Stihl fs130r or Redmax bcz350s?

[2dumb4words]

Looking for big power with minimum weight. I do lots of tall grass/weeds on foreclosed properties. Open to Echo, Shin,Tanaka, Maruyama or Husky, but nothing looks better. Any ideas suggestions? Fs250r doesn't gain enough to justify the extra pound. Anyone run both the RM and Stihl? Is either smoother, quieter or easier to operate? I'd consider Kawasaki, but dealers are all but non existant.

 

[jughead500]

Looking for big power with minimum weight. I do lots of tall grass/weeds on foreclosed properties. Open to Echo, Shin,Tanaka, Maruyama or Husky, but nothing looks better. Any ideas suggestions? Fs250r doesn't gain enough to justify the extra pound. Anyone run both the RM and Stihl? Is either smoother, quieter or easier to operate? I'd consider Kawasaki, but dealers are all but non existant.

The FS250 is what I mainly use.Bought it after my Main Boss bought a 1 acre lot.I used a Husqvarna 326lx on it until I finally wore it out.Took me close to 10 hours with the 326.Broke down and bought the fs250 and cut it down to 5 hours.She would only let me mow it after it got to waist height.Yes it is Heavy but the Power more than makes up for it.Since it's getting a little older and out of warranty I'm going to Play with the Ports a little bit,Raise the compression by removing the Base gasket and Modify the Muffler.So far the rings even look good but I'm still going to rering it.

Then My uncle had me Order him a Tanaka TBC-340 with the Bicycle handlebars.He used it for about 3 hours with Ethanol gas and ruined the carb.He didn't want it after that so I paid it off and fixed the carburetor and ditched the Handlebars for a stihl loop handle and Tanaka finger throttle and controls.The Tanaka is one great weedeater.Plenty of power for 32cc but doesn't compare to the fs250 which is 40cc.It is lighter but not by much.I have had absolutely no problems out of the Tanaka.Several Problems out of the stihl.Nothing major just that the bushing that holds the Motor assembly to the shaft broke letting the motor twist sideways on the shaft.Sat 2 weeks at the stihl dealer to fix under warranty.Also was going to get them to tune it up and put another pull cord in.No dice.Found out they wont touch them without a guard on them.

OK now to the New Dolmar.I bought this one for my mom off of ebay for mothers day.It was a Demo unit.Couldn't beat the deal $125 Shipped.It's a small ms22c 21cc but the darn thing is super light at 8.3 pounds.Seems much lighter than the 326lx i used to use or the solo I had once upon a time or the FS90 I laughed at that a friend used to mow with.If this MS22c is any indication of what Dolmar has to offer in the bigger models I would love to try them out.

I can't say anything on Redmax,Maruyama or shindaiwa.I'm sure they have some great trimmers.To tell the truth I've always leaned towards Husky and Tanaka.The only reason I have the Stihl is because thats pretty much the only local dealer we have.The local True Value is starting to sell Husqvarna and Echo.So I may Upgrade to a new Husky pretty soon if I can find one that will compete with the FS250.With my Experience with echo they make great chainsaws but I really just don't care for the Weedeaters.Had nothing but problems with them over the years.

 

[jughead500]

After doing a little searching it doesn't look like anyone makes a Large Trimmer that competes with the fs250 anymore except for Husky,tanaka and Maruyama.According to Maruyama the b42l Venom is 41.8cc with no HP rating and a weight of 19lbs. Thats almost 6 pounds Heavier than the FS250.:msp_blink:
Husky makes a 535ls with 34.6cc and claims 2.15hp but I think that might be BS according to the review that they have on the website.13.1 lbs
tanaka has a TBC-420PF 39.8 cc and 2.2hp 16lbs

 

[2dumb4words]

I believe the 535ls shares the bcz350s engine (or vice versa). Redmax claims 1.9hp. It sounds more and more like I should get a big stihl fs250 2-stroke while I still can. Since Tanaka got bought out by Hitachi they haven't been the same. The 34cc Maruyama has a better power to weight ratio than the 40cc somehow. But only 1 local Maruyama dealer, and he is Luke warm on Maru, making me wonder about the future.

