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After about 12 years, my Ryobi weedeater died. I own a few attachments but am not sure I want to buy another Ryobi. I'm looking for a nicer, more reliable engine and wanted to get adivce on some brands. I also want to get advice on 2 cycle vs. 4 cycle engines.

The brands I'm looking at are Stihl, Husquvarna, Troy-Built and Toro. The Stihl does not accept the attachments I have today but is servicable at the local shop. The Stihl is a bit more expensive ($300 for the Stihl vs. $250 for the Husquvarna vs. $180 for the Troy Built and Toro)

Is the Stihl or Husquvarna worth the extra $$?
Should I go with a 2 cycle or 4 cycle engine?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

Out of your choices I would pick the husky or stihl. Stay away from the toro and troy built the toro is a ryobi painted red... and the troy bilt...ew

Stihls are worth the extra money

Is 12 years not dependable?

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Carscw said:

Is 12 years not dependable?

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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This is a good point. Do they make them like they did 12 years ago?

Which model Stihl are you looking at? It sounds like you may wanting to go the Kombi route, probably not a bad idea.

My first Stihl lasted 20 years before being retired in '10. If I had had enough focus to drain the gas and run out the fuel before putting up for the off season, the thing would probably still be going. When I replaced, I considered the Kombi unit, as I had had dreams of moving to an edger later. I settled for the FS55R and am pleased. It has the straight shaft, a lot of power, and starts pretty easily, but is not a Kombi.

So in '11, when ready to move toward getting an edger, I didn't have the Kombi option, so I bought FC56C model edger. I really like having separate units! Often before moving from flower bed to flower bed, I used each, and like the option of alternating easily from to the other. I then pull out the power blower, dress things up a little, and move to the next flower bed or other area that needs a trimmer-edger-blower combination of attention.

The edger I have has the "Easy Start" feature, and it lives up to its name the nearly three seasons I have run it.

I see lot of positive comments here on the forum about the Echo line as well, so consider those.

Thank you all for your feedback and advice. I'm looking at the 25cc Stihl (FS90?) and it is clearly a nice machine. I need to weigh out whether it's worth the extra money (the largest cost difference is that I cannot use the attachments that I already own...the Husky, Toro and Tory-Built allow me to keep these attachments).

Also, to a previous point, 12 years is a pretty good life and maybe that's good enough given the cost difference. I think I'll give the Husky a test drive and see if this machine is going to work for me. If not, I'm going for the Stilhl or Echo.

Thanks again - it's always helpful to have a broad base of opinions from experienced and informed people!

jmarwill said:

Thank you all for your feedback and advice. I'm looking at the 25cc Stihl (FS90?) and it is clearly a nice machine. I need to weigh out whether it's worth the extra money (the largest cost difference is that I cannot use the attachments that I already own...the Husky, Toro and Tory-Built allow me to keep these attachments).

Also, to a previous point, 12 years is a pretty good life and maybe that's good enough given the cost difference. I think I'll give the Husky a test drive and see if this machine is going to work for me. If not, I'm going for the Stilhl or Echo.

Thanks again - it's always helpful to have a broad base of opinions from experienced and informed people!

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The Stihl 90 is a 28.4cc engine, not 25cc. I've been using the 90 for a few years and it's worth the extra money. It also the 4 mix engine.