Trimmers - discussion/pics

Excuse you....

I love my PRS - but I have the Idech version where the blades are contrarotating. It's a bit faster than the reciprocator types from Stihl, or Redmax. Each has their advantages. Even for us burbtard lawn nerds. Golf courses love them because they can be used to trim down wet areas (ie. cat tails on a pond shore) and trim up bunker edges nicely without spraying grass and sand everywhere.

Stihl's Power Scythe attachment is often slept on too for laying down tall grass and it had great reach. That or a flex-head hedgetrimmer attachment works awesome for poison ivy/oak/sumac control.

In other news - recently picked up a KM131 with the FCS edger. I should have done that years ago. Takes me about 3 minutes to rip through all my curb/driveway/patio edging and doesn't put any wear on my rotary scissor blades.

 

The engine will not sound like it's revving up as high as the venerable FS80 because it's only firing half as often. I love the tone of the four-mix though (screaming two-stroke is good with me too!) and the grunt just can't be beat.

A four-mix engine is a hybrid between two and four stroke engines. It runs like a four, has valves and a cam lobe (one lobe operates both valves), but lubes like a two-stroke circulating the fuel/oil/air charge through the engine crankcase before routing it past the valves and into the cylinder for combustion.

 

Homeowner grade - it is a pretty good line up (not nearly as good as some others but more on that in a second.) but..... what happens if Toro decides they don't want to continue the line? Are they selling enough against EGo, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Makita, Dewalt, Stihl, Echo ... etc. to justify staying in the market long-term?

Stihl can't be beat for variety, quality, and performance of the KM powerheads and especially the attachment line. The KM attachments have remained compatible now over at least 3 generations of powerheads. 4 different gas options, 2-3 battery options, and I could probably hack together a corded electric option too. And the attachments work with ALL of them.

If Stihl gives you an itch - I'd probably go EGo or Makita XGT (40V).

 

Factory fill is .095. I have seen .105" use no problem but no real reason to get higher than that. The .130" is best for fixed-line heads where line wear is a real factor in up-time.