Thread: Sthil or Honda Brush-cutter???

Personally, I prefer the Hondas. And if you already have a 4 stroke mower, going with the 4 stroke Hondas keeps it simple.
They also have a 4 year warranty. Not sure about the Stihls. It doesn't say so I'm guessing it's not 4 yrs.

Don't forget Echo which are made in Japan. I bought a second hand one a year ago and it's a beast! I use a grey 3mm line (forget the brand, but a good one) and it hardly ever breaks. I found that with my previous Stihl that the line broke all the %^&$#*% bloody time, but they may have changed the mechanism by now to reduce that VERY frustrating feature (bought the Stihl in 1992, so it gave me 20 years).

I cannot provide anything approaching a direct comparison between the Honda and the Stihl, but I do have an earlier model Stihl which looks the same and has very similar engine specs that is about 7 years old, and a 2 year old MTD 4 stroke.

Personally, I hate bump feed heads with a passion, so my Stihl ended up being fitted with the Universal brand manual feed head from the older Echo and McCulloch units it was replacing. At about 3 years, the Universal head was getting beyond it and replaced with an identical unit. The only gripe I have ever had with the Stihl was that the D handle on the shaft was fitted with a "protector" spike similar to that on the Honda. This problem was solved by unscrewing the mount for the handle and reversing it so the spike faced right instead of left. This solved the issue of the spike trying to hook me in the goolies. The Stihl has been thrashed over the years, working grass up to 1m high and quite dense, wire fence lines, steep banks, and rough uneven ground without any issues. Had the free first service offered by the dealer/service agent, and has two air cleaner elements and 1 plug in 7 year. Typically runs about 25l of fuel mix a year as an indication of amount of use. I like it because the throttle is nice and linear, which is handy when working along fence lines etc at low throttle, yet it has heaps of grunt when given the gun.

I bought the MTD 2 years ago to fit with polesaw and hedger attachments and wanted the cheapest viable combo. I opted for the 4 stroke over the 2 stroke powerpack (slightly higher price but straight shaft instead of bent shaft brushcutter drive). When purchased, the power head, BC, saw adaptor, and hedger as a combo was similar in price to an equivalent saw attachement for the Honda. The MTD has probably 20 hours on it at present. It is baulky to start unless you get the priming just right, and needs a minute or so running at fast idle to warm up before it becomes reliable. I recently spent 3 hours with it in pole saw guise in a cherry picker lopping and cutting out a 18m cypress which had split at a fork 5m above ground. No problems with the unit provided that it was warmed up prior to entering the bucket, probably had 50-70 one pull start and stops on that job without hassles. Only real issue this unit has had is that I have twice knocked the air cleaner cover of the unit because it is situated close to my body while working overhead. Never have used the brushcutter head with the unit.

The four stroke seems to have less vibration and is definitely quieter and more economical than the Stihl. While you don't have to premix the fuel and oil, you do need regular engine oil changes and the oil volume is fairly critical, nominated volume +/- 5% at all times, and of course you need to check oil level regularly.

As I said earlier, I do not have any Honda experience but acknowledge that they have a reputation for reliability.

I went to get a Honda 4 stroke brush cutter and was told by my local Mowerpower dealer that the Honda 4 stroke(in fact any 4 stroke) was not the way to go (he sells them and Australia is a dumping ground for them) his story is that 4 stroke for a whipper sniper where the engine is turned to all angles leaves a bit to be desired in the lube system.
All his contractor and shire customers were sticking with 2 stroke units.
So that's my 20 cents worth,please tell me if that's not correct.

I have the Honda brush-cutter and am seriously considering the Stihl as a replacement. A distant friend works at a school and they use the Stihl with a modified head. He likes it.

I like the petrol only option of the Honda, but the Stihl has a good reputation.

The Honda, up until recently, used to start first or second pull even if it had not been started for 3-4 months - very reliable.

I also have a Stihl blower and starts after 3-4 pulls all the time. 2 pulls on choke and 1-2 on full air.

Whatever you go for let us know, as my decision on an upgrade is not too far away.

I can only speak from Stihl experience but I'm not completely one-eyed, I'll be looking for a Honda push mower when I upgrade that soon. Apart from around the house I do some part-time mowing of commercial and industrial properties and have used mine and dad's Stihl gear extensively around the farm over the years.

