Purchased a string trimmer

[huskystihl]

Exactly what I was saying minus the intensity! Every engine in their line is rated for 300hrs by the epa. I am in no way on the echo bandwagon, but as far as the trimmers go I wouldn't buy anything else. Like I said I bought a fs 55 and it is less than a year old and just sets. It vibrates like a 390. As far as blowers go i've never tried echo but I have a bg55 that was a birthday present 5 yrs ago and is just awesome imo.

 

[xxl]

Great trimmer take good care of it and it wonmt let you down. I run the next model up for lawn service i love mine

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Exactly what I was saying minus the intensity! Every engine in their line is rated for 300hrs by the epa. I am in no way on the echo bandwagon, but as far as the trimmers go I wouldn't buy anything else. Like I said I bought a fs 55 and it is less than a year old and just sets. It vibrates like a 390. As far as blowers go i've never tried echo but I have a bg55 that was a birthday present 5 yrs ago and is just awesome imo.

The PB echo blowers seem to hold up pretty good, Ive only been able to document 1 unexplained failure.

It was 4 years old, came in and would start up fine, but would lose compression after a couple minutes and die.

I pulled it apart, checked everything out, no obvious damage to the piston or cylinder anywhere, the cylidner measured some very very slight normal wear at the top of the piston travel, right at the top ring inversion zone.

The ring measured nearly new end gap...

I put in a new ring, but it was the same deal, got hot and lost compression.

It was built prior to the 5 year warranty deal, and he CLAIMS it was not used commercially but it had clearly been heavily used based on lower case wear, wear on the tip, crap built up on the motor and carb, things like that.

But we have hundreds in use locally with professional landscapers who punish them daily and are on year 6 and 7 with no signs of stopping.

The Backpack blowers are also very nice, the never ones are a little more refined than the older ones but they all run out nice.

No one wants to show any love to the saws but the 370, 400, 450, 530 are the saws to have for firewood needs. We have a man near where I work that is on Id guess season 5 with his 520, and season 6 with his 440 and both saws run balls out from about August until the middle of November just cutting firewood. He has a crew up in the north end of the county that starts a little later and ends a little later, running the same saws....Both saws go through a bar, a couple rims, and a few chains every season. But they always fire right up and he and his crews offer no complaints at all.

 

[Brian S]

That's the thing, There is NO residential line, NONE.

Echo doesnt design anything to be used residentially for 5-7 years then discarded, every peice gets the same care and respect in the design and building phase be it the small Curved shaft GT-200, or the SRM-410U.

The GT-200 is popular with homeowners because it has the torquey and fuel sipping powerhead of the SRM-210, but has the small curved shaft that many homeowners feel comfortable with, but it can be used commercially without any issues.

The SRM-210 is the smallest straight shaft trimmer ECHO offers and it can handle a 10" brush blade without hesitating, the gearbox found on the ECHO trimmers is the same at HD and at a dealer.

OK if you say so, but that teeny little curved shaft model is certainly not what I would call commerical grade. It would any user over 5'10" to the chiropractor after a day of use.

Is the gearbox and driveshaft the same between a 210 and a 230 and a 280? It doesn't look like it, the 280 is 2 lbs heavier than the 210 so there must be some extra metal in there somewhere.

I'd also be hesitant to think my old 210/2100 would be a good candidate for a blade. Don't get me wrong I love my trimmer but I think it is more of a prosumer machine than a true commercial unit. I used mine for a lawncare business three days a week for a couple of years and it held up fine but it is only barely sufficient for such work. Echo's low line trimmers and saws and blowers might all claim to be commercial but I SEE a difference between the low line and high line machines.

I am respectfully disagreeing with you Red, please don't take this as a slam but I can't agree that Echo's low line products are TRULY commercial grade.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

OK if you say so, but that teeny little curved shaft model is certainly not what I would call commerical grade. It would any user over 5'10" to the chiropractor after a day of use.

Is the gearbox and driveshaft the same between a 210 and a 230 and a 280? It doesn't look like it, the 280 is 2 lbs heavier than the 210 so there must be some extra metal in there somewhere.

I'd also be hesitant to think my old 210/2100 would be a good candidate for a blade. Don't get me wrong I love my trimmer but I think it is more of a prosumer machine than a true commercial unit. I used mine for a lawncare business three days a week for a couple of years and it held up fine but it is only barely sufficient for such work. Echo's low line trimmers and saws and blowers might all claim to be commercial but I SEE a difference between the low line and high line machines.

I am respectfully disagreeing with you Red, please don't take this as a slam but I can't agree that Echo's low line products are TRULY commercial grade.

