Junk weed Wacker.

[jjeff]

Recent b-day present got a troy bilt 25cc straight shaft to replace two very cheap junk curved shaft weed eaters at my cabin after much internal debate and a good experience with an older TB back pack blower, went cheap and decided on a troybilt two stroke as it would only be used it 6-12 times a year. Anxiously put it together briefly read over some of the instructions fueled it up with 40-1, and proceeded to test it before I hauled it 500 miles to its new home in the UP.
Initially wouldn't idle right and the top end was bogging down. Called the troybilt number on box put on hold for an hour. Frustrated said f-it grabbed my "Pac-Man" carb adjustment screwdriver and proceeded to adjust the carb. Got rid of top-end bog attempted to lower idle, even at lower rpm the trimmer head won't stop spinning til the point of it stalling. Set it down kind of idling bump feeder engaged proceeded to feed all the string cause the head kept spinning. Four letter word frustrated now I put the pos in its ripped up box emptied the fuel tank and returned. Fortunately the manager understood my frustration as it was only a day old. Exchanged it for an echo 225 straight shaft paid the difference. Tested it, Made my day and it's a completely different level of qaulity, worth the extra cash I paid. What a difference. Same level of qaulity as a more professional qaulity frequently used Husqvarna I use on my homestead.
Maybe it was a freak incident bottom line reputable company lawn care equipment with roots in the professional lawn care industry is worth it even if it's not considered a true commercial piece of equipment. Rant and praise is over.

 

[arto98607]

Professional model Stihl FS85 trimmer and Shindaiwa B45 brush cutter have worked very well for me, both about 25 years old.

They were not cheap to buy at the time, but will be the lowest cost in the long run.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Recent b-day present got a troy bilt 25cc straight shaft to replace two very cheap junk curved shaft weed eaters at my cabin after much internal debate and a good experience with an older TB back pack blower, went cheap and decided on a troybilt two stroke as it would only be used it 6-12 times a year. Anxiously put it together briefly read over some of the instructions fueled it up with 40-1, and proceeded to test it before I hauled it 500 miles to its new home in the UP.
Initially wouldn't idle right and the top end was bogging down. Called the troybilt number on box put on hold for an hour. Frustrated said f-it grabbed my "Pac-Man" carb adjustment screwdriver and proceeded to adjust the carb. Got rid of top-end bog attempted to lower idle, even at lower rpm the trimmer head won't stop spinning til the point of it stalling. Set it down kind of idling bump feeder engaged proceeded to feed all the string cause the head kept spinning. Four letter word frustrated now I put the pos in its ripped up box emptied the fuel tank and returned. Fortunately the manager understood my frustration as it was only a day old. Exchanged it for an echo 225 straight shaft paid the difference. Tested it, Made my day and it's a completely different level of qaulity, worth the extra cash I paid. What a difference. Same level of qaulity as a more professional qaulity frequently used Husqvarna I use on my homestead.
Maybe it was a freak incident bottom line reputable company lawn care equipment with roots in the professional lawn care industry is worth it even if it's not considered a true commercial piece of equipment. Rant and praise is over.

How much was the 225 and where is it made?

 

[2manyrocks]

SRM-225 | ECHO-USA.com $229 list. Lots of good reviews. My Echo chainsaw and pole saw each say made in Japan.

 

[masseyrider]

We had a Troy Bilt roto tiller when I was a kid. Did acres and acres of garden every year.
When I got rid of it the tines were only knubs. The replacements were expensive enough that I wasn't going to spend that kind of money on an old machine. I traded it towards a new one. Got the top of the line Big Red.
Without getting into expletives, I will never buy Troy Bilt again.

 

[jjeff]

Yep $229. Assembled in USA. 2year commercial, 5 year homeowner warranty. Comes with .095 can use upto .105 string in it. I haven't found anything bad about it yet. Plus simple string replacement my wife and kids can replace string when it needs it, time will tell how well it will hold up but I'm pretty confident it will be trouble free and last more than a few years.

 

[jjeff]

SRM-225 | ECHO-USA.com $229 list. Lots of good reviews. My Echo chainsaw and pole saw each say made in Japan.

My dad's 40 yr old echo chainsaw was made in Japan.

 

[ArlyA]

You remind me why we go with good tools the 1st time!

 

[jjeff]

You remind me why we go with good tools the 1st time!

Thing I'm learning is if it's printed on the box not to return to store but call number on box.
Don't Buy It.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

My 11 year old son talked me into going electric, Greenworks Pro, for my trimmer... It was a great choice. Runs forever, and always runs... No gas, no oil, just zips along

 

[jjeff]

You remind me why we go with good tools the 1st time!

Yep a lot of new tools and equipment I buy are usually at least one step up from consumer homeowner grade qaulity. Lesson relearned . I'll never waste my time with troybilt again trying to save a few bucks.

 

[jjeff]

My 11 year old son talked me into going electric, Greenworks Pro, for my trimmer... It was a great choice. Runs forever, and always runs... No gas, no oil, just zips along

Was very close to buying a DeWalt 20 volt Weed Wacker. But I already have a pretty effective way of storing premix up there for my two chainsaws as I make a cord or so of wood every year.

 

[scaredychicken]

I have a Husqvarna straight shaft with blade for the general / heavy work, an Echo trimmer with string or plastic prongs for the finesse work, and a small Stihl chainsaw for the big stuff. 20+ years for most

I see the cheap stuff at the landfill, in perfect, non-running condition

 

[2manyrocks]

I would have to look for the model number, but I bought a pretty used Echo gas trimmer at an auction and have run it about 10+ years. No idea how old it really is.

 

[tacticalturnip]

I've got a Troy Bilt I've just not bothered throwing away yet; I purchased it new, it never seemed to work well from the start. Eventually it wouldn't pull start, and I picked up the electric starter, and eventually that wouldn't start it. Took it to a certified repair shop, and had them mess with it. Got another month out of it before it quit again, and now I'm done.

 

[tacticalturnip]

I see the cheap stuff at the landfill, in perfect, non-running condition

Describing my experience with Troy Bilt too.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Consumer 2 stroke stuff is junk. Echo, Stihl, husky, maruyama, redmax, honda, are my limits. No MTD, no Try Built.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

surprised your dealer didn't run into those problems before they let you out the door.
Only my personal pref. as I tend to stick to Stihl but my dealer always tests the stuff before they let it go out the door.

I too would have taken it back and at minimum asked them to put it through their shop for repairs or tune / or like your choice choosen another model.

 

[jjeff]

surprised your dealer didn't run into those problems before they let you out the door.
Only my personal pref. as I tend to stick to Stihl but my dealer always tests the stuff before they let it go out the door.

I too would have taken it back and at minimum asked them to put it through their shop for repairs or tune / or like your choice choosen another model.

If your talking to me? By the time I spent on hold over the phone with troy bilt, attempted to tune the carb to get the top-end of the power band to work, unsuccessfully attempted to make it idle, during that time unraveling all the string in the super cheap bump feeder I had enough and wanted no part of this POS ever again. Another thing Im learning if starting instructions are so in depth requiring adjusting choke, priming several times, and pulling the chord a specific number than repeat with different level of choke, primes, and pulls it's not worth it, no matter how cheap.

 

[kozal01]

Troy Built doesn't make anything good anymore, its cheap big box store junk now for the most part. Good move on the Echo, it should last you a long time. If it starts to spit oil out of the exhaust try running 50:1 instead of 40:1, I noticed several years ago my newer small 2 stroke stuff likes to run on 50:1 or less. I've actually been running 80:1 for a few years now with Amsoil.