string trimmers

[dbahz]

Which trimmer would you suggest for a home owner who edges with it 99% of the time: Echo 2100 (or 211 in Calif.) or the HusqVarna 322L (dealers still have them), or any other brands.
Its is only used about 20 minutes a week, but I want a commercial one.

Thanks

[Garry]

Go for the Echo!......... Take even half-way decent care of that thing..............................and your grandchildren will enjoy the preformance and reliability of an Echo.

The craftsmanship is magnificent................................(Dude,... yer gonna get a echo)

[mowerman90]

Go for the Husky, I've owned both and the Husky is TWICE the trimmer the Echo is.

[Martino]

Aw, now you guys have really confused him.

[heybruck34]

My parents bought an Echo when I was around 11. I'm 22 now. The thing still runs great and the only repairs have been a couple carb rebuilds here at the house and one rebuild at the shop. You'd think they'd start draining the gas over the winter. We've also put a new head on it since the original was a POS. I love it and have bought one for myself since I'm buying my own place this summer.

I've never used any other commercial brand other than Echo but see no reason to try until they fail me.

[Brickman]

Go big red
Redmax that is.

Husky trimmers aren't what they were 15 years ago. I bought a new one thinking it would be like the one my dad still has that I tried my best to tear up as a kid. I hated the new ones. Sold it for $100. It was still new when I did that.

[Doc Pete]

The echo 2100 is OK, but it's too short to use comfortably. You will be bending over "all the time", plus it's too close to your feet if you weedwhack. Look for the echo 2400, which is longer and more powerful. It's about $20 more, but worth the money.
If you want to spend a bit more money the Shindawa "Home Pro" is just that. It has full bearings in the head, and is 4 inches longer than the 2400 and 8 inches longer the 2100.
Don't forget you weedwhack left to right for a bend shaft, and right to left for a straight shaft. You "can" weedwhack in the other direction for each machine, but the natural torque twists the machine in to the ground if you do that.
Pete

[MuskTurfKing]

I have the 2100 and it's a good trimmer for light use, but it is a tad short for me, since I'm close to 6'4, but it works good and I like it, my next trimmer will be a longer one with a bigger engine.

Hank

[awm]

try a ryobi. then when u get your hands on a good trimmer
u will appreciate the differences.i try not to bash much ,but i aint to high on that one.

[kroll]

no matter which Echo straight shaft trimmer you choose. go check this out. http://edgit.com/
You will be amazed what it can do for you. I run the Edgit on all my trimmers.

[Garry]

Hey, if it's got a bent shaft.............................it's one step from useless. I would not accept a bent-shaft trimmer as a gift!

I've been "wacking" since the mid-70's.....(uh, weed wacking that long too)

Damn, my first one you had to plug in..............................I still remember my dad telling me they were going to change the face of lawn mowing. (in those days they didn't so much cut the grass as it just beat the crap out of the plant)

At five foot ten...(and a half)................I'm no giant................therefore, the Echo is not too small for me.

A Mustang is a great car............................it's not "the best".....................but, it's a great car. Echo's are like Mustang's.

Listen the the voices of experience........................Go with the Echo!

[Doc Pete]

Garry Says,
Hey, if it's got a bent shaft.............................it's one step from useless. I would not accept a bent-shaft trimmer as a gift!



I think you may be confusing "bent shaft" with the "operator" and not the weedwhacker. Bent shafts are terrific in the right appication, and when they are not used by a "bent shaft operator".
Pete

[Martino]

All Echo straight shaft trimmers have the same shaft length - 59 inches.

[keifer]

I vote for the shindawa 230 and some 105 line.

[MuskTurfKing]

Untrue Martino. SRM-340 has a 60.2" shaft. :)

I think it'll always be a PITA running trimmers with me, I'm sure I'll end up being around 6'5 when I'm older....stuff just isn't made for things like us big folks.

Hank

[Garry]

For Christ's sake, Switch..............................I've been in this business long enough to know a straight shaft from a bent shaft.

Along with "a complete shaft".........................but, that's another thread.


Residential wacking and *grounds crew/golf course* wacking are two completely different animals. Fire one up at 5:05 AM......................go many, many hours consecutively...(stop for fuel, string change, lunch, breaks, etc)................day after day.

You'll probably end up agreeing with me.

The Echo series was sent here by God himself.....(rumor has it, that's what they use in heaven.)

[Mark]

Shindiawa T-260 and the Echo 2601s both are good units,plus the 2601 split shafts offers many attachments. And also i agree with Pete i have a bent shaft echo i use only for sidewalks and such for edging, its much faster for me and after the first run with a stickedger you can leave just as good of a edge. Marks Mowing Service

[Garry]

The *bent-shaft* wacker owes its shortfalls to simple physics. To get the same performance as a straight shaft....................as I see it anyway, means something's got to give eventually, be it the operator or the machine.

Perhaps, this is a pure example of "to each his own".

Hmmmm, Nowhere in that curved shaft of yours is there added friction?

[P&J Lawncare]

I have used bent shafts for years and prefer them over the straight shafts. I use stihl fs 75 trimmers and in three years I have yet to break one. My employees run these trimmers for 8 hours at a time and prefer these trimmers due to the balance and weight of them. Before we went to these trimmers we were lucky to get more than two years out of a trimmer.

[Doc Pete]

Garry,
Well, actually since I do work full time for a church, you could say I work for God. :p And he told me, it doesn't matter if I use a straight or bent shaft, as long as I get the job done.:D
Good talking to ya, and keep those shafts greased...
Pete

[Brickman]

Straight/bent shafts. Bent/straight.
It all boils down to personal preference. For me even tho I am not a tall guy, the bent shafts are too short and give me a backache. I hate them. Even Homelite straight shafts that my uncle uses because they are cheaper, give me a bach ache. Too short. With the Redmax BC2600 the shaft is long enough that I don't bend over at all, and there for no backaches.

I say what ever works for you, and I will use what ever works for me.

Kinda like a friend told me one time about some body else.
He said "if that guy is happy, I am happy. And if he isn't happy, I am still happy." I thought that was a good point.

[SLS]

The bent shaft variety hurts my back too. Could be because I'm 6'1". Although the bent shafts worked well I'll never go back to bent shafts because of the pain.

I guess that when it comes to greased shafts, the longer-the better. ;)

[P&J Lawncare]

to each his own

[dlandscaping]

I' ve got the echo pas 2601 with a few attachments. Overall nice trimmer not too heavy long enough for me (6' tall). I also have a kawi trimmer. Both have a 25.4 cc engine and i think the kawi is better balanced. I aslo like the handle on the kawi better so when i flip it over to edge i can just grab a piece of it (on the echo my handle is upside down). I also got an echo curved shaft that i won at my exmark dealers open house. I hardly use and it takes different gas ratio than everything else i have so it has oil all over the muffler and it is too short for me to be comfortable. It is light though. For loading line i havent had great success with echo kawi but i have with stihl. Their design is better take a look at em.

[mac43rn]

I am looking for trimmer and edger to be used for home use. I currenlty have an echo bent shaft, but I am going to leave it with my in-laws. Can anyone recommend a good quality trimmer and edger for the money. Don't mind spending the extra dough to get a better product, but i don't beleive I need the top of the line commercial unit for a product/ products that will be used for one time a week. Thanks for all the help.