"Budget" brush cutter / strimmer options?
Discussion
Afternoon,
It's that time of year again where things grow at an alarming rate and so thoughts have turned to buying another strimmer / brush cutter - I say another as about 5yrs ago I bought one of the Titan 25cc petrol strimmers with the brush cutter attachment as a package via Screwfix for about £130 and it was fine, did the job well but it finally died last year. I do have a small, Early Learning centre esque Flympo 240v strimmer for the garden at home and it's crap even in the grass never mind when you start attacking undergrowth, which is what I need to do.
Seems Screwfix no longer do the petrol Titan range, instead seems the shift is towards battery powered units which is fine I suppose for edging round the lawn but I have another property that would require a lot more edging... round fence posts, trees etc etc but also have a lot of unkept undergrowth to keep in check too and thus I suspect I'd be better with a petrol machine and a with the option to swap over to a bladed cutter.
I know the budget stuff from Screwfix / Toolstation etc can be a bit hit or miss but I'm not really looking to spent hundreds of pounds, I'd had about £150 in my head and was happy to get another Titan but as above, they no longer exist. So really now sure what's the better option between brands... Screwfix do have a Hyundai unit, strimmer / brush cutter interchangable and it's a 52cc which appeals to my inner Tim the Toolman Taylor but no experience with the brand?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/hyundai-hybc5200x-52cc-...
Quick search suggests this is £111.00 delivered via eBay... though appear to be refurbished units.
I'm a bit of a DeWalt tart and they have a battery strimmer option though how long it'd run for with a 5Ah or 9Ah battery is up for debate and I don't think they have a brush cutter option, so plus the cost may put that idea to bed.
Did also debate a used unit but that's even more hit or miss I suspect... more so stuff that's been lying in a shed over winter.
Any recommendations?
Cheers
It's that time of year again where things grow at an alarming rate and so thoughts have turned to buying another strimmer / brush cutter - I say another as about 5yrs ago I bought one of the Titan 25cc petrol strimmers with the brush cutter attachment as a package via Screwfix for about £130 and it was fine, did the job well but it finally died last year. I do have a small, Early Learning centre esque Flympo 240v strimmer for the garden at home and it's crap even in the grass never mind when you start attacking undergrowth, which is what I need to do.
Seems Screwfix no longer do the petrol Titan range, instead seems the shift is towards battery powered units which is fine I suppose for edging round the lawn but I have another property that would require a lot more edging... round fence posts, trees etc etc but also have a lot of unkept undergrowth to keep in check too and thus I suspect I'd be better with a petrol machine and a with the option to swap over to a bladed cutter.
I know the budget stuff from Screwfix / Toolstation etc can be a bit hit or miss but I'm not really looking to spent hundreds of pounds, I'd had about £150 in my head and was happy to get another Titan but as above, they no longer exist. So really now sure what's the better option between brands... Screwfix do have a Hyundai unit, strimmer / brush cutter interchangable and it's a 52cc which appeals to my inner Tim the Toolman Taylor but no experience with the brand?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/hyundai-hybc5200x-52cc-...
Quick search suggests this is £111.00 delivered via eBay... though appear to be refurbished units.
I'm a bit of a DeWalt tart and they have a battery strimmer option though how long it'd run for with a 5Ah or 9Ah battery is up for debate and I don't think they have a brush cutter option, so plus the cost may put that idea to bed.
Did also debate a used unit but that's even more hit or miss I suspect... more so stuff that's been lying in a shed over winter.
Any recommendations?
Cheers
Edited by Davie on Monday 31st March 14:59
Edited by Davie on Monday 31st March 15:00
I have a Ryobi 18v 'brush cutter'. It's a model up from their strimmer.
It's not a brush cutter. It merely suggest to the grass that it falls down, which is actually fine for my use for edging etc. It was relatively cheap, it's light, and the battery can be used in other tools. If the string is kept long it does alright.
For a brush cutter, I would be looking at the Stihl range. In typical Pistonheads fashion these obliterate your budget, but they're much more capable. I wouldn't get anything 18v for this job, whichever you go for.
It's not a brush cutter. It merely suggest to the grass that it falls down, which is actually fine for my use for edging etc. It was relatively cheap, it's light, and the battery can be used in other tools. If the string is kept long it does alright.
