Strimmer /BrushCutter … any recommendations ?

Regarding the carburettors …

This is not the exact model on my Ryobi [mine is even nastier] … but the fact that an overhaul kit is not available does seem indicative of the market sector: **LINK**

How to Clean a Two-Cycle/Two-Stroke Engine Carburetor: https://youtu.be/Z18WwhxEtxI

MichaelG.

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The brambles are on someone else’s property, on a slope, just over my fence-line … Using a manual strimmer on a small area is probably all I can get away with.

MichaelG.

No idea about brush cutting abilities but I'm very impressed by the capabilities of the twin 18 volt ie 36 volt battery Makita strimmer.

As, or maybe a little more, capable than the petrol Roybi I had before dipping my toe into the battery side of things with a 36 volt Bosch after decided it wasn't worth putting up with petrol engine noise for the amount I have to do although my garden is plenty big enough to make cable handling with the mains electric ones a chore. Which was where the Royboi came in.

The Makita is more powerful than the Bosch was but the Bosch "feed on restart" line handling system beats the Makita "beat it on the ground to release the lock" system hands down.

I initially moved into battery electric by getting 36 V Bosch strimmer and hedge cutter. After being impressed by a Makita 18 volt LXT drill & impact driver set gotten when my NiCAD batterries died I've been working my way through transitioning everything to 18V LXT Makita so the Bosch kit went so I only had one breed of battery to look after, The extra performance being a bonus.

Clive

When we bought the new house over in Buxton, I picked up a second hand Makita DBC260L

http://mowerexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Makita-DBC260L-Petrol-Brushcutter-with-Straight-Shaft-MEMK759.html

The previous owner was a gardening business, and he was selling to upgrade to a much larger full harness machine. It looks like it's been well used and is still going strong; carbs etc are available.

I have only used it as a nylon wire machine, though according to the above link it takes a chainsaw attachment amongst others.
Going to this link, it suggests that they only sell them for a different (out of stock) model though.
http://mowerexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Makita-Brushcutters.html 

Bill

Edited By peak4 on 01/07/2021 21:22:25

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+1 from me for the Aspen fuel, worth every penny. But it is pricey. My local dealer suggests using it for the last tankful of the season but otherwise use oil/petrol mix but with stabiliser.  Worth while to empty the tank back into the manin petrol can each time you put the machine away.  It's a fiddle but it seems to be worth it.

Buy an aerosol of Carburettor Cleaner and spray the carb' passages if it plays up.  But you need to take the mixture control needles out, which may mean breaking the adjustment seals.

I use a four stroke Stihl brushcutter quite a bit, I've gone over to the head with the three nylon blades ("Polycut" you end up wearing a lot less of the debris. I bought it secondhand from the local Cash Exchange, hasn't missed a beat. For brambles you need a steel blade, but that in turn needs a machine on a harness so you can't get the business end near enough to your feet to do yourself a mischief.

I have a friend who bought the Honda four stroke one, seems to be completely trouble free. But then it is a Honda.

edited - added comment about emptying the tank

Edited By Simon Williams 3 on 01/07/2021 21:39:28

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Possibly, bill … but I wouldn’t want to debate whether there is any responsibility

It’s a scrubby field on which they occasionally graze a few bullocks, and they don’t have any interest in maintaining it. I just strim a few metres beyond my fence-line, to keep the brambles away from the garden.

MichaelG.

Cutting brambles is quite effective with a hedge cutter - for which a reasonable quality battery one will suffice. But it does give you back ache!

It should be the same as tree branches - if they overhang your property then you can cut them but the owner of the tree has no responsibility to do it unless they overhang a roadway or public footpath
Officially Michael is trespassing but I doubt anyone cares...unless he gets rid of it all and the cattle start to break through the fence.

Hi All,

Surprised that no one has recommended Jonsered Products for well engineered BrushCutters. On a purely personal note: I bought a Jonsered GR2036 Brushcutter back in 1995/6...that is still going strong. Granted, it was an expensive item at that time...but we had just bought a smallholding and we had a lot of Nettles, Brambles, Docks etc. to deal with...The Jonsered came with both a grass blade and a saw blade, as well as the Trimmer head...and made short work of anything we put in front of it. It doesn't get such heavy use these days, now that we have "retired"...but it is an extremely well made bit of kit IMHO.

