OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Trimmers and Brushcutters Two Stroke Trimmers & Brushcutters I Need A New Snipper - Which One Though???

If you don't mind my venturing a totally amateur perspective, and from very limited experience...

I bought my first whipper snipper a few years ago for our then very rural setting and thought I'd need extra power, so I chose a Shindaiwa T260X (straight shaft) for a bit under $500.

We subsequently moved into a large semi-suburban allotment and I suspect that I now have 'too much' machine for the job. Too much as in too heavy, too noisy, too much vibration and, if anything, too much power. I never need anywhere near maximum power and bits of grass & weeds are flying everywhere!

Very many years ago a mate bought a small Riobi bent-shaft; this was well before the Riobi brand-name was onsold and cheapened downmarket. Anyway you could lift this little unit with two fingers and the motor was very quiet and smooth with a pleasing little purr to it. It required no repair and lasted him for 14 years of typical suburban useage, until a breakdown when he opted to scrap it. In short, a perfect machine for the job at hand.

As my ears resonate and my cranium vibrates as I wrestle with the weight and torque of my big Shindaiwa, I sometimes think of his old snipper and wonder how much better off I'd be with a 'lesser' machine.

As an aside for something else to consider, the 'two piece' snippers with the detachable power-head cost more, but have the advantage of fitting easily inside a car boot, whereas the conventional machines may barely fit (and be grotty if not sheathed) inside the cabin of a large sedan.

That's one of the reasons I'm going for a Tanaka. They are quite light. The one I am looking at weighs just under 5kgs. And as for the power... I reckon the more the better. I can see what you're saying though nota. Like I said before, I probably could easily get away with a smaller machine. I love my toys though! Thanks for your thoughts nota!

From a novice beginning (and please can the experts correct me if wrong) one of the things I've been told is that you can't 'slip the clutch' aka use partial throttle - its either full-throttle or idle-revs, and nothing in between so it's 'all or nothing' otherwise you risk burning out the clutch.

By this I mean it can be difficult to be subtle with a high-powered machine, when it comes to lawn & garden 'trimming'

Another mate was very impressed with my big powerful snipper and requested I come around to trim up her flower bed of errant grass & weeds. So I jammed it into the car, went around to her place, and proceeded to virtually destroy her prized floral display at maximum revolutions! Like I said, bits of petals and sundry were flying everywhere despite my best efforts at control, it was genuine horticultural mayhem. However I did manage to brutalise a small tree.

And that banshee wail of the engine at peak revs reminds me of the worst sounding 125cc 2-stroke sports-type motorcycles, with el-cheapo Power-Pipe etc. The engine doesn't purr, it just hammers. The Mitsubishi-powered engine of a colleague's KAZZ snipper sounds far quieter, smoother & less gauche.

As a car enthusiast I can well relate to what you mean about 'more power = better' and used to believe it a maxim of all things involving internal combustion. However I have found this is not always the case in practice.

Btw my hefty Shindaiwa weighs 'only' 5.4 kg .. choose carefully.

Cheers

Maybe I should settle for the the smaller TBC-230? After all, I only have a pretty small area to snip. I only plan on using to trim around the perimeter of my lawns (where the mower can't get at) and if successful, to run an edge around the lawn ie vertical cut. What do the experts think?

Not being an expert, I'll chip in separately. In your situation I'd be using a couple of bucks' worth of electric whipper snipper. Starting and maintenance are then rather easy. Your small area (and small perimeter) mean that you don't have much of an issue with the electric cord. Incidentally I am not suggesting a battery-powered device - that just recreates the maintenance problems we are trying to avoid. A simple, brand-name electric snipper should trim up your fine grass around the perimeter in a couple of minutes, for hardly any money and even less trouble.

Why do I have a miniature petrol-powered trimmer myself? My trimming is partly along the back fence, and some pretty powerful vegetation based in my neighbour's yard comes under the fence. 3 mm nylon trimming line cannot make an impression - I'm about to try a blade on it. I did try an electric trimmer on it for a while, but after burning it out twice I decided to get real. I don't see you having this kind of problem.

Well, I bit the bullet and bought myself a brushcutter today. I ended up getting the Tanaka 270. I probably would have got the 230 but he didn't have one on the shelf so I thought "what the heck". I will give it a go this weekend when I give my lawn it's first trim. I'm gonna see how the cutter head goes. I might end up getting the "Brain Head". I will have to see.

Good to hear you made a purchase, be sure to let us know how she goes!

Good choice!

fwiw i have had a TBC300 bullhorned straight shaft unit for almost 13 years, 5 of which it did absolutely nothing however the past 6 it has been given a real workout on our acreage.

Starts second pull and has never let me down, still feels as powerful as the first time i used it. Its the best bit of yard machinery i have got. Will be buying a second one shortly, something a little smaller and lighter for 'her indoors'.

Hi all. Long time no post. Thought I'd just give you guys an update on my snipper.
So far, so good. I am very happy with my purchase. It cuts around the edges beautifully and best of all, it starts 1st or second pull everytime. Sounds awesome too. Just don't think I'd have been happy with a Bunnings jobby.
Only problem now is, I need to get a decent mower or upgrade the motor on the one I got, I'm finding it hard to adjust the throttle to get enough power without it really opening up and screaming it's box off! But that's for another post anyway.
Thanks again guys for your input. Really appreciate it!

Easy call on the mower front either a Honda HRU196d or a HRU197D