weed eaters for farm use

[michellesc7]

hi everyone
did not know where to post this.
i have alot of structures at my place in town and the farm. i have recently had a couple of the homeowner brand weedeaters- weed eater and riobi brands - they are not "cutting it" and my neighbor can get them to stay running (carburation).

i need to go back to the weedeaters that receive at least .095 string and have the shoulder harness and bike handle bars preferrred.

brands i am going to look at are shindaiwa, honda, redmax -

any experiences or advice. i have tractor and bushhog. need to get around the structures- don't want to kill my back and need durability.

thanks all,
michelle

 

[jimg]

I own an Echo pro trimmer (cant recall the mdl off hand) and use that for my fence lines, frontage and yard. Bought it new last yr and used it extensively! My only regret is that I would have gotten one w/ a bigger motor. Along w/ the trimmer I also got one of the quick load heads. I tossed the string head that came w/ the trimmer, the wind up type. Those quick load heads are great! Just need to remember to bring some pieces of string and pliers w/ into the field. Oh, also got a saw blade w/ it as well to drop small brush. Ergonomics are good & no problems so far (seeing as its new there shouldnt be).

 

[kossetx]

Michelle, I don't have it in a weedeater, but that motor on the 4 stroke honda is a fine running machine. It is the same one that is on the honda tiller and I work my tiller hard. The only drawback for the honda weedeater is the lack of converting attachments, and I use both a brushcutter and pole saw on mine.

That being said, I use a poulan, and never have had a problem except breaking the starter string. It has a 2 year warranty and for 125.00 I can replace them every 2 years.

 

[Foodplot]

We use string and brush trimmers extensively to maintain our biological preserve. Stihl has been our brand of choice for these machines, for power heads for pole saws, and for chain saws. They've been extremely reliable.

 

[Runner]

Another vote for Stihl. I have been extremely pleased with my chain saw (owned it 10 years or so) and my string trimmer (owned for two years). They both start easily every time and run well.

 

[firefighter9208]

Michelle,

I have a Stihl STIHL Incorporated United States -- Products -- Trimmers -- Manufacturing and Selling The World's Number One Chain Saw FS110. It's a 4 stroke, but you still mix Stihl's 2 cycle oil with 89 octane gas. It has valves unlike a 2 stroke.

I use it for trimming and with a blade for clearing brush. Works really well.

The major thing that I like about it is you don't smell like gas/oil when you get done weedeating.

Chris
Hill Farm Boer Goats

 

[Soundguy]

Goats, sheep, and donkey are pretty good weed eaters!

soundguy

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I have a Honda 4-stroke dual-string trimmer. You put straight gas in it, no mixing. Very easy to start and it is very quiet and smoke free. Well balanced and not heavy. I don't have the bicycle handle bar style, just the regular with shoulder harness. I used the harness at first, then didn't bother with it after awhile. I only had it about a week when I backed over it with the rear wheel of my 7000 lb. IH 454 tractor. Fortunately I ran over the powerhead instead of the shaft and it was laying on soft ground. The only damage was a broken idle stop screw. Still runs perfect. One less thing to have to mix 2-stroke for. Only real complaint was that it cost as much as my Honda powered Lawn Boy walk-behind mower.

 

[pitt_md]

I feel your pain! I fought all kinds of issues with various inexpensive trimmers for years around my farm. I got really upset one day with the 4th trimmer of the year and went and bought a Stihl FS250(I think). Had this unit for 3 years now and never regretted spending the extra money for a good one. Easy starting and very powerful. I don't recomend the brush cutter types if you have a chainsaw. small brush up to 3/8" inch is not a problem with the nylonknife head attached (came with my unit).

 

[TwinWillows]

I'm pretty happy w/our Sthil - the handlebar controls & shoulder strap really help make using it for long periods easier. I don't remember the model #. The only real complaint is that the fule tank is too small & I find myself running out when I'm the furthest from my gas tank..