I am still using a weedeater brand that I bought new in 1994. I think it is made by Poulan. I have never done anything to it besides replacing the tap to advance cap on the bottom and the line cutter on the guard. I like equipment that is maintenace free and lasts a long time.

 

Leave it up to Raoul.

 

Home Depot "John Deere" units are Homelites. They are not the same as the John Deere trimmers at John Deere dealers. My Homelite Deere is a pain. Very picky about gas quality and the choke is never right. I will be replaceing it with a commercial Deere soon.

 

Stihl.

I also like the models with straight shafts rather than the curved ones. Makes it easier to "maneuver" and hang onto, IMO.

 

Stihl, Echo, Huskavarna, and Red Machine. are the commercial brands.. the best out there but pricey but if they last years in the commercial industry with no problems their gonna last the home user for sure....

 

..thats what she said...

 

7. free fertilizer for the yard (when not thrown at passing traffic)
8. if the goat 'trims' the wife's roses a little to close, you can always BBQ it

 

We've got a Weedeater trimmer, don't ask me what size engine it's got on it, I know that with the string reels, it didn't have enough oomph to peel the skin off pudding. Kept getting jammed up with grass and stuff every so often, stall the engine out dead as hell. I bought one of those adapter thingies with the plastic cutters on it, the ones where they give you like a lifetime supply of them (you can tell I'm a real lawn care expert...), and now it totally kicks ***.

 

I'm utilizing a TORO from Home Depot. Haven't had it a real long time but, after going through what you're doing, I decided to go a 'middle of the road' route versus spending mega bucks on one.

One thing is for sure, get a straight shaft trimmer... also, if you buy one that has a 'joint' in the middle of the shaft, your options on add-ons are endless. Check Home Depot for a plethora of attachments (edgers, blowers, etc...)

RP

 

I agree with that!
On Saturday afternoon I'm out front wackin weeds and on Sunday morning I'm in the kitchen making scrambled eggs for the whole family.

 

At home in Dallas we had a Stihl, it must be 3 or 4 years old now. It works great, we've never had a problem with it that I can recall, although the on/off switch stopped working (have to pull off the spark plug cord to shut 'er down).

We have a toro here with the jointed shaft. It works pretty well. I like the shaft because I can take the regular weed eater head and just rotate it 90 degrees and voila, its an edger. My main complaint with this one is that its too short for me. Im about 6'2" and when Im done with this thing my back is a little sore.

So make sure you get one that is long enough and you dont have to bend over the entire time.

Stihl would be my first choice, it seems more dependable.

 

echo was the first to have interchangable attachements...

 

That would rank as a problem in my book.....

Of course it sounds like the same sorta fix I would use....who needs a stinkin on off button anyway.

 

I've got a Toro 4-stroke. I LOVE it!! No more mixing gas with 2-stroke oil (which I always manage to screw up!!) Starts on the first pull EVERY time. GOBS of torque too.... I love it!

Now if they would just come out with a 4-stroke blower.....

-Joe

 

What is so hard about mixing gas? I would think that a 4-stroke would be much heavier than the equivalent 2-stroke.