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Recommendations for a replacement string trimmer

10 years ago

I have a corded Craftsman string trimmer. I hate it. The cord is a pain and really makes me not want to weed-eat/trim. Then it tangles really easily and makes it hard to use having to stop every few minutes to untangle it.

So, what are your recommendations to replace it? I have been looking at gas-operated ones. I have a medium sized yard. Battery, gas, solar, wind-up, whatever. I have searched some forums and websites and everyone seems to recommend the $400 commercial ones. If that's the best product for my uses, so be it, but I gotta think there are other options. The Echo SRM-210 seems to get good reviews, but a battery-powered one gets the best reviews on Amazon, so I don't know...

Thanks!!

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Comments (5)

loger_gw
10 years ago
The Echo SRM-210 Gets My Vote! I have been in that family since the late 90s. My 200.00 trimmer was recommended by a Echo Dealer/Friend who said many of his commercial customers used them. Best of all he told me that I could save 10.00 off his price at the Big Box Stores and my warranty would be just as good.

My bad experience with some commercial trimmers was too much weight and power for my home use. I felt it was needed to run the hard blade trimmer but later cables are lighter and stronger.
MantonJohn
10 years ago
Yeah, the Echo is a good one. The problem with some sites, is that they may have a hidden agenda, not necessarily give advice best for the reader, but selling what is best for them. Go with Echo or Stihl's lower end units and you will be happy.
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I've had a Ryobi for about 8 years now, curved shaft, 2 cycle engine with a bump head. Other than losing the nut on the head and not being able to find a replacement head that fit properly (though my model has been out of production for a while), and though not the gold standard of lawn equipment, it does what it was intended to do. If I knew when I bought it that I would also be using it upside-down as an edger, I would have bought a straight shaft. The box stores (HD specifically), may carry relatively inexpensive Echo models designed for occassional (i.e., homeowner) use. If price is comparable, I would choose the Echo over Ryobi.
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Bought a new string trimmer yesterday... Read through different forums for recommendations and went with the Echo SRM-210. Thoughts and lessons I learned... - Straight shaft is better for taller individuals, and also easier to reach under obstacles (raised sheds, decks, etc.) Also will get you extremely dirty - my legs were covered in grass by the time I was finished. - Curved shaft is more comfortable for those that are vertically challened (not short, just not as tall as taller folks) My local dealer switched out the bump head and gave me the Rapid Loader 2-line head for an even exchange. This will allow you to use .10 sized line. The kit came with 4 pieces of line, 2 - .095 and 2 - .1. I loaded the smaller (.095) line for the first time using the trimmer. I finished the entire lawn and didn't have to change out the line once. This trimmer is extreme compared to my Poulan (six years old, has been reliable, but never very strong) that actually has a larger engine. I never got to full throttle with the Echo while cutting, and really just didn't need to. I simply can't believe that I've waited this long to get it. I did not go with the Stihl simply due to a few users reporting dissatisfaction with their trimmers. The Echo is considered commercial, and my dealer said most of his lawncare clients bought the 210 for the price point vs. $250-$400 for some of the upper end trimmers. Prepare to pay $200 for it however, but I feel like this is an investment worth making. I bought my Poulan 6 years ago for $80 and while it did get the job done, it always lacked in power and I was constantly replacing line. When I tried to add the gator head to the Poulan, it simply bogged down under the weight of the replacement head. There wasn't enough torque to get it up to speed. The curved shaft Echo (GT201 I believe) can be had for about $169 or so. Good luck with your purchase. -uproar90
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cbiscuit
Original Author
10 years ago
Follow-up question: I also would use the trimmer for edging my sidewalk/driveway. I see three option:

1) Use the string trimmer turned the other way.

2) Get the Echo (or similar) power unit and then swap out the functional head units (so the same device could be a cultivator, trimmer, edger, etc)

3) Just get a dedicated edger.

Trying to keep costs down, but durability, quality, usefulness up, what are your thoughts? I do number 1 now with the Craftsman corded, but it's kind of a pain.
loger_gw
10 years ago
If all the jobs are avg residential related I feel you can do all with the string vs needing the hard blade in my case (with two old Echo pre 2000s serving ea need). I need the hard blade because I have not mastered using the string (vs my good initial 10 yrs, 70s with an electric Craftsman).

I had a dual split shaft Green Machine that worked good except it was too short and hard on my back. Some newer split shafts will probably let you stand straight vs back issues.
krnuttle
10 years ago
My electric Craftsman died after over 12 years. I thought about replacing it with another electric but my current yard is 300' by 120' so we have a cord length problem with electrics.

I liked the no hassle situation with the electric. So I ended up buying a Cub Cadet Trimmer BC509 4-Cycle Trimmer. Mine came with both the string head and the blade, but I believe the same model comes with out the blade. I believe the head comes with multiple attachments in other model packages.

The reason I bought it was that it was a 4 cycle engine. While it is a few oz. heavier than a 2cycle, there is no mixing of gas and oil, and I am not putting heavy oils into the fuel system to clog it up the fuel jets.

It starts easy when done per the manual. Because it is more powerful than my old electric, the job takes about half as long.

For about $200, I would highly recommend it.

This post was edited by knuttle on Mon, Feb 24, 14 at 15:11

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