Anything Ryobi is pretty much junk. I've had an Echo SRM-225 and I have been very satisfied with it. It has the U-turn spool which has worked well for me. They are about $220. plus tax at Home Depot. If money is really no object you can get some pretty impressive commercial trimmers for $350. and up from Echo or Stihl.

I have a Cub Cadet 4 cycle BC509. This is the end of its second season. Works great. It has the power and with the brush cutting head is lethal to the brush.

After using all last year, it sat in the shed all winter. This spring I went out checked the oil and top off the gas. I primed until there were no bubbles in the gas lines. Three pulls on full choke and one pull on half, and it was running 2 minutes later I removed the choke and was happily trimming the yard.

Yesterday same procedure same results.

My only problem in the bump head. I have a rock lined ditch, and the plastic is not holding up very well. I do NOT blame that on the trimmer quality.

Knuttle, I think a rock lined ditch needs an occasional shot of roundup.
JMHO,
Mike

Sometimes a walk behind wheeled string trimmer is a better choice for really heavy stuff.

Here is a link that might be useful: wheeled string trimmers

I think Echo and Stihl straight shaft are the best for a homeowner at a reasonable price. I use an Echo SRM2100 for most of my heavier work. Also have an old $5 Homelite SX135 I cannot seem to kill for light trimming.

The current model SRM225 is about $220 from big box stores, but I'd recommend purchasing from an independent. They may not match Home Depot, but should be willing to get close to the price, especially now towards the end of the season. That way you know the machine is set up right, and they will be the guys to warranty and service it.

While a dealer cannot refuse to warranty a machine purchased elsewhere, you can count on going to the end of the line if it needs warranty work.

The Stihl FS45 is a comparable semi-pro machine and should be $220 to $250 at a dealer.

North of $300 gets you into professional territory, and your choices are Shindaiwa, Kawasaki, Tas, TMC, Tanaka, and several others.

FWIW, I have a Stihl straight shaft which is about 12 years old. To date have replaced plugs and air filters and it runs great. My brother buys a $69.99 "on sale" at a big box store every couple of years.

IMHO, "bump" heads were designed for lazy people AND a good idea by the manufacturers to shorten machine life, "Let's just have them beat the ground with it!!" I take a moment, manually push in the button and pull out the line.

Good luck,

Ev

While the bump head adds its own problems, it has its place. I would not use the weed eater around rocks, thin fence post and such. I would rather have the pieces of plastic string flying around instead of chunks of hard plastic or chunks of metal.

To put it another way the bump head is for areas where there is not the golf course like lawns.

To respond to a previous post. The area of rocks in my front yard is about 80 feet long and 4 feet wide, most are 5 to 8" in diameter, but of all kind of odd shapes. In that 80 feet, the drop is about 10'. In most rains the water is about 14" in the middle of the rocks, but I have seen the water about 6' wide. We are in the Hurricane paths.

These rocks are at the bottom of a slope that rises about 10' and is just moweable with my lawn tractor.

The use of round up would be a solution, but the grasses help keep the rocks in place and the erosion down. Roundup would kill the grasses outside of the rocks creating an erosion situation in heavy rains.

We have been in the house for 2 years, at some point I plan to do something about the rocks, but for the time being they are serving their purpose.

"I take a moment, manually push in the button and pull out the line"...I've always used this same method. I'm glad to see someone else believes that this the best way to advance line.

Thanks for all the good advice! I also checked Consumer Reports top picks for weed eaters and the top 5 on their list were all Stihl. I bought a new Stihl FS-56 straight shaft model for $230 and have used it over the past 2 days without any problems. After trimming for an hour I noticed that my shoes and legs weren't nearly as plastered with clipping as they'd usually be with the other brands. The Stihl head bumps and feeds string easily and is cool to the touch after an hour so no melting problems there. Also after trimming, my hands aren't numb from constant vibrations as they were with the other brands. Got a 2 year warranty by buying their brand of mixing oil too. Easy start-up, easy to use, seems well built, and a US made product. Happy camper now.
Thanks again for all of your insights.

Anyone know what type would be best to use on the grass around a chain link fence as well as tall ornamental grasses? Consumers reports seems to rate both Husqvarna and Stiihl as the best tested, but they do not comment on uses (at least that I can see!!!).

Just find one of those roundups where they review several string trimmers to get an idea of what's on the market for your particular needs. Here's an example, they do gas and electric ones of several brands. Hope this helps!

