Trimmers

C

captaincoot

Banned
alright guys what grass trimmer you using? I have a skil I'm spelling it wrong:) It don't run so hot only two years old:mad: you guys have that one magical brand that last forever.
 
If that's a stihl and it's running like crap clean out the spark arrestor screen or just remove it.

I buy whatever the best local dealer carries. At work I use an old beaten up echo 230 and we also have some newer stihls fs 70's and fs 90's most the guys prefer.
 
I have a Stihl now and it is the best one I have had by far.
All the others that I have had last 1-2 years a thats it.
 
I have a Stihl FS 40 C-E and I haven't had any issues with it (6 years old now). If you are dealing with a Stihl they have top-notch customer service in my experience.
 
I bought a Kawasaki over 12 years ago from a guy in La Grange TX. Dang thing still starts by the third pull and runs like a champ. It gets used every week of growing season on a third of an acre lot at the house. Best I've ever had.
 
I have an old Sears gas-powered model that is 20-years old & still runs. I've eliminated a lot of edging territory over the years though, so now I just use a Black & Decker cordless model; it's much lighter & more convenient.
 
Stihl guy here too. Mine is a straight shaft model, which also has a cutting blade attachment ie. great for cutting brush/shooting lanes, etc. Its got to be 25 yo. I forgot to run all the gas out lof it ast fall and the darn thing started right up this spring on the second pull, just like always. And its never been in the shop.

Small engines run a whole lot better on pure/rec gas.

NB
 
I have a green one with a yellow deere on it. It has never failed. I do change or keep the fuel treated and clean or new. I probably do not use it as much as most do as I do not have a lot of weeds or grass to trim.
 
In my previous life I was a Golf Course Superintendent. I worked at numerous different golf courses with numerous different brands and theories on trimmers. We generally ran those trimmers 2 days a week 8 hours a day. Probably a much heavier usage than what you would be doing. We would only buy straight shaft, never get a curved shaft machine.

One course had the philosophy of buying the cheapest ones they could find at walmart in the spring. We could usually get at least one year out of those. Then buy another set the next spring. then we would give all of the last years models to the FFA kids to "rebuild".

The best luck I had with any of the expensive brands is surprisingly Shindaiwa. I know plenty of people who swear by stihl or husqvarna but my experience was that Shindaiwa had the longest life, the easiest to start consistantly and the most powerful.

One of my friends has a propane powered trimmer, four years and never had a problem starting it. Propane burns so clean, 2 strokes are the opposite of clean. Most trimmer starting issues are a result of dirty/gummy parts.

One way to shorten the life of your trimmer is to use oversize trimmer line. it puts a significant amount of extra strain on your trimmer that it was not designed to handle.
 
I have a McCullough that is pushing 20 years old and still runs like a top.

The problem with recommending any specific brands, is that so many of the companies have sold, merged, or whatever else, the brand you loved 20 years ago is now just a product line for a different company. That's the way it seemed last time I bought a chainsaw anyway.

But anymore I just get as close as I dare with the lawn tractor and leave the rest for the rabbits. :cheers:

Our 2-strokes at work are all Stihl, and we've had zero issues.
 
I have an Echo that i use real gas in and always run it hot . 2 strokes are met to run and not idle or low rpm's. Corn gas will kill small engines at some point.
 
Well I got it running pretty good:thumbsup: Spark plug gap was way off not for sure how that happened. I think it would cut an oak tree down now:eek::) Now if I could just master wrapping the cutting wire now:) Nice reply guys:cheers:
 
Coot wrap both sides of the spool at the same time.....and cut the center out when your done.:p
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