My (FS85?) brushy is about 15 years old and has done a LOT of hard work cutting waist high brush, weeds and grass as well as around lawn areas. Lately it's been giving me some good exercise getting it started from cold (a bit of a back and forth game with the choke and full air and about 15 pulls to get going) but it's way overdue for a spark change and has been tuned for altitude around 800-900m whereas now I'm using it close to sea level which I guess could affect things? While it can be a pig to start when cold, once it's running I'm glad for the extra grunt and light weight relative comfort to use with the harness and handlebars especially when used for hours at a time, and it starts from warm with 1 pull. It's had the original pull-twist type head and a universal head but I'm considering the bump feed one to try.

I've the BG86 Stihl blower, about 3 years old now, and it starts like cava's does from cold with one or 2 pulls on choke then on 1 full air pull at worst, sometimes even just on the first choke pull. It doesn't take a big heavy pull either. After using it for 20-30mins at a time I'm glad it's not a heavier one even with the reasonable built-in vibration dampening in the handle.

Some things to consider are the type of usage your blower and trimmer will get? If you're doing lighter lawn work around the house in residential areas then 4 stroke (Honda) might be the way to go. Quieter, easier to start, only one type of fuel to keep. If you'll be using them for extended periods of time and/or for beefier work, then I'd be leaning towards the 2 stroke (Stihl) models for the power, lighter weight, ability to use them at mixed angles without worrying where the sump is angled. New Stihls seem different beasts to start than the older models.

I've had two Sthil brushcutters which were both great machines, good power and generally reliable. As a model aeroplane enthusiast I can say that small two stroke engines require constant tweaking in order to remain 100% reliable in starting and running. Which is why I now own a Honda 4 stroke Brush Cutter, it has more power than any two stroke I've ever used, is quieter and unbeleivably reliable, with the added bonus that I no longer need to purchase two stroke oil, I no longer have to rack my brain to remember what mix I was running, nor work out how much oil to put in the fuel every time I fill my jerry can, and, I dont have a jerry can of 2 stroke fuel that I (technically) cant use for anything other than my brush cutter. I would strongly recomend the honda gear to anyone in the market.

my 2 bob, best of luck whichever way you go!

Ox

I have the Stihl KM 130R Kombi system. I have the blower (excellent), tiller (very good for what it is, heavy), hedge trimmer (excellent) and the weed whip (excellent). I've had the system three years. Starts on the second pull. When I bought the thing the dealer was trying to sell me on the blowing attachment but it looked to me at first glance like a toy. Since I bought about $1500 worth of equipment from him he gave me the blower for free and I'm really glad he did - it's amazing.
The only thing that is even mildly annoying is that it needs a new air filter every year because of the amount of dust we have locally.

Just a point - Bump feed is a right PITA!!

I changed to a head that can take up to 6 pieces of line but I only ever use 3. Best move I ever made.

I agree, the bump feed is a PITA, so, I'm using the Stihl Auto feed head, its AWESOME! and it retrofitted straight to my Honda

http://www.stihl.com.au/STIHL-Products/Accessories/Grass-Trimmers-and-Brushcutter-Accessories/22176-1650/SuperCut-Mowing-Head.aspx

Ox

Originally Posted by Oxbox

I agree, the bump feed is a PITA, so, I'm using the Stihl Auto feed head, its AWESOME! and it retrofitted straight to my Honda

http://www.stihl.com.au/STIHL-Products/Accessories/Grass-Trimmers-and-Brushcutter-Accessories/22176-1650/SuperCut-Mowing-Head.aspx

Ox

Emmachisit? Wonder if it would retrofit to an Echo because my current head is near life end.

This is getting off the track a bit but I have a Shindawa T260 two-stroke. I work at a College with a stable of whipper snippers. They were buying the Honda 4 stroke ones but then switched to Shindawa. The latter start effortlessly and have more guts than the Honda, but they have a bump line feed that has never worried me.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Emmachisit? Wonder if it would retrofit to an Echo because my current head is near life end.

From memory, theres about 4 different sizes, I dont remember how or what the measurements represented, and they ranged from around $40 to $90AUD, though that is from my memory

Originally Posted by nrb

I went to get a Honda 4 stroke brush cutter and was told by my local Mowerpower dealer that the Honda 4 stroke(in fact any 4 stroke) was not the way to go (he sells them and Australia is a dumping ground for them) his story is that 4 stroke for a whipper sniper where the engine is turned to all angles leaves a bit to be desired in the lube system.

I have a makita 4 stroke, its never missed a beat and its pretty light compared to some of its equivalents. Even though its a 4 stroke, it can be operated in any direction. I am guessing they use a dry sump, so no issue with lubrication. Pretty common concept, think aerobatic planes, they operate at all angles and are pretty reliable. Anyway, my makita has done some work and its still going fine. I dont look after it very well either!