Need Weed Eater opinions

[FRISKY]

Originally Posted by Mirroredshades

I also saw some 4 stroke Honda trimmers. Anyone have an opinion on those? No mixing fuel sounds like a nice perk.

Thoughts ?

I have had a Honda 4-stroke for over 10-years. It is the best trimmer of the many, many that I purchased before buying the Honda.

+You can use the same gasoline that you put in the car or mower.

+It will cut thru everything except small trees...using only the low speed setting because of 4-stroke torque. It gets good distance-per-gallon because you rarely need to increase speed above idle.

+It has a spool that feeds out line just like every other trimmer...only it never jams like most of the others and the line lasts longer because it doesn't whip and shear the ends like trimmers that only cut well while running on high speed.

+Four-stroke engines sound better....like the difference between a 265ci and a 454ci.


-It is heavier than the cheap trimmers, but it has a shoulder strap.

[RED-85-Z51]

Originally Posted by mrvette

My little 1/4 acre, I just use an electric, hell with it....one thing I hate is the sound of all these silly small engines braaa braaa braaaa every damn weekend, some idiots out there blowing leaves blow the leaf there, blow the leaf here, one puff of wind the leaf is right back where it was.....

or it's replacement from the damn oak trees.....


there is nothing so filthy as a tree....

I note the Echo is liked from some years ago, trick is, have the whored out the operation the way they all do??

Kioritz Corporation is a Japanese based company, always have been, they originally only made stuff for Japan, they got a look at some equipment that america was using, namely..some McCulloch trimmers (early models) when "weed whips" first came about...and decided they could make the same machine, lighter, more robust, and more reliable, for less money..and did just that...they came to america but people never embraced a Japanese company..so they founded an American "branch" called "ECHO"....and bagan marketing the Kioritz equipment as Echo in the states. It took off, and Echo began a long life of many "firsts" in the market...one of which is, the worlds first leaf blower.

Echo products are currently, as far as I know, assembled in the USA...but im told that the parts are still made in Japan under the strictest of quality Control standards. Echo's plant was featured on an Episode of "How its made", where they focused on a line that made the CS-305 chainsaw..from loading the plastic pellets into the hopper to blowmold the case halves...to putting the assembled unit into the box, and onto the pallet...its a very efficient operation..and its one of the reasons Echo has SET pricing...no matter where you buy an Echo product, dealer, box store or whatever..there is no haggling, the price is SET..and LOW.

[RED-85-Z51]

4 strokes...are hit and miss, so to speak. They make more low end torque...YES, however much like a lawnmower, a string has more effective slicing power when it is spun up to higher speeds...so running lower engine speeds really is pointless.

The beauty of a 2 stroke is...the list of moving parts in the engine...

Crank, piston, rod....

4 stroke has..

Crank, piston, rod, cam, cam gear, 2 lifters, 2 push rods, 2 rockers, 2 spring, 2 retainers....and some are OHC...so figure in external timing belt, and 2 gears.

4 strokes make more heat, and are more prone to breaking down from internal failures. They are also prone to suffering from oil seeping into the combustion chamber, if allowed to sit on there side. Its also worth noting that most only hold about 2.5 ounces of oil..and these DO..use oil when in operation, and the oil level should be checked regularly, if it goes low, these suckers go up BIG TIME...

[C5Nate]

Originally Posted by RED-85-Z51

4 stroke has..

1 nice advantage of a 4 stroke is that you dont smell like you were inches away from an oil burner.


They are heavier, dont cut well at low speed but, they dont stink either.


I wonder if they make 2 cycle oil that smell like leather when burned?


OR

A diesel trimmer!

[RED-85-Z51]

Originally Posted by C5Nate

1 nice advantage of a 4 stroke is that you dont smell like you were inches away from an oil burner.


They are heavier, dont cut well at low speed but, they dont stink either.


I wonder if they make 2 cycle oil that smell like leather when burned?


OR

A diesel trimmer!

Depnds on the 4 troke....a Stihl 4mix, actually uses mixed gas like a 2 stroke..

And some 4 strokes actually use alot of oil from the crankcase, by design...and they smoke as a result..they also tend to leak, crank seals ,sump gasket, head gasket, valve cover gasket...all exposed to oil.

