Split Boom Trimmers

[CA Enterprises]

Do any of you use a split boom trimmer that has the edger, hedge clippers, blower attatchments.<p>I am curious if they are worth anything. I see that several manufacturers produce them for the comm industry. <p>Would it be any cheaper to go that route and still have all the goodies or is the trade off not worth it. Or is it still the same to buy everything seperate?<p>Thanks guys,<p>Adam<p>p.s. Homer did you get any rain with that front this time? You said its been dry.<br>

[geogunn]

personally, I think you'd be better served by a dedicated machine for each purpose.<p>let your trimmer be a good one. let your blower be a good one. etc.... get the idea?<p>to do the job you want, it helps to have an advantage. that means avoiding compromise equipment.<p>good luck on your choice<p>GEO

[Lazer]

I wouldn't split-boom your trimmer and edger out, takes too much time at each job.<p>If you have a split boom that you use for edging all week and then want to add a broom or hedge trimmer for an extra job, that works out pretty nice.<p>As far as quality, the Echo 2601SB system is as good as any dedicated unit out there. I know, guys like Shindiawa and RedMax, but the Echo 2601 is almost on a par with those.

[CA Enterprises]

Thanks,<p>I have a slowly dieing trimmer now and wanted upgrade and thought maybe this would a route to get all new stuff. <p>I think I will stay with the dedicated equip.<p>Thanks,<br>Adam

[jaclawn]

I bought into the Echo system when it first came out. I have the trimmer, chainsaw pruner, extended reach hedge clipper, and the edger. The tools with the exception of the chainsaw pruner are nearly identical to their dedicated counterparts, with the exception of the connector.<p>I like the economics of the system, especially since many of the attachments are not used every day. I probally can't justify a dedicated long reach hedge clipper, but can justify the attachment. Same goes for the chainsaw pruner. <p>Bottom line, if they are tools that you are going to use every day, get dedicated machines. If they are tools that are seldom used, get the attachment system.<p>BTW, Look at the Stihl system that recently came out. They have many attachments as well as Echo. Stay away from the homeowner models like the Roybi.

[steveair]

Hello,<p>I was talking to my stihl dealer the other day and he mentioned something funny. <p>Stihl is now making hedger, pole saws, and power brooms that can be attached to a regular FS85. You just change the entire gear box at the end of the shaft.<p>Whats funny is this. If you ordered a dedicated machine, like the fs85 with the power scythe, the dealer actually orders a fs85 and then orders the power scythe attachment. Its actually cheaper for the dealer himself to order the trimmer and scythe and change it himself than it is for him to order the same unit already pre-assembled. He said even his salesman told him to do this! <p>So, if you order a fs85 and are thinking about a scythe/hedger also, order the fs85 and then order the hedger attachment. That way, you not only get the hedger/scyth, you also still get the trimmer head/gear box, and you also get a better price.<p>Tell me this makes any sense, but thats the way it is....<p>Also, another funny thing is this. Stihl came out with its power broom this year, a dedicated unit, and then also came out with a power broom &quot;head&quot;, that can be interchangeable with models like the fs85, etc. <p>Problem is, Stihl had such a demand for the power broom (KW 85), that it can't sell the power broom head 'only' because they have to use all the ones coming off the line to go onto the KW 85. Some dealers got the power broom &quot;head&quot; only, but actually had to send them back because stihl needs them to put on the dedicated unit. Again, a crazy situation. Being that the fs85 and the Kw 85 broom units are identical exept for the attachment at the end of the shaft, I guess stihl can make more money off of selling the machine as a whole, because again, you could buy a fs85 with trimmer head and a seperate powerbroom head for less than the dedicated unit.<p>I think stihl needs to figure out what the hell is going on here. <p>steveair<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: steveair

[gene gls]

I have a Mauryama with hedge trimers and a cultivator.The shaft speed is too slow for hedge trimers but the cultivator works great in beds.

[paddy]

I have a FC-75 (stihl edger) and a FS-85, I barely use the edger. cause i'm very busy, so i skip edging, also there are cars in the way a lot. I have the Hedge trimmer attachment (angling one, spend the extra money and get the adjustable model, its so much more versatile) and the TILLER. Stihl doesn't market there tiller hard, but they should, that thing is awesome. I can easily make 50-100 an hour with it. Stihl doesn't yet make the RT-85 (split boom model). but when they do, i wanna buy the top shaft for it as a part, and buy a couple of bottom shafts, put them on my FC-75, so i can use it more. also, i'd like to buy a FS-200 (36 CC) with bicycle handles. Due to the angles involved, it would make tilling much easier, the BC-35 (tiller) will go on the FS-200, however the manual for the hedgetrimmer doesn't mention the FS-200.

[CA Enterprises]

jaclawn,<p>The Ryobi is what I have, thus the reason for getting a new setup. I thought(stupid me) that the Ryobi would be good, but 3 years later it is wron out. I know that I got better life out of it than I should,but this time I am going with comm. trimmer.<p>NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, buy a Ryobi for comm use. At home it will still work great.<p>Adam:)

[scottt]

CA Enterprises:<br>Your ryobi lasted 3 years? I used them for the past four years and had to buy 2 a year. You must not do a lot of trimming. The only reason I bought them in the first place was my partner didn't want to spend a lot of money on a commercial piece. This year I no longer have a partner and bought a stihl. I couldn't believe the difference. You should definetly buy commercial grade.

[CA Enterprises]

scottt,<p>I used it at home for 2 years and this year I decided to use it in the comm side. Everything else I have is comm.<p>I am full time Air Force and I moved last year and the *#@$(*& movers either stole or lost my other good trimmer. (well, decent trimmer). I want a stihl or echo, not sure which one just yet.<p>As far as mowing in general this year I have only gotten enough accts. to work 3 days a week with it. I just got here so getting a good rep and accts. built up will take this year. <p>I have a friend who has been here for 12 years now and he keeps sending some my way as he gets calls. I figure next year I will be back to 40 or 50 accts. I have 20 res. and 3 comm. The 3 comm accts count for about 60% of the work. They are very large lots. 1 is 4 acres another is 5 acres and the 3 is 1/2 acres. So it's building. <p>As far as trimming, no I don't really do a lot of trimming except with the res. accts.<p><br>Thanks for the help,<p>Adam:)<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: CA Enterprises