Which is better for home use? Stihl's seem to have slightly larger engines but shorter warranty's. regardless of size though which are easier, cheaper to fix and have cheaper maintenance products? (i.e. heads, oil etc.)

I have had a husqvarna trimmer for a little over a year and so far it runs like a champ. My opinion of stihl products took a hit last week when I took the spark plug out of my stihl chainsaw. The plug wire is not actually attached to the cap that goes on the plug. The cap has a little hook shaped wire like a piece of paperclip that they spike through the insulation to contact the plug wire. If you pull too hard taking the plug wire off, it comes loose and is impossible to get back on and in contact with the wire. Stihl doesn't consider it a warranty item when it happens, so you end up having to splice a wire into the plug cap to connect it the way they should have connected it in the first place. Very dissapointed in the ultra cheap construction and lack of standing behind their warranty when I paid more than other brands expecting the opposite.

Interesting

I have an Echo curved shaft trimmer and had a hell of a time with it at first b/c the dual line set up strikes the debris shield (NOT the knife edge, the shield above the knife edge) chopping your lines to bits and reducing the 12" cut Dia to about 9"...

Echo sent me a bump line single set up but that kinda sucked b/c the way they set up the line spool made it almost impossible to rewind your own line onto the system with out it tying itself in knots and breaking off inside every time I used it.

I finaly went back to the old 2-line set up and just put a washer under the head to it would stand off a bit more and not hit the debris shield.

That being said, I got a 18V Ryobi (I have a drill, saw, flashlight that all works with the same batteries) last fall and I like it a lot more. It's quite, I don't have to mix gas, I can rewind my own heavier guage line and it will last ~30m on a single charge. I do my 100' driveway, 300+' of fence line, 50+ feet of beds, and a dozen trees all on one charge. My only beef is that their 18V blower eats the battery in about 10m and I can't blow off the entire driveway/patio before it dies and it's not all that powerful.

I have read a lot of good stuff about their new 40V system. If I'd have know about it (it came out this spring) I would have gotten it instead. The battery lasts forever and the blower is a bit more powerful.

Ryobi also has a 24v trimmer, but it's only $20 less and there is no 24v blower. Spend the extra $20 and get the big one. I might sell my 18V system and buy the 40V anyway.

[This message has been edited by agracer (edited 8/11/2012 4:13p).]

I own a landscape company and we only run stihl or redmax weedeaters and backpack blowers 50+ hrs/ wk.

I own a landscape construction business in Bryan. I have three Stihl chainsaws, one Stihl weed eater, one Stihl blower and one Stihl leaf vacuum. I like them because they are made to be easy to maintain. Bryan Outboard has parts for all of the products, and they will repair or tune them up for a reasonablle cost. Here in Aggieland, if your Husqvarna breaks down, what do you do with it? Take it to Lowes for repairs?

Yeah the fact that there are two service centers in BCS definitely makes me want to look at the Stihl more. I know there is an Echo service center as well though.

It's funny you two landscape company owners say that you have Stihl and wouldn't go with another because that's not what the guy at Home Depot told me today!!!!

He said that a lot of the landscape companies are going the Echo way now. Any truth to that?

[This message has been edited by gibby03 (edited 8/11/2012 8:20p).]

A moot point for me. My Stihls may outlive me. I have owned my small chainsaw for 13 years with no major mechanical problems: it even survived a stint in the possession of my moron ex-brother-in-law.

My father runs a Stihl chain saw that's easily 25-30 years old and never ran into any problems aside from things he caused on his own. That said, their quality in the '80s probably doesn't reflect upon today.

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That said, their quality in the '80s probably doesn't reflect upon today.

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Bingo. I was shocked when I realized how they had constructed the spark plug wire assembly. It was something I would have expected to see in a $110 homelite home depot special, not in a Stihl.

Stihl earned their rep with the chain saws from years ago. They may or may not be the same quality.

I own an Echo straight shaft trimmer and an Echo pole saw trimmer. I continue to be amazed at how good these are. They both have the same engine. I have owned the trimmer for a long time and someone would have to really convince me there is a better one.

Spicewood, what model number Echo do you have?

I used comercial grade Stilh products for years on golf courses. I can not recall ever having any issues.

The home depot employee is full of ****. Last week he was probably working in the plumbing section.

Stihl or redmax weedeaters & blowers or gtfo

+1 stihl

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Spicewood, what model number Echo do you have?

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Without looking at it - it could be ST225?

Ended up going with the Stihl RC 56E. Hopefully it all turns out good down the road. Appreciate the suggestions from all.

Great choice.

I do see some lawn services in Houston using Echo, but Stihl seems to be by far and away more popular.

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He said that a lot of the landscape companies are going the Echo way now. Any truth to that?

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Consider the source. He only said that because he works at HD and can't carry Stihl.

After going through 2 weed eaters in 8 years (combo Sears gas engine and Black and Decker electric), I bought a Stihl a couple years ago and won't look back. Easy to maintain and great service.

Husqarvna and Stihl are the best. Echo second tier.

I have owned all three brands. I prefer Husqvarna chainsaws for sure but that is just a personal choice. You will pay more for Stihl and Husqvarna of course. Unless you are in commercial service they are going to last a really long time.

Redmax FTW!

Redmax FTW!

As for backpack blowers I have started to switch from Stihl br420 to Redmax EBZ7500
http://www.redmax.com/products/blowers/ebz7500/
more power & doesn't leak oil all over my guys backs(gasket)

RedMax is part of the Husqvarna Group of products: "RedMax® and other products and feature marks are registered and unregistered trademarks of Husqvarna Group" (http://www.redmax.com/).

I bought an Echo straight shaft trimmer (SRM225, I believe) several years ago to trim larger areas of land. It has never given me a problem and I used the heck out of it. The only thing I had ever done to it was change the spark plug and air filter. I didn't even drain the tank when putting it up for the winter. Always started after 3-4 pulls (including choke). I don't need something so big now and recently donated it to a local non-profit and it was still going strong. I purchased a Stihl Kombi with a curved shaft and edger attachments as its replacement. So far it seems like a good system but does take quite a few more pulls over the Echo to start. I considered the Echo PAS system but if I remember correctly, it cost a considerable amount more than the Stihl. Plus, there are a couple of shops in BCS that can work on the Stihl if anything ever goes wrong.