Should I Buy a New Trimmer ?

[pruntyc]

If you buy a Quart of Amsoil 100 to 1 then you don't need to run it at full speed. It don't leak fuel or any of that. But it did carbon the ring up bad. And the manual don't tell you to run it at full speed, that is what he told me on the phone. But I run it at the speed I want now, with the Amsoil. Just a better oil, for the job. I would recomend it for any 2 stoke now, and no I don't work for them, fact is I don't work, too old for that now. But for a great string cutter, I love the Stihl, it has a lot of power, not too heavy, and cuts fast. You can have a problem with any of them, if you use them enough. I wore out the motor on the weedeater, and not that many hours on it. Not near as many as I'm putting on the Stihl. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[trkbldr]

Having used both curved and straight shaft trimmers, I can say with certainty that the straight shaft is the way to go. For me anyway, it is much easier on the back. Also, if you have a need to trim under such things as a board or barbed wire fence, the straight shaft lets you get under there with ease. With all those trees to trim around, you most certainly need a trimmer that won't cause back pain /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. So I guess the answer to your question is - Yes, you should buy a new trimmer /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif!

 

[glennd]

In my opinion, ya get less vibration with the straight shart vs curved as well. The most common problem I've had with gas trimmers, is the mixture screws vibrating closed on the carb.

 

[Mrwurm]

Update.

Ended up with an Echo model. As pointed out by another poster, this is the brand sold at Home Depot. I have used it once and am quite pleased. It's going to take some time getting used to, but I can already appreciate the extra power and reach. Turns out that straight shaft trimmers turn counterclockwise, the opposite direction of all the other trimmers I have ever owned. Operating a trimmer requires quite a bit of fine motor control (muscle control) and switching to counterclockwise is like writing lefthanded (for a rightie).

Oh, and it is also easier on my back. Not painless, but better.

Paid $199 for the 21.1 cc model. It was surprised that it has a clutch at this price level, but it does.

Also, I pulled out the owners manual in the store and made sure that the manufacturer did'nt require the machine to run at full throttle all the time. It's been working great at various speeds. (so far)

 

[riptides]

I did the same thing a few days ago. My trimmer of the decade popped the starter coil. I went to a repair shop and got a "qoute" for all the things wrong with it. Hah, like it is a trimmer, ya know?

Ended up being cheaper to buy a new one. In fairness to the shop, that is what they recommended. Did the same thing with my decade old chainsaw last year too.

Dispose-o-2-cycles....

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif