Stihl Trimmer Purchase

[PAToyota]

I’m looking for a new string trimmer. From various comments on here (@D'Animal mostly), I checked out the local Stihl dealer. They’re also the local Bobcat dealer (I have a skidloader and mini-ex) and local rental equipment yard, so I already have a strong relationship with them.

I’m mainly leaning towards an FS91. This will be for homeowner use, not pro use, but between work for myself, my parents, and in-laws it will be seeing more than your typical suburban lawn. I’m looking at the brush knife (or such) for ornamental grasses and scrub.

The FS91 offers the solid driveshaft and accessory “gearbox” attachments. I’d consider getting the edger attachment, but I’m not sure whether I’d get anything beyond that - although the pole saw and hedge trimmer could be possibilities.

What are the thoughts on the FS91 for this type of use? Also, how seriously should I consider the KM91 if I’m thinking about attachments at all? Just the KM unit and the trimmer attachment adds significantly to the cost potentially for very limited use. Or once I have the attachments, will I find myself using them more than I thought.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[dhop]

I have been really happy with the Kombi system. I received the km130 powerhead as a gift with the pole saw attachment and have added the adjustible hedge trimmer, the blower since then. The attachments are really easy to change from one attachment to the other. That being said, I have never used the string trimmer attachment because I also have an older fs90 I use for trimming the yard.

 

[4x4veteran]

A few years ago I bought a Craftsman four stoke weed wacker.
I don't have any attachments as it is souly used to keep nature at bay.
It has an electric start motor that eliminates using the pull start.
It has been over 4 years with no maintenance other than making sure it has oil and gas and every spring it has started right up with the electric assist.
It has torque and sounds like a tiny motorcycle.

 

[PAToyota]

Thanks for the reply, @dhop. I’d be a bit more inclined to get the Kombi if I didn’t already have alternatives - blower, chainsaw, etc. Plus, I have a pole saw and hedge trimmer I can borrow from my parents. So the trimmer and edger are the only attachments I could justify.

@4x4veteran, they just closed the local Sears.

 

[Malleus]

Every Stihl tool I've ever bought still runs. Flawlessly. I have bought other brands, all made in America. They have all failed, every one.

 

[e9999]

not an expert but I'm thinking that if you really mean scrub and saw blade or metal knife you will need a lot of power. More than the usual homeowner type. The bigger the wacker the better for that.
I have an FS110 and it feels really powerful already for the size, much more so than the big Craftsman Brushwacker I have ran for the last 20 years -without any problem btw-. The latter would struggle in dense 2 or 3 ft high grasses and oats. The Stihl is the 4 mix type. It just feels torquey. Never did put a metal blade on it, though. Because of fear of starting a fire given my area, that is a limitation.
Just guessing, though, based on what I've seen, if I were to have to cut scrub brush, I would prefer having a 130 instead. Better not to have the thing struggle, I imagine.
As to the KM, it's nice if you will actually use the other implements. Although IIRC, the main attraction is the ease of swapping them, not that you can't do so with the regular wackers given interchangeable heads, but then you need to unbolt things. No big deal though. I have given up on the notion of building a pole saw with the KM, not really too realistic for longer reaches I think.

 

[PAToyota]

Thanks for the input @e9999. I’m tending to think toward putting extra money towards more power rather than the Kombi.

 

[e9999]

Extra power is nice. It's just a pleasure to use a powerful tool. I just bought the newer model of polesaw by Stihl. I got the 133 instead of the 103. More powerful. I have already forgotten the extra $50 but everytime I cut a bigger branch faster, I'm going oh yeaaaa.....

 

[AJP]

I have the KM130 with string trimmer, blower, edger, pole saw and hedge trimmer. The KM 130 power head is heavy (particularly with the pole saw) but handles everything. The three heads I use most are blower, hedge trimmer and pole saw. I have a lighter Honda trimmer for grass and an FS450 for the sumacs. The edger is not used as much as I find that my soil is either too hard or when wet - the clay content is annoying. Soil type and condition dictates the value of an edger imo. They are excellent machines though and one great feature is the ability to break the kombi’s down into two convenient (short) pieces for transportation in a vehicle trunk.

 

[PAToyota]

Went and talked to them again. I realized they were similar, but the guy showed me how the Kombi attachments are exactly the same as the “gearbox” attachments - just with the pole added to connect to the Kombi machine. It’s just a matter of whether you need to be able to do a quick-change or use tools. There are a few more attachments with the Kombi system - blower, bed edger, extensions, and curved shaft options. As AJP says, being able to break it down to a shorter length could also be a consideration.

If the girlfriend hadn’t just bought a blower last year, I’d maybe consider going for the Kombi as I’d likely go back and forth between the trimmer and blower each time I mowed. But with the other attachments, I’m going to be using them less frequently and it will be a separate chore - edging, trimming hedges, etc.

So it pretty much comes down to the FS91 or FS111. I think the FS131 really gets to be more than I’d ever need.

 

[D'Animal]

The STIHL comes with 7 Day Satisfaction Guaranty.
If you buy the FS 91 and use it and feel it is underpowered, you have a week to take it back and get the bigger one.

 

[PAToyota]

Well, I picked up the FS111 on Thursday. Buying a six pack of the 2-cycle oil with the trimmer increased the warranty from two years to four years. Will likely pick up a gearbox edger later on.