String Trimmer/ Brushcutter Recommendations

[Champy]

I've been using a 25cc Craftsman around the house without any problems, but when I took it out into the woods to cut trails (thistles; briars; reeds; etc - no trees.) it simply wound the string up in weeds and then the motor started overheating. Once it cooled down it works fine, but I have avoided using it again in the deep stuff since it was overheating.

I'm now relegated to using the old fashioned golf-swinging / hand-held bush wacker in the heavy stuff.........thought the adapted saw blade might possible work. Maybe I'll try the little plastic gator blades first. Thanks

 

[AlanB]

I thought that was why we had boys

 

[ultrarunner]

I stopped by my local Mower Shop and asked about the Honda 4 stroke brush cutter. The Owner has been in business over 40 years and is factory authorized for Honda, Stihl, Husky, Echo and others.

He told me the Honda 4 strokes are very nice, very smooth and fuel efficient... but he does not sell a lot of them to residential Landscapers.

The reason is that many gardeners use a string trimmer/ brush cutter also as an edger for lawns and the Honda 4 stroke should not be rotated 90 degrees sideways because of the crankcase oil.

No problem raising the head up to cut a steep slope or dropping the head down to cut the low side of a hill... just don't rotate/twist sideways... like you would need to do to string trim a lawn edge. He has had a couple come back with the air filter soaked with oil from being turned.

The Honda is also a little heavier than a comparable Stihl 2 stroke.

Prices ranged from the mid $300's to $419 for the Honda 4-stroke Brush Cutter with harness and handle bars.

 

[Champy]

I thought that was why we had boys

Maybe you can convince Dean to weedwack this old fashioned way, but I'd have better luck spitting to the moon as to get Jake or Daniel to break a sweat this way..........of course if I could mount the blades to their Shercos then maybe????

 

[dmccarty]

Mr. _RAT_ said,

I would not use a blade unless you have the handle bars and a harness(manufacturers same same thing). When the blades kick back or get pinched, they would be very hard to control with the regular oval handle configuration.

The trimmers with handle bars and full harnesses give you much more control of the machine. I would not be as concerned about the arbor bolt, as in controlling the trimmer with that rotating blade. At least with sring, if you accidently bump you leg, it just stings. If you get hit by that blade during a kickback, you may lose a limb(yours, not the tree's!).

And I agree....

And I disagree..



My FS85 does not have a handle bars just the one hand hold on the shaft. The harness got tossed after about 15 minutes using the tool. I have cut literally thousands of saplings with a blade on the Sthil. Spent lots of money on brush blades. And cuts trees down with the FS85 that I should not have done. But I never felt that this was dangerous to me. To the tool, maybe.

The danger is cutting near the left "front/top" of the blade as I recall, is that the saw can kick to the right. Violently, quickly and uncontrollably. But I aint standing to the right of the tool. Or to the left. I'm in the center as a pivit point. The saw might ping pong around a couple of trees but it ain't getting me. Been There Done That and Bought the T Shirt. While this was not nice behavior on the brush cutters part it was not really dangerous to me. Dangerous to other trees yes. Maybe to the tool. Me no.

So this is the disagree part at least with my tool.

The danger as I see it/saw it was to OTHER people and the dog(s). People/dogs just could not be around when doing cutting like this. Of course if you know this is a problem then don't do it. The flip side was that if you cut in the "danger" zone on the blade it made the cut easier. But there was the risk of the fling to the side.

So this is the agree part.

At the time I was using the Stihl to cut down saplings I was alone. No Dogs. No people. Just Me. So it was safe. I now have a DR brush cutter/mower and this is not an issue for me since the Stihl has been retired to edging. The DR simply does more easier, faster and safer. But for a heck of alot more money!

Later,
Dan

 

[_RaT_]

Mr. _RAT_ said,



And I agree....

And I disagree..



My FS85 does not have a handle bars just the one hand hold on the shaft. The harness got tossed after about 15 minutes using the tool. I have cut literally thousands of saplings with a blade on the Sthil. Spent lots of money on brush blades. And cuts trees down with the FS85 that I should not have done. But I never felt that this was dangerous to me. To the tool, maybe.

The danger is cutting near the left "front/top" of the blade as I recall, is that the saw can kick to the right. Violently, quickly and uncontrollably. But I aint standing to the right of the tool. Or to the left. I'm in the center as a pivit point. The saw might ping pong around a couple of trees but it ain't getting me. Been There Done That and Bought the T Shirt. While this was not nice behavior on the brush cutters part it was not really dangerous to me. Dangerous to other trees yes. Maybe to the tool. Me no.

So this is the disagree part at least with my tool.

The danger as I see it/saw it was to OTHER people and the dog(s). People/dogs just could not be around when doing cutting like this. Of course if you know this is a problem then don't do it. The flip side was that if you cut in the "danger" zone on the blade it made the cut easier. But there was the risk of the fling to the side.

