I am kc8prz (ham call), Mikey. I have been around a long time and I am currently retired thru disability. So hello everyone. Thought I would give my two cents worth on the new Hitachi trimmer, as also found, part for part identical to it's brethern Tanaka. This would be the Hitachi (Deluxe) CG22EASSLP straight shaft grass trimmer with an extra long 60 in. solid steel drive shaft and an anti-vibration system we are to talk about. This is about my 20th trimmer to date with a handful of them being gas. To start with, and get it out of the way, the trimmer is done in a stinky ass, sick looking, slightly grayish tinted, green with gray, black and orange accents on various parts. John Deere looks good in green and Weedeater does green real well too. But this is a very sad shade of green. This shade of green would need lots of vitamines and a psycodilic acid trip to improve it's image. Enough! Now the good stuff.. I tried to find as many of the starting lineup trimmers that the various companies offered and did extensive research on each. Some of the outstanding things about this Hitachi are it's industry leading 7 year warranty for consumers. Also a solid steel drive shaft with a lifetime warranty, as with a lifetime warranty on it's solid state ignition system, according to the service reps I talked to in this area. Shoot me if I misquote something that was told to me. It comes with a special "EASY pull assist" to crank it over and at no added cost to get it that way as was not the case with the Echo trimmer @ $50 dollars extra. Also, I think, it has a Walbro carb on an industrial rated motor. I weighted mine at a hair under 10 lbs. with fuel (outstanding). My stature is small so weight, size, and balance were very important to me having 12 bad disc's in my spine. I found the trimmer to be lite in operation and well balanced. The 21.1cc rating is a fooler as the unit has gobs of power. I bought the Tanaka manual feed head and tried some Hitachi .095, some Oregon with the arimid fiber in it at .118, and some Oregon Max at .130, all being round. All performed very well and lasted a long time. My propritary 2 cycle fuel mix is a one third Lucas, two thirds Sthil Ultra (was what I had left laying around) at 32 to 1 ratio. Plus some Lucas ethenol helper and the standard StaBil. The Hitachi liked it a lot. Unintentionally thrown together but it seams to work real well with no smoke.. This unit is a high reving HOT little monster so I made sure it had a little heaver oil ratio w/silicone and 93 gas grade octane. Dealing with Cincinnati "Summer blend" gas here, UGH!. The Hitachi whipped and hacked it's way through everything without a sweat. Modifications?? Well I did order a mid shaft Echo handle (new) for $12 online. The Echo handle is covered with a cushier grip surface than the hard plastic the Hitachi has. I did find the unit running very well balanced but hardly perfect though better than most. A bit better than average noise level. Lots of torque reminding me of the days of the old 1968 Plymouth Hemi Roadrunner. Above average gas mileage and ultra easy effort to start only needing one pull. For me and my ergonomic fitup puts the off/on switch in a bad location. I bumpted it to "off" a couple of times.. Uh, pardon me if I made it sound like the trimmer is just for little frail people because it's not, it's for everybody. A large commercial Lawn Care service could do a lot worse with many other "so called" commercial/profesional products then owning a bunch of these Hitachi (Deluxe) CG22EASSLP's.. To note, I also own a Gravly Zero Turn mower Im nuts about. A very durable, well thought out and built mower. So in conclusion, The Hitachi is easy to drive with lots of power. The unit is well designed, heavy duty, lite weight, ugly, and overall well built. I am very very impressed. I bought this online for $189 at Home Depravation,.....ah (Depot). This thread is getting long in the tooth otherwise I would tell you what I diden't like about all the others. Let me know if you want that. Also, one more thing I want your comments and opinion on. I bought this from Amazon today. $38.78 Only 16 left in stoc Arnold Extreme WLX-3105 Professional Grade String Trimmer Line .105-Inch x 660-Feet .. order soon. FREE Shipping too. Delivers the durability and performance the professional landscaper demands Cuts nine times more area than residential lines Tough enough for edging and cutting through think vegetation One reviewer wrote the following: I've only used this line a few times so far but it's incredible compared to the line that came with my string trimmer (Husqvarna titanium). I rarely have to bump the head for more string even when going through very heavy grass and thick weeds. I was even able to take care of small wild rose bushes (Word of warning. This string is incredibly hard and durable. This can be dangerous around trees with soft bark or otherwise, fence posts, etc. Don't go anywhere near vinyl siding. If you can keep a trimmer head loaded with the softer stuff for delicate areas. If not just be extremely careful. Updated: I had the opportunity to try some edging with this string on a Husqvarna 327ldx. It worked amazingly well. My word of warning should be extended to include brick! I have a brick lined garden and found this string will actually chip brick. I don't mean it will abrade it, it chips it. I tilted the string to the soil and just edged the garden to the ground making sure not to hit the brick after the first instance. Edging the sidewalk was super quick and long overdue. Awesome string. Whatdoyathink about deal and line type and quality?.....Thanks to all, Mike.

