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My neighbor gave me this trimmer - he couldn't get it running - so I did! That's my leaf blower attachment. Cool thing about this is, althought I think It's a Homelite, it's made by (or for) John Deere Consumer Products! I've seen simmilar 'expand it' (or as Homelite calls it 'versa tool'.....) trimmers on ebay in green....exact same plastic, just green, with JD stickers on it. Runs my tiller pretty good, too!

Thats the best kind of equipment....FREE. :thumbsup: What did it take to get it running? And did you tell the giver what the problem was?

JDgreen said:

Thats the best kind of equipment....FREE. :thumbsup: What did it take to get it running? And did you tell the giver what the problem was?

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The carb was waaaaay out of adj. I started it on ether, and adjusted it until it would run. Then, I fine tuned it till it REALLY ran! :biggrin: I 'have a gift with these things'......as my dad always said. Got his very expensive John Deere 200g trimmer running at 14, when he couldn't! Again, carb issues. (he didn't know whether to be thankful, or mad.......:laughing: )

Yeah, I told him. He got it in a box lot at an auction. (this wasn't what he was after) He usually junks stuff like this.....But I happened to be there the day he was gonna chuck it.......so, he really didn't care.

My Ryobi has a straight-shaft, and I hate it. This came with a curved shaft, but no guts. Looking at ebay now to get guts at a good price. Also gonna buy a pole saw for it - to clean up the freakin mess mommy nature left me couple weeks ago.......

twall said:

My Ryobi has a straight-shaft, and I hate it. This came with a curved shaft, but no guts.

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I have only had straight shaft Echo trimmers... is it a problem with only Ryobi or just any straight shaft trimmer?
Myself I love almost any 'free' deal.. That's the BEST,
and getting them to work only makes it better...

I never did look too hard at the various 'click on' attachments ... are they worth accumulating? A trimmer "pole saw" sounds handy... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

I have only had straight shaft Echo trimmers... is it a problem with only Ryobi or just any straight shaft trimmer?
Myself I love almost any 'free' deal.. That's the BEST,
and getting them to work only makes it better...

I never did look too hard at the various 'click on' attachments ... are they worth accumulating? A trimmer "pole saw" sounds handy... :smile:KennyV

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I don't like the angle straight shaft puts the head. I like it to be level. To get a straight shaft to be level, I have to hold it too low, and its hard on my back. Just me.

As far as the attachments, they are worth every penny! I use mine all the time...even the cultivator tiller. They work great, and the only thing i don't have is the pole saw.

Well, just came from Home Depot. Bought the Ryobi 10" pole saw attachment - complete with bar oil, and shoulder strap, 12' reach (and a bar you can change angles), for $99. Also bought a Rhino-Tuff brush cutter head (with the replaceable blades) for my straight shaft attachment, and bought the guts (and bump nut) for the curved shaft attachment. Gonna have to machine down the adapter nut for the brush cutter, and chase the threads for the bump nut at the shop, but it'll be awhile before I need them anyhow - so I have lots of time. :smile:

I'm set for trimmer attachment stuff! I forgot - I don't have the edger, either. Will get that someday. Will have my girl take some pics of me using the pole saw when I get around to it. The limnbs aren't going anywhere! Now, i hafta dig out my echo.......

twall said:

Well, just came from Home Depot.
...
Now, i hafta dig out my echo.......

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Sounds like you are loaded up with all the handiest of the attachments... Guess I will have to give them a more serious look... :smile:KennyV

Speaking of my Echo........

twall,does that chainsaw attach. work pretty good?I was thinking of getting one for my sthil but am not sure how good it would work. ..russ

173abn said:

twall,does that chainsaw attach. work pretty good?I was thinking of getting one for my sthil but am not sure how good it would work. ..russ

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Although I didn't get any pics, it did work pretty well. That driveshaft seems to eat up power, though. My Homelite is a 30cc, as is my echo - the pole saw is 10", my echo 14" - but it didn't seem to have much in the oomph department. The difference between shaft and direct dirve! I know - it's apples to oranges. :wink:

It works well for what it's intended use is: trimming small branches off 12' in the air, without a ladder. It's not as cumbersome as it looks. All the pieces are lightweight stuff. Not something my mother would be trimming branches with - but I could see my 73 year old dad using it no problem.

I would caution you this: Don't think because it's a 10" bar, you can go hacking off a limb that's 20' long and 6" around where you wanna cut. I tried a 4" limb......about 15' long pine (did cut it into 3 pieces before I got to the base - it wasn't enough), and it was scary. You can't tilt the bar at a 90 degree angle, so you can't properly cut the bottom/top like you should. I wouldn't go any bigger than a 3" dia. limb myself. (....and I won't anymore)

twall,thanks for the info,maybe I'll just stick with my sthil saw and ladders....russ

173abn said:

twall,thanks for the info,maybe I'll just stick with my sthil saw and ladders....russ

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That's just my experience with the cheaper stuff - Stihl may have a better designed system (I know echo does for it's interchangeable stuff - it's a lot heavier than 'expand-it'). Plus, if you're used to using a ladder, it might be safer. You can't control your cut very well with the pole saw - leading to unpredictable results. :frown:

But, I'd still buy it again - got me out of a jam, and I'll use it quite a bit, until my trees are all pruned - then it may not see much use.