Buying Advice Weedeater Advice

[jmarwill]

After about 12 years, my Ryobi weedeater died. I own a few attachments but am not sure I want to buy another Ryobi. I'm looking for a nicer, more reliable engine and wanted to get adivce on some brands. I also want to get advice on 2 cycle vs. 4 cycle engines.

The brands I'm looking at are Stihl, Husquvarna, Troy-Built and Toro. The Stihl does not accept the attachments I have today but is servicable at the local shop. The Stihl is a bit more expensive ($300 for the Stihl vs. $250 for the Husquvarna vs. $180 for the Troy Built and Toro)

Is the Stihl or Husquvarna worth the extra $$?
Should I go with a 2 cycle or 4 cycle engine?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

 

[exotion]

Out of your choices I would pick the husky or stihl. Stay away from the toro and troy built the toro is a ryobi painted red... and the troy bilt...ew

Stihls are worth the extra money

 

[Carscw]

Is 12 years not dependable?

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

 

[exotion]

Is 12 years not dependable?

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

This is a good point. Do they make them like they did 12 years ago?

 

[chobbs1957]

Which model Stihl are you looking at? It sounds like you may wanting to go the Kombi route, probably not a bad idea.

My first Stihl lasted 20 years before being retired in '10. If I had had enough focus to drain the gas and run out the fuel before putting up for the off season, the thing would probably still be going. When I replaced, I considered the Kombi unit, as I had had dreams of moving to an edger later. I settled for the FS55R and am pleased. It has the straight shaft, a lot of power, and starts pretty easily, but is not a Kombi.

So in '11, when ready to move toward getting an edger, I didn't have the Kombi option, so I bought FC56C model edger. I really like having separate units! Often before moving from flower bed to flower bed, I used each, and like the option of alternating easily from to the other. I then pull out the power blower, dress things up a little, and move to the next flower bed or other area that needs a trimmer-edger-blower combination of attention.

The edger I have has the "Easy Start" feature, and it lives up to its name the nearly three seasons I have run it.

I see lot of positive comments here on the forum about the Echo line as well, so consider those.

 

[jmarwill]

Thank you all for your feedback and advice. I'm looking at the 25cc Stihl (FS90?) and it is clearly a nice machine. I need to weigh out whether it's worth the extra money (the largest cost difference is that I cannot use the attachments that I already own...the Husky, Toro and Tory-Built allow me to keep these attachments).

Also, to a previous point, 12 years is a pretty good life and maybe that's good enough given the cost difference. I think I'll give the Husky a test drive and see if this machine is going to work for me. If not, I'm going for the Stilhl or Echo.

Thanks again - it's always helpful to have a broad base of opinions from experienced and informed people!

 

[Ric]

Thank you all for your feedback and advice. I'm looking at the 25cc Stihl (FS90?) and it is clearly a nice machine. I need to weigh out whether it's worth the extra money (the largest cost difference is that I cannot use the attachments that I already own...the Husky, Toro and Tory-Built allow me to keep these attachments).

Also, to a previous point, 12 years is a pretty good life and maybe that's good enough given the cost difference. I think I'll give the Husky a test drive and see if this machine is going to work for me. If not, I'm going for the Stilhl or Echo.

Thanks again - it's always helpful to have a broad base of opinions from experienced and informed people!

The Stihl 90 is a 28.4cc engine, not 25cc. I've been using the 90 for a few years and it's worth the extra money. It also the 4 mix engine.