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And on the 8th day, God created a good weed whacker...

squerly

squerly

Supported Ben Carson
but I haven't been able to find it yet. Does anyone know where it's hidden? I've looked everywhere but each time I think I've found it, I end up disappointed again.

My last investment was in a Troy-Bilt TBP6040 XP Straight Shaft Gas String Trimmer. It sucked! See my Amazon review here. Somebody please help the Squerly man find a weed whacker that will whack when it should and not drive me crazy...

:flowers:
 
No such thing.

Over the years I have had many. My current one is a Craftman. My thinking there was if I am going to buy junk, I may as well not spend a lot of money on it.

To my surprise, it has not been too bad. However, my expectations, over time, have been reduced.

Good luck on your quest for the holy grail.
 
Troy-Bilt and Craftsman? Y'all are looking at the wrong trimmers.

I drive a Stihl. It's one of their "4-mix" versions so when you pull the trigger, the take up is a little slow but once it's going it's going to rip through anything. Pretty quiet running machine.

Neighbor has a Echo. That thing is a beast and will rip through anything. If mine ever dies, I'm going with an Echo.

I see a lot of the commercial guys run either the Echo or RedMax around here. I've never driven the RedMax but heard they're up there really high.

A friend of mine has a Husqvarna shop and says they have some nice ones as well.
 
I have an Echo. I am happy with it after I bought the add on string head. The string feeder was frustrating to mess with and loading string was to much of a chore. I replaced it with one that will handle heavy duty line 1.05 or 1.10. You cut two pieces of line about 12 inches long. use em up. When they are wore down you just put in a couple more pieces of line cut to length. Simple and with heavy duty line the line last longer so not as much changing as one might think. With the line head changed I do like the Echo. It's easy to start and will eat up the weeds.
 
This is an aptly timed thread as I am in the market for a new weed whaker too.

For the last 5 years I've run an Echo. It comes from their Combi line and also runs my stick edger. It has been a great machine for all that time and never given a lick of trouble ... until Tuesday. I went to use it and the primer buld split. Not too much of a problem and it was 5 years old. Picked up a new one, put it in and off we go again, for 5 minutes, and then it quit. It wasn't getting fuel and I found one of the fuel lines had broken off the little nipple on the plastic baseplate of the carburator. I decided that after breaking it twice in one day that I was going to take it in and have it repaired and serviced. Since I have no back-up I'm sitting here dead in the water, can't do the trimming and edging that needs to be done.

The guy at the small engine repair shop says he may have it ready tomorrow (which is good) or it may be next week (which is not). So, I'm sitting here thinking, "Do I need to get an el cheapo trimmer for about a $100 and just keep it as a spare once I get the Echo back or do I go get a "good" one such as a Steihl professional model for about $370". Years ago I swore off buying any more junk so I'm leaning towards the Steihl.

OR, I just had a thought, I could drive 50 miles and get a new Echo head unit that would power both the trimmer and the edger. That way, if either one of them fails again, it's just a matter of switching power units and carrying on. OK, problem solved. That's what I'm going to do. ECHO it is.
 
STIHL commercial grade stuff.

Followed by ECHO commercial grade stuff.
 
ETF brought up something I wanted to mention but forgot.

Consider whether you need one that accepts different heads (trimmer, edger, pole saw...). I chose the one without that option. It's been a few years but as I recall, my main reasoning was that I wanted the bicycle type handlebars and the shoulder harness so I'm not carrying the trimmer with my arms. If you get the models that can be used as different tools, you're carrying the thing with your arms all the time.
 
I'll jump on the Stihl wagon. Had one that was light and powerful. When I moved to a much smaller lot, I downgraded to a Poulan power head. I've used it for 7 years, but man, it gets heavy quickly. I do like the interchangeable attachment option -- I trade different accessories back and forth with my bro who has a Troy-bilt.
 
I have the lightweight Echo and I can actually hold it with one hand trimming. I've had it for quite a few years and it still starts on first or second pull. If I was going to be doing a lot of heavy, thick, tall grass you may need to step up to a bigger model. My main use is trimming the lawn and occasionally getting into heavy stuff. I didn't want to carry around all the extra weight is why i went lightweight.
 
I've got the Echo with the interchangable heads. I think it was a PAS-265. It is now 5 years old. Hasn't given me a lick of problems. It will go through stuff that my walk-behind trimmer gets tangled up on. I changed the head on it because I found it to be a pain to wind the string on it (my old 4-cycle Ryobi that last 12 years was much easier to wind). Found one at Lowes for $12 bucks that takes the little short sections of string. I've now had that on it 3 years and it is doing great as well. If it quits raining I need to be behind it for about 4 hours or so this weekend.
 
I have a stihl fs I believe fs110 it's commercial grade. I might add the fact I don't know the model number just sums up just how much I need to work on it. it was a state of Nebraska lease return and, it is like the energizer bunny and just keeps going and going. I use it now with a willow blade to brush trails to camp so it get's a work out
 
Bought a Stihl 4 stroke a year ago and am very pleased. Has a split power shaft of different attachments too. Like the 4 stroke engine, still use 50:1 mix in it like a 2 stroke. Twin line head with .095" line I think. In heavy grass it only pulls down a little and keeps on cutting. I am talking about 30" tall brome grass too....

Regards, Kirk
 
Had a Stihl for 20 years and it cut like nothing I have ever seen. Ran .130 line in it that would cut briars all day long. Have an Echo now and it has been flawless with .105 string but will break a string when you trim trees and big briars. I only gave up on the Stihl because the carb parts it needed were no longer available. Thank you ethanol!:hammer:
 
I spent the last hour with my new best buddy, the Shindaiwa T282X trimmer. It comes with a trimmer head but it's blade ready too, (including the blade) and with a quick change you're ready to start cutting the larger stuff.

So far, so good!
 

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Squerly , I have one very close to that. I think it is a T242X. Just a few minutes to change to the blade and it's good to go.
 
I had several and went through them like a dose of salts...the last one I bought was anECHO 310 I think was the mod and ithas been a good one...it is the same the hiway department uses.....last year I put on a 10 inch saw blade and walked through a large stand of 3 inch saplins with no problem....the string head I have takes the same size string as my dr walk behind trimer... dont think you would go wrong with a Echo but dont go small...
 
For those of you who thought I ignored your recamendation to buy ECHO, I offer the following...

About Shindaiwa

Shindaiwa is a legendary leader in the outdoor power equipment industry. Our long history includes the development of some of the most iconic equipment used including the trimmers T27 and T270, and a continuing commitment to quality and performance. Shindaiwa brand product is manufactured and distributed by ECHO Incorporated, headquartered in Lake Zurich, IL, a Chicago suburb.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure who owns who, but I think ECHO bought Shindaiwa, and ECHO now builds the product. It's one bad ass machine!
 
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