Stihl Electric Trimmer

Pros: Great cut and quiet
Cons: Price, cord and possible frequent replacement of cutting line.

My Craftsman gas trimmer is taking a little holiday at the repair shop and I need a trimmer. I often keep an electric and gas powered model on hand. I prefer the gas but if it wont start I have the electric as a back up. I started looking at electric ...

Pros: Light-weight, powerful, quiet, easy string reload
Cons: Can get away from you, but I'm not complaining

I had it with the red consumer grade string trimmers.  You know which brand I'm talking about.  So, I set out to do some research to find out if there was a good alternative.  I found out a shocking bit of information about string ...

Pros: Power, warranty
Cons: No problems anymore!

I bought the Stihl electric trimmer because of the name, the power, and the warranty. It is a powerful machine with good 2 year warranty. It works well until the string wears down. Unfortunately, it will not feed more line until it's only sticking out an inch or less. It's hard to do much trimming with a stub of a string. Had I known this earlier I would not have made the purchase.
6/4/05
That's what I said originally. I bought the machine already assembled. Unfortunately I think it must have been assembled improperly by the retailer. The line would not feed as it should but as soon as I took all the line out and then re-threaded it myself according to directions, it is now working fine! It has plenty of power, the line feeds quite nicely. Should also mention the line is very easy to thread--if the directions are followed.

Pros: Well balanced.  Very quiet. Powerful. Made in Austria. Reasonably priced for the quality.
Cons: Some might say price, but from a value standpoint it's a bargain.

I owned a top of the line Craftsman electric trimmer for years but because it's motor was located at the trimming end, it was unbalanced, awkward, and heavy.  The Stihl solved that problem by locating the motor at the top like gas models.  Also I used to have a lot of problems with the line feeder jamming on the Craftsman.  Again, the Stihl's been working fine.   It's also remarkably powerful ... not only capable of handling long grass easily but 2 ft. high Manitoba Maple saplings as well.  Obviously not as powerful as most gas trimmers, but easily all you need for the average residential property.  Love it.

Pros: Outstanding reliability.
Cons: None

I purchased my Stihl trimmer in 1991. I have a 1/2 acre of fence line as well as a pool deck, sidewalks, driveway and building foundations. All are trimmed using the Stihl trimmer. In 2005 I had to purchase a new tap n' go trimmer head. The new head was a marked improvement over the older head which provided me with 14 years of reliable service. I have never experienced any problems with my trimmer. Cost a little more but is well worth the expense.

Pros: Powerful for an electric
Cons: Piece of crap line feeder.

It's powerful but the line feed is no better than any I have owned in the past. I've owned it less than a month and now I am going to have to take it back to the dealer cause the line is completely jammed. I can't undo the spool. Of course, the dealer couldn't give me a manual and said they would send one to me. Haven't seen it yet! But they are going to see me.....

Pros: solid quality, great warranty (2 yrs), string replacement easy, handles well comes with safety goggles
Cons: none

After roaming from one cheap trimmer made by Company X in China to another and having each last approximately 1-1/2 seasons, I was despairing of ever finding an electric trimmer that was well made. The Stihl is the answer. Made in Austria and the difference in quality is apparent from the moment you start up the trimmer. Comes with safety goggles and can be on sale which makes the $$ difference negligible with the cheaply made in China brands. In my opinion, having to replace these every 2 yrs erases any perceived savings.

Pros: Light weight, easy to handle. Not have to deal with GAs and oil.
Cons: Not as powerful as a gasoline model, but enough power for residential use.

This is probably one of the best trimmers I had. I had an Echo before, it was quite nice, except I have to deal with gas, oil mixing and then servicing once in several years.

Normally I shy away from electric trimmers since the motor is mounted at end where the spool is. A 6 pound trimmer, now you to multiply with the lever arm to get force to hold it at the other end. This is not good when you to do a large lawn.

So the stihl trimmer solved this by moving the motor to the other side like a gas trimmer and the convenience of not having to deal with OIl and gas