FS 90R owners time to share!

[wafi zarudin]

As the title states....

Share your:
Opinions
How long you've had it
what you have had to change
recommendations to new owners
how thick and tall have you cut
how reliable it is
power vs other trimmers
what size lines, attachments you like so forth
line recommendations for certain applications.
all the goods everyone wants to hear about these 4 mixers

I picked one up yesterday and I love it to death. I just wanted to hear how long people has had them and what troubles they had to face. I just have one prob might be the trimmer but in low throttle the engine bogs a little almost like its getting too much fuel mix. But hey thats what the low adjustment is for.


LETS HEAR ALL THE NEWS ON THESE 4 MIXERS!

 

[wafi zarudin]

I know there's a lot of 90r owners lol.

 

[NewToStihl]

I have an FS90R that I bought new in August of '07. To answer your questions...

Opinion; I wouldn't trade it for any other trimmer available.
How long have I had it; 7 years
What I've had to change; It has required no repairs. At the beginning of each season it gets a new spark plug, air filter, and fuel filter.
Recommendations; Use the hell out of it.
How thick & tall; nothing higher than my waist, thicknesses over 1/2"
How reliable; only piece of equipment I've had that rivals it's reliability is my '02 Tacoma
Power vs. other trimmers; nothing holds a candle other than the larger Stihl 4-mix trimmers available
What size line & attachment; I don't use attachments & my string is .105"

Bottom line; it's heavy and you have to get used to the lower RPM than your'e used to out of a 2-stroke, but they can't be beat. With regards to your question about it bogging down at low throttle . . . you need 2 speeds . . . idle and WOT!

 

[wafi zarudin]

This is exactly what i needed and I also drive a 99 taco. Have you gotten your frame checked at the dealer yet? Thank you so much now that i know i can depend on this trimmer like my taco than im set for atleast 10 years lmao.

 

[NewToStihl]

I check the frame myself annually; taps with a hammer let me know if it's solid or starting to decay. So far it's solid. I don't trust dealers, especially considering the only two options they would present would be that nasty, tar-based spray across the entire bottom side to 'protect' or to just 'total' my truck. I do 100% of the upkeep and maintenance myself and up to this point (180k miles) we're getting along just fine!

 

[wafi zarudin]

yea but total buy is 150% of retail value if yours is an 02 with 180k miles you could get 10k for it lol

 

[NewToStihl]

That is true, but I wouldn't sell my truck for twice that!

 

[Den69RS96]

i have a KM110R. At the beginning of the 3rd season I had to replace my carb due to the ethanol in the gas. Wasn't thrilled about that, but it wouldn't run right no matter what I did with the old carb. Other than that its been fine. Starts easy, tons of power. Make sure you use the Stihl Ultra oil or the premix stuff in the can with no ethanol.

 

[wafi zarudin]

yeah really hard to find ethanol free fuel. The only thing is the premix. I might buy race gas for it since it will be ethanol free, might be cheaper than the premix lol.

 

[Weesa20]

Marine fuel is typically E free if you have any water around you...I have FS90Rs and FS110Rs...110s are much more machine...torquey nature vs. the Fs90s revvy nature...I use all kinds of gearboxes on them and they do great. Biggest problems are carb and valvetrain failures- valves carbon up and break, usually destroying the valve seats or piston top...on the older ones the cam wheel would wear out, either the cam lobe would wear out or the "compression release" would grenade...need to run synthetic oil in them to keep the carbon down and make sure they are tuned correctly.

 

[Hustihler]

I currently own 3 weedeaters a Stihl FS90R(owned for 5 years), Stihl FS80(owned for 4 years), and a Husqvarna 326LS(owned for 6 years), and guess which one gets used the least. I'm not a big fan of the FS90 or the 4-mix engines in particular, just give me a good old 2-stroke any day of the week. My Father owns a small lawn care business, thus the 3 weedeaters, and by far the one that gets the most use is the Husky 326LS, with the FS80 coming in at second. My biggest issues with the FS90's are the 1) extra weight, it weighs approximately 2lbs more than either the 326 or FS80, and also balances poorly IMHO, 2) I like to be able to feather the throttle when trimming/edging around mulch beds, driveways, etc.., and the FS90 just does not excel at these tasks, 3) it is the only one of the 3 that has been in the shop for any reason-carbon build-up within the first month of use(although it has been dead reliable since switching from orange bottle Stihl oil to Stihl white bottle Ultra). The FS90 is not all bad, it does have the most torque of all 3, and it definitely excels in heavy thick grass, thus the reason I haven't sold/traded it yet. If I had it all to do over again, I'm not so sure I would even own a FS90, because the 326LS and FS80 do a fairly good job in tall grass and both are much better suited for routine lawn care trimming tasks. Also to throw my 2 cents in, I think the Husqvarna line of commercial trimmers are some of the most underrated on the market, they balance perfectly and have some of the best power-to-weight ratios on the market. Again, these are all just my opinions and YMMV.

 

[wafi zarudin]

Good good keep them coming, cause I like to hear all the positives negatives. Lets hear more debate on the 4 mix vs traditional 2 stoke. I've been thinking about selling my fs90r for a fs56rce, which is regular 2 stroke. Hmmmm I've had some throttle issues also and I watched the 4 mix youtube video and im not a fan of how the gas and oil in traveling looks like more prone to failure. Since the carbon build up and such. For me its too much movement on a 4 stroke to come all the way up to 10 -12k rpms. Regular 4 cycle engines don't go that high, the ones that do have crazy valve train. But to what i was saying earlier was the only down side to the fs56rce is that its a cable shaft the 90 is soild drive shaft.

 

[catbuster]

I used them for a while. They have two speeds. WOT and idle. Which makes them an exceedingly poor choice for lawn work. It's gone now, replaced with a Husky 326LS. I also have an FS130R I run when I need more power. It's ridiculous how much better it makes power. .105 X line on everything. I really, really hate the FS90.

 

[XSKIER]

The best FS 90 R is a KM 130 R with all of the goodies!

 

[Heavy26R]

I've had my 90R for 4 years. I've had no problems, no maintenance (well I checked the gear grease once), I don't winterize it. I use only premix. I only use it for home use, 1-2 a week. I have the blade and use it to cut back brush yearly. I've cleared a large patch of 1-3" saplings with no problem. I don't find any problems running it at low speeds to trim driveway and around fences posts, gutters, ect. The trigger is definitely a hair trigger, and there is not a lot of room for play between fast and slow, but I'm used to it. 2-3 pulls choke on, 1 pull choke off, she starts, every time. I really like how quiet it runs, even wide open. I would buy it again.

 

[AKDoug]

We've been renting the same FS90 for four years now. We can't seem to break it and neither can my customers. Slow, heavy, and utterly reliable.

 

[wafi zarudin]

Right on these are good to know. So Finally found some ethanol free gasoline, stuck it in there with stihl hp ultra, messed with the low idle on carb and wow idk about you guys my FS90 is very very featherable throttle. I can now easily cut around the garden bed, and zoom on the brushes. I'm so glad I found ethanol free gasoline and wow its night and day difference, burns way better than e10