Gas string trimmer $100-$200?

It's time for a new trimmer at our house. I have a crappy Homelite or Remington (can't remember) mostly-straight shaft trimmer that has been a hassle from the get-go, but now it's pretty well shot. In reality, it could be fixed, but I don't want to mess with it anymore.

I'm not too interested in the usual MTD stuff, but would like to find a good one for $100 and $150.

I'm also 5'11"and find that the standard models seem shorter than is comfortable. I reckon a straight shaft is the way to go, but Stihl makes a curved shaft one that's eight inches taller than standard.

What do you recommend?.

After messing with an older Craftsman trimmer till I was blue in the face I broke down and bought a Husqvarna 128LD trimmer. That was 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. It didn't come with shoulder strap, so I just swapped it from the old trimmer. I payed $114 for it on ebay as a re-manufactured unit with free shipping.

After a couple used ones that I could barely keep running for a year (old craftsman 32cc, old homelite 25cc), I bought a curved shaft 21cc Hitachi. I was worried it wasn't going to be powerful enough for my needs but its been fine. consumer reviews on it were good and I think theres some sort of 7 year manufacturer warranty that I neglected to register my trimmer for.

Ive had it 2 seasons now and have no complaints. I think it was around $130

I like my Stihl

Electric? My home light is giving up the ghost and I'm tired of dealing with small engines in general. I'm going for an electric in a few days.

I've been dealing with a failing leaf blower lately. I thought it might be related to bad fuel but it occurred to me that I bought the leaf blower and string trimmer at the same time and the trimmer is still working great. The blower is a Homelite and the trimmer is a Husqvarna. I'm going to look for a Husqvarna blower.

My only other suggestion is to go with a straight shaft trimmer rather than the curved shaft. That gives you the option of adding accessories.

Plus one on a straight shaft. I got a cub cadet 4 stroke weed trimmer. I highly recommend one. It's like a 2 stroke compared to a 4 stroke motorcycles. Fewer revs= more better. Expensive -$175, but well worth every penny in my book.

I have a 4-stroke also. It's nice to be able siphon fuel right out of the riding mower with no mixing.

STIHL. The box store residential grade units are only rated 100-200 hours life span. A Stihl residential is higher, but going to a Stihl pro grade gets you 10K+ hours. A base model pro will do just about anything you need short of some of the more extreme attachment and will last a lifetime. It will start at the top of your price range, or a little above. A good used one should easily be under $200.

IIRC, mine is the FS90. It is the smallest one that can take a heavy brush blade. When I bought it 5 years ago it was between $2-300 with all the extras. It just works.

I'm still using an Echo SRM 230 split boom I bought in '99. You definitely get what you pay for. It's lightweight, but still commercial quality, rebuildable, hell, I think they still sell the same model. 23cc I think, it'll stomp all over any 31cc homeowner unit I've ever used.

my buddy and I traipsed around to a few stores to see various trimmers first-hand. As expected, the MTD/Homelite/Remington/Poulan ones were crummy looking and uncomfortable to hold. There was a $179 Husqvarna at Lowes that seemed the right size for me and felt balanced and well-made.

But I have a budget constraint, and the Husqvarna exceeds that. Tomorrow I'm gonna check out a Stihl dealer I've known for years to check out their least expensive trimmer (FS38, $129) and see what he can do for me. I figure a better engineered machine is worth it. I've already had bilateral carpal tunnel surgery once, and the vibration from my Homelite would make my hands ache for days.

In reply to Clarty: Any update?

I have a version of this. String Trimmer Comes in 2 or 4-stroke, different shafts and will take different attachments. With my 1 acre yard, having only one engine that takes different attachments for different tasks is convenient. If something goes wrong with the engine part you only have to replace that one part, not all the attachments.

Of course, GRM comes through again as I too am searching for a trimmer and I'm undecided on the route. A quick google search and this is the first thread to pop up.

