Echo vs Stihl

[majoe7]

I have both Echo and Stihl power equipment. I my opinion I will tell you what I like about both of them. I use Echo power equipment for my line trimmer and edger. They are light weight and easy to handle. You can maneuver them in tight spaces and not wreck your upper body by handling then all day, lawn after lawn after lawn. LOL I have been using these two pieces for over 3 year and had little problems with them. They are easy for my mechanic to work on, so it cost me less in repair bills. I also have them maintained several times a year to keep them in tip top shape. I use a Stihl blower and I have recently purchased the Stihl combo line trimmer, hedger and pole saw. It is the interchangeable one. I was a little hesitant about getting this due to the fact it might wear out quicker if you keep on changing out the pieces. So far so good. It was costly, about $780 after everything, but I strongly believe in you get what you pay for. At that price and to have basically 3 pieces of equipment for a fraction of the price is a great deal. If you bought them separately it would be over a Grand. This is my back up piece not my primary. The only thing I don’t like about the Stihl interchangeable is that it is a little heavy. When trimming bushes, hedges or using the pole saw above the head, it can become tiring on your arms. They give you a strap to go around your neck to lighten the load, but I haven’t used it yet. Lastly, you should always do your home work when you are going to make some new purchases. We have a great informant here in the forums named Eli (Superior Equipment) and I enjoy reading his comments and his depth of knowledge in this field. Someone we can go to about equipment questions. IMO

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by majoe7 Lastly, you should always do your home work when you are going to make some new purchases. Absolutely. Most of the manufacturers are posting technical data of sorts on their websites and this makes for some pretty easy research (beats having to run to all the different shops). Once you have narrowed it down to one or two brands/models I would suggest going to the respective shops and looking at the equipment. Holding the equipment like you would when using it is a great idea since it allows you to get a "feel" for the equipment. Originally Posted by majoe7 We have a great informant here in the forums named Eli (Superior Equipment) and I enjoy reading his comments and his depth of knowledge in this field. Someone we can go to about equipment questions. IMO Thanks for the shout out!!

[hotwired]

What I've noticed is a discrepency of reviews based on age of equipment, especially since the new CARB standards came out a few years ago. For instance, I'd have shouted Shindaiwa from the mountain tops 3 years ago, but then I got one of those C-4 units and did not like it at all. Noticeable lack of power (about the same as T230), heavier, an oversized throttle grip, so even my extra large hands were exhauster after 30 minutes (most of my men could not use it as it exhausted their throttle hand after one lawn) - I liked the T230, but it had nowhere near the durability or power of the older T21, it's predecessor with 2 less ccs. My employee still has my old one and it's still running strong!

So I upgraded to T272x - fantastic power, but frankly, no more than the old T260's - and 2-3 pounds heavier. We're selling one, keeping one - downgrading to a lighter trimmer, most likely going to test the Stihl FS90r

we use echo split shaft as well as the HC1500 HTs and have great luck with them. We do use the BP 755 - but might try the Stihl (largest one they've been raving about in PRO magazine) - we do NOT use Echo string trimmes because they have the guard bolted to the head - we like the ones mounted to the shaft, so we can loosen, slide the guard up and extend the string about 12" on either side so we have the equivalent of a push mower - a good trimmer with fat mid range will handle this beautifully and we've foudn the longer the string the "smoother" you can blend the trimming into the mowing. Not to mention you eliminate the hideous stress-inducing high pitched whine of a trimmer with 3" of line on each side.

I've posted in the forums, cross checked, etc. and the "common denominators" I'm finding are the Stihl FS90r -
The grand-daddy holy grail of all trimmers?? But unfortunately no longer made? Shindaiwa T260 (NOT 261). I have to agree with this one. We had 2 of them for 5 years and they were by far the best, most powerful, reliable trimmers in our twenty-one years in business.

I've also read positive posts about the equivalent redmax, but some were mixed and I suspect that they are also victims of the new CARB standards.

I am curious though if anyone uses the Shindaiwa T261, and if they find it as good as the old 260s ??

Stihl is a 4 mix engine NOT a 4 cycle engine big difference. Its still 2 cycle, it takes a 50:2 gas and oil mix.