A proper modern 2 stroke, like an Echo, mixed 50:1 with Echo oil..will not leave you stinking at the end of the day, there is no smoke, no ash, and virtually no smell, beyond the semll of a running gas engine. They DO make a propane powered trimmer, they have very low odor.


I can get you some bar and chain oil called Motion Lotion..if you want.

[VatorMan]

These are really good weed eaters.

[Mirroredshades]

Echo CRM225:

Half the price of honda.

5 yr warranty


Honda 4 stroke:

No fuel mix bs.

It's a honda.


Hmmm....

[69camfrk]

Originally Posted by Skia

Echo straight shaft from an Echo dealer...No Big Box Lowes or HD string trimmer will last.

What you said.

[Steve Austin]

My weed eater.

[Jeff '79]

I've had the same Toro for almost twenty years now... Only one tune-up, gaskets & hoses. Runs, and runs.
Just saying.....

[LT4fun]

If you want a straight shaft trimmer whose head rotates clockwise and takes attachments, Sears sells a Craftsman one that has a 31cc engine(model 79440).

I bought one a few weeks ago along with the edger and brush cutter attachment(the brush cutter attachment includes a shoulder strap and a different handle, at least mine did).

I have a used Bolens BL100 that I found on the side of the road that I fixed that has the same 31cc MTD engine so I knew it should have some power.

I've got some juniper that was growing over the curb(approx. 200 feet of curb) that I wanted to make sure I had enough power to cut through with the edger. It was no problem at all cutting through the juniper. I tried the brush cutter too and it works, but the blade ain't sharp so you have to go slow on the bigger stuff. I was more impressed with the edger than I was the brush cutter.

I did encounter a problem though. Midway through edging, it seemed like the engine didn't want to rev. It was a gradual problem and it got worse. I had to finish edging with the choke partially on. If I tried to rev the thing without the choke, it would kill the engine. I could have taken the trimmer back and exchanged it, but I wanted to fix the thing(or at least attempt to fix the thing) myself. I hate to have a piece of equipment get the best of me. I tried cleaning the carb, changing the gas; but eventually I ended up getting one of those single "D" screwdrivers and adjusted the high speed jet myself. It runs good and revs easily now, and I've got that screwdriver if it screws up again.

So anyway, if you want a straight shaft trimmer that rotates clockwise, takes attachments and has a fairly powerful 31cc engine, Sears sells one, just be sure to get one of those single "D" screwdrivers while you're at it.

p.s. I thought about buying a higher end trimmer, but I really didn't know how much the attachments would end up costing in addition to the higher priced trimmer. I also have been served well with cheaper trimmers in the past and they all still run(I have 4 now) so that's why I went that route.

[Mirroredshades]

Originally Posted by LT4fun

and they all still run
(I have 4 now).

That's funny. I would settle for just one that worked.

[RED-85-Z51]

Avoid anything made by MTD/Ryobi...2 stroke or 4 stroke, unless you want to be spending alot of time with people in my profession, trust me...

How can you ID all the various brands that MTD/RYOBI come as?...

Troy Bilt
Ryobi
Snapper
Bolens
Yard Machines
Huskee
TORO

Are the most common. The 2 strokes come in 2 flavors of fail...either with the fuel tank on top, and muffler on the bottom, and carb in the back, centered between them...OR..with the carb on one side, muffler on the other, tank on the bottom. The latter is more popular and cheaper in most cases, but has ALOT of reliability problems, fails early on. The earlier...just seem to be a pain in the ass, its antiquated technology that dates back to RYAN and IDC trimmers in the 70's and 80's...but with shittier carbs.

4 strokes come in many flavors, colors...and styles, including belt driven OHC. They are heavy, generally hard ot start after the first season, lack balls, and smoke if tilted.

70% of what comes in, trimmer was, is MTD based...and the repair bills are usually $60+ to get them running. And people just keep fixing them....i dont complain, good money.

You get what you pay for..if you want to have to dick around with carb adjustments and shit, on a new trimmer...be my guest and buy MTD/RYOBI....

[carlton_fritz]

My opinion, they are heavy, noisy, messy and vibrate the snot out of you. Hire someone to do it for you.