Good deal!, my new one with the ak20 battery arrives tomorrow. I plan on using it this weekend after it charges up.
I went into the local Ace on Thursday to see if they could still do the cordless weed eater for $150, since Northern still has them for that price...they said they couldn't because there's not that much markup on those, that was actually rebate money from Stihl to get that price...they said they had no idea how Northern was doing it as Stihl is very picky about the paperwork being turned in by the last day of the sale...said they actually lost some money as they didn't get a couple turned in until Monday morning (after fathers day)...too late. They offered $175 for one with a 10 battery...I said I'd think about it...I think I'ma pass on it, I was on the fence anyways, and do very little trimming in a years time...probably watch for a deal like Skier76 just got
Well after cutting some brush I noticed the unit was not acting right. Shut it down and the bearings in the gear box are crunchy, the cup broke too but that had been on there quite a while. The original gear box had been on there for 7 1/2 years and the Chinese knock off only lasted 3 months, not surprising. Time to order an OEM gear box.
Why not try a saw blade? I have an oregon on my brush cutter. You sharpen it with the same file as standard 3/8 chain. Its scary fast cutting. Even with the cheap Ryobi unit spinning it. I can't imagine that mini mower blade being easy on a lower unit.
I used to cut with a saw blade. It does really well in thick stuff and not as well in thinner stuff. I also cut dirty stuff so it doesn’t stay sharp as long. It’s been a while so I’ll pick one up and try it again. I also remember it kicks back much harder than the knife blade. The knife blade might be rough on the gear box but Chinese bearings are J-U-N-K. It doesn’t pay to cheap out.
Im still on the factory. 080 spool it came with and I'm going to buy the same thing before I run out.
It was worth a shot. The 9.99 shipping was FedEx. Here's how it arrived. There was a "shipping exception" in Texas. That's probably why it was changed to arrive today and not Saturday. I hate FedEx They did retape the outer box and it all got here. Good news it's everything was fine and in the in box.
I'm impressed with the FSA 57 with the ak20 battery. I was able to trim basically every bit of my 1 acre lot, even som stuff that I was going to break out the big DR push trimmer for. I did it all on 1 charge of the battery. It was blinking green when done. I think it still would have had a bit more juice if needed, but I didn't rtfm enough to know. I didn't time the run time, but I think Stihl says 40 minutes of run time. That's as much as I want to run a weed wacker for. There was no issue with the box and contents, and the trimmers function.
Awesome! Glad to hear it did so well! Excited to test mine out further. Appreciate your input on the bigger battery too.
Pics and review! I just finished that last of the big weed eating this morning. Its heading to the 100's so just in time. Next- clean and run the gas out of the big bike handle units and put them away for the season. Lots of little stuff to clean up with a small weed whacker, for which a battery powered would be perfect.
That is good to hear. 40min is plenty for what I need this for. The Northern sale is sure tempting! How is the weight and balance feel to you?
Yeah, I went ahead and ordered it. Heck the price is about the same as the battery by itself! Thanks for letting me/us know about this sale!
I'll try to remember to time my run time. I've only used 50% of my AK20 battery trimming quite a large area. It's obviously not running non stop as I transition from area to area.