I use echo trimmers, I guess becouse they are so easy to repair and replace
I ran A husky I bought used, and could find A dealer for part anywhere, needless to say I sold that crap and bought two new echo with the cash.that was two years ago and I hadnt had A problem yet.

[musician/lawnman]

I have 2 echo 210 string trimmers.... Yeah they want for power in real thick stuff, but are light enough to hold all day long & have enough power for most applications, I also have a 260 on the trailer for the really tall stubborn crap.
Muahahaha "Say hello to my little friend".

The echos have been pretty good, Though I'd like to ask a question of you guys.... When we are in the groove, my crew & I are doing properties in 9-12 minutes, shut the gear down, drive 2 minutes, run for 9 more, shut down, etc.... When they get heated up they can be a tempormental P.I.A. to keep running. Do you expericance this with these other brands? Are you running them Like I run mine? Or is this an echo problem!?

My guess is they all do it when abused like this. I know the 210 is really a light-commercial machine but... the 260 does it too sometimes.

Originally Posted by tomcat172002

Stihl is a 4 mix engine NOT a 4 cycle engine big difference. Its still 2 cycle, it takes a 50:2 gas and oil mix.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the ONLY part of your statement that is correct is that the 4-mix engine uses mixed fuel. The rest of your statement is incorrect, including the mix ratio. Now I am sure the mix ratio part could possibly have been a typo, but the correct mix ratio is 50:1, not 50:2. In your words, "big difference", one (50:2) is essentially 25:1, while the other is 50:1.

Now for the part where you are entirely incorrect:

Originally Posted by tomcat172002

Stihl is a 4 mix engine NOT a 4 cycle engine big difference. Its still 2 cycle,

Stihl's 4-mix engine IS a 4 cycle (aka 4 Stroke).

Stihl's website says:

The revolutionary STIHL 4-MIX® engine is the first mixture-lubricated 4-stroke engine from STIHL and combines the advantages of 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines in a single unit. Unlike conventional 4-stroke engines, which require separate systems for the fuel supply and engine lubrication, the new STIHL 4-MIX® engine is fuelled with the new 4-MIX® fuel mixture.......

Here is another direct quote from Stihl's website where it discusses their 4-mix engine:

Patented low emissions 4-stroke engine that uses 50:1, 2-stroke fuel-oil mix for engine lubrication, eliminating need for seperate oil reservoir

The engine does use fuel that is normally considered 2 stroke fuel. But 4 stroke deals with the way an engine runs, not the type of lubrication system it uses (gasoline+oil mixture). A 2 cycle (aka 2 stroke) engine fires every time the cylinder comes to top dead center. Thus its name, '2 stroke'. The piston goes dwn from top dead center and back up, that is 2 strokes.

On the other hand, a 4 cycle (aka 4 stroke) fires every other time the cylinder comes to top dead center.

Here is a little education for those folks who are not familiar with the operation of a 4 stroke engine. Once the engine fires (at top dead center on compression stroke) it pushes the piston down to bottom dead center. This is called the power stroke. The piston then goes back up on the exhaust stroke, pushing all the exhaust fumes from the "explosion" out through the exhaust valve and muffler. We are at 2 strokes so far. Now the piston goes back down to bottom dead center on the intake stroke (it draws a new mixture of fuel and air into the combsution chamber). We are at 3 strokes now. The piston now goes back up on compression stroke (so named because it compresses the fuel+air mixture in the combustion chanber) and fires near top dead center. The compression stroke was the 4th stroke. We now start over on our 4 stroke cycle: power stroke, exhaust stroke, intake stroke, and compression stroke.

With this being said, the 4-mix fires every other time the piston comes to top dead center. This is the only way an engine with conventional valves (like are used with the 4-mix engine) can operate.

And I still contend that 4 stroke engines, no matter the lubrication style, will be able to produce the same amount of power as a 2 cycle of the same size (not that anyone was disagreeing that I know of). This has nothing to do with oil ratio, etc, but rather with physics. Since a 2 stroke fires everytime the piston hits top dead center it receives power everytime it hits top dead center. Since a 4 stroke only fires every other time it only receives power every other time..... Sound simple? it is