Gas yard tools

All my yard stuff is Husqvarna and I'd happily buy it again. Just stay away from the lower-tier homeowner stuff. It's good but anemic. The midrange stuff isn't much more and performs WAY better.

If you have the scratch, Honda mowers are where its at.

 

Stihl, Husqvarna and Shindaiwa, but get them from a local dealer not a big box store. Makes a difference.

 

Oh also a mower I like and use is the Toro Timemaster. 30" deck, can let it idle with blades off, and if you get it at Home Depot you can get an extended warranty and it gives you a total of 6 years of warranty with a discount on parts. Its beefy and runs great with tons of power. I've used it on 5 different lawns and it works great for all of them. The downsides are a small tank size and it's as heavy as can be. I've only had it for one season so far.

 

They sell those timemasters at my neighborhood Ace. Beautiful mowers. If that sticker price goes up any higher that store is going to need a finance desk to move them.

 

Toro mower. All else Stihl.

 

I know! They sell quick. I bet most people (and me) get it because it's pretty much the biggest mower you can get before getting a rider. DR makes a 30" but it's not nearly as nice. You MUST use 2 hands to operate because one hand is propulsion and the other does blades and the ergonomics on either control suck! The only thing it had going for it was it had an aluminum deck.

 

i was eyeing one of those 3-4 years ago just as a way to buy more time on my grass cutting days. nice mower but not a fan of modern day briggs motors

 

I've heard a few people say that and did factor that in before I bought it. We have a few briggs engines on equipment at work and we havent had issues. They do offer the contractor/pro-grade versions (named Turf Master) that have Kohler engines. They are more money but they have beefier parts and the engine is actually has lower HP than the briggs but that's possibly for longevity or other reasons.

 

When I owned/operated my own landscaping and landscape construction business I ran commercial Ariens self propelled mowers exclusively. They were Kawasaki powered. Not 1 issue over 18 years of daily service. Still have one that is over 25 years old. It’s is showing it’s age due to the fact that it lived through the abuse my oldest son put it through mowing all the neighbors lawns. Weed eaters were always made by Tanaka. They are no longer in business though. I have two still in operation. One with a hedge trimmer blade, the other with the auto feed head. Both over 25 years old. New string heads, tune ups, fuel filters, and gaskets is the only thing that has ever been done on them. I own several Stihl (029, 036, 046 and ms200t) chainsaws for tall tree pruning and removal. I was a husky 266xp owner until it was stolen. That was the ultimate saw. Stihl Backpack Blower 20 years old, Stihl Pressure Washer, and a Briggs and Stratton powered True Cut 26” self propelled reel mower. Thing is a beast, cuts faster than I can keep up with it. I’ve owned Honda’s and Echoes as well but they never lasted as long as what I’ve listed above.

 

Looks like the Tanaka name is still being used
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tanaka-23-9-cc-2-Cycle-170-MPH-Gas-Leaf-Blower/3695482

 

my toro trimmer, husq mower, husq blower, Husq chainsaw, Ariens snowblower have all been pretty stout for ten years. I tend to get midgrade items, just below pro as a homeowner. Treated me well. I stay away from anything entry level...lowest tier. For anything with mixed gas (2cycle) i use trufuel, expensive but low usage and has been trouble free, and starts first pull out of winter. I hate cleaning up small engine carbs but thats where most problems are. Anything that takes regular gas has been treated with stabil regardless of time of year, that way im never in a position to store something without it. All my gas is stored with it so i dont forget. Cheap habit.

 

Yeah, my understanding is that they were bought out but the quality is not the same…it’s the big box store effect.

 

agreed most of my chainsaws get trufuel, Since they arent common used tool and when you do need them its usually after a storm (atleast in my area) its nice to know they will work when you need it

 

Even then canned fuel can be a crapshoot. I used Echo Red Armor canned fuel in my chainsaw last time I used it (a year maybe?) and it was a total PITA to get it going and running OK a couple days ago. Wasn't until I added "fresh" Ethanol free mixed gas did it really come around.

Although this would be a good argument of did it actually make the equipment "useless" I mean, it ran after a while and fresh gas so the carb didn't really gum up.

 

I hear 3 months and then add 2 months for gas treated with a staybil type of product so every 4-5 months you gotta run through a tank. when nice days happen in the middle of the winter i pull out most of my tools and get them to atleast idle

 

You are safe on the Big box store with Stihl -They are not sold there. The biggest place selling them (I believe) is Westlake Ace hardware (around here) I would still only buy from a "standard servicing dealer" My dealer is out in the woods in rural Mo. Our local Ace has a service department, but I am betting the technicians quality would vary from week to week.

 

do you really need a service dealer if you can do all the carb tuning etc yourself?

 

The vast majority consumers do not know the first thing about fixing a broken saw - much less just simple daily care and maintenance.
On top of that -most are too lazy to learn regular care.

 

If money is not a concern go Stihl. Stay away from their entry level models. Go pro-sumer or better.

But overall I recommend Echo. It’s about 95% as good as Stihl for about 80% of the money. For the non pro, it’s the best bang for the buck.

I picked up their basic 50cc saw (CS-490) and with some basic mods it rips. Even out of the box, it is quite good for the money. I am on my 5th season with it and still going like new.

 

Toro Greensmaster mower, stihl chainsaw, echo trimmers, and john deere zero turn. They've all been fantastic Only thing electric is a plug in Toro leaf blower that is ridiculously good for $60.