Cordless Weed Eater Experience?

love this thread. when i bought my home i went to OSH and bought a yard man 4-stroke line trimmer. hung it up lovingly in my garage. some kid ran in and stole it. i saw him sprinting down the street...WTF? i didnt even fill out the warranty card for him. i figured it was KARMA from my mis-spent youth, spending too much time in other people's garages. went to the store, and bought another one. salesperson was laughing at me. this time i started it up, touched it to my lawn, and found a rock..the rock flew up and blasted the windshield out of my truck!! WTF? i hung it up. first time i used it, i help the old lady across the street clear her garden. the line reel, spun off the shaft, and flew like frisbee into the empty lot next door. WTF? i gave the tool to a co-worker..and bought a STIHL. best decision ever. first it isnt haunted like the yardman..second..it cuts my disaster of a yard with ease. i keep the air cleaner clean, and the two stroke power is a god send. buy the best you can afford. buy it once. if you expect heavy duty work..buy a straight shaft line trimmer. less comfort for the user, but heavier duty, and longer lasting.

 

I love my 4-stroke Ryobi. One of the only gas powered tools I have purchased from Home Depot and was not disappointed later. Maybe too much money, but I have used this thing to create trails on mountainsides. It cuts through anything and never has problems starting or staying on. String feeds great, never had a problem in about 2 years of weekly work on serious brush and weeds.

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-O...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

I just went through this whole process Saturday.

I have 1/3 acre with tons of roots, stumps, vegetation, etc. My brother has about the same size yard with less technical difficulty. He has an electric and says he rarely uses it anymore -- just gets on his hands and knees and pulls.

I said the hell with that and got a Troy-Built 4-cycle straight shaft and I love it.

 

Hmmm, lots to think about. I was all set to buy the Ryobi 18V, but now I'm thinking maybe spending a bit more and going gas. Echo makes a straight shaft for $220 that seems to get some good reviews. I basically have about 250 ft of fence line, around the house, a small shed for the riding mower, and several trees in the backyard. I'm absolutely not going with a corded trimmer no matter what, and I need a new drill eventually which is why I was leaning toward the Ryobi since batteries are interchangable. How's Ryobi rate for cordless drills? Or should I just go with the Echo and get a better brand of drill later?

 

I liked gas except for repairing carbs and carb hoses because the gas ate the hoses. But the power can't be beat, so I bought a Propane 4-cycle unit. it is quiet and starts easy, and no carberator.

 

Forget everything else get a JohnDeere straight shaft commercial grade trimmer. I have had that trimmer going on now for 10 yrs. NOT ONE DANG PROBLEM!!! Best $300 bucks I've spent. I use to own 1 acre and it NEVER died on me it worked like a champion!! (still does)

 

How much does a propane cost? and how do get the propane cartriges refilled or replaced?

 

I was just about to ask about the propane too. Ace Hardware near me carries the Lehr propane straight shaft trimmer, same price as the echo one I was looking at.

 

Yo I just Googled and searched under Propane Powered Weed Trimmers Reviews and some were great while again some were very bad,and there seems to be a coupler you can buy to refill the tanks off of your propane Grill tank it all seems pretty sketchy though,I think Im getting the Stihl Electric cord or the cheaper Black&Decker as much as I hate to drag the freakin cord it seems like these are best overall cost,maintainence,power,longevity my yard is only 50'x70' I hate dragging a cord is my only problem. I think you might be taking a gamble on the Propane one whereas a Stihl Gas or an Stihl or Black&Decker Electric cord are great for the money depending on yard size check those reviews out.Also Husqavarna 323L gas seems to get good reviewsbut Pricey at Lowes

 

They are around $200 and the cartridge is a standard "Coleman" or generic one sold everywhere. They use the same propane for lanterns.

 

I bought mine from ACE Lehr makes it. I like the unit

 

I thought I said this already, but I wanted to avoid the gas 2 stroke mainly because mixing the oil and gas is a PITA, and I haven't found a string trimmer that uses the same mix as my chain saw so I'd have to keep the fuel in 2 separated and labeled containers, and I'm not that organized. My chain saw calls for a 40:1 ratio, and every gas trimmer I've seen looks like its 50:1

I like the idea of the propane, especially after looking at the refill attachment. If that works, it'd be great because I could buy 2 canisters and keep reusing them, and always have 1 as a backup.

 

I've got a gas powered Shindaiwa. Amazing trimmer. Can't beat it.

 

weird on the oil/gas mix. 40:1 for the chainsaw? what type of saw do you have? my echo chainsaw uses 50:1. as does my (echo)hedgetrimmer..and line trimmer. if i ever buy and move into a condo..i'm making some bad ass 2-stroke skateboards!!!

i had a shindawa hedgetrimmer..but had to give it back (kicking and screaming) it was badass.

 

I have had a echo with straight shaft for about 5 years. Still cranks with 2 pulls. Will cut anything. Gas mixing has not been a problem. Make sure you use the .8 line, it is what the commercial guys use around here, you will be adding line much less. You won't regret the purchase.

 

My saw is a poulan pro, it says right on the gas cap 40:1
How much can you vary, if at all, the oil mix? Could I use 50:1 mix in my saw and not hurt things? If I could, I really am leaning now toward the Echo. I went to 2 different Ace stores near me, and neither stocks the propane trimmer or any parts for it, so that's out.

 

I use around 40-1 in everything. Fk mixing up all those different ratios.

 

I answered my own question, looking at my saw's manual, it says you can use lower but not higher, so I'd be able to use the 40:1 in the Echo. Found a local, non-HomeDepLowes that sells em' for the same price, so I'll be going there this week.

 

With proper care a gas string trimmer should last for many years. When I was 16 I went to the nearest warehouse store, Service Merchandise and bought my first lawn tool.

I bought the biggest baddest trimmer they had. It was an IDC 580 with a straight shaft, 18" dual line tap feed head and included brush blade.

I used the crap out of this trimmer up until 3 years ago when the fuel lines decided to crack and I couldn't find the proper size to replace it.

Now that's 21 years of problem free use. I also only had to replace the bump feed head one time.

I went out and purchased an Echo SRM-210SB from a local lawn equipment dealer. It's a been a great replacement so far. It starts in less than 3 pulls and has plenty of power. It's a straight shaft with a split body allowing me to add multiple attachments. This way I can have several different tools and only have to maintain one power unit.

I bought the hedge trimmer attachment with it and that sumbitch kicks ass.

Oh, and as far as mixing fuel, I keep 3 different cans.

A 1 gallon can for the echo string trimmer.
A 2 gallon can for my 3 Lawn-Boys, Homelite blower-vac and Mantis tiller.
A 2.5 gallon can for my Stihl Farm Boss chainsaw.

I use the proprietary one-shot oil cans for all the equipment and the various sized gas cans make the perfect mixes. (pushes staples button)

Marc M

 

awesome! i have run 40:1 in my tools...a tad smokier, but from what i have read or been told, this is an added level of lube/protection?