Husqvarna Brush Cutter

[KennedyDiesel]

I'm quite familiar with Husqvarna OPE. I own 4 of their chainsaws and am now looking to add a combo brush cutter/trimmer so i can do some brushing in our woods along the trail edges. Some maple saplings and some Ironwood in the 1-3" range. I have a line on a new 2007 335Rx from a local dealer/friend that I can get quite reasonable, but am I missing out on anything compared to the later models?

 

[2manyrocks]

You might ask if the 2007 335rx has ethanol resistant gas lines and gaskets if you think you might use that kind of gas. Personally, I will not use ethanol gas in small engines.

 

[Brant]

I have not used or owned that model, but Husqvarna brush cutters are good quality, particularly the larger units like the 335 or higher. If it's from 2007, then ethanol should not be a serious problem, at least no worse than normal. If you plan to routinely cut hardwood saplings above a few inches, I might suggest that you step up to a clearing saw. I've run a 52-cc Stihl clearing saw for a lot of years. Clearing saws are heavy, but very fast, robust, and versatile.

 

[KennedyDiesel]

Well familiar with the perils of Ethanol. I only run 93 octane ethanol free in my OPE. I'm not doing a lot of cutting or clearing, just thought it would be handy at times. Actually considering the 326rx as more of a string trimmer first then brush saw second. I'm primarily looking to expand a couple of areas of blackberies for Ma on our wooded 40. Once this is accomplished I'd only need to do periodic maintenance.

On the other hand pole saw would be reallt handy too. I wonder how well it could be near the ground?

Most of what I am cutting I use the brush hog for, but there are places (between large trees etc) that I can't get into.

 

[Bluegill2]

Husqvarna brush cutters / trimmers are fine (as long as ya get the better ones from a real dealer), but I hate to admit I own a a Stihl FS110R. Especially since I only run Husky XP saws and have 6 of em. Needed one quick and the Stihl dealer is close by...

That said, the Stihl has been flawless for 6 years and plenty of power. Both with string head and blade.

 

[Natureboy]

Don't know to much about the Husqvarna trimmers. I have had an Echo SRM 2110 for almost 10 years, bought from an Echo dealer (not a box store). One of the best things I ever bought.

 

[Tollster]

I was able to upgrade my Husky weedwacker to a brushcutter with few parts. I am using the tri blade and wacking some nice stuff, up to 1.0" saplings. I do not have handlebars on mine so, care must be taken to prevent wrist snapback due to the leverage direction. But I have not encountered any ill fates so far. I wanna say its a 232L, 2002 or so. It cost some big bucks when i got it, close to 500.00 or so. So I knew it had the power. Looking online at a parts place I saw its brother, same size, but set up as a brush cutter which gave me the idea. I took it to the husky dealer and had him get everything I needed. It was cheaper than a new one, and swapping the heads out is a cinch on the fly.
I aviation fuel in my stuff with no ill effectson the premix. I did have to adjust the mixture screws and idle...running 50:1 and happy as I can be with the performance.

I used this site to check the head designs between the units to be sure I could convert it over. (Micro Phish diagrams)
Husqvarna 232 L Parts List and Diagram - (2000-04) : eReplacementParts.com

The biggest deal was finding out the model year through the unit part number on the cowling as the arbor was either 1.0 or .75" I think.Once we knew that,it was done in 2 days for around 65.00

Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

[scaredychicken]

For time and money value the Husqvarna 323L brush cutter / trimmer that I bought (2006) has been invaluable to me. I have probably 150 - 180 hrs / year on that machine alone. It is a straight shaft unit that I bought with a 3 prong blade, a circular blade, and the original string attachment, I also bought chaps and faceguard/ earmuffs. I get a real kick out of using it, and it keeps the weeds back and the property looking nice. With a sharp blade I can cut down sapplings up to 3 inches diameter - that takes care of a lot of new growth that is basically in the wrong place (the stihl chainsaw takes the larger items). I think that I have had the blades on it for all but 1-2 hours of use. I live in the country, and manicuring the property with the string trimmer is not often necessary. I replace the blade every year or so.
(my only complaint with this machine is that for a left hander like me, the muffler /exhaust is located in the area where might right forearm rests - as a result, after several hours of use, I might notice some engine burn marks on might right forearm. I discovered this problem after about a week, so I wear a long sleeve shirt now)

When my wife wanted to use the string trimmer on occasion (requiring switching over the attachments), I decided that a second string trimmer was required. I went to town and bought the Echo GT225 trimmer - adding the triple plasic prongs in addition to the string. It is great for the light duty stuff and I don't have to switch anything over.

 

[mmmm1178]

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