I need a new weed eater. Which brand would you fellows recommend. I live where you can watch the grass grow, so I need a good one!

I’ve got a curved shaft Husqvarna. It runs good, if you carry a carb screwdriver with you....

Are you using it just for residential grass trimming around a small yard? Or big weeds with heavy stems and brush? That dictates curved cheaply versus straight shaft heavy duty.

Liquid weed eater. Sorry hanco couldn't help it>>>>>>>

Hard to believe people stihl ask this question.

Stihl

Plus 2 On Stihl

hanco,

in order to properly answer your question, you will need to address my post in the chainsaw thread.

Geno

PS be sure to wear Wranglers Riggs cargo pants when weedeating.........................they are the BEST pants going.

Straight shaft ECHO. You can put a skill saw blade on it and whack mesquite brush. Works great.

The best value going is probably Echo. I have a Shindaiwa that is rugged, but I got tired of the tedious change between string head and blade. I bought the Echo so I could just grab the one I needed and go. The Echo also has a 5 year homeowner warranty. In the nearby town the guys with rental properties that they have to mow and trim almost all use Echoes.

Alpine Goats



You did say weed EATER.


Jerry

I've got a Stihl FS 91. It's a weed whacking SOB. The handlebar really helps with fatgue. I used it quite a bit on our 5 acres. Also got a three lobe cutting blade for it to go after black berries.

Just got a 3 point flail mower so might be using it less (I hope).

FS 91

T
I have Stihl 4 stroke. I use it for heavy bush cutting with a saw blade most of the time. I can't say that I like this unit. If I was to buy again it would be a large straight shaft 2 stroke unit.

I will heartily Endorse Echo.

I would feel fine with a still but would certainly go Echo again- if this thing I am running quits after its next 15 years.

Echo


Lefty

I've had a Sthil for quite a few years and have had no problems. Had it tuned up once.

My husqvarna straight shaft is going 15 years strong, can't kill the thing. My echo edger has been a pain from the beginning, it doesn't not like diy mixed gas, even when using non ethanol. Only thing it will run half way decent is the premixed can stuff. I don't edge ever time I mow so I just deal with it. Had similar issues with an echo chainsaw. Husqvarna or stihl would be my choice.

I decided to give echo another try because I needed a brushcutter, had to buy the string trimmer but HD also had the brush cutting kit in stock locally. Got the trimmer for 225 and the kit for 40, not a whole lot of cheaper options out there from what I could find. So far so good but i'm been using the premixed stuff.

Milwaukee cordless

Gly-4

I have a 2 stroke shindaiwa with a cutting head (for limbs), and a stihl for weeds.

I prefer Husky saws over Stihls (not by much) but I've got a dozen years on a Stihl FS 110 weed wacker with no complaints. I did have to replace the head but that was more because of neglect than anything. Stored it ouside sea side and it got corroded and messed up. I keep it indoors any more. The part was cheap.

Goats

I would Echo that..............

Don't know if it's the "best", but I sure do like my ECHO.

Buy some goats.

5 or 10 horsepower goats???

Redmax.
Stihl that dont use the 4mix engine.
Shindaiwa.
Echo.
All of these are good as long as you go with the straight shaft pro models.

Straight shaft Stihl FS 70R

Before buying one, make the salesperson refill the spool in front of you.

Spool??

Fugg that

Get the push-load style head.

Do they even made spool heads anymore? Ya know..being that it’s obviously kryptonite to some.


Push feed, pocket full of pre cuts, go balls out

The three bladed cutters work really well for <1" stuff. You need to wear good face protection.

Poulan for the win!

Book it!

Do they make a 6.5 Creedmoor model?

Straight shaft Echo

You have to get a leaf blower for that

Are you talking about those green POS from the 80s??

200ft of extension cord, you out by the highway around the mailbox

hahahaha

I wouldn’t have a poolan even if it did run. They make half ass anchors.

