Yard Equipment

[bykfixer]

I have a very helpful neighbor who has industrial type yard equipment. He cuts and trims a few yards on my street at no charge to the owner. He used to cut more but some complained of the noise and/or broken windows. One complained about the little pieces of orange twine that break off the trimmer. The nerve of some people. I get the broken window thing but the noise only lasts about 30 minutes as he has a routine down pat. The little pieces of twine quickly break down with sunlight.

He offered to do mine one year when I worked out of town. I politely declined. I had declared war on an especially stubborn breed of lespediza that year and wanted the glory all to myself. Using selective herbicides hand tools played a part in winning the war.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

He offered to do mine one year when I worked out of town. I politely declined. I had declared war on an especially stubborn breed of lespediza that year and wanted the glory all to myself. Using selective herbicides hand tools played a part in winning the war.

 

[bykfixer]

How'd you a picture of my neighbor?

 

[Rossymeister]

i need a new blower/leaf vacuum this year.

Stihl vs Echo

Any suggestions?

 

[vicv]

i need a new blower/leaf vacuum this year.

Stihl vs Echo

Any suggestions?

Neither. Ego is the best when it comes to battery powered yard equipment. I know it's hard to except because the other brands have always been the leader in yard tools. But they don't have the battery or motor tech like ego, and they are just not as good and more expensive to boot.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

How'd you a picture of my neighbor?

That's not your neighbor. That's me letting you know you deserve the glory for a well-done job.

The late reply is due to my not seeing this thread since I last posted.

 

[letschat7]

Prograde Stihl gas-powered from your local dealer. Run pure gas and service it regularly.

 

[orbital]

i need a new blower/leaf vacuum this year.

Stihl vs Echo

Any suggestions?

+

I use both (2-stroke)
the Stihl has a slightly stronger motor
the Echo is just better overall, especially in trimmers, the head unit is about 1000 times better.


If I was getting another blower it would be Stihl,
if I was getting another trimmer, it would be Echo

 

[jabe1]

I think for most, the Ego is best for battery powered. They've been specializing in this longer than most of the traditional gas powered equipment manufacturers.

I'm slowly switching over to battery power and currently have a Milwaukee line trimmer that's excellent, and a small frame trim mower that I actually picked up on clearance from Aldi. I have a small yard, 1/4 acre or so, and that toy looking mower will cut it all on one charge; it's quiet, and always "starts" as long as my son remembers to charge the batteries.
Leaf blower wise, I have a small, fairly weak battery model for grass clippings or blowing stuff out of the garage, and an ancient 2 cycle commercial backpack by shindaiwa that refuses to die when leaves are heavy in the fall.

 

[sledhead]

Besides powered yard equipment, the most useful and helpful piece of gear I've gotten is the " Yard Glider "
Check it out, amazing how much easier it makes things.

 

[Monocrom]

Prograde Stihl gas-powered from your local dealer. Run pure gas and service it regularly.

In fairness, not everyone needs the best that a contractor would use on the job. The best is almost always the most expensive. Fine for someone who makes a living with their tools. Otherwise, for the average home-owner, it's overkill.

For me, Ryobi. Any outdoor/backyard battery-powered tools not made by them, Ego.

 

[letschat7]

Sure and we can all shop at Harbour Freight for our flashlights whilst we are at it.

 

[Monocrom]

Sure and we can all shop at Harbour Freight for our flashlights whilst we are at it.

Sad truth is, if we're talking about the average person wanting to EDC a flashlight, or wanting to buy a couple of bigger lights to keep at home during a power outage or use on a few DIY projects.... yeah; you're unfortunately spot-on with that assessment.

They're not enthusiasts like us, when it comes to flashlights.

Would I love to own a bunch of Milwaukee or DeWalt power-tools? Sure I would. But I'm not a contractor. And, I don't work on other peoples' homes for money where I need drop-dead reliable power-tools. Ryobi gets the job done for me. I have a couple of batteries, a charger, and I'd have a lot less power-tools to get work done had I spent the same amount of money on Milwaukee or DeWalt power-tools because I would not be able to buy nearly as many as I have from Ryobi. (Though I do own a DeWalt router that works well.)

 

[bykfixer]

I like Echo better than Stihl for gas equipment. Stihl chainsaw though.

But now days I use Ryobi yard tools. 18 volt for occasional light duties. 40 volt for the tough stuff.

 

[gurdygurds]

Honda mower and Ryobi trimmer and blower. Been super happy with them.

 

[Bob A]

Stihl FSA130r battery string trimmer; also runs a circular saw blade for brush cutting. Stihl battery chain saw. Quiet, powerful, no messing with gas. Best to have two AP batteries; charge one while using the other.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

We stack and process firewood while the Stihl battery is charging. Likewise we take a break when string trimming while charging the single Stihl battery we possess. What is nice about that trimmer is the throttle is variable and I can trim a lot of greenery on much lower speeds, prolonging run time often to completion of the job.

Wondering how Ego service/repair/warranty work goes.

 

[vicv]

Ya they're great for that. Like you said the string trimmer with variable control. You really can't do that with a gas trimmer. I mean you can, but those engines are made to either be idling or being run flat out. It's not good for them to be at quarter throttle. Because I have a couple of tools, I can swap out the batteries and keep working if I want to. I couldn't tell you about ego customer service. I haven't had a single thing go wrong with any of my equipment. The trimmer is especially good, as it has the best implementation of adding new string in existence. You just thread 10 feet of string in, 5 feet on each side, and push a button on the head, and it winds itself up. No twisting the two pieces while 10' of line smacks you in the chest

We stack and process firewood while the Stihl battery is charging. Likewise we take a break when string trimming while charging the single Stihl battery we possess. What is nice about that trimmer is the throttle is variable and I can trim a lot of greenery on much lower speeds, prolonging run time often to completion of the job.

Wondering how Ego service/repair/warranty work goes.

 

[Rossymeister]

Well to give yall an update, i went with the cub cadet scp100. I also picked up a stihl bg50 while i was there. Still using my echo trimmer from 2016.

I got around 8 years out of my last push mower, before everything rusted out.

Ive got several small engine repair shops around me, so i know if anything goes wrong they'll be able to fix it.

No charging batteries, just pour, prime and go. Thats just the way I've always done it.

 

[Buff]

1999 John Deere GS30 with sulky.

Will be getting it out again soon.

Stihl backpack blower and Echo trimmer. Also a small Honda mower for the small front yard.
Two Ryobi battery powered blowers as pictured on page 1.