Switching from Stihl to Shindaiwa (Echo)

[@manofthesword7170]

I have an echo weed eater I got about 8 years ago and it’ll sit all winter , I’ll go put fresh gas in it and In a couple pulls it’ll start right up no issues at all . I got two acres and I put it through some work every year . It still works like a champ .

[@victorrippe5845]

Echo all the way I switched all my Stihl equipment for Echos over 10 years ago and I have saved thousands of dollars echos last much longer and very simple to maintain and to fix.

[@noahpeters010]

The way he said shindawa😂

[@rauldelarosa2768]

Repeat after me. Shin dai(die) wa(wha)!

[@GoNubby]

Man, I can’t believe this. Stihl is so great!

[@driverjamescopeland]

Believe it. I'll never go back. I know some guys who've had great experiences with Stihl... but most of us have abandoned them. They used to be the power leaders... but those days are gone. Maintenance just isn't worth it.

[@ksjohnson219]

Shindaiwa is the best

[@jimmypham2487]

Exactly! 😀

[@takenusername]

Are you saying you preferred the throttle to the Echo equivalent?

[@JustinBiddix]

I like the shindaiwa throttle better than the echo equivalent throttle.

[@zacharypulido1424]

I use the shindawa every day and my buddy prefers his sthil but yet it’s always cutting off and given him trouble.in my opinion the shindawa all around is a better unit power torque

[@JustinBiddix]

I agree with you

[@driverjamescopeland]

I never knew 2-strokes could be this dependable, 'til I bought my first USED Shindaiwa. I swear, I've had cars give me more trouble. It's dead nuts reliable. Starts/runs like it has EFI. My first one was a 2006 from a municipal auction... had untold hours of use (abuse?) from someone who didn't have to care about it. It's still running as well as the two I bought after it. Amazing units. Only thing I've ever had to do, was replace a bearing in the gear head.

[@LawnProAdviceTalk]

I like there older units still use them real Solid stuff

[@Born2doom]

Buddy pronounced it as Shinduuuwaa 🤣💪🏻

[@JustinBiddix]

How do you pronounce it?

[@Born2doom]

@@JustinBiddix shin-die-wa

[@shaneomac5074]

@@Born2doom potato potado

[@TotallyNotNuclear]

shin-da-wah

[@MrDrew1]

I run Echo. The only thing I have that still works from Stihl is an old edger.

[@zacjohnson8404]

What kind of trouble? Have you adjusted the valves? Mine was really hard to start (fs131), stalled and idled really high then I did the valves and it runs perfect and so powerful.

[@snoopfurlow1275]

Sounds like a clutch or carburetor issue,the 4 mix is nothing but problems,I switched to Stihl split shaft 2 cycle,no more values,faulty cam gear, scored cylinder wall

[@zacjohnson8404]

@@snoopfurlow1275 no it was the valves. But in general I'm not very happy with stihl these days. It has trouble starting for other reasons, choke button broke off. FS94 I had ages ago had issues. I have a Shindaiwa t303ts now, which I bought second hand from a pawn shop, it looks like it had a rough life used commercially and it's still way better than my fs131

[@sigiflores5699]

Dontnuse stihl grey mix on small motors and when using orange stihl mix use 2.3 gallons of gas per 2.5 of mix and engines will last longer.

[@driverjamescopeland]

Given the price of that mix, I'll still pass. I can run anything @ 50:1 in my Shindaiwa without issue, let it sit for months without special fuel or storage spray or plug replacement or carb service, and it fires first pull.

[@LawnProAdviceTalk]

They went downhill man bought 131 new first day had issues running and had replaced 2 engines on it under warranty and still runs like shit I gave it away to a friend never again

[@JustinBiddix]

I bought another one last week. Went with the echo brand. Echo 3020 same machine as the Shindaiwa 302. Different ergonomics. Great machine.

[@freedomisntfree_44]

Didn’t even mention what’s wrong with the sthil 🙄 I like the strike 4 mix for thick ditches and a 2 stroke is better for fences

[@heathalford4721]

Shindaiwa has a solid shaft drive vs echo has a flex cable drive between the trimmer head and the motor

[@JustinBiddix]

Can you tell me what that means?

[@heathalford4721]

I had to edit my comment I had some stuff misspelled. I meant to say one has a solid shaft drive where the other uses a cable between the motor and trimmer head

[@JustinBiddix]

@@heathalford4721 ok, thanks for that. I didn’t know that. for some reason I like the shindaiwa better. I have the echo model also but I like running the shindaiwa better

[@heathalford4721]

@@JustinBiddixdownside to shindaiwa for me is dealer availability. Have 3-4 echo dealers and 1 of them deals in shindaiwa but seems like orders once a year when it sells out it’s gone so echo and stihl have a bigger push of dealer availability for me

[@AppleTechPro870]

I think these companies used to make good quality products. If you bought from them it ment quality and trust. But now since they have big name they just make lesser quality and make out of cheap materials and sell them expensive at the same time. I feel like the products that are made 10years ago are made sturdy that would last long, now they make them with the mind of if it breaks we can sell parts or sell more of those units.

[@JustinBiddix]

I agree with what you say.

[@marcoduenas205]

Good choice you will love it . I made the change and don't regret it

[@JustinBiddix]

I do love it. So much better than a stihl weed eater.

[@dominoespizza1756]

Th fs85 pro series was the last decent whipper snipper stihl made. The carbys on the newer ones are inferior and all that 4 mix stuff is crap.

[@urielholly4117]

Stihl is just the brand name now i switched to echo stihl has let me down drastically

[@driverjamescopeland]

Stihl has let everybody down. It's not just trimmers... it's all of their smaller equipment. I can't speak on their larger equipment... but anything with an engine 36cc or less is more maintenance-hungry than my kids.