Another vote for goats. Then make tamales out of them at the end of the season. Repeat yearly!

hell no, the yeller ones

If I had to use a weed eater enough to form an opinion between the brands I would lay down on the train tracks and wait for sweet relief.

I have both Echo and Stiehl and they are both great. They just start and run with no hassles. Everything else I have ever tried was junk.

I got the wife a Battery powered one from Home depot,a Ryobi.

It did not cost much and even got another battery for it.

She likes it.

The Shindaiwa has the 5 year homeowner warranty like it always did and Echo now owns Shindaiwa. My first Shindaiwa lasted from 2001-2019 with no problems except for ethanol gas problems. It quit running because something got sucked through the thin foam air cleaner big enough to cause damage to the engine (broke ring). The old one was aT260 model with straight solid steel shaft and a carrying strap. The new T262 also has a solid steel driveshaft but it didn't come with a carrying strap. I just bought another bracket used my old strap. The new T262 has a much larger/better air filter (foam filter over a paper filter) and a bigger engine.

https://www.shindaiwa-usa.com/

Make life easy as possible. Buy one of these. You can also attach a 14" carbide tipped circular sawblade to it.

Bought a Stihl on the basis of its reputation, was disappointed. Replaced it with a Home Depot Ryobi that I am very pleased with.

call me a cheap fugger.......me I'm frugal....

have two of these Remington's (MTD)

$80 shipped from Amazon......these things take a beatin'......

I run 'em 3-4 summers......beat the hell outta 'em.......

goes tits up .....buy a new one......I have a fairly large area I like to keep trimmed......

The money I save from buying a Still........I buy beer........

GOATS

I bought a Stihl weedeater in 2008. I beat the snot out of it on brush in addition to normal weedeating. Never been in the shop. Stihl chainsaw almost as long. Use Stihl synthetic oil.

My only gripe is they don't also make trucks. Probably not much money in trucks that reliable.

I buy the pre made gas-oil mix.

I buy my weed eater at Rural King. It's called Imitator Plus, and comes in a 2.5 gallon jug.

Works too.

now......that shidt's expensive.................

I've got a four-stroke Stihl 111 that sees the most use got a few other lighter Duty Brands around. If I was in the market for a new one I would take a very close look at the Makita 4-stroke for the price power and weight it seems to be a winner

a portion of my yard..........

those trees and shrubs are fenced in for the winter.........

sombitchin deer come in a destroy...........

grow 100's of sunflowers for the birds

This

I can get by on Avgas mixed with oil. Good stuff, keeps well and the last time I bought it was $3.80 a gallon.

Shindawia or echo good choices

My cousin went with that plan at his place a long time ago. It worked well but one day he looked outside and they were eating the roof off of his wife's Thunderbird.

Typical!

Now that everyone listed what they use. How many LF of use do you have for it weekly.... and is changing the head to a blade important to you, for brush cutting.

I cant stand a curved shaft myself... it just feels weird, as well it puts your legs closer to the line of fire.

I have around 10 full sized oaks in the yard to go around, 100’ or so of picket fence, and the yard/wood edge of a 1acre yard. I do use the brush cutter around the two farms, and cutting phragmites in the late summer for trails thru the swamp for deer hunting.

I personally have a Stihl FS90r. It sounds like a harley ha! Sometimes its beyond enough power (grass)... and sometimes I wish it had more (cutting over 1” trees with the blade head). Is it perfect, nah, cant say that. Would I buy it again, yeah I think probably so. Do you need this for the average suburb, housing development type house, no, I dont think so.

PS - I dont like the handle bar/joy stick type handles, just the old school straight shaft with the trigger.

Ours gets used for rough cutting around the grain bins. Sometimes the grass is a foot high

A cow... uses no fuel and can clear plenty of weeds out of a field...

a Goat might even be better...

on the Mechanical kind, I've had good luck with an Echo I picked up at Home Depot..
those Japs are good at making real good small little engines...

had zero luck with the Ryobi 4 Stroke I had before this one..
wouldn't recommend a 4 stroke that small...

