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New Stihl FS 94R Review with photo's

43K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  gebby 
#1 ·
So i just bought the new Stihl FS 94R Yesterday, today I got to use it. The price of the machine was $429 Canadian plus tax.
So this morning I fill it up with mid grade gas and Stihl Premium two stoke oil at a 50:1 ratio. The way the gas tank looks small I didn't think it would hold much gas but I was wrong.
The job at hand was a over grown 3 tiered hillside.
The machine started right away after pumping the bulb and having the choke on.
The job took just under a hour to complete, as you can see in the photo their was still a quarter tank of gas left. I was running the machine at 3/4 speed.
My primary trimmer the last few years as been a Husqvarna 327RJ. I have nothing bad to say about that machine I just wanted to switch to the 94R because of the thing I have heard and read plus all of my other tools are Stihl.
The 94R has good power, not as much as the 100 or 110 but similar to the 90.
I do like the stop button no more on or off switch. The throttle set wheel is another good idea. I had the TSW set to 3/4 which means i could not go over that rpm.
I Can confirm that it take all of the other Stihl attachments, as i trimmed a few bushes just to see if it worked.
From what I did today i can give it a good recommendation. Feel free to hit me up if you would like some questions answered.

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#5 ·
It's Stihl's new 2 stroke engine. I'm interested inn how heavy it feels compared to the 4 Mix machines he has. My dealer keeps trying to get me to buy the FS90 but it's 3 pounds heavier than the Kawi 27 I'm using now. He tells me it feels lighter than the Kawi. The FS90 I held didn't feel lighter.
 
#7 ·
Hey Mow Mony and Richard Martin, I'm not sure if its a upgrade from the 90 but it is just as powerful and it is a few pounds lighter. I'm hoping I can get good use out of it and not have the troubles some people have had including myself with the 4 strokes.
Riding Green I live on Vancouver Island in BC, we do not get a lot of snow. So far this winter we had 2 snow falls and the snow was gone by days end. Today was 58 degrees and I mowed a lawn.

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#9 ·
Hey Mow Mony and Richard Martin, I'm not sure if its a upgrade from the 90 but it is just as powerful and it is a few pounds lighter. I'm hoping I can get good use out of it and not have the troubles some people have had including myself with the 4 strokes.
Riding Green I live on Vancouver Island in BC, we do not get a lot of snow. So far this winter we had 2 snow falls and the snow was gone by days end. Today was 58 degrees and I mowed a lawn.
Man, I'm so jealous. That's a beautiful place (not to mention I like hunting and there's some monster black bears on VI).:)
 
#13 ·
wasnt the sthil 4 mix supposed to be the end all in technology?
Stihl, Shindaiwa and a few other smaller companies got screwed by the EPA on this deal.

The strict new regs that were supposed to be in place by 2011 or 2012, got indefinitely delayed. Had the regs been implemented Stihl and Shindaiwa would have been at the top of the 4 stroke pile. As it is now, they have to play catch up.

I had read that Stihl paid for Redmax's Stratocharging technology, not for the engines themselves.
 
#14 ·
A friend of mine starting a new lawn care company just bought one of those, and commented about the throttle control. I, too, think it is a good idea, especially for inexperienced operators. I have 100RX trimmers, and there are times it is difficult to not overpower when trimming around sensitive areas. I'm guessing this will show up on their full line soon.
 
#15 ·
I'm on the opposite end of the power spectrum. We use a 90 and a 110. We are either at an idle or WOT. There is no inbetween for us and I bet for a lot of guys out there it's the same. The 90 is a dog until it gets up to speed. It has a moment of bog when you grab the throttle. The 110 grunts and is instantly on the limiter. Big difference in power there. Thick tall grass shows the difference and we have areas we don't only cut once a month or as needed. The 130 is just too much and why carry the weight and use the fuel if it's not needed? So I like the 110. I hope to hear from people like me about the 94 and it's power compared to the 90/110. I doubt it has the snap and torque of the 90, definitely can't be as strong as the 110. We have had no problems with the 90 or the 110. They have been rained on and put away wet. Air filters and grease is all we've put into them. We use echo x oil because of price. River Valley Turf sells both Echo and Stihl equipment. I'm not impressed with any new Echo trimmer. And Echo bought Shinny a few years ago. Sorry, but they did.
 
#16 ·
Stihl, Shindaiwa and a few other smaller companies got screwed by the EPA on this deal.

