FS80 - What should my replacement trimmer be?

[joatmon]

What is F----K? Don't know of any 6 letter swear words.


What am I thinking of?






It starts with a P and ends with an ansy.

FleadK

 

[Woodie]

Cock puncher?

I just laughed so hard I pulled a lung...



.

 

[PB]

I've been thinking about a new trimmer for a couple years now. I have a Husky 232R, but I want something that will sling .130 string with a little more authority. That thick stuff just lasts longer than the .080 it came with.
Maybe I should just get the 232 ported. It might be cheaper than a new unit.

Tommy, you're a good man but you've got enough stars by your name... NO REP FOR YOU.

Synne... The was unfunny and uncalled for... RED REP FOR YOU.

sincerely,
The Rep Nazi

Why don't you just get a new trimmer head for the .105 line? It does certainly last longer.

 

[PB]

I just laughed so hard I pulled a lung...



.

Don't hurt yourself.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Why don't you just get a new trimmer head for the .105 line? It does certainly last longer.

and do away with my reason/excuse for new trimmer for 10% of the cost? Nah..

This has been floating around my gourd for 3 years... probably will continue to bump around up there with no action taken until this trimmer dies and forces my hand. Then it's going to be an FS250R or equivalent.

Ian

 

[scotclayshooter]

Lets see 249 pounds is about $380 US. Not too shabby. Hope you new investment pays off. You must do a lot of brush removal to warrant a FS450. We do a lot of clearing on small house lots and have found the FS250 to be the best bang for the buck.

Nope not a lot of brush removal, Just mowing large areas of grass!

The FS310 is a FS130 with anti vibe so a little underpowered.
A FS350 FS400 And FS450 all weigh the same as near as anyway so just like having a PS7900 or a 6401 on the same chassis you might as well have the power if your carrying the weight.

The FS200/250 have been discontinued in the UK for 2 years or so.
It leaves a big hole in the lineup and goes 1.9hp up to 2.6hp in one jump the 250 was 2.2hp

 

[CentaurG2]

Nope not a lot of brush removal, Just mowing large areas of grass!

My hats off to you if you are going to use that FS450 for grass. I would not want to lug around a 18lb trimmer all day. What do you use for blades on your trimmers?? We use both the brush knife and the chisel blades for undergrowth/brush and 25/2 autocuts for grass. Always looking for recomendations!

 

[scotclayshooter]

My hats off to you if you are going to use that FS450 for grass. I would not want to lug around a 18lb trimmer all day. What do you use for blades on your trimmers?? We use both the brush knife and the chisel blades for undergrowth/brush and 25/2 autocuts for grass. Always looking for recomendations!

Err blades???? Nope hardly ever use blades!
I prefer the horrid underpowered Makita for the blade as the FS250 just screams with a blade and I only use part throttle with it.

A universal manual head with the button on the bottom cut off and 2.4mm square line.
Im using a muffler modded FS250 just now and the FS450 isnt going to be a big step up!
I have tried a 450 for the job and its fine but could do with a longer shaft.

 

[CentaurG2]

Err blades???? Nope hardly ever use blades!
I prefer the horrid underpowered Makita for the blade as the FS250 just screams with a blade and I only use part throttle with it.

We have had good luck with blades. We have an account that we cut twice a year (about 1.5 acres) that is just about a swamp so tractors are out. Grass/weeds is always about 6ft tall and we use the trimmers with blades just like a power scythe. Take a step forward and one long sweeping cut, repeat. Cuts about a 6 ft path per sweep. Takes about ½ day for two guys to mow it down properly. Good money, but you go home really tired at the end of the day. Thanks again for your info and time.

 

[scotclayshooter]

We have had good luck with blades. We have an account that we cut twice a year (about 1.5 acres) that is just about a swamp so tractors are out. Grass/weeds is always about 6ft tall and we use the trimmers with blades just like a power scythe. Take a step forward and one long sweeping cut, repeat. Cuts about a 6 ft path per sweep. Takes about ½ day for two guys to mow it down properly. Good money, but you go home really tired at the end of the day. Thanks again for your info and time.

This is an area of willow herb we cut, Yep its 2' over the bonnet of the tractor!

I do bits of it with a blade, I cut a swipe step back and let it fall then another swipe!
I have my machine set up with the sling point and handles well back and i take over 8' per sweep.

Im going to fix my vado to my boilersuit and do a wee vid to demo what we do. I cut my grass from the top down after the first couple of cuts while walking backwards and it works really well.
It makes me smile when the guys im working with cant do it and ive cut 3 gardens to their one lol
And mine look better!