An 11 shot 870 12 gauge fulla #1 copper plated buck.

Oh never mind, I thought you said weed smoker eater.

I was gonna say Nubians.

My Stihl weedeater is the worst piece of power equipment that ai have ever owned. Never seen a small engine that floods so easily. I have an old Weedeater brand that I paid $40.00 for, many years ago, that runs better.

Same here but the main use is a few spot in irrigation ditches that the ditcher misses.

It would be way easier to spray with glyphosate but by the time I get to that particular job the grass and weeds are 2-3' tall.


I forget the model but the 'heavy duty' Stihl weed whacker works great.

Straight shaft Echo.

Sounds like it needs a good carb cleaning

Straight shaft Echo. Not the Homodepot one. Go to a reputable dealer and get a mid engine size with .095 line.

Check your spark arrestor screen. It’s probably stopped up.

Echo. I have a 22 year old Echo that is indestructible. I am not kidding, still running on the original spark plug.

Yep Echo just plain works. Have had several others over the years. Forget battery ones for real work.

ECHO...echo...echo...

been told this is great but expensive

Honda 4 stroke

Stihl, the answer is always Stihl.

Stihl is the only ones I own...Get the Kombi tool with all the different heads you can use with it. I have a tree trimmer saw, hedge trimmer, and weed eater head and all for the same unit. It works great. I also have a straight shaft that is 25 years old and still runs like new....I did have to put a carb on it a couple years ago.

I bought a Millwauki and will never use a gas line trimmer ever again

Its actually the horrible disposable carburator on them

I soooo wanted to like a battery line trimmer. It just couldn’t work for me. Ran it one day and ended up returning it and getting another gas model.

I have a Stihl that's on the lower end of the pro models. It's cold blooded and hard to start cold but once it's running, it goes great.

Shindaiwa T2XX Series.

Looked at all of them a couple decades ago. Most have a single piston ring. My T242 has 2 rings and a chrome-lined bore, is nimble and powerful. One shop I went to back then had quite a few different manufacture's engines with 90 degrees machined out of them so you could see the bore/piston/crank that could be rotated by hand. Compared to the favorites mentioned here, the little Shinny was built like a Swiss watch. Take a gander at professional landscaper's trailers in your AO and you'll most likely see the old, red T242's for good reason. Heard that Echo bought them out some years back, so besides the displacements, I don't know if they changed them internally....

[quote=Salty303][quote=wilkeshunter]My Stihl weedeater is the worst piece of power equipment that ai have ever owned. Never seen a small engine that floods so easily.

Mine is the same way. Hard to rewind the spool and make it work right. Generally a POS. Pretty much done with Stihl chainsaws and weedeaters.

A fence and half dozen goats!

Had a pro model stihl that I was constantly rebuilding /messing with carb. Vapor locked when hot. Got a lemon. Upgraded to pro model husky with no issues. Run high octane non ethanol and good mix

I have a Stihl that I have been using about 10 years. Never done anything but put gas in it and string on it. They just work.

I use a brush and tree cutter more than I use a grass cutter. The big strong steals with the handlebars and the proper blade are very very effective at clearing brush and small trees. I've taken down pine trees up to 4 in and hardwood in the 3 inch range. If I had to buy a new I would probably get an echo or Stihl... just be careful of those eco-friendly carburetors I heard they're real Nightmares on the chainsaws. All my stuff is old school

this thread reminded me I either need to clean or replace the carb on my Stihl FS model after using it maybe 10 times

A new carb is $11 so I just ordered one for it

Had an old craftsman that I kept for at least 15 years, never gave it a second thought, always started. Cheap gas, never was too particular about the oil ratio (close enough) - just a workhorse. Got rid of it when the cable broke on it.

This Stihl is finicky. I do everything I'm supposed to do (other than use it sparingly) and its a pain in the butt.