The strict new regs that were supposed to be in place by 2011 or 2012, got indefinitely delayed. Had the regs been implemented Stihl and Shindaiwa would have been at the top of the 4 stroke pile. As it is now, they have to play catch up.

I had read that Stihl paid for Redmax's Stratocharging technology, not for the engines themselves.
They were actual engines, not just the technology. Stihl bought 100K of RM strato charged engines, but then shelved them in light of the forthcoming epa regs ,and went ahead and brought the 4 mix out since they had so much invested in the R&D already.
 
#17 ·
I'm on the opposite end of the power spectrum. We use a 90 and a 110. We are either at an idle or WOT. There is no inbetween for us and I bet for a lot of guys out there it's the same. The 90 is a dog until it gets up to speed. It has a moment of bog when you grab the throttle. The 110 grunts and is instantly on the limiter. Big difference in power there. Thick tall grass shows the difference and we have areas we don't only cut once a month or as needed. The 130 is just too much and why carry the weight and use the fuel if it's not needed? So I like the 110. I hope to hear from people like me about the 94 and it's power compared to the 90/110. I doubt it has the snap and torque of the 90, definitely can't be as strong as the 110. We have had no problems with the 90 or the 110. They have been rained on and put away wet. Air filters and grease is all we've put into them. We use echo x oil because of price. River Valley Turf sells both Echo and Stihl equipment. I'm not impressed with any new Echo trimmer. And Echo bought Shinny a few years ago. Sorry, but they did.
That's interesting to read since there's almost no difference in weight between the 130 and the 110 (12.1 vs 12.3 lbs). I'd take the 130 any day. Your 90 must be a bad one or out of adjustment because mine has all kinds of grunt right off idle and has no problem revving to the top quickly. I have never liked the fact that the 4 mix trimmers are so hard to feather up or down, but I certainly like the torque when it's needed.
 
#18 ·
I'm on the opposite end of the power spectrum. We use a 90 and a 110. We are either at an idle or WOT. There is no inbetween for us and I bet for a lot of guys out there it's the same. The 90 is a dog until it gets up to speed. It has a moment of bog when you grab the throttle. The 110 grunts and is instantly on the limiter. Big difference in power there. Thick tall grass shows the difference and we have areas we don't only cut once a month or as needed. The 130 is just too much and why carry the weight and use the fuel if it's not needed? So I like the 110. I hope to hear from people like me about the 94 and it's power compared to the 90/110. I doubt it has the snap and torque of the 90, definitely can't be as strong as the 110. We have had no problems with the 90 or the 110. They have been rained on and put away wet. Air filters and grease is all we've put into them. We use echo x oil because of price. River Valley Turf sells both Echo and Stihl equipment. I'm not impressed with any new Echo trimmer. And Echo bought Shinny a few years ago. Sorry, but they did.
My 90 is just like you described I hate it. I know two different Sthil dealers that don't like the 4-mix at all. The sthil rep for my area said that there hoping the two stroke trimmers will get the back In the market for trimmers he said they had lots of complaints from the 4-mix but he said some love them. I prefer a two strokes raw power. There's no doubt in my mind that my small Marayauma can eat a 90s lunch because a 90 want turn the RPMs with a long string like a my Marayaumas. I have ran the side by side. I have been told that I need to have it checked out because something isn't right. Well I have had it checked out twice by one dealer and he said it was fine. I was gonna take it to another dealer and he said the 90 was just weak and they had the most trouble out of the. And he said he want stock them becuase of it.
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#19 ·
I've never had a Stihl trimmer, always used Husquvarna 223l's and love them but I was at the National Farm Machinery show and stopes by the stihl tent. The 94 is lighter then the 90but not the 223l, you can tell holding it to edge that it fells good. I really also liked the throttle control. If one of my husqys dies I think it's going to be a gossip which trimmer to go with.
 
#21 ·
Don't take this personally, but I believe the word you're looking for here is Toss Up. :)

I'm giving some thought to trying one of those Husky 223s myself.
Haha yeah autocorrect on my ipad dosent like a lot of my words! And yeah I really like them and recommend them a lot.
 
#22 ·
Haha yeah autocorrect on my ipad dosent like a lot of my words! And yeah I really like them and recommend them a lot.
IF I could do every lawn company and dealership just ONE favor, ever, It would be to start up all their 4mix stuff, run it full throttle and dump in in the nearest lake.

That would be the best thing I could do for anyone that has anything to do with anything 4mix.
 
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