 

[CentaurG2]

Willow herb looks a lot like thistle. If it was 2 ft over the hood of that Deere I would pack up my trimmers and just go home. I have never tried the top down/backward approach but I will give it a go toward the end of May. Thanks again for the tips and the most excellent pics. For the record, you folks have some nice looking country on that side of the pond!

 

[PB]

Willow herb looks a lot like thistle. If it was 2 ft over the hood of that Deere I would pack up my trimmers and just go home. I have never tried the top down/backward approach but I will give it a go toward the end of May. Thanks again for the tips and the most excellent pics. For the record, you folks have some nice looking country on that side of the pond!

Yep a trimmer to thistle is like a death wish. I hate that stuff, those little thorns hurt!

 

[Erick]

Backwards is definitely the way to go in the thick stuff...... not sure why it works all I know is IT DOES.

 

[belgian]

Im going to fix my vado to my boilersuit and do a wee vid to demo what we do. I cut my grass from the top down after the first couple of cuts while walking backwards and it works really well.
It makes me smile when the guys im working with cant do it and ive cut 3 gardens to their one lol
And mine look better!

Shooter, let's have that vid. Never too late in life to learn some good techniques...

 

[Woodie]

Synne... The was unfunny and uncalled for... RED REP FOR YOU.

Got him myself. Some people just can't work and play well with others.


.

 

[scotclayshooter]

Willow herb looks a lot like thistle. If it was 2 ft over the hood of that Deere I would pack up my trimmers and just go home. I have never tried the top down/backward approach but I will give it a go toward the end of May. Thanks again for the tips and the most excellent pics. For the record, you folks have some nice looking country on that side of the pond!

Oops that just might be thistles! And that was a Valtra tractor.
You need to clear the rad a lot with either!
Theres willow herb in that area as well.

 

[synness4]

sorry

sorry about the nasty reply no excusses, no resons good luck!

 

[rms61moparman]

sorry about the nasty reply no excusses, no resons good luck!

Your first reply was uncalled for.

But it takes some guts to "man up" and admit that you were wrong, especially on a worldwide computer forum.

For that, you get MOPAREP!!!!!


You might make it here yet!


Mike

 

[joatmon]

I guess I could go to one of the Stihl dealer bashing threads and post. There are so many, I didn't know how to decide, so, here's a new thread.

Reference thread:

Now, a quick summary:

FS80 purchased in July of 2001.

Hasn't run great in years.

Last fall, I took apart and couldn't find a problem.

Last fall, Stihl 'tech' couldn't find a problems and of course, replaced all the parts I'd replace a few weeks earlier.

On April 3, 2009, I took the ill FS80 to the local Stihl 'tech'.

On April 23, 2009, the Stihl 'tech' said he'd located the problem, a cracked carb spacer flange.

On May 4, 2009, I am stihl waiting on parts. I told the Stihl 'tech' to cancel the parts, put the trimmer in a box and I'd be in to 'settle up' with him.

Help me determine a replacement trimmer to do lawn trimming and light brush clearing.

Oh, keep an eye out for a fire sale on my remaining Stihl 'equipment',

Joat

Well, believe it or not, the FS80 in question had a problem and that problem was the carb. That's the first thing a tech like ole Tommie would think of. My trimmer would have been fixed 10 minutes after entering his shop door, provided I didn't go in with the wrong attitude.

The tech, in my estimation, is dumber that the trimmer. I ordered the card spacer flange that he diagnosed, installed it, and the trimmer failed to work. From what I could tell after running it, the carb was the problem. ole Tommie confirmed my diagnosis and helped me get on track.

Four minutes after receiving the parts this evening, the FS80 sprang back to life and sounded eager to make up for lost time. Another minute to adjust the LA and I was in business.

I've now recovered from the hoax played on me by a man pretending to be a Stihl tech.

Tommie, thanks,

ole joat

 

[joatmon]

**** news flash ****

ole joat bought a new trimmer today.

RedMax - no - only one dealer and he had thin stock, probably at least a year old.

Kawasaki - no - only one dealer almost a forty-five minute drive from home. I asked about the KGT27B that Erick told me about. They looked at my like I was from another planet. I am, but gee.

Husqvarna - no - looked OK, but no compelling reviews.

Echo - no - couldn't figure out what model to use for a blade.

Stihl - yes - they seemed to have trimmers covered. I wanted a KM130, but everyone said overkill. I bought a nice KM110 and got a large blade and I'm good to go. Made add the hedge trimmer soon.

I did use my FS80 today for 1 1/2 hours to catch up on five weeks of trimming I've missed. The trimmer ran better than ever, even when new in my opinion. Thanks Tommie.

I'll keep the FS80 with PolyCut head and use the KM110 with a blade. I like having a backup too.

A full report from,

ole joat