Those eBay polesaw / strimmer / pruners / hedge trimmers

[MajorProblem]

Hi, after buying a house which needs a lot of garden work I have been looking at those extended hedge trimmer/pruner/strimmer, after buying a house which needs a lot of garden work I have been looking at those extended hedge trimmer/pruner/strimmer things from eBay. I have a wall of conifers to attack which are around 4 m tall I have had quotes in the hundreds of pounds for maintenance, I think it will be better if I had the tools to do it myself.

I would be looking at the petrol models which eBay between £150 and £200.

Has anybody got one and what are your experiences, I would probably use this maximum of once a month. I would like to know how reliable they are and what is the spares situation should it go wrong?

[C0ffin D0dger]

No experience but also considering one.

The Screwfix job (£150) seems to get good reviews: http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttk587gdo-25cc-1-1...

Lidl also have one on offer at the moment (£130): http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?actio...

The Lidl one is supposedly German made (rebranded Einhell?) and has a 3 year warranty.

[Venom]

I've got the Titan multi-tool thing from Screwfix - good bit of kit. Golden rule is to not leave old fuel in it for long periods, and to maintain the blades etc properly, but never had a problem with mine so far.

[MajorProblem]

Lidl one looks good - thinking of the warranty.

[JimM169]

I've got the Screwfix one, just the hedge trimmer and strimmer attachments though. Mine has been brilliant, took some serious abuse last year trying to tame a huge holly hedge and still works great. It starts first pull every time even after I left it full of fuel over the winter.

It's probably not up to Stihl\Husky standards but for the money you can't go wrong

[ILoveMondeo]

Timberpro?

I've got the strimmer/hedge trimmer/chainsaw combo thing and also a 20" bar chainsaw.

They are absolutely fine.

I'm sure they wouldn't touch a £800 Stihl, but I've had a couple of trees down, a LOT of thick undergrowth with the chain saw, and a fence

Regularly strim around the garden, and had a few high branches with the chainsaw extension thingie.

No drama, everything works as expected, I'm quite pleased with them. Friend at work has the same and he's chuffed with his too and has a much bigger garden than me.

They can take a bit of starting, but nothing too dramatic. That may just be me though..

ETA haven't used the hedge trimmer yet, it strikes me as being a bit awkward to use on what should be a strimmer setup.. time will tell. However at the price I'll likely just get the dedicated hedge trimmer if it proves a pain to use the attachment.

[MajorProblem]

Been to Lidl, no machines on the shop floor but a load in the storage area, when I asked, they are for the staff and all reserved.

[mikees]

This is really interesting as I'm about to go the whole hog with stih kit ( engine strimmer and bendy hedge cutter).


I've got something like 300 mtrs of hedge. So from a local stihl dealer is it worth it for next 20 years?


Cost isn't really an issue 150 vs a grand.?


I'm still thinking stihl.

Local dealer is Briants of longwick who seem to discount f2f


Mike

[uncinqsix]

mikees said:

This is really interesting as I'm about to go the whole hog with stih kit ( engine strimmer and bendy hedge cutter).


I've got something like 300 mtrs of hedge. So from a local stihl dealer is it worth it for next 20 years?


Cost isn't really an issue 150 vs a grand.?


I'm still thinking stihl.

Local dealer is Briants of longwick who seem to discount f2f


Mike

I have the Husqvarna pro version (327LDx split shaft system). It's utterly awesome, and worth every cent. If you can afford a proper Stihl or Husky, do it without question.

[RedLeicester]

uncinqsix said:

I have the Husqvarna pro version (327LDx split shaft system). It's utterly awesome, and worth every cent. If you can afford a proper Stihl or Husky, do it without question.

This.

[motco]

I moved to a house with need of strimmers/brush cutters, hedge trimmers on a stick, and a lopping chainsaw so not knowing whether I was willing to DiY I bought the 52cc multi-tool from Trueshopping. I cannot say I have used it a huge amount, but it does what I need with no problems. A better strimmer head than the standard bump feed one is needed. I bought a four string Oregon head here and it's excellent.

[phib]

I bought mcculloch / cheaper stuff in our old house and it all broke after a year'ish. It was about an acre with 100m of hedging.

Main issue was getting spare parts for the cheaper stuff.

I bit the bullet and bought all stihl stuff, had it about 7/8 years starts first time and none of it has any issues.

Brilliant kit but cost a load

We have about 1100m of heges and today I have a seriously sore back even with the harnesses.

Won't every buy a different make of tools ( if these ever die !!) worth every penny, and spare availible for every tool ( not that I have ever needed any)

Phib

[Dogwatch]

Most of the cheaper machines have a common fitting for the attachments so if the machine you buy doesn't have bits you need you can get them from the likes of B&Q. Not sure if this applies to Stihl though.

Biggest bugbear for me was having some fuelil mix left at the end of the season and what to do with it. In the end I fed it to the car in small quantities but the small nozzle openings on newer cars are a right pain for that.