Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

First a thank you on the advice on the blower and I bought the Stihl BG 86.
Now I need a new trimmer. so far the choice is the Echo SRM 225 and the Stihl 56R. I have 2 yards to trim. Leaning to the Stihl mainly that it is still independent.
Though the Echo has a deal of $199 till Fathers Day. Tough choice.
Thanks for the advice.

I have an Echo GT225 (not sure how it compares to the SRM).  I paid around $225 for it back in 2006.  Going into it's sixth season, it still starts easily and has plenty of power for taking down bigger weeds and thick grass.  I'm happy with it, but I have not used the Stihl trimmer so cannot compare.

I have a Stihl KM90R with string trimmer attachment.  Very good torque and engine sounds great.  It's the best of both worlds, torque of a 4 stroke, low maintenance of a 2 stroke.  Engine rev up very quickly, throttle control is touchy at the low RPM ranges.  Torque is available even at low RPM, but it just prefer to run at mid throttle or higher.  It can be a bit finicky to get the engine started but once running and warmed up, it's great.  Loading the spool is still a pain, but I've gotten used to it now so it's not such an issue.

Overall, I like it.  I also have another handheld with a Echo engine, I prefer Stihl sound and torque.

aa335 wrote:

My Echo doesn't have a spool.  You just insert pre-cut pieces of string into the head.  In the long run, I find this setup to be more convenient, robust and time-saving, since I never have to deal with clogged, tangled or finicky spools.  They sell the pre-cut stuff, but it is too expensive for what it is.  Instead, I have a big spool of line that I cut lengths from with my lineman's pliers.  Takes about 30 seconds to cut 3 or 4 sets of line, stick 'em in my back pocket and head out to do an hour or so of trimming.

longboat wrote:
I have two Echos with the same set up.  I also cut my own line.  I'll take five minutes and cut several dozen pieces and put a bundle of them in a short piece of plastic tubing taped to a shelf support in the garage.  As I need them, I just grab them.  The reason I have two GT225 trimmers is because I was so impressed with the one I have at home, I bought one for camp.  I had been using a Stihl brush cutter out there for trimming but it's just too heavy for most of the work out there hence, the second GT225.  If I recall correctly, I think I got the Echo's for less than $150.00 each.  The first one I bought  is over five years old and has seen a great deal of work.  It's still going strong.  Excellent product for the money.

Longboat and Borat,

Can either one of you post a picture of the trimmer head and the trimmer line that you used?  One of my quest for a string trimmer has been to look for a lightweight, easy to use, quick reving combination.  As much as I love the grunt and power of my Stihl, there's something to be said and enjoy about a trimmer with finesse.

AA:

Hears a link that explains how it works.  Sorry.  Can post as hyper-link.  Can't even paste!

www.echo-usa.com/Products/Trimmers/GT-225

The line I'm using is Echo Cross Fire .105" (2.7 mm) thick.  I bought a 234 ft. roll and cut pieces the same length as the pieces provided with the machine.  I bought the roll probably five years ago and have hardly touched it.  The line is quite tough and if not used to  polish concrete, will last a long time. 

just bought the echo srm 225 at home depot for $199.99 after i stripped the slow speed hole out of the carb body on my 20 yr old toro. wanted to get a curved shaft trimmer but the only model they had  gt 225 the 48" shaft was too short  for me!after looking on the echo website i see the gt 230 had a 52"  shaft!used it for light trimming today and break in speeds and it has got all the power i need.only gripe it's heavier than my old one!it came with the standard capacity speed feed head and i bought the 2 line rapid loader head at the same time thinking it would be easier to load.this morning i returned the rapid loader head figuring i would try the head that came with the trimmer before i start changing things.anyone have any experience with any of the echo trimmer heads regarding less troublesome maintenance and reloading? any issues letting the trimmer sit for a week or so with fuel left in it?

mkd55 wrote:

I bought an Echo trimmer three years ago at HD. Its model #230 and a very good machine.I have left fuel in there over winter once and never had problems so,a week with fuel will never be a problem. A good gas,good quality 2 cycle oil,a tad of MARINE STA-BIL (http://www.goldeagle.com/products/product3CC6.aspx),a tad of SEAFOAM and your good to go.As far as the head goes I also was thinking to change to something "quick load" but never did so because its easy enough to load the head.Its not really commercial quality but it is definitely up there for homeowner use.