Good place to ask about gas powered line trimmers?

[LTC8K6]

Most 2 stroke oil has fuel stabilizer in it.

 

[NutBucket]

Funny you would say that pacfanweb. Today I went to a local Husqvarna dealer with every intention of buying a mower. Long story short when I told the guy which one I wanted he told me to go to Lowes.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Do not buy your gas powered things at Home Depot or Lowes if you want one that is more likely to last.

Buy Stihl or Echo, in that order, and buy them from a dealer. There's no reason to buy Echo from Home Depot...the prices are the same, the products are the same, and even if it's on sale, the dealer will match, and he's the guy you're going to take whatever you buy for service.

Eh, they won't always match prices. And the dealers will service products they didn't sell with no objections at all. It's not like the dealer is suddenly going to remember a homeowner from five years ago either.

The only worry is that manufacturers might have different part numbers at HD or Lowes (not the case for Echo) or limited selection at HD/Lowes.

For example, it's incredibly rare to find any Echo trimmer above the SRM-230 in a store. They can order one for you, but I've yet to see an SRM-266 or SRM-280 model in an actual HD/Lowes store. And the people there can't really tell you what the benefits of different models are (e.g. steel driveshaft has more vibration, but is more efficient at power transfer and works better with blades and other brush-cutting attachments).

I prefer dealers since they're generally much more knowledgeable about the products, but that wouldn't stop me from going to Lowes or HD if it meant saving a bunch on something that was exactly the same as the dealer had.

ZV

 

[deerslayer]

The really sad part is that Homelite used to make machines that were absolutely bulletproof. Until the mid-1990s, Homelite was largely focused on commercial equipment, but they got sold to John Deere, who moved them into a more consumer-focused model, and then to TTI, a Chinese conglomerate that also makes Ryobi, at which point the Homelite name started getting slapped on pretty much any old junk.

ZV

I wondered about that. I thought Homelite used to be a decent brand. My Dad always talked highly of the Homelite chainsaw he had "back in the day".

 

[Ksyder]

Not sure why curve is so popular....must be cheaper to make.

I don't know if its cheaper to make but the curved shaft is a comfort/ergonomic thing. At least I think so. I might be wrong.

 

[NutBucket]

I guess? I've always preferred straight shafts

 

[Zenmervolt]

I don't know if its cheaper to make but the curved shaft is a comfort/ergonomic thing. At least I think so. I might be wrong.

It's cheaper to make because there's no gearbox in the head, the cable drive just goes directly from the engine to the cutter head.

Straight-shaft trimmers need a gearbox at the cutting head because of the sharp angle and this costs more. Most straight shaft trimmers also incorporate a reduction gear in the gearbox to increase the torque at the cutting head.

ZV