Chainsaw & Weedeater

[JEWC_Motorsports]

I am in the market for both. I've never had the use for either so I don't know what's good and what's bad. School me on the pro/cons of what has been good or bad for you. What do I look for when buying? What current brands are good? Cmon guys help me out.

 

[chandlern]

stihl, expensive but worth every penny!

 

[skwerl]

I've used both all my life but can't really recommend for either at the homeowner level. The last weedeater I bought was a little straight shaft Echo from Home Depot about 20 years ago after selling my lawn business. They were always reliable in the past but the latest homeowner level stuff looks chintzy as hell.

For chainsaws my main weapon of choice is the Stihl 200T which was discontinued about 2 years ago and replaced with the 201T. I bought 4 extras and just opened up #3 today to put into service this week. Again, I've never used any of their homeowner level stuff and there's a world of difference. Their homeowner lines aren't even made in the same country as the pro lines.

I will say that if you need a hand held blower, the least expensive Stihl handheld (BG55 I think) is about twice as strong as any of those $99 blowers you'll find at Lowe's or Home Depot.

 

[Newman]

James I always used Echo , reliable and decent priced. I been mowing lawns 13 years and at one point I worked for a lawn service who used nothing but echos and I had 15 lawns by myself with a echo. But I have heard great things about Stihl too.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

From all of the reading i have been doing it looks like Echo is the choice for homeowners and Stihl is the choice for professionals. Id still like to hear more.

 

[Aandf1978]

Do it once the right way go Stihl! Nuff said!!

 

[rayS197]

Echo here as well. Blower, weed eater etc. No issues in over 11 years. No trees to cut so I cant elaborate on the chainsaw.

 

[weather man]

My brother cuts and heats his house with wood. He likes Stihl.

 

[Mystickeith50]

stihl, expensive but worth every penny!

I agree. I have a stihl chainsaw, blower, n weedwacker. I usually go by the "cheap ain't good n good ain't cheap theory". I have had this products almost ten years n they work flawlessly.

 

[chandlern]

From all of the reading i have been doing it looks like Echo is the choice for homeowners and Stihl is the choice for professionals. Id still like to hear more.

What kind of work are you going to be putting this stuff through? Lot size (weedwacker), frequency of use, tree diameter/type of wood? Your plans for the use should do the picking for you.

If you have a small yard and smaller timber the homeowner grade stuff like echo will work just fine. If you have a bigger yard, use the stuff alot, and have some good size trees the homeowner stuff might get the job done but it will be working its heart out and may stuggle at times. Whereas the smaller (homeownerish) stihl stuff will do well and the pro grade stihl stuff will laugh at it and last forever but it is pricey especially if you're not going to use it for what its meant to do.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Weedeating around the house once its built but for now ill let one picture speak for itself. We mowed 90% of the high grass down but there is a ton of crap hidden along the fencelines and need a solid weedeater to get in those areas. The trees are small mesquite and weesatch. There is a lot of them and im going to cut them out. Im not saving any of them.

 

[skwerl]

Regardless of brand, I will recommend a straight shaft weedeater instead of the cheaper curved shaft style. It will last longer plus it will be strong enough for accessories you may want to use such as a brush blade for heavier cutting.

On the chainsaw, just spitting out a brand name isn't going to help. Even the best name brands such as Stihl or Husqvarna have three separate product lines with vastly different prices and quality. The cheapest Stihl saws are junk, no better than the box store stuff. The Stihl reputation comes from their pro line of saws which may or may not be overkill for you.

And regardless of what saw you buy, it won't cut with a dull chain. It takes about 1.5 seconds to dull a chain if you hit dirt, rock or concrete. 95% of saw users don't have a clue about keeping a chain sharp. Take the time to learn about sharpening chains and make all of your saw work 100x easier. A sharp saw will slice wood like a scalpel, in the meantime Joe Blow with his dull chain will be working up a sweat trying to whittle his way through a 4" stick. Never get in such a hurry that you can't take 3 minutes to touch up a dull chain and you will be a better sawyer than most everybody you know.

And don't be in too big of a hurry to get rid of all your mesquite. It makes wonderful firewood and you can heat your home for several winters if you conserve it and cut it as needed.

 

[chandlern]

^This, learning to sharpen and keep a chain sharp will save you a lot of time and money (leaving more time to sit down and have a cold one). Looks like a pro grade straight shaft weedwacker is in the cards for you. Just about anything from the box stores will disappoint you by bogging down when you get into heavier areas and not have the power/durability to use a brush blade. Chainsaw on the other hand doesn't look like you need to go all out and spend the big bucks on something that will sit in the box after you trim everything back, a good high grade homeowner saw would probably be more than enough.

A wild ideas - I dont know the market in your area but I have seen some really nice, new, high grade stuff in some of the local pawnshops for much less than you would pay for new. Also, if you have a decent dealer locally, they may have a used selection of equipment the pro's or those with deep pockets have upgraded from. My roommate is the area sale's guy for a farm equipment chain, comes across some pretty nice used stuff from time to time.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Jewc I just replaced my saw this spring and I looked at everything out there. Stihl makes great chainsaws but their small consumer line is not that good. I wanted a saw that was light enough for trimming but had enough power to handle anything I would need to cut. I found the Echo line was about the best bang for the buck for guys like us, that aren't using the saws professionally. I got the CS-500P with an 18 inch bar and I love it. It has enough power to cut anything I would be cutting and can handle a 20 inch bar if needed. It doesn't weigh hardly anything and even an old man like me can use it easily.

I pretty much have all Echo products, string trimmer, blower, gas hedge trimmer and saw. They never fail to start easily and just run forever. I am lucky to have a very good Echo dealer local to me. If you have a local dealer then check them out it's much better then going to a big box store and the dealer may even give you a better price.


Earl

 

[Fullboogie]

After going through several sub-$100 weedeaters, I paid around $200 for a Stihl from Ace Hardware several years ago. Definitely worth the money, because it's indestructible.

 

[Ks_S197]

Stihl or Echo for the weedeater. As for the chainsaw I have used both Stihl and Husqvarna. I own a Stihl but both are good.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Looks like im gonna go with a Echo SRM-225 for the trimmer and a Echo CS-310 for the chainsaw. Its just a 14" saw but i dont need anything big. The biggest tree i have to cut down is about 6 inches thick.

 

[skwerl]

Sounds good. Be sure to pick up a couple extra chains as well as some files and a file handle. I'm assuming that saw uses 3/8LP chain so you need the 5/32" files. I'll look up some online filing guides and send you the links so you can get an idea of the procedure. It's not difficult, just muscle memory and keeping all the teeth equal in size and shape.

 

[CPRsm]

The guides made it helpful for the angle. We also used to nip the tooth in front of the cutter that set the depth. That made the chain go farther once it started to really wear out. Not too much or that fucker really jumps LOL

 

[Newman]

Looks like im gonna go with a Echo SRM-225 for the trimmer and a Echo CS-310 for the chainsaw. Its just a 14" saw but i dont need anything big. The biggest tree i have to cut down is about 6 inches thick.

Same weedeater I have. It's a champ .