We have a 2100 at work we use to trim a large pecan tree, the 8 tooth blade bolts right on, and it doesnt mind the 1" and 1.5" limbs and branches we use it to cut, doesnt phase it a bit and that trimmer was used commercially for quite a few years before they traded it on a new 210, it's not much to look at, but it is used all the time with a Echo-Matic head, and with the blade, and it has never failed.

The larger units with the solid shaft, and the "T" units have different gearboxes, simply because the T unit is underdriven, and the solid shafts are splined on the ends requiring a different box.

But the gear quality, box quality is the same.

We have never had to replace bearings or stripped gears in an Echo unit, even ones that people have run out of grease and they chatter all to hell...when re-lubed they work fine with no play.

The curved shaft units are actually popular with people of shorter stature, and people with chronic back problems that still want to do what they can work wise.

The curves shaft models feature the exact same power head as the straight shaft models, but with the curved shaft...

True, not many pro landscapers would be caught dead with a curved shaft trimmer ,but if you're 5'2" and are a lanscaper, using a straight shaft trimmer would be difficult, with the GT-200 you dont make a sacrifice power or quality wise to get the curved shaft.

The extra weight from the larger unit likely comes from the solid shaft, larger engine, etc...the gearbox is not compromised on the less powerful units to save weight or cost.

 

[2000ssm6]

I've been thinking about buying a trimmer (instead of borrowing one all the time). Does anyone know if the Stihl trimmers are any good? I definitely don't need a pro trimmer, but I want to make sure that whatever I Get will last.

Good trimmers are expensive, no matter the brand. Stihl's pro trimmer line starts with the FS80R, which will be phased out soon due to it's dirty engine(thanks green headed yuppies). Good trimmer but I'd spend a few more $20s and go with the FS100RX, they are in the $330 price range. You won't find a better trimmer for it's power/weight ratio, the 4mix engine is sweet and pulls like a tractor. It is not suited for a blade because of the lightweight shaft.

 

[brucew44guns]

trimmers

wish I had asked about a Stihl FS 250. Maybe I needed an echo instead.

 

[John D]

The last 2 commercial trimmers i like are my Kawasaki KBL 26A,nice trimmer,and my new favorite,the Husqvarna 323L.Very light(9lbs),and balanced excellent,you can run it for hours with no back pain or vibration issues.Its also got a nice guard that works great and doenst get in the way.I like the husky so much i bought one for where i work as well.

 

[Messenger]

Giving a Little Credit ...

Lot of good Trimmer manufacturors.

But want to give some credit to one that never gets mentioned.

JOHN DEERE. [late models]
Made by Mitsubishi, I believe.

The most awesome trimmer I've ever held in my hands.
We service them all.
JD is as smooth as silk. [4] big bolts attaching the shaft to the engine. [very rare -- see the big Shinny 34cc model]
Exremely comfortable & power to burn.
Commercial-Grade in spades.

Frankly, it makes other trimmers seem a bit cheaply built -- and they're not!
When I run a RedMax/Shinny after the JD, they feel a bit crude.
And both of these [2] are some of the finest Commercial Trimmers in existance.

If you haven't run a XT120/140/170, etc. don't put it down.
J.D. NEVER pushed them. Too bad.

But a few cudos are very much deserved.

 

[Kogafortwo]

Good trimmers are expensive, no matter the brand. Stihl's pro trimmer line starts with the FS80R, which will be phased out soon due to it's dirty engine(thanks green headed yuppies). Good trimmer but I'd spend a few more $20s and go with the FS100RX, they are in the $330 price range. You won't find a better trimmer for it's power/weight ratio, the 4mix engine is sweet and pulls like a tractor. It is not suited for a blade because of the lightweight shaft.

Thumbs up on the FS100RX. The only issue I have with it is that I would have spent another $20 or so to get the FS110R that has the solid shaft and can take other gearbox attachments. But I have other solid shaft powerheads for that soi it doesn't matter. And the FS100RX is light enough that it doesn't tire you out. The South Carolina summer heat will get you first.

 

[huskystihl]

Sorry guys but i'm stihl through and through as well as husky, which I wouldn't give a squirt of piss for one of their trimmers. But, you take $300 to an echo dealer and a stihl dealer their is no comparrison, you walk out with a smoother, more well balanced product that has their $htt together "in trimmers anyways".

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Good trimmers are expensive, no matter the brand. Stihl's pro trimmer line starts with the FS80R, which will be phased out soon due to it's dirty engine(thanks green headed yuppies). Good trimmer but I'd spend a few more $20s and go with the FS100RX, they are in the $330 price range. You won't find a better trimmer for it's power/weight ratio, the 4mix engine is sweet and pulls like a tractor. It is not suited for a blade because of the lightweight shaft.

330 bucks and it wont take a brush blade?

You guys seriously dont know what you are missing...:censored: