I like Echo as well as Shindaiwa - both appear to be well built. It should be worth noting that Briggs & Stratton are the exclusive distributor of both brands in Australia, after Allpower went broke. There were severe issues with parts several months ago due to B&S having warehouse issues (stock input/transfer) which meant effectively no parts were available - all back to normal now and should be fine going forward.
Echos seem to have a propensity for clogging spark arrestors, and will not accept much throttle from cold starts with stock tuning (can probably be tuned out), but they are the only major manufacturers I know of who recommend a 2 minute warm up at idle before running - which I personally do on any machine. Shindaiwa also recommend this.
They also both suggest 89 octane fuel, however this is the r+m/2 calculation method. In Australia, this means use 95 octane from the pump with 50:1 JASO FD oil (eg Husqvarna LS+, or Echo Powerblend)
Also, a friend has a new 129LK Husqvarna, and reckons it cuts great (has a speed feed head fitted) and is the only trimmer he has ever had that he can leave on the lawn idling and can come back after making a cup of tea and still is idling smoothly - don't think that much idling is especially good but anyway.
As AVB has said, keep the trimmer gearbox greased, and make sure it has clear air, clean fuel, clean plug and good oil and it will serve you well
Last edited by Tyler; 18/02/20 01:59 AM.
