I'm on the market for a new brushcutter. Like to hear what people use and think are best, don't trust the guys in the mower shops. New honda's look pretty good.
Thanks
Charbel
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I'm on the market for a new brushcutter. Like to hear what people use and think are best, don't trust the guys in the mower shops. New honda's look pretty good.
Thanks
Charbel
honda whippers all they way got 7 nevr let me down
Got a Honda, will get another, actually want one of the new ones!
Next best which is 2 stroke is Shindaiwa.
Next time you can, check out the size of the new engines on the new '04 Honda range or Hedge trimmers and blowers, bloody huge!
Trimmer is too heavy for me, but I'd own a blower, if I could carry it! LOL!
Always had Honda motor bikes as a kid, love Honda gear!
Info on the Honda Brushcutters: indshop/brushcutter_honda.htm
(I have not put the members pricing in as of yet sorry, just the RRP is listed)
what is the difference between the new UMT431 LNU and the older UMK431K1?
I just compared specs and the only difference seems to be the new model is a bit heavier but no extra power or torque...
Thanks for any help...
I've got the older one, great machine, sweet motor, but could do with more power. bogs down easier than desired. but it's good though. I was hoping the new models were more powerful, more torque, I think the same size 2 stroke engine would outperform the 4 stroke, thought honda was closing the comparison gap some...
Hi Tony,
To be honest, I am not as well educated on the honda brushcutters as I am on their mowers I am not actually sure of the upgrades on the brushcutters, but will do my best to find out for you.
You are right that the specs remain pretty much the same for the new models, which would leave me to believe the upgrade was a touch up.
I also agree regarding the 2 stroke vs. 4 stroke brushcutter models.
Ebony
sthil 4 mix ....sthil 4 mix .....sthil 4 mix ....../sthil 4 mix ........o did i mention sthil 4 mix?
So let me see if I have got this right....you reckon Stihl 4 mix is OK ? LOL!
Why I like the Honda is I am a bug fan of straight feul, don't like mixing and keeping fresh different mixes for different machines.
The new Honda's I saw last week are very bulky, the blower and hedge trimmer are rediculous in size and weight, the trimmers look to be more bulky than my model bought new 18 months ago.
Bigger, heavier, bulkier just ain't the right direction, more power and torque in more compact sizing and certainly no heavier is the right way, maybe these tech geeks should get out in the industry and get some hands on experience and see what big heavy gear is like to opperate.
Shame, I love hondas, but I am of limited strength and these are now big and heavy, the work is hard enough as it is. even interferes with my internet time which ain't good lol. :dean:
Thanks for all the advice, my honda mowers have never let me down, but I remember when I originally went to buy a brushcutter about 2 years ago people told me the honda was very heavy and not that great, have these issues been sorted out with the newer models.
That is the stupid thing about it. Honda's have the best motors around, but their equipment is getting heavier. They take a great mower with a light powerful motor, and replace it with an old motor (the motors on the new honda's are nothing new) that is a lot heavier. Silly techs at honda turn around and say yea the contractors liked the 195 because they could just throw them on the ute. We say, pushing an extra 2kg all day every day makes a BIG difference.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonyr
It has nothing to do with limited strength, it has to do with working smarter. How can Honda expect people to pay anywhere from $100.00 to $300.00 more for a brushcutter that is heavier then the market standard.
IMO The 4-stroke technology still has a fair way to go with the brushcutters.
Charbel what brushcutter are you using at the moment?
Ebony
I'm using the Kaaz, its great on the petrol and for using in lawns, but if I want to do a bit more heavier clearing it doesn't have the power.
We use the honda gx25's they are so light and personaly think honda is the rolls royce in small motors. These whippers i picked for the all day km's of parks so less fatiqe carring weight.
We also run cord a little longer as we in a hurry lol, if clutch does happen to go well $20.00 and 10 mins replace. Same as tony sick of mixing fuels with people stuffing up the mixes.