[@winstonrampersad5152]

Agreed just did the same

[@redoakpropertycarellc]

I live my fs91r but let us know in a few months what you think 🍻

[@JustinBiddix]

Will do

[@zacjohnson8404]

@@JustinBiddix any updates?

[@JustinBiddix]

@@zacjohnson8404 I have been pretty busy to the point I have not made a video with updates. But the Shindaiwa is the way to go. It's an excellent machine. Far superior to the Stihl products I have had recently. I also bought the echo 3032 which is identical to the Shindaiwa 302 minus the ergonomics. Great machines. Plenty of power when you need it. And a great wide power band. Very comfortable to operate for long periods of time.

[@zacjohnson8404]

@@JustinBiddix cool good to hear because I found a T303TS cheap at a pawn shop with tanaka head on it. Fit my Darwins grip on it, can't wait to go smash out some lawns. I was surprised with how light it was because on the website it says 5.9kg and the fs131 says 5.8kg but the Shindaiwa is definitely lighter so I don't know what stihl is smoking really.

[@Huntersprojects]

I have a 2 year old 94R and it’s been great but it’s giving me some trouble as it won’t throttle up right after I start it up I’ll start it up and the. It like chokes out and just the rpms drop etc and it runs real rough until it’s warmed up i think I might swap to echo/shindawa

[@JustinBiddix]

I have been very happy with the shindaiwa over the stihl. It’s certainly my go to trimmer. I think you would be happy with one. Stihl used to make great stuff about 10 years ago. I’m not sure what changed exactly but they just are not the same now in my opinion.

[@NoNew42]

You need to remove the spark arrestor.

[@Huntersprojects]

@@NoNew42 nope I’ve already done that still has the same issue

[@victorrippe5845]

The Fs94 is notorious with hot starts I had 2 fs94 stihl and nothing but issues had them for six months and sold them for a much cheaper weed eater a Echo srm2320T I’ve had this trimmer since it first came out like 3 years ago and has been extremely reliable not one issue in 3 years only changed plugs and air filters and fuel filter just regular maintenance cause it’s used daily six days a week and my guys beat on it.

[@JustinBiddix]

@@NoNew42 I normally do

[@driverjamescopeland]

I haven't tried any newer Shindaiwa units. All of mine are pre-buyout (oldest is 2006), and still going strong. I gave up Stihl long ago. Their engines are way too finicky, and don't tolerate modern gas AT ALL, regardless of what mix you use. When the last Stihl gave up the ghost, I bought a used Shindaiwa at a municipal auction for $20. It has consistently outperformed and outlasted any of my previous units, and had untold hours of municipal use before I even purchased it. I've since bought two more, and they will likely be my last gas units... as I've went all electric, and will probably never go back. I don't care of they're underpowered, or a battery doesn't last as long as a full tank. My wall outlet is my new gas tank, amd my hearing protection. My maintenance and operating costs have never been lower.

[@douglashundley6777]

I have a t261 b blue model

[@JustinBiddix]

Has it been good ?

[@douglashundley6777]

Yes it's been good

[@twocyclesmoke]

The old pre 2007 Shindaiwa’s are the best… I was on FB Marketplace & found a pre EPA Shindaiwa T-27 in like new condition. I told em I traveled 6 hours for this Shindaiwa. DAMN! Just for this? Yea, I’ll never find one in this condition. If I had to buy new Maruyama would be my pick today…. (Made in Japan, lighter weight & a 5 year commercial warranty)

[@zacharyrhein2992]

Shin-daw-wa

[@protoxbl4548]

all the fs 91r i have ever used have been garbage and only the 91s

[@kaialoha9487]

Shin die wa..not shin dwa… pronounce the vowels correctly. Irraz

[@JustinBiddix]

different people have different dialect

[@allgood6535]

Stihl is not made in Germany anymore

[@Born2doom]

Some of their pro line stuff is still made in Germany like the Chainsaws

[@allgood6535]

@@Born2doom assembled in china 🇨🇳 all there chainsaws are

[@Born2doom]

@@allgood6535 that’s far from the truth dude 🤣

[@allgood6535]

@@Born2doom stihl sold out to china 💯

[@kobelcofan]

You know I've been really disappointed in Stihl in recent years. I have all Echo and Shindowa stuff now. I think they're way better than Stihl.

[@JustinBiddix]

I’m a fan of Shindaiwa and echo now. I will slowly phase out my stihl stuff

[@bigwaxthabarber6961]

😂😂😂

[@JuanGarcia-tg4od]

I don't know its worth buying anything with a gasoline engine. We live in the age of technology and those tools are almost obsolete. I think what's wrong is that you I don't see an electric third option to try. Maybe next go around. Good luck.

[@JustinBiddix]

I have tried a Milwaukee battery trimmer and I had a bad experience. I’m going to hold off on electric trimmers for a while. Maybe the technology will get better and prices will come down also

[@JustinBiddix]

Juan, the Milwaukee battery trimmer I tried would have been great for a single house in the subdivision with a .2 acre lot. But I currently take care of two 25 acre properties each week. I need something that will run like a scalded dog 24/7

[@richcityrepresentative8805]

If you're a man with a electric weed eater you need your ass beat 😂😂

[@the_bearded_hobdy895]

That’s not realistic for people who own large acres of land. I don’t see an issue if you are a homeowner living on a postage stamp in a subdivision, but some of us need that almost obsolete technology to get the job done efficiently

[@JalenRose02]

It's only obsolete because the government says soo 2stroke will forever live but of course, epa and some other bullsh1t will prevent any advancement of 2stroke technology because of stupid electric bs. But hey yall do you. I love the sound of 2stroke in weedeater and chainsaws especially if they are custom modified b