The Stihl I have been using for the last 6 years is the same way. Its just the nature of the beast with some of them. With mine, you put the choke on and pull the rope till it sputters.....usually two or three times. If you pull the rope again without taking the choke off it will flood. When I first got the thing I flooded it so bad the little air filter was soaked with gas because my previous one would start with the choke on.......I was ready to wrap it around a tree until I saw what was happening. So its pull the rope two or three times till it sputters, take choke off, pull two or three more times and it fires up.

Can't remember the number of mine but at the time I bought, it was the smallest Kombi motor they had. I had an FS-250 (a hoss) which subsequently got stolen and I figured I would wear out the little one before I got another. Haven't worn it out yet and I work it pretty hard. Its all you need to cut with a string or the plastic cutters, but its not a "brush cutter".

I did allow the carb on mine to gunk up....totally my fault for letting it set up over winter with ethanol gas in it and no stabilizer. I bought another carb from the Stihl place for about 30 some odd dollars and installed it myself.

Oh, almost forgot. Whichever brand you get, consider one with the handlebar set up. Its a lot easier on your back.

My buddy owns a large lawn and garden equipment shop. I asked him this exact same question - Stihl, Echo, or other. His answer was absolute - get a straight-shaft Echo. (Do not get the cheapy Home Depot one.) He set me up with a mid-high grade weed eater, and it is a cutting sumbich. Never an ounce of trouble with it. I'd buy another Echo in a heartbeat.

My old cheapo Troy-Bilt lithium -ion powered trimmer died last spring. Wound up getting a DeWalt lithium -ion that I love, even though it's only been used one season so far. Got some other DeWalt electric stuff that's first rate and if this trimmer is as good as other DeWalt stuff I should be all set for a long time.

I have a stihl blower that's approx 17 years old and trimmer that's approx 15 years old. Have added treated gas and trimmer line as needed and nothing else. Both start and run the same every time.

Satan's first act was to create the small 2-stroke engine.

Get a couple of goats.....

That won't start.

What BarneyFife and Daveman are saying. Barney Fife seems to have the same experiences as me. I bought a kit but ended up having mine rebuilt last year. Guy said it was better than going to a new cheaper Echo so if going Echo - take the advice and get a 'real' one with the bigger engine..

I don't have acres to cut or mow with my stuff. I use premixed because I might only go through two or three cans in a summer and it stores a whole lot better. I am even using the 4stroke fuel from the hw store. Yeah it is more expensive but the new Honda likes it and want yo keep it happy. I don't have ethanol-free place near me. Costs me an extra what ....ten - fifteen bucks a year? Plus removes the beating of a gas can and mixing and Ace is even closer than the gas station.

my old lady said she'd like a goat.

I've used Echo since 1987. I have a straight-shaft Echo I've used since 1998. The only thing it needed was fuel lines due to Ethanol. It's the only brand I'll buy for a trimmer. I'm also impressed with their chainsaws.

My Stihl is the same. It was hard to start until I started buying the canned pre-mix fuel. Now it usually starts first of second try.

TO OP: Spend a little money, buy a Good Stihl, not a box store consumer model, and you will probably never have to buy another, if you take care of it.

Old Kawasaki mule, 20gallon tank with wand and boom. Drink beer while weed and grass killing!

My experience exactly, same brand.

Ain't been looked at in all that time, starts up two or three pulls every time, even though the priming bulb cracked with age years ago.

Not all are created equal

I've only had 2 weed whackers since 1988. First was a Homelite that was a trimming fool. When that one croaked I bought a Husqvarna. I think both of them thrive on neglect.

Landscaper, property manager.... recently retired...
Redmax for power and reliability...had three of them as i was to lazy to stop and "restring"when i had a 1/2 day of trimming to do, so i just sat one down and grabbed another...kept 2 of them...one in the garage for the front yard and one in the shed for the back yard !!!

I have ten years on my Dolmar

I am thinking a new Stihl

Just bought one of their " handlebar " models as a play toy up around the pond. Great machine but sad that Dolmar didn't have one

Stijl is overrated

Agree