My New Grass Trimmer

[Beale]

First of all let me say thank you to all the people who posted answers to my original post on gas trimmers. After a bit of research and some looking and testing I bought hopefully my last trimmer. Went with the Stihl FS80R. I know that some people will disagree with my choice, and that is ok, we all have that option to choose and its great.
My reasons for buying this trimmer were very basic. My dealer, who is less than a mile from my house really liked the Stihl. He had Echo, Husquvarna, Shindiawa, and Stihl. The Stihl was at least 3 times as much in total product as any of the others. He also likes the way they stand behind a product. But I guess the biggest reason was that this trimmer gave me the biggest smile!
Have used the trimmer 3 times now on my yard (3/4 acre), really like it. Had a curved shaft Ryobi before so this is a big move up for me. No more sore back, way more power, and easy feed line also easy to load.
Anyway sorry for the long post thanks again and if I can get some rain I can soon trim again! beale

[rkbrown]

Beale:

Excellent choice....exactly what I bought a couple of months ago. Great trimmer with plenty of power. I've been teaching myself to edge with this trimmer and have gotten pretty proficient at it. Good luck with it !

[Beale]

Thanks rk, I really like this unit a lot. As for edging I still got a big learnig curve to get over. I do have a question for you. Do you use the Stihl line, and oil? I have so far but just bought a new spool of line from my dealer $15.91 for the big do-nut looking size. That sounded high to me but not sure. I do not mind paying a little extra to make a quality investment last longer just curious. Thanks in advance. Beale

[GLS]

Congrats, and great choice! I love stihl products. It's probably too late now, but I would suggest buying .105" square line, whether it be stihl brand or whatever. I got rid of the round .080 string that comes with it. The square or star shaped line works much better in my opinion. The thicker diameter also makes the line last longer, especially when trimming up against fences and other hard surfaces.

[Scag48]

I bought the Stihl FS 85RT about 3 months ago. I like it except for the head tends to spin quite a bit when you let go of the clutch. Not a huge deal, but I thought that it wouldn't spin that much. Good luck with them. Definately a big step up. After running a curved shafte Homelite commercially for 2 years, it was a big change for me.

[rkbrown]

Sorry that I have not replied sooner, Beale. I use the Stihl oil, but found that I like the Echo Crossfire line better than the Stihl line. You can get the echo line at home depot. Since I was just trying out the echo line to see if I liked it, I got the "doughnut" and it cost me about $10. I have not priced the line at home depot, but I imagine it is a bit cheaper. I have heard many people touting the "gator line", but I cannot find it locally.