I'd like to add John Deere to the list of junk string trimmers! I'm
peeved because John Deere doesn't honor their warranties.

I bought a John Deere S1400 because there's a dealer nearby, the name
recognition, and the hope that John Deere would be a better trimmer
than the cheapo trimmers.

It never started easily, and the starter mechanism soon broke. That
was replaced under warranty. But next, the muffler fell off. The
John Deere dealer says it would require 6 hours of labor to repair
(???!!!!) plus parts, and is not economically repairable. The dealer
called their factory contact, who wouldn't authorize repairs or
replacement, even though the trimmer was still under warranty. The
John Deere dealer denied any responsibility.

I'm not likely to ever purchase another John Deere product. I talked
about my experience with an arriving farmer who wanted an $8000 mower,
and he asked the salesman to explain why JD wouldn't honor my
warranty. Don't know the response, because the salesman hustled him
into an inner sanctum.

Fortunately, I had purchased the trimmer from Home Depot, who gave me
a full refund. Kudos to Home Depot!!! I purchased an Echo SRM 230
trimmer. Starts easily, the bump head works better, is just easier to
control, and doesn't "burn my arm" like the John Deere used to do.
I'ts a pleasure to use, compared to a HomeLite (?) and the John Deere,
and I recommend it to others.

Jack.


"Bob" wrote in message .net...
"Shooter Dude" wrote in message
I have a Homelite string trimmer I bought at Home Depot.
First of all - next time you by a trimmer, stay away from the cheapos like
Homelite, Weed Eater, etc. Don't buy one with a curved shaft.

Reason: On the cheapos, the engine is a piece of junk. Actually the crank
shaft has a bearing on only one end. The engines rarely last even the
200 hours for which they are rated. Also, when you let off the throttle
to idle, the string continues to spin. This is because it has no clutch.
Therefore when you walk from the back fence to the front of the house, the
string is rotating - wear and dangerous.

For the least expensive good trimmer, I suggest Echo (probably about $200).
It has a well bearing'ed engine, rated at 1000 hours (and usually lasts
longer if you always use the correct oil/gas mixture). It is well balance
and easy to use. It has a centrigul clutch. You get five time the use for
less than twice the money. There are several good brands such as John
Deere, Huskie, etc that are even better, but you get into some high dollars.
For home use, I'd go with Echo. They will use .095 line and it works
fine.

If you buy something quality, it only hurts one time - when you pay for it.
If you buy something inferior for the cheap price - it hurts every time you
use it.