We threw away the saftey gaurd and relaced all with sliding gaurds so cord gives inch longer cut. Only downfall is every 8 hrs oil change and that takes 2 mins.
For memory Charbel, didn't you buy the bent shaft brushcutter?
Hey guys..I've had twop Honda now and their great, but lately I've been using A stihl 2 stroke with the auto feed head...Was very sceptical about it but salesman said give it a go and I did....Gotta say I would never go back to an allow head again...I'be been using the Stihl now for about four months and never had a problem with fouling etc.....Just load the head in the morning and can get through at least four to five regualr jobs without having to reload it which actually takes about two mins or less....Keep a spare cartridge loaded anyway so I can get through around 8 lawns a day, edging etc without having to change cartridges.....I will keep using them until I find they give me a problem....My Hondas are left in the truck and havent been used in quite a while......
Also, I did a head in on the UMK425.....Nearly fell over when told it would cost $200.00 to repalce it..........In fact when that happened I just bought the Stihl off the showroom floor so I could get back to work...Have never looked back....
Downsides??????? Noisier than the Honda and having to mix fuel,,,but hey I figure I'm saving about five minutes per job, not contiuously reloading the alloy heads....(actually timed it and found this was the case)....Averagew that out over about say eight jobs a day and you've got a 40 minute a day saving on time.
Just a thought.
haa painingrass onya buddy, No im still going with hondas as use the alloy head takes 4 and a half metres of the type cord im using, heads $20 and last 1 month easy. These guys I have use them constant all day revs to max constant.
Always loved the 2 strokes but ha opposite to you. 2 strokes in shed and carry one for back up heavy brush stuff. All prev to the job.
I have the heads greased fortnightly on all off them.
I f you have a sthill you have top of the range I must say just hate paying for the badge lol.
Great for your feed back matey.
Yeah see ya point, but aren't we all payin for the Honda "badge......
Checked their website and notived that on their 04 models they have an auto feed head....(must have copied the Stihl)
Tried to find out from a dealer whether the head would retro fit my UMK425......thye couldnt give me a straight answer....I guess unlike you, I do predominanly domestic stuff and dont need quite so much power to get through the tuff stuff.
Hi P-I Grass, I sure they come with auto feed Ive always asked to put alloys on and sliding gaurds, Im not sure on that, just thought all came with plastic bumper feeds.
Theres all brands out there and 5 main ones are all good, just what we like feel of. I honestly think model I use is so cheap after my kawasakis etc
Now heres a guide 95 per cent of carbies are the same, filters same ,spark plugs same , trigger same ,shaft same ,plastic same ,only small manufacturers make parts for alllllllllllllllllllll brands difference under say 350.00 nothing under 450 nothing over 460.00 brand and hype ,manufacturers or suppliers in this country like honda etc have dealer net works ,if dealers dont abide by the rules of the suppliers dealers lose dealership ,that includes prices must be above a certain level or dealer can lose dealership, dealers are under immense pressure by the suppliers ,if dealers want to stock other products and an existing supplier doesnt want that product to be sold in that shop ,more pressure can be added .some shops in western australia , have allready lost a major supplier because it wanted to give customer choice ,that shop owner shouldnt have to be forced by a supplier on how he should run his own shop, or what prices he sells his product ,we cant have controlled competition surely this is australia .
from now on nobody can do a lawn for less than 40.00 lol
Yep that will work :russ:
Yeah,, A guy I do some subbie work for sad that Kwakkas were great....
You had better get another letter typed up to explain that to the customers but $40.00 a lawn would be OK for me just brings me a Little closer to my 2nd million. :laughing:Quote:
Originally Posted by Indyanswer
PATCH
Hell I havn't pushed a mower in nearly 20 years (too lazy) Honda self drive for me, as for brushcutters I only use Stihl these days, hell one of my FS 85s is 5 years old and goes great! But Honda are good also its a personal thing :i dunno:
not wrong hey indi answer i used to do 1 acres for $40,00 made 1200 per week what year you in jethrull. dont no more but most here would. as older in the game we picky but new starts u can make a dime as desperate
one there. help them ?. hope you cylinder and clean up good. no butchers today matey,.