Regards,

Adrian

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I had never heard of them until now, Adrian … but the website ticks a lot of the right boxes
**LINK**

https://www.jonsered.com/uk/products/trimmers-brushcutters/#medium

I may take a trip to the reasonably close dealer

MichaelG.

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Edit: Ownership to Husqvarna, via Electrolux …  are they as good as they were ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonsereds_Fabrikers_AB

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 01/07/2021 22:36:36

Hi MichaelG,

I really don't think you will be disappointed when you see their Products, in the flesh...as it were.

They are better known as being, pitched, more at the Professional/Contractor level...However, my view has always been that if I am going to buy something...I only really want to have to buy it once...and therefore I have always made my choices around that old "mantra"...

It has certainly served me well...I hope that you are just as impressed, when you see them.

Best Regards,

Adrian

PS The disclaimer: I have no association with Jonsered, other than being a very satisfied customer. Thanks

Thanks again, Adrian

MichaelG.

I don't use a brush cutter but had a Ryobi 1100w, 240v line trimmer. Powerful motor and have had it for 10 years + with no problems. Also a 2 stroke line trimmer / hedge cutter / chain saw with extension poles for trimming trees. Manicuring trees with a hedge cutter on the end of a 5 metre pole is harder than pumping iron at the gym. The petrol engine noisy, messy and a B#@%& to start.

I now have a Ryobi 36v battery line trimmer which is better thjan the old 240v unit. Variable speed trigger and a high/low speed switch. I only use it on the low speed setting and the battery lasts for over 1 hour. Made an adaptor to use the hedge cutter and chain saw attachments. Now I can clean my yard without a messy, noisy, smelly petrol engine and listen to music while working.

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 02/07/2021 01:03:19

Michael, my experience with Stihl goes back to 1982, when the first 2-stroke landscaping machine I operated was a Stihl backpack brushcutter. I've owned 12 Stihl machines and currently have 9, the oldest at present being 16 yrs old.

Experience tells me carbs used by Stihl on their machines in the last ten years are not generally as good as the ones they used to fit twenty plus years ago. I could be wrong but I seem to remember Stihl bought out Zama some time ago and it was around then that carb quality started to decline.

I've done numerous carb strip-downs over the years, mostly just for routine maintenance but sometimes to cure uncharacteristic lumpiness.

The worst carb experience has been on a KM55R bought ten years ago. Thorough ultrasonicking, new diaphragms, gaskets, even new metering needle and spring didn't help. It's currently on its third carb, the last two being non-OEM ones bought direct from China for under £7, after my local Stihl dealer wanted £125 & VAT about five years ago just to supply an OEM replacement for the first one that went phut.

One thing it's nearly always necessary to do, in my experience, as soon as your machine is run in if not before, is to adjust the high and low mixture screws to optimize throttle response from idle and not to have the engine running too lean at the top end.

My best Stihl strimmer has probably been my KM130R Kombi, which has the 4-mix engine. Have had it thirteen years and only had to reset the valves twice. It has a solid steel driveshaft (unlike some of the other Stihl strimmers/Kombis) and more grunt than a herd of pigs. It's too powerful for tickling round trees and routine lawncare. My preferred line-cutting head is the Autocut 25-2.

As others have said, a hedgetrimmer is good on thick brambles. My KM130R will cut through all but the very thickest brambles with just the line head, but the downside is you end up having to bump out more line much too frequently. The Stihl KM-HL hedgetrimmer attachment for Kombi engines lets you cut brambles effortlessly without excessive bending down.

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I,m with Duncan ! I found most Bosch stuff to be little better than crap.

Just spotted the latest flier; it you have a Lidl near you, they have their 4 in one 2 stroke garden gizmo on offer this week.
Combined strimmer, hedge trimmer, etc.
I believe they carry a 3 year warranty, but do check.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/online-leaflets/01-07-07-07-lidl-weekly-4/view/flyer/page/20

Bill

Probably depends on the depth of your pocket, My cousin gets through three a year and will only buy Still, they are used five days a week in his gardening maintenance business.

Jeez what the hell is he doing to them?🤔

Tony