within 3 pulls and the blower always cranks within 6 pulls. Even after sitting up for months, they *always* start. It was worth the extra money to me.

Yes, the ethanol plays hell on the carbs and fuel systems on these small engines. I rebuilt the carb twice in one season on one pre-Homelite Ryobi. Both times, the seals and diaphragms got hard & brittle and I kept finding small particles that had precipitated out of the gas mix inside the carbs. I've now switched over to ethanol-free gas for my small engines and haven't had any problems the last 4 years. Haven't even changed a plug!

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[jeep78]

I have a gas powered commercial quality weedeater hanging in the barn. Use it 2 times a year. But I weedeat every time I mow.

I read about the 24 volt electric weedeaters 3 years ago, and the reviews were very good. They have 2 lead/acid rechargeable batteries inside, and do a great job on grasses and non woody weeds. What everyone commenting on them said was they were tired of fighting bad gas, no start and no run gas motors. That really sounded like me, so I bought one.

They work, period.

 

[testdepth]

I have been told to use marine gas and not any of the ethanol gas in a trimmer or lawn tractor. On the hunt for a new one.

 

[Moondog1]

I had a 42cc red maxx that lasted about 15 years. It will probably still run woth some tlc. Now I have a stihl fs250 or either fs240. You can buy a good weedwhacker just spend the money!

I think it depends how much weedwhacking you will do for what you want to spend. I run .105 and .130 gator line on my mine and they will run through anything besides what you would need a chain saw for. I dont think you will be able to do that with any homelite or store brand. Dont buy anything from a big box store that you want to last with a decent amount of use.

Also, do yall really buy premixed 2 stroke gas? Lol seriously?

The down side to the big commerical weedwhackers are that you really need to wear a face shield and they will sling rocks the size of baseballs into your nutsack.

Also, plus 1 on upping the mixture on the oil to gas. You will lose a little power on the bottom to mid range but will help it run cooler and last longer.

 

[potenza]

Echo or sthil commercial ! I just bought a cordless blower, screw gas machines!!! And I use only ethanol free fuel only, a dealer is ace hardware on 92 in Woodstock, they are a sthill dealer with commercial equipment, lowes and HD only sell consumer crap