OK, finally got permission from the wife to buy a new gas trimmer. I am looking at the Troy Built models and was wondering what the difference is between the 4 cycle and 2 cycle types other than the gas/oil mixture factor. Is there any significant increase in power between the two types? Which one is better power wise, the 2cycle has a 31cc engine and the 4cycle has a 26cc engine. Is there any advantage of one over the other? Thanks for the input. I really just want to get the best item for the money.
In addition to getting answers here, you might also want to check
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get you a good 2 stroke like echo straight shaft(home depot) or stihl straight shaft. use fuel stabilizer so it dont gum up .2 cycle fires once every revolution, 4 stroke fires every other revolution so you get better performance on the 2 strokes. lucas
I have a Toro 2-stroke line trimmer I got at Kmart and really like it. I've wore out several of the 'trimmer head knobs' from tapping to release more string. It's been going about seven seasons with no end in sight.
Those are made by MTD. They are junk, and that company has worthless customer service. Troy Bilt's web site will happily direct you to MTD's web site for anything dealing with parts, manuals, and so forth.
They also make the Ryobi gas trimmers, and I wasted $200 on that thing as well as another $150 for repairs, over less than a 2 year period.
I bought the Sears 4 cycle trimmer, with an extended warranty, and am quite happy with it.
As the poster Default said, they aren't quite balanced, but they run well, start very easily, and Sears has always honored their warranties.
The Sears one I bought has a larger 4 cycle engine.
I know I sound like a broken record, but it ticks me off when companies don't honor their warranties, and sell junk besides. I really hate the idea of other folks blowing their hard earned money on this junk just to be screwed.
Anyway, I do believe the 2 cycle engine will have a bit more power, just noticable, from my experience with other trimmers. However, those engines don't forgive incorrect gas/oil mixing, and no warranty will cover a frozen engine from that. They are also louder and smokier, and they generally don't last as long. On the plus side, they do better than 4 cycle engines when turned to the side or upside down, and some newer models promise starting on the first pull. Mine starts on the second to fourth pull.
I prefer the 4 cycle for a few other reasons besides what I mentioned above. I like having just one gas can for all my lawn gear, for simplicity and space as well as the fact that my wife or neighborhood kids looking for money (if they ever get off their lazy good-for nothi....) might come along and burn up my trimmer with the wrong gas. I don't like having extra stuff to store (and run out of when I'm ready to start working), and I don't care for the whole mixing of gas and oil ritual, hoping I'm measuring correctly, spilling oil that I now have to clean up, and so on.
Newer trimmers can accept attachments. This is why I first bought the Ryobi, and why I bought the Sears trimmer to replace it. I use the trimmer, edger, and blower with great results. The edger attachment works much better on curves and the curb edges than the traditional push edger, which works best on straight lines. The blower is handy as hell. Before my neighbor cut down his tree, I used the vacuum attachment to suck up the leaves. That, too, worked great. I use the hedge trimmer on the bushes when they get to be too much for my rechargeable trimmer. I also got the tiller attachment for the planters, though I did do most of the front yard when I prepared the soil for sod.
They also have tree pruners, snow throwers, and perhaps more since the last time I checked.
These attachments work with the appropriate Ryobi, Troy Bilt, John Deere, of course Sears, and some other brands of trimmers, which come in both 2 and 4 cycle. They're easy to remove and install, you can turn them 90 degrees, and even if you already have stand-alone machines, they make a nice backup in case something breaks down.
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