Hell , another Oliva,s Sister Schill ! Not one of the elect or gas models in the article are quality , junk and more junk ! Clara do you and Oliva work together !

go getem walk!

Gotta just love them 300' , they never respond to anyone just spew out garbage and move on !

My Dealer suggested I save 10.00 or more on Echo model SRM210 at the Big Box (Home Depot) and I did in 2000. It was guaranteed to start on the 2nd pull and it has not missed that guarantee yet (seasonal home use only). My Dealer knew I
serviced my equipment and others from the many parts I purchased from him. Otherwise he might have suggested different.

I do use a Hard Blade on a Wheel on it because I could not adapt to the Line and walk as the Yardmen. I do have concrete to ride on or at a 45 Deg to on 99 percent of my trimming. I do have a secondary Echo PE 200 with line when needed “+”(all on straight shafts).…

loger, glad your dear steered you in the right direction, been a big fan of echo for years. my go to trimmer around the house is a 1998 srm2400. bought when i was running a small yard service. i'll tell you what, this thing has been USED. i have yet to mess with the carb, i might have replaced the spark plug twice? maybe a couple air filters. would sell it for any amount of money (maybe). it wasn't until i ran across a used redmax my opinion changed, that mfr is a BEAST. sorry about rambling.

I know the feeling about the Red Max. A Co-Worker asked if he could give me a 15
year old Green Machine many years ago (related to Red Max “parts” I heard). Techs suggested he should replace vs repeated repairing. The Green Machine was more power than I had seen and Red Max parts worked until I went to Echo because how short the attachments were.

300' back in the Day numerous forum members sent the Schills and Trolls packing . Their rather easy to spot , routinely dig up 10 yr old threads to spew their wares . Unfortunately the moderators seem to now only react when we take the 1st step . I have yet to have one actually respond back , probably on their smoke break ! lol.

"He'll another Oliva,s Sister Schill ! Not one of the elect models in the article are quality , junk and more junk ! Clara do you and Oliva work together !"

Sounds like the "trolling" here isn't coming from my end. I'm just offering my personal opinion to the OP.

I mean, can you at least provide some objective and constructive criticism as to why you believe the models I linked to are junk?

The scenario is pretty simple to me: I was interested in learning about string trimmers and the article I cited seemed to be pretty accurate, so I shared it with someone else who's looking to get a weed eater. End of story.

I think I read over 4,500 words before deciding to share it as a valuable source of info. What did you do? Post a very poorly written comment, just assuming that anyone should just take your word for it because you've been a member of this forum since "before it was even open to trolls and schills"?

I think my comment adds more value to this thread than your and your buddy's ranting, to be perfectly frank. You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves picking on the newbies. It's like dealing with my 6th graders! Who the heck is Olivia anyway?!?!

And by the way, the proper use of commas will go a long way in getting your message across. ;)

I shall say no more in this regard.

On my God , the school teacher lol actually responded . Next time rather than worry about comma,s , try picking a thread that is less than 5 yrs o!d . It may also enlighten you that this thread involved gas fired grass trimmers not Girly battery powered units and seriously under powered 2 cycle trash . So perhaps you could supply a reference to gas powered units in the future , that are of some quality . This is what was originally requested , since the duration of cutting was over an hour . I see that you are actually a forum member indeed , not a schill . it would be advisable to learn more about trimmers prior to recommending junk. This coming from a former mechanic who has serviced these units for over 30 yrs . This is a trouble shooting forum with people very knowledgeable of small engines . Not a garden party , suck it up buttercup !

I just spotted this old thread. I wanted to tell everyone about our string trimmer that we have been using for over 20 years on our wooded acreage. It is a Honda model that we splurged $500. buying back around 1995 after being in our new home for 3 years. It is still going strong and usually starts on the 2nd pull.

Echo SRM-260. Purchased in 2000. Still going strong. Only repair was to replace the rotted out gas lines.

those old gray 1's where the best! you might get another 10 out of it?

Once you have gone Grey you never go back ! lol.

I bought a weed eater last fall. Considered both the straight shaft ECHO and Stihl. I found the Stihl was lighter then the ECHO but I am not that big a person and pulling a gas engine to start has always been a problem for me so I went with the ECHO (a model that has an easy pull) I like it so far and easy for me to start. I bought a shoulder harness to help me hold the weight of the trimer when I am weed eating.

Excellent choice arch , especially with their good reputation and extended homeowner warranty . Stihl has good product also but a little pricy .