> .... I also looked at a battery model but didn't think it would last the job and if it did, it would be too reliable. No excuses like out of gas or it won't start. ..
Too reliable! That's quite a leap of logic of convenience there.
For that matter, why not "battery isn't charged, I'll do it tomorrow...."
Most 2 cycle oils contain fuel stabilizers these days. Draining the gas and running it until it sputters after use - especially when you aren't going to use it for a few weeks - would have saved you about $1000 over the last decade. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you.
Stabil is great. I use it in the lawnmower and the snow thrower - works great!
I have a Black and Decker battery powered string trimmer. It has an automatic feed instead of the bump feed (which doesn't work after 2 or 3 weeks). It works great. It came with two batteries.
It's lightweight; I wouldn't want to knock down 2 acres of grass with it but for general lawn trimming and weeding planters it's great. The idiots on the Lowes website whine about it not being able to clear 5 acres of brush but ignore them; that's like whining about not being able to drive a rebar with a jeweler's hammer.
I recently bought a Stihl weed eater. It's a 4 stroke that uses 2 stroke oil for lubrication.
It starts first pull and idles uncannily smooth. It has lots of low end torque, so you can run it part throttle just fine.
Based upon my experience thus far, 2 stroke weed trimmers, will be a thing of the past.
It seems to weigh just about the same as any other straight shaft trimmer I have used.
I use the same product. Lot of my equipment gets used only seasonally so if I can't or don't want to drain the fuel for the winter or summer I'll just add this and run it through before putting it away. I'm a big fan of Stihl products including their weed eaters. Bought my 029 chainsaw twenty years ago and it 'Stihl' fires on the first few cranks.
I did yard trimming yesterday. I have a 15 yr old Robin trimmer. It worked like the day I bought it. It starts on first pull etc.
I mix a gallon at a time. If I had to replace, I would go cordless electric. I always have disliked the noise of the gas trimmers.
I bought all my yard equipment from a small family business in a small town about 30 miles away from here.
Good service. Avoid the box store stuff if you can. They entice buyers with It's plastic crapola
> > ...
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> I bought an Echo straight shaft weed eater about 3 years ago which has been the best one I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot. It's powerful, dependable, and easy to refill with line.
I agree. I have had mine about the same time. It is way more powerful than any other one I have had.
> I did yard trimming yesterday. I have a 15 yr old Robin trimmer. It worked like the day I bought it. It starts on first pull etc.
> I mix a gallon at a time. If I had to replace, I would go cordless electric. I always have disliked the noise of the gas trimmers.
> I bought all my yard equipment from a small family business in a small town about 30 miles away from here.
> Good service. Avoid the box store stuff if you can. They entice buyers with It's plastic crapola
Sounds like you have a keeper.
The electric sure has it's place (especially cordless).
I purchased mine at a small chainsaw shop. I have known the owners for about 20 years. Could have probably gotten it a little cheaper, by going out of state and buying from a big box store, but I like small town life enough to spend a couple dollars more.
I have not gotten used to the quite smooth idle yet. My brother used it for 2 minutes and went out an bought one for himself the next day.
I think the biggest culprit these days, as other have said, is the corn fuel. I'm going to try my best to remember to buy some non-ethanol fuel if I can find some.
I have been told that the shelf life for ethanol fuel is 36 days.
I have yet to start my mower. I let the goats out in the yard every evening. That's about to come to an end though because they're too rough on the bushes.
Same thing with my 30-yr old 049. There's one problem with it though - it seems to get heavier every year! When I was 30 I never even thought about it, but now I have to grunt and groan some!
Hi
I wanted to go battery electric. I have grid connected solar PV at home 5kw, and a 12 volt setup and batteries in the workshop for charging tools and GNSS base battery.
I was replacing Poulan Pro (McCulloch) with pole saw and hedge trimmer attachments. The split shaft joint kept getting loose, engine runs fine after some adjustment now and then, I had to buy the spline tool for adjusting the carburetor mixture screws off the net. The Husqvarna dealer I bought it from originally said I can't get parts, but I found current McCulloch to be the same.
Went with cheap Chinese multi tool with Genuine Honda GX31 four stroke engine (made in Thailand)
The Engine runs on 91 unleaded petrol same as my lawnmower. Runs nice, low rpm and quiet for minor trimming of lawn edges. I think the tools will last fine with light home use.
The only trimmer I've found to be reliable is a Shindaiwa. Need to use ethanol free gas in it and all small engines. I wasted on $100 on a Troy that would not run after 1 season. Many times these smaller engines have non adjustable carbs which gum up and cant be tuned. Ebay is a great source for new replacement carburetors with adjustments (and cheap).
> The only trimmer I've found to be reliable is a Shindaiwa.
The only problem with Shindaiwa is the fact that parts are sometimes difficult to find. I had a Shindiawa chainsaw and it was a strong runner. When it came time to replace the motor mounts...well they didn't make that part anymore. I would have had to find used parts somewhere. Decided to give it to a friend to use on a chainsaw winch.
But it does not surprise me that your trimmer is reliable. They are made in Japan aren't they?
This topic came up a while back. I use aviation gas and have been for 15 years. Two chain saws 15 years old, weed eater 6 years old, blower 7 years old all start with at most 4-5 pulls. I change the plugs in the spring and they fire right up.
Emissions will probably be the death blow for small 2 stroke engines. It's probaly why Stihl came out withh a 4 stroke.
