There all the same you"ll lucky if you get 1 1/2 years that's it

 

There all the same you"ll lucky if you get 1 1/2 years that's it

well it has 2yr commercial warranty so 1 1/2 sounds good

 

If you take care of the unit and have a little mechanical smarts you can get a lot more than a couple years out of them. We got one that is 5 years old and is used daily by one of our crews. We use bigger units but keep this one around for the smaller guys because it it light. No real difference in the basic parts of this unit and the more powerful ones. These two cycle echo engine are almost bullet proof. And if you have problems they are EASY to work on.

 

I will agree, I LOVE ECHO! If you have a little knowledge & smarts, you will be fine with this unit. I have a couple units that are over 10 years old and still going VERY STRONG! The 230 will be fine for most everything you'll do with it. If you're like me, you'll probably only go to 1/2 throttle 80% of the time.

 

I've got an SRM230 I've used everyday for 3 years now and 0, I mean zero problems. I just do normal service, keep carb clean, filter clean and keep the head lubed.
I also, this year, bought a new Echo spool head for it. You just insert the line and dial it in. I like it because you don't have to disassemble the head to refill. The thing I don't like is you lose about a foot of line at the end.

 

Is that the U-turn head you are referring to? I just bought one for my SRM-210 and it's not feeding as reliably as I would like and is a pain to remove the spool if one side of the string gets stuck.

 

Is that the U-turn head you are referring to? I just bought one for my SRM-210 and it's not feeding as reliably as I would like and is a pain to remove the spool if one side of the string gets stuck.

That's the one. I found that I had to put a little less line in and I cut the line before spooling. It says to spool then cut but I found that the line twisted inside the head as you dial it in.
My biggest gripe is that when you get close to the end of the load of line that the last foot to foot and a half come flying out. Also, if I am heavy duty cutting and one side breaks off, I have to remove the spool, remove all the line and start new, using the old line of course. No popping the line twist out and then just reinserting into the feed holes. No, you have to do a complete respool.
I do like it because after I got used to it , I can respool a lot faster than with a conventional 2 line spool. Some pros, some cons.

 

To answer the question yes it's reliable, most anything Echo or Stihl is going to be,
thou a 230 is a bit underpowered in my opinion.

I never had anything below a 260s which is about like an FS-80r,
even that I outgrew but those are strong trimmers for starters.

My 260s lasted 3 years, because I am not all right with spending a little bit less, twice

 

Is that the U-turn head you are referring to? I just bought one for my SRM-210 and it's not feeding as reliably as I would like and is a pain to remove the spool if one side of the string gets stuck.

Dump that head those are losers.....the standard Echo bump head is bullet proof. Shidawaa had one that worked pretty well but same problem couldn't peak in to see how much line was there so had to always carry line in pocket.

 

Keep the filters clean and the mix fuel mixed right and you'll have a great unit for many years!

 

Tell you what. I'm not happy with mine at all. I agree with topsites. under powered. I needed a trimmer in a pinch and the dealer didn't have any redmax in stock. so I grabbed the 230 over the 260 to save a few bucks. I've owned it for about 6 months now, and used it on maybe 10 lawns. If I had a third trimmer, I'd rather wrap the thing around a tree than use it.

 

I have had 2 srm-230's and used them for several years, has worked very well for me. I mow about 18 lawns. They could use a little more power, but for 99 percent of the time, they should have all the power you need, unless you are trying to mow a field of 4-5 foot tall Johnson Grass

 

I have a SRM-210 that was used commercially for 8 years and then used by me for two years and is now my backup. I went ahead and bought the SRM-230 and it is more then enough power. I wouldnt go higher then .95 trimmer line though. Ive tried .105 on these and it just bogs them down way to much and isnt worth it. Now that I used .95, it cuts through anything!
Also I would like to add about the power to weight ratio. compared to the SRM-210, I prefer the 210. It is a little less power then the 230 but boy is there a difference in weight!

 

Tell you what. I'm not happy with mine at all. I agree with topsites. under powered. I needed a trimmer in a pinch and the dealer didn't have any redmax in stock. so I grabbed the 230 over the 260 to save a few bucks. I've owned it for about 6 months now, and used it on maybe 10 lawns. If I had a third trimmer, I'd rather wrap the thing around a tree than use it.

Wow!! You must have some really tough turf in Massac.........Masachu.............. where you live.

 

I have 2 230's that I use regularly. One is going on 4 years and the other 3 years. Both work just like the day I bought them. I just keep them clean and maintained. Only had to replace the fuel filter, air filter and spark plugs on both. I've torn each one apart once to give them a good cleaning and that seemed to help alot. I do think the next trimmer I buy will be a 260 though. Definately more power with the 260 but the 230 works just fine.

 

i'm still running my '95 SRM2501.

 

We run Echo 260s models, far more torque than the 230' s and the solid steel shaft is lighter, offers better head response, and should last forever (if properly maintained).