Had a stihl and it died a sad death, had trouble starting it ever sinse new and it never improved no matter who serviced it.
The stihl died on a job and i hit the mower shop and I opted for a Komatsui bloody unreal machine and has never missed a beat nearly 12 mths old.
I guess i just got a bad stihl.
My two cents worth
Brian
I still have the trusty Honda UMK425. But now use it as a hedge trimmer.
Too heavy for every day whipper snipping.
I've got the Tanaka whipper snippet which is allot lighter to swing around all day.
An old guy said to me years ago when I started the business.
Get the lightest whippy because your using it all day long
I really do think best value for money would be the Echo if looking at it for everyday use with various attachments.
As for the 3 Stihl products i own i strongly doubt i'b buy Stihl again,only thing i do like is the Stihl blower as that does work well in performance but when doing 7-9 jobs a day you never know how it wants to be started and how many pulls will it take
It's just a 2 stroke,stihl use Zama carburetors may be if they were to use all Walbro carburetors they might start up easier like the Shindaiwa's and be more of a pleasure to use.
Plus i find the Stihl extremely expensive for replacement parts,comparing to Echo/Shindaiwa,Honda,Husky.
Also notice a heck of a lot of new Stihl shops popping up lately
The next brushcutter I will buy is A Kubota DH262-S. Only weighs .6 kg more than a Makita RBC 2510 that I have now. The Kubota has much less vibration than the Makita too. I belive price is around $360.
Just something to think about.
Cheers
hjl
My current trimmer stock
Shindaiwa- easy to start
Echo- easy to start
Stihl kombi- not so easy every time hit or mis
Makita- easy to start
Stihl- not so easy every time hit or mis
Had many brands over the years,had good long runs with the Kawasaki,no more Husky's or Hondas .No more Stihl either.
Usual lifespan for husky is 2-3 years,i would have expected more.
My husky 525LST is nearly 3yrs old. Hope it doesn't die. I'd still buy another one. Really the life of powered handtools used commercially is 3yrs so Ive been told.
Back in my younger days where i averaged 10 homes a day 6 or 7 days a week during the fast growing times the most i could get was 3 years out of kawasaki machines.Now only doing about half that so the machines are lasting longer.
I never keep anything over 24 months these days,they end up on gumtree.
i really do believe not many trimmers can go past the distance of the kawasaki,the only down side was once the air temp reached 35-38 deg it was time to go home.They never worked well in the heat.
The big loop handle on the Kawasaki is still the best one I have ever used, just wish I had of kept one to put on my current machine
I am starting to get pain in the ring finger of the right hand due to brushcutter use. Thinking of ways around problem.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/141765056...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
What does everyone think of this? Can't do vertical edges with it. Would burn a lot of fuel being 62cc. Do you think it would cut down the vibration and be better for my hand?
Or should I look at Kubota bullhorn brushcutter which have less vibration then my Makita that I have now?
Cheers
hjl
That wheeled thing is not really what you need for the work you do.
Try some anti vibration gloves first before spending big dollars,or buy a Shindaiwa or Echo being the best value for your dollar
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_f...s&rt=nc&_dmd=2
Hi BeetleJuice
I have always used anti vibration gloves.
Do you have the vibration specs for the Shindaiwa and echo brushcutters?
My Makita has an average over both hands of 6.15 m/s. (Don't know how to put the squared symbol in).
The Kubota DM262-W that I am looking at has an average over both hands of 4.3 m/s.
Cheers
hjl
Specs are in the "view user manual" for each trimmer
http://allpower.com.au/product-categ...line-trimmers/