String Trimmer Revisit

[tseavoy]

Well the Ryobi 780 gas trimmer is in its dying days, so yesterday I bought a new trimmer. I ended up with a Stihl FS90 for a little over $300 with brush cutter blade and tax. It's great! One of the reasons I chose Stihl is that apparently to be a dealer you have to service them, there is a local Stihl dealer here, and it is a 4 stroke, although you still need to mix oil in the gas. I guess that's so it can be operated in any position. It also has the capability to accept attachments such as a hedge trimmer and pole saw attachment.
The Ryobi served me well. It's over 25 years old.

Tom on Marrowstone

[crokett]

I have a Ryobi 790 that is 9 years old and still going strong. It might take an extra pull or two to start, but I am not really sure about that.

[Jim Frye]

Ryobi 990r

My Ryobi 990r ran all year 'round for fifteen years before the valve train wore out. The local Ryobi service center said it had no compression, but it was using no oil in a year, so I surmised the valves were the culprit. I ran full synthetic oil in all of its life. The parts were going to be a tad expensive, so I just replaced it. I paid $199 for it and have about a half dozen accessories for it. I replaced it this spring with a TroyBilt four stroke brush cutter for $194. I hope you have as much good service with the Stihl as you did with the old Ryobi.

[Uncle Cracker]

Stihl makes good equipment. It can get a little pricey because of a limited distribution network (limits competition, price wise), but I have never had a problem with my trimmer or my backpack blower. FWIW