For a brush cutter, I would be looking at the Stihl range. In typical Pistonheads fashion these obliterate your budget, but they're much more capable. I wouldn't get anything 18v for this job, whichever you go for.
Plenty of old posts on this topic - I'd say go battery. We're on 10+ acres, and a Makita double battery "2x18v" strimmer/brush cutter is ample. If you already have dewalt batteries, go for theirs. The double battery ones (I assume dewalt do similar) are much better than the little single battery ones.
Edited to add: I ended up selling my Echo SRM-4000 (pro-level machine, not cheap) as the Makita cordless was very capable.
Edited to add: I ended up selling my Echo SRM-4000 (pro-level machine, not cheap) as the Makita cordless was very capable.
Edited by biggiles on Tuesday 1st April 11:38
Thanks
Swaying away from electric as not only is it the guts of £175 for a DeWalt strimmer plus another £80 on top for a brush cutter attachment, but I suspect the run time with a 5.0Ah battery won't be sufficient and I'm really not convinced it'd have the power to get through nettle, thorns, bits of bushes and the like. I think it'd be fine for the grass at home which its just edging but to take on the field as it were, I'd be amazed if battery power was sufficient.
On that note, I think the question should perhaps have been more along the lines of "What budget petrol strimmer brand / is Hyundai ok?"
Cheers
Swaying away from electric as not only is it the guts of £175 for a DeWalt strimmer plus another £80 on top for a brush cutter attachment, but I suspect the run time with a 5.0Ah battery won't be sufficient and I'm really not convinced it'd have the power to get through nettle, thorns, bits of bushes and the like. I think it'd be fine for the grass at home which its just edging but to take on the field as it were, I'd be amazed if battery power was sufficient.
On that note, I think the question should perhaps have been more along the lines of "What budget petrol strimmer brand / is Hyundai ok?"
Cheers
Not budget but in the long term will cost you the same. I have STHILL FS 130 with has done a lot of brushing over the last 10 years with no servicing. I might have greased the gearbox once and I use an oversized shredder disc on it that probably is not great on the wear of the thing.
The only thing I do is use good quality fuel and STHILL oil.
Starts first time every time even after 3-4 months winter storage, most times on old fuel. Can’t kill it and use it mostly at full throttle. Original spark plug as well. What a workhorse. Mind it’s not a pure brush cutter but I use it as one.
Probably has another 5-10 years of life left. All that for circa £400 10 years ago.
The only thing I do is use good quality fuel and STHILL oil.
Starts first time every time even after 3-4 months winter storage, most times on old fuel. Can’t kill it and use it mostly at full throttle. Original spark plug as well. What a workhorse. Mind it’s not a pure brush cutter but I use it as one.
Probably has another 5-10 years of life left. All that for circa £400 10 years ago.
CrgT16 said:
Not budget but in the long term will cost you the same. I have STHILL FS 130 with has done a lot of brushing over the last 10 years with no servicing. I might have greased the gearbox once and I use an oversized shredder disc on it that probably is not great on the wear of the thing.
The only thing I do is use good quality fuel and STHILL oil.
Starts first time every time even after 3-4 months winter storage, most times on old fuel. Can’t kill it and use it mostly at full throttle. Original spark plug as well. What a workhorse. Mind it’s not a pure brush cutter but I use it as one.
Probably has another 5-10 years of life left. All that for circa £400 10 years ago.
I've got a,Stihl, petrol, mine had been in use with a pro gardener and taken in part ex by the local agent, it was 2yrs old, I recall I paid about half price, 5yrs on and its doing well.The only thing I do is use good quality fuel and STHILL oil.
Starts first time every time even after 3-4 months winter storage, most times on old fuel. Can’t kill it and use it mostly at full throttle. Original spark plug as well. What a workhorse. Mind it’s not a pure brush cutter but I use it as one.
Probably has another 5-10 years of life left. All that for circa £400 10 years ago.
Nick_MSM said:
I'd have a look at a used Stihl IF it's in good running order. Run it on Aspen fuel and they go on and on.
This. Start it from cold, check all is in order, and grab a better quality second hand machine. As fun as it sounds, a big 52cc budget machine will weigh a lot, and despite being large, will likely run quite sluggish. The cheap side of that means the gearbox will be cast from cheese, and the motor will lunch it after about 20 hours.
second hand Stihl all day long.
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