weed whackers

[farmbif]

today, I'm thinking weed whackers. through the years ive had many, lots of different brands and good and bad experiences with them. at least 15 years ago maybe more I bit the bullet and spent a half bunch of money buying the latest and greatest stihl km130. this thing has been awesome, until yesterday.
I liked it so much about 8 or so years ago when I had a pocket full of money I got another one this one was the newest km131, and it's also been great, until yesterday. this local kid that helps me out sometimes came over to help cut down the blue ribbon candidate weeds that I got growing. the 131 would not start. It flooded real bad and so I pulled the plug. cleaned it real good, checked the spark, and finally got it to run. hit smoked excessively and would not keep running properly. so we moved on to the 130. got it going but it won't idle, even after adjusting carburetor. went to the trusty YouTube search and found a whole bunch of videos about how these little 4 stroke engines that burn 2 stroke oil have a plastic cam gear that is problematic. ii'll probably do surgery on the 131 and order a carb kit for the 130 and see how it goes. then I might, maybe, sell them if I get them running properly again and get a new fangled rechargeable battery machine.
I started thinking about how easy it would be to run one of them new battery powered machines. are the days of gas powered small engine stuff numbered?
anyway, I'm just ranting. whats your experience taming the spring and summer weed growth.

[MUSTANG]

[sigep1764]

I weedeat about 3 acres or so down at Grandmas lake property, too rocky to mow. Takes a full day once a month. We have had a Stihl FS90 for over 20 years for this. It is a 4 stroke that burns 2 stroke mix. I’ve changed the spark plug twice and the fuel lines once. Nothing else. Liked it so much that when I bought my own house I bought the newer FS 91. Grandma had her shoulders replaced and wanted a more powerful battery weedeater to replace her Worx brand one. Got her a new Stihl. It’s pretty good but the batteries last about 40 minutes and is not as powerful as the gas one. We didn’t buy the smallest or the biggest, but the mid range. For small stuff that she’s doing it works fine. But there’s no way I could use it for what I do down there. Besides the 90 has been so reliable even through its abuse. It comes to how much you need it to do.

[pworley1]

We have had a 131 for years with no trouble yet except to replace the priming bulb. I usually trim the areas that I can't mow once then give it a good dose of roundup and forget it until next year.

[MaryB]

I have a 40 volt Ryobi trimmer, thing is a beast and can do my acre yard on one charge. It is heavy! Lot of battery! And I need to add a heat shield between motor/battery and my arm...

[tja6435]

The best ones I’ve ever had are old Homelites and Husqvarna, Stihl are out of my weed wacker price range.

The best chainsaw I’ve ever had is a 88cc Jonsered (Husqvarna in red plastic), it’s heavy but it’ll do anything I’ll ever need it to.

[45_Colt]

I think the biggest item with gas powered equipment is to run ethanol free fuel. I've been able to do that for years now by using Sunoco ultra 93. I test every batch and it has be E0 every time.

Even more important today as the E content can be as high as 15%. Which is occurring, from last year to this year have seen 3% drop is mileage on the wife's Honda.

For a string trimmer, got an Echo straight shaft (15 years ago?) and haven't looked back.

The battery powered stuff is getting better, but it isn't all there yet compared to gas powered equipment. Just got a Ryobi 40V chain saw pole saw. 10" bar. It does OK for what I got it for, that is to trim the lower smaller branches without having to go up a ladder.

But the little Mikta gas saw I bought years ago for general trimming duty out powers it big time.

45_Colt

[Bmi48219]

Nearly 30 years ago I picked up what would now be a FS 246. It was a two-cycle engine, well used when I bought it. Trimmed our 5 acres including a 3/4 acre pond, every other week until we sold the home. It was a vegetation eating beast. We had a Ryobi cordless weed whacker too but it was only good for a half hour of light trimming.
Except for a generator I’ve pretty much got away from internal combustion powered equipment the past ten years.
I’m sure the electric equipment has come a long ways since. I’m just thankful I can get by without it.

[jimlj]

I have a DeWalt 20 volt trimmer that works great. I've had it for years now. Not sure the model. I used to trim my whole yard on one battery, but my 15 year old batteries are starting to get weak and I have to change batteries about 3/4 the way through. For my use (about 400' of fence line and around the house and shed) I'd never get another gas powered trimmer. If you are doing a large area or multiple yards I think gas is the way to go.

[Winger Ed.]