I realize this is a very old thread, but for the benefit of those reading reviews I thought I would share my experience. I've owned several Echo 210's. In terms of reliability the little echo is amazing. Not once in 12 years has an echo trimmer failed me in the field. I've had issues. Even broke a plastic piece on the carb that holds the throttle cable, even so I was able to put a zip tie on it and finish the day. And if I'm honest it broke due to my piling other tools in the back of the truck. Not Echos fault. The 210 is not exactly a powerhouse... Hey it's an entry level semi-pro tool. Echo should advertise them as "It just works". Year after year, use it knowing it will get the job done. In 2008 I bought a bigger Redmax trimmer. A bcz2401. Power on the Redmax was astounding, for a while. In all the years I've owned Echo, none have broken or failed under warranty. Redmax has failed in the field 5 times. Issues ranging from clogged screen to coil failure. Not once have I clogged a screen on an Echo exhaust. While it isn't hard to fix, it just shouldnt happen. Recently the Redmax failed again. It's out of warranty, but still very low hour (I've gone back to using the Echo). After this most recent failure I almost recycled the Redmax, it simply fails too often. I decided to try having it serviced by another dealer. The "new" service center recommended a carb kit, in installing it they found a defective diaphragm. Hopefully it will run as it should, but I will never have the confidence with it that I have with an Echo. Year after year, Echo just works. If it doesnt, I've yet to be disappointed by the installation of an "Echo re-power kit". It comes with everything to restore the original power (spark plug, air filter, fuel filter.) Also in 2009 I bought a Stihl fx 110. Maybe it wasnt setup properly from the dealer, others have said it should have lots more power. By the end of the first day the Stihl was in the back of the truck, my helper was using the old (6+ seasons) Echo. I probably sound like a company schill, but for my money and peace of mind, Echo is the clear winner. Btw if you regularly cut very tall or super thick grass the 230 is much torquier than the 210. It's surprising that such a small difference in cc delivers so much power. The 260 is simply a Hoss.

Hi Ian, On your stihl fs80 trimmer you first need to check for spark and compression. To check for compression w/o a gauge; remove the spark plug and then hold your thumb over the sparkplug hole while turning the engine over with the pull start. You should not be able keep all the pressure in the cylinder with your fingertip no matter how hard you try. Next, check for spark by putting the plug back on the wire but do not thread it in to the cylinder. Touch and hold the threaded end of the plug to the cylinder and then pull the engine over with your other hand and look for a spark at the tip. You may also be able to hear the spark if its good and hot. I hope you had some oil mixed with your gas when you had that trimmer running? If not its going to be needing a set of rings. I would also replace the fuel line going from the filter to the carb, and wash out or replace the filter. The carb jet which is closest to the cylinder is the low side, with the other as the high side. Rotate each in to the cylinder with a screwdriver while turning clockwise untill the jets seat. Next turn each jet out 1 and 1/2 turns to start. This will get the engine running. Allow the unit to warm up for a minute and adjust the low side jet clockwise by 1/8 turns for the highest idle speed. Once you have attained the high idle, back the jet out an additional 1/8 for good acceleration. Next is the high side, go to full throttle and adjust for highest speed. Again back the jet out an 1/8 turn counter clockwise from highest rpm to keep the high side from being too lean under a load. Hope this helps you sort it out. Make sure you use a quality air cooled engine oil for your fuel mix. If you have any questions please post them. Best wishes, Bob

You consider electric or even rechargable? If you only use twice a year and if you are not good at keeping fresh gas and all, a battery operate one might be good for you. I have some serious hedge trimmers, but I always keep a little Craftsman battery hedge trimmer to touch up my hedges. They really work, it is no toy!!! If you can get a 18V one, I think is good enough. I think you'll be waisting money buying a gas trimmer. Warrante don't warrante old gas problem, I can tell you from my own experience. Mine wasn't even old gas, they claimed was old gas, it became he said she said.