Anyone have an electric one? It would compliment the quietness of my reel mower and is likely sufficient for my small yard. I just don't want to pay $125 and have it die in 2 years. Alternatively I was going to go with an Echo PAS or Stihl Kombi 2 cycle which would be way overkill for my little yard but will likely last longer and also work in case we move in the future.

Stihl or Echo are the only ones I'd bother with. The other ones are so ridiculously cheapy junk.

Plug in electric if you can. It just runs.

Want to like the four strikers, but they are heavy, and watch their oil level.

Straight shaft is vastly over rated.

Curved shaft is vastly under rated.

Interchangeable attachments is interesting.

Propane is interesting. Fiddly, heavy, awkward, but interesting.

Stihl trimmers are nothing like their good chainsaws. Vastly over rated in my experience and observation.

I have had a Stihl FS55r for three years now and it still work great. I load it up with the heaviest line I can find and it chews through anything I come across on my property. My mom just picked up an electric Stihl and it seems to be doing well. It can't take on the really heavy stuff but it does well.

I had a POS Homelite I bought early in 2012. It crapped out last fall and wouldn't run to save its life. I'm not sure if it was because it was $70, the fact I don't have a lot of trimming so gas didn't get used very fast, or a combination of the two that did it in but I decided to toss it and get another this year.

I hated the thing since it had a stupid two step choke and was a pain to start (I swear the shuttle had fewer steps to fire its engines and they probably fired on the first try unlike this weed wacker). I ended up getting another Homelite because it was cheap and I don't do a lot of trimming. I decided to try the small engine gas this time instead of 87 and oil. So far the new one has a much better choke and it actually starts on the first pull. I don't know if its the gas or a better carb design but so far I'm happy with it.

Time will be the true test. Otherwise I have a coworker with a Honda that speaks highly of it. I was going to go that route so it would match my mower but didn't want to spend $350 on a string trimmer that sees <30 minutes of use per week.

After breaking a hard fuel line on a long-failing hand-me-down Ryobi that I had, I went out and bought a cheap Craftsman trimmer last year. I think after coupons and stuff it was about $63. It has been a great little machine so far! It fires right up no problem every time I need it.

That said, Stihl and Echo make fantastic machines. If you want something to last 10+ years, get one of those.

I like my 4 stroke TroyBilt better than the 2 stroke Craftsman it replaced. It was an open box return for $90 at Lowes.

Bought an Echo maybe 7 or 8 years ago - it's a joy to use as yard equipment goes.

I have a split boom Ryobi 4 stroke that's probably 12 years old by now and it's been a good one, the only problem I've had was when 10% ethanol became the only available fuel. Had to replace all the lines and the primer bulb, the new stuff seems to be holding up much better than the original. It is, unfortunately, getting harder to start which means I will likely have to rebuild it or replace it.

The best part about it is that it has outlasted the previous 2 stroke Ryobi by 4 times.

If budget is the issue on the better brands, check your local pawn shop.

They probably have a few, possibly commercial grade, for less than the box stores.

Enyar wrote: Of course, GRM comes through again as I too am searching for a trimmer and I'm undecided on the route. A quick google search and this is the first thread to pop up. Anyone have an electric one? It would compliment the quietness of my reel mower and is likely sufficient for my small yard. I just don't want to pay $125 and have it die in 2 years. Alternatively I was going to go with an Echo PAS or Stihl Kombi 2 cycle which would be way overkill for my little yard but will likely last longer and also work in case we move in the future.

I just picked up a plug-in electric yesterday. I'll use it today and post my initial impressions. I figured it'd go along with me reel mower as well. I'm tired of maintaining engines unless said engine has enough power to get me in trouble.

Ok, I used it. It's a 5.5 amp Craftsman model. It has a little more plastic than I'd like, but it seems anything built after 1975 is mostly plastic nowadays.
Anyway, the 5.5 amp has the power to whack through some serious stuff. Having lots of torques available is nice too, you can't bog it down. I'm 5'10" and, this particular model is just long enough for me.
The good thing is, it was only $45. It has a three year warranty, so if I have to buy one every 6 years I don't care. No fuel to buy, no maintenance.