I've got a Stihl FS70R that I have had since the 90s. I think its about the smallest of their commercial ones.
I took it in about 10 years ago for a carb. job and it's still on the job.

[Lloyd Smale]

I have a DeWalt 20 volt trimmer that works great. I've had it for years now. Not sure the model. I used to trim my whole yard on one battery, but my 15 year old batteries are starting to get weak and I have to change batteries about 3/4 the way through. For my use (about 400' of fence line and around the house and shed) I'd never get another gas powered trimmer. If you are doing a large area or multiple yards I think gas is the way to go.

same here. a 20v dewalt and it gets it done and without a cantankerous 2 stroke motor thats usually such a pain to get start that it would be faster to pull it out by hand. used it once and gave my neighbor my gas Johnseret. he tried my dewalt once and bought one and gave my gas one to his son

[Finster101]

I have a good running Echo power head that I can switch attachments on. I will keep it as long as I can, but if forced to buy a new one it will be electric. Dewalt also has a line of 60 volt stuff that is just awesome.

[SeabeeMan]

We have about an acre of lawn with a few dozen trees, the house, outdoor kitchen/bar, garden fencing, deck, and landscaping to trim around. I sold my Stihl years back and went with the Dewalt 60V Flexvolt model, along with the 60V blower, 60V chainsaw, and 20V pole saw from the same line. I've never looked back, other than to wonder if the 20V would meet my needs. With the large 9Ah battery, I can do all my trimming with charge to spare and it is balanced enough that my wife can use it. I already was pretty heavily invested into Dewalt 20V tools, so the decision of which color was easy.

My brother made a similar move about the same time but went with Milwaukee as he was already into that line. He's never had a complaint other than they don't make things as large as the 60V stuff.

[Mk42gunner]

I couldn't afford a Stihl of Husky when I wanted a weedeater, so I bought the Murray one from Walmart. It lasted three or four years, even occasionally running a pole saw attachment. Then one day I was doing my Mom's yard and it flat out died in mid trim.

Replaced it with the same model, it lasted maybe two years. After that I set my yard up so I can get close enough with my rider and don't worry about weedeating. In town at Mom's, I use a push mower and get close enough.

I am not a yard work fan. Maybe it is my farming heritage coming out, but it makes no sense to me to fertilize grass just to mow it. A hayfield I can see it but not a yard.

Lately though I have been thinking about getting another, just for the pole saw usage. The battery type make a lot of sense for that, it should work whenever you need it, and can sit the rest of the time with no worries about a carb gumming up.

Robert

[Scrounge]

I have a 40 volt Ryobi trimmer, thing is a beast and can do my acre yard on one charge. It is heavy! Lot of battery! And I need to add a heat shield between motor/battery and my arm...

Try not to have a heart attack when you need to replace the battery. I've stepped back a ways, to the 18v weedeater and lawnmower, though my yard is a postage stamp city lot. YMMV, as they say!

[Texas by God]

I’ve had a Stihl for years.
My friend bought me an Echo with a longer reach(for my back).
Both are excellent machines.
I hate using them, though.


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[Froogal]

Cordless electric string trimmers are great if not for the SHORT runtime which requires a long walk back to the house for a fresh battery which may deliver even shorter run time if the battery is over 2 years old, and then you run into the problem of OEM batteries being no longer available.

[deces]

Ridgid just got into offering outdoor power equipment. Their tools are made by the same company as Ryobi, Heart & Milwaukee. If you register the tools with them within 90 days, they will be covered with a Lifetime Service Agreement. You will never have to worry about buying a replacement battery again.

[higgins]

Echo SRM200BE straight shaft bought in the mid-80s and never been back in the shop since. I don't put as many hours on it as some do, but during its life my son used it to trim up a couple of yards he mowed for neighbors so that made up for my lower hours. I have very seldom mixed ethanol-free gas for it, but I have religiously used either Seafoam or Stabil in all my small engines except my mowers during regular mowing season. I have always used only Stihl oil. My small engines and the fuel cans have always been stored indoors. I just don't think ethanol is the problem it's made out to be, at least in my experience with outboards, mowers, chain saws, and trimmers. If I were getting a gas-powered trimmer I'd probably get another near top of the line Echo.

[Kestrel4k]

Another 40V Roybi trimmer here, plus the brush cutter attachment (great for small sections of blackberries etc).
Pretty happy with it, the battery lasts just about as long as I do. :-/
After a year, I've been thinking to add more 40V tools to the set.