Outdoor Power Equipment Guide - Buyers Guide

Flower & Garden Magazine, March, 2000 by Robin Pendergrast

More versatile, quieter, cleaner and powerful

Gardeners in the 21st century will have more, even better, power tools than before at their fingertips to accomplish a variety of landscaping chores.

Turn back the clock to the mid-1960s and try to remember what you or your parents were using for yard maintenance. Push lawnmowers were popular, and riders were just getting on the scene. Trimmers, leaf blowers, hedge clippers--the mainstay of gardeners today--didn't exist. And forget about some of the more evolutionary and revolutionary changes in power tool development. Multiple tool systems--systems that today give homeowners an opportunity to operate a variety of tools with one power source--weren't even on the drawing board. Neither were the convenient shred `n' vac products that are now recognized as the optimum way to clean up leaves and other lawn debris.

Oh, how the scenery has changed over the years, and with this altered landscape have come more changes. The year 2000 tools are more versatile than their predecessors, quieter, cleaner to operate and more powerful. Sounds like the best of all worlds, and it really is. These tools are lighter, tougher and easier to use, and the bottom line is that they make yard and garden work that much more enjoyable.

STRING TRIMMERS

Of all the handheld tools available on the market today, string trimmers are among the most popular. If you don't think so, the next time you're in a power equipment store, take a look around. Nearly every major manufacturer of two-cycle equipment offers a dozen or so models, if not more. These machines are lightweight, usually within the 8-to-12-pound range, and come in both straight and curved-shaft configurations to accommodate end-user preference and various applications.

Like their predecessors, these machines are still designed primarily to trim grass in hard-to-reach areas inaccessible to mower blades. Thanks to any number of new attachments, they can also be used to trim open areas inhabited by taller, tougher grass and weeds, even cut-down saplings.

Although the basic design of these machines has stayed the same over the years, those operating in the 21st century are fundamentally different and improved. Stihl and Husqvarna, for example, tout new engines that are lightweight and powerful. Stihl's recently introduced Quad Power Engine, available on the FS-75 model and up, features four transfer ports which offer better distribution of mix in the firing chamber and more efficient expulsion of exhaust gases. Husqvarna engineers are particularly proud of their new E-tech engines that improve the power-to-weight ratio of some of their higher-end trimmers. The units are both powerful and productive which means jobs get done faster, and they also feature low emissions, thanks to the new engine design and an improved catalytic muffler. Manufacturers are looking beyond power and performance, too. Little things are important, like a seven-degree offset front handle on Husqvarna's 300-Series trimmers that allows the operator's wrist to be perfectly straight when the trimmer cutting head is in the out-front operating position. Most, if not all, trimmers feature some sort of vibration-reduction system and easy-to-use throttle controls; the new engines with electronic ignition rarely take more than one or two pulls to fire up.

Spooling the line out of these trimmers is getting easier as well. Automatic heads and semiautomatic heads are near effortless as they dispense string on the go. Manual heads and fixed-line heads are slightly more laborious, but even here manufacturers are trying to simplify the process. Echo, for example, just introduced a Rapid-Loader[TM] head that allows operators to simply insert pre-cut lengths of line into a patented holding mechanism. The new head is extremely easy to use and fits most manufacturers' trimmers.

Trimmer line itself is relatively unchanged, with most companies offering a selection of both round and square line in a variety of dimensions ranging from .065" up to .130" in diameter.

Some new line has made the shelves more recently, including Echo's Cross Fire line that features eight cutting surfaces which the company says help the trimmer shear rather than tear the grass.

Many of the larger trimmers are designed for multiple applications and can be fitted with specialty blades for cutting heavy grass and weeds and for mowing down brush, saplings and even dense thickets.

LEAF BLOWERS

Since 1971, when the first dedicated backpack blower was introduced by Echo, leaf blowers have been getting lighter, more powerful and more plentiful. In fact, today approximately 20 manufacturers market both handheld and backpack leaf blowers to U.S. consumers.

These machines are designed to make cleanup a breeze; and although there are applications for them year-round, fall cleanup is when they really shine.

Leaf blowers today are more dependable than ever. Equipped with the same type of engines as their string trimmer counterparts, they start easily and run tirelessly. The lighter handheld models are ideal for homeowners, while heavier and more durable backpack models are more popular among professional landscapers.