I have had great service from old school Echo srm210's. picked one up many about 15 years ago. Used it commercially for several years. Got out of the grass biz, but used it pretty heavy at my house even used it with a blade to clear saplings. After 4-5 years of "home duty" I picked up 70 foreclosure lots. Ran that little srm210 for a couple more seasons cause it just wouldn't quit. Finally some fine local citizen liked it more than me and liberated it from my truck. Along with my echo handheld blower and push mower. I was due for an upgrade. Yeah, 210's have a small gas tank, crappy head and guard design. But they are simple, rugged and easily fixed in the field. Despite being underpowered, I picked up another at a pawn shop as a backup.

I've been using Redmax bcz2401s and bcz2650s for a while. Much better power. Longer run times. Both vibrate quite a bit. The 2401 had a ton of problems early on, but once sorted has been very good. After it continued to plug the exhaust screen, it went back to the dealer too many times to count. Eventually the coil failed, the replacement coil was shocking the bejesus out of me anytime I broke a sweat. By the third coil and numerous carb adjustments and screen cleanings, I took it to another dealer. He put a kit on the carb and found a defective diaphragm. It's been a reliable runner since, but never regained the power it had initially. The 2650 has been solid, but I could benefit from more power. I do like the Redmax feel, but wish they were smoother.

Bought a Stihl fs100rx (or was it 110?) 4-mix hollow drive shaft. Hated it. Hated the sound, it fell on its face when you stuck it into anything. My brother was trimming for me at the time, by the second day, he was back to using the Echo 210.

Bought an echo srm230. It started fine cold, but once warm would not restart. At 108* pulling that turd nearly killed me. Dealer thought I was kidding. I told him to make it start warm, or give me my money back...today. I was seriously overheated covered in sweat breathing hard ready to have a heat stroke. He gave me my money back.

 

[jughead500]

i've been debating on buying another fs250 just to set back incase they switch to 4mix on those.i just dont care for the four mix stuff.i do have a ht131 pole saw that i really like but wonder how the 2 stroke version was compared to it.

 

[alderman]

I've run lots of Shindaiwa trimmers out here in the PNW where the rain forest climate grows plenty of tough brush. Personally I can do all I need to do with a C35 or C 360 although the extra power of the 45 is nice.
The Shindaiwa trimmers have proven to be easy to operate and very reliable.
That being said I did get a chance to see one of the Stihl 4 stroke trimmers in action and it was noticeably quieter than the Shindaiwa trimmers.

 

[2dumb4words]

I've run the ht131 in both 2 & 4 mix. Ill admit its both quieter, and has better torque with the 4-mix.

 

[ConcordGarden]

You can't go wrong with Shindaiwa or Echo. (Yamabiko owns both). High quality units and very good parts availability. For us non stocking parts arrive the next day.

You also can't go wrong with the Stihl's. The 4mix engine require a higher quality fuel mix oil and more maintenance. If you want the best machine for the job i'd compare the FS250 to an Echo SRM410U. We stock both machine with the "Bicycle Handle" However we sell 50 Stihl's For every Echo..

The Redmax just doesn't have the following or parts availability that makes me feel as comfortable. Same deal goes for Tanaka, and Maruyama. While they make great machines their distributors are not on par with the Echo/Shindaiwa/Stihl Distributors.

 

[2dumb4words]

Went to see what the dealer had to offer. Things went sort of a different direction. Having struggled with trimming some monster bushes from ladders and still struggling to reach. I've long fancied an extended reach articulating hedge trimmer. When he showed me the HL100z 0-135* I had visions of taming monster bushes with ease. Saving hours of shuffling & climbing ladders. The retail price of $589.00 had been a deal breaker. When he said he had one that had been a demo I could buy for $295.00 with new warranty, I couldn't resist.

Now I'm wondering, what would stop me from putting a string head on it? I know people buy for example the fs90, pull the gear head and install the articulating hedge trimmer. Why not the reverse? Has the same length shaft as my Redmax trimmers. Not sure how the mount holes are oriented.

This is one thing I hate about Stihl and their nazi proprietary info carp. Would a fs85 gear box work? Found a parts donor reasonable locally.

 

[2dumb4words]

Turns out an fs85 gear head fits fine. Spline shafts should even interchange. Apparently all the attachments will work on this model. I'm looking forward to wacking some weeds & taming some monster bushes.

I still don't know if among the different models if there were better gear ratios. I appreciate any input.