Cheap 4-in-1 brushcutter packages

alchemysa · Aug 3, 2008

Has anyone bought one of these cheap brushcutter, line trimmer, pole saw, hedge trimmer packages? They are going on ebay in Australia for about $180 to $250.

I wouldnt expect a whole lot of quality, but its so much cheaper than a name brand with attachments that I'm tempted to give it a go.

4 IN 1 Hedge Trimmer Pole Saw Brush and Grass Cutter - eBay (item 270260199617 end time Aug-07-08 13:14:29 PDT)

alchemysa · Aug 16, 2008

I took the plunge and bought one. In Australia it cost $239 plus $30 freight. The model I bought included the pole saw, string trimmer and 2 metal blades (including an 80tooth circular blade) . It did not include a hedge trimmer. The model I got was 52cc and claimed to be the 'Pro' model. (LOL). Its a bit of a whopper, is pretty heavy and thirsty, but has tons of power. I notice theres a lot more of these on Australian ebay than US ebay. Other engine sizes available were 23cc, 33cc and 43cc. Some 4in 1 kits were auctioning for as low $160 ( but with $60 freight.).

One of the screws holding the petrol tank fell out somewere in the yard but thats easily replaced. I also had to trim some plastic off the motor cover to make clearance to get the fuel cap off. Choke lever markings are stupid. Says ON/OFF but its the wrong way around.

But overall my first impression is satisfactory. The motor starts on the second pull and sounds pretty sweet. Time will tell whether I'll regret buying cheap but its not going to be overworked. It'll probably only get a couple of runs a month.

Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else was considering one of the 'no-brand' packages.

EastTexFrank · Aug 17, 2008

The thing that worried me was that it was a "no name" package but the concept is an appealing one.

A friend has a 4-stroke Toro with a string trimmer, edger and pole saw and he really likes it. I just bought an Echo split boom trimmer with a string trimmer and edger attachment with the pole saw attachment to follow soon. I think it will work out quite well. These smaller engines seem to work better, longer and more trouble free the more you use them so one motor driving 4 attachments will probably be better than four individual pieces of equipment ... at least I'm hoping so. Keep us informed about how well they work.

Eagleview · Aug 17, 2008

I bought one last year , every rubber on it is cracked and perished but it still works ok .

alchemysa · Aug 17, 2008

EastTexFrank said:
The thing that worried me was that it was a "no name" package but the concept is an appealing one.

A friend has a 4-stroke Toro with a string trimmer, edger and pole saw and he really likes it. I just bought an Echo split boom trimmer with a string trimmer and edger attachment with the pole saw attachment to follow soon. I think it will work out quite well. These smaller engines seem to work better, longer and more trouble free the more you use them so one motor driving 4 attachments will probably be better than four individual pieces of equipment ... at least I'm hoping so. Keep us informed about how well they work.

Over here, the big hardware chain is Bunnings. I guess its a bit like your Harbour Freight, lots of cheap chinese junk plus a few good brands. But absolutely no useful advice. I always seem to hit staff who are either barely out of their teens and still living at home, or old farts who couldn't care less. But I was a little surprised they didnt have something like this package. Even assembling a kit from the their cheap individual components would have been quite a bit more expensive so I figured if I'm going to buy 'junk' I may as well pay as little as possible. (Although I think now that I paid too much by going for the 52cc model and it was only available as a 'Buy it now' deal).

The only 4 stroke Bunnings had was a Honda but that was about $450 for the trimmer alone. God knows how much the attachments were.

Ironhorse. If all I have to worry about are a few perished rubbers I won't be too unhappy.

As an aside.. its intersting how the oil mix in 2 strokes varies so much. This trimmer is 25:1. My B&S mower is 40:1. My old merc outboard is 50:1. (Or is it 100:1) My stihl chainsaw is somewhere in between but I can't remember that one either. Is that an indication of build quality, operating revs, or just varying engine design?