So this is the agree part.

At the time I was using the Stihl to cut down saplings I was alone. No Dogs. No people. Just Me. So it was safe. I now have a DR brush cutter/mower and this is not an issue for me since the Stihl has been retired to edging. The DR simply does more easier, faster and safer. But for a heck of alot more money!

Later,
Dan

I would whole heartedly disagree, I did not say that, it was RobertN,

 

[jimg]

Great discussion! Im in the market for a trimmer and am only considering 4 strokes. The short list is the Honda (forget the mdl #) and the Husqvarna 324. After much research & looking at various dealers Im going to get the later. I thought the balance was better, its lighter and I can get parts locally. Price was pretty much the same for either (w/i $20-30). Ill be real interested to see how it works out as Ive got what seems like miles of fence to keep clear.

When I was researching this purchase one of the dealers mentioned the 'store your line in a bucket of water' thing. First time I ever heard of this. Seems easy enough to try out and see if it really works or not.

 

[RobertN]

My Honda Brusher/trimmer is a little heavier than my older but comparable Husky brusher/trimmer. Just a little... There's more moving parts in a 4-stroke, so that will probably always be an issue. In the case of the brusher/trimmer, it is supported by the shoulder harness, so it is not as big of a deal.

On my Honda brusher/trimmer, it is pretty adjustable; it was easy to balance. My Husky is the same in that regard too. Out of the box, the Honda needed more adjustment, but that only took a couple of minutes.

For the string, it is really a matter of keeping it cool and dry. If it sits in the bed of the truck in the 110degree Sacramento sun, it dries out real fast

Great discussion! Im in the market for a trimmer and am only considering 4 strokes. The short list is the Honda (forget the mdl #) and the Husqvarna 324. After much research & looking at various dealers Im going to get the later. I thought the balance was better, its lighter and I can get parts locally. Price was pretty much the same for either (w/i $20-30). Ill be real interested to see how it works out as Ive got what seems like miles of fence to keep clear.

When I was researching this purchase one of the dealers mentioned the 'store your line in a bucket of water' thing. First time I ever heard of this. Seems easy enough to try out and see if it really works or not.

 

[_RaT_]

For the string, it is really a matter of keeping it cool and dry. If it sits in the bed of the truck in the 110degree Sacramento sun, it dries out real fast

Shoot Robert, if it sits in the sun up at Tahoe in the 70 degree weather with the intense UV up there it cracks and bleeds.

 

[RobertN]

That Mr_RAT_

I understand the harness I think you are talking about. The one for my Husky though, is a full double shoulder rig that is very comfortable and supportive. Also, with the full brush rig handlebars, you really can not hold unit up like an oval handle trimmer; you really have to have the harness.

My Stihl Combo trimmer came with a harness; it would qualify more as a strap. I never used it; it was more in the way than anything else.

I noted in a previous post, the Honda harness sure didn't fit me. Even fully adjusted, it did not fit my shoulders. I'm only 6'2"; I think the harness was made for someone 5'7". Fortunately, I had my Husky harness which I really like, and the Honda fits my son, who is 5'4" right now.

A standard trimmer CAN use a blade, I just would not recomend it for 99% of users who wouldn't be as cautious.

Mr. _RAT_ said,



And I agree....

And I disagree..



My FS85 does not have a handle bars just the one hand hold on the shaft. The harness got tossed after about 15 minutes using the tool. I have cut literally thousands of saplings with a blade on the Sthil. Spent lots of money on brush blades. And cuts trees down with the FS85 that I should not have done. But I never felt that this was dangerous to me. To the tool, maybe.

The danger is cutting near the left "front/top" of the blade as I recall, is that the saw can kick to the right. Violently, quickly and uncontrollably. But I aint standing to the right of the tool. Or to the left. I'm in the center as a pivit point. The saw might ping pong around a couple of trees but it ain't getting me. Been There Done That and Bought the T Shirt. While this was not nice behavior on the brush cutters part it was not really dangerous to me. Dangerous to other trees yes. Maybe to the tool. Me no.

So this is the disagree part at least with my tool.

The danger as I see it/saw it was to OTHER people and the dog(s). People/dogs just could not be around when doing cutting like this. Of course if you know this is a problem then don't do it. The flip side was that if you cut in the "danger" zone on the blade it made the cut easier. But there was the risk of the fling to the side.

So this is the agree part.

At the time I was using the Stihl to cut down saplings I was alone. No Dogs. No people. Just Me. So it was safe. I now have a DR brush cutter/mower and this is not an issue for me since the Stihl has been retired to edging. The DR simply does more easier, faster and safer. But for a heck of alot more money!

Later,
Dan