Which should I buy and why? Stihl FS310, Husky 336FR or Stihl FS250

[KeithNyst]

Looking for a brush cutter to cut and maintain shooting lanes and keep the perimeter of a couple forest fields from being encroached upon. I will use this a few times a year.

I've narrowed down to 3 units: FS310 (a beafed up FS130), FS250 and a Husky 336FR. The FS310 is a 4-mix, the last two are 2 cycle. The FS310 and 336FR have AV. Dealers within reasonable distance for both. Prices are ballpark the same. Which would you buy and why?

 

[Saw Dr.]

FS250. Run one and you will no longer wonder which one to buy. They are a hoss. We have several commercial customers using them and they never break. They have A/V bushings also. Also I have a 250 of my own at home. Makes me laugh out loud every time I run it. It will rev up as fast with the solid driveshaft and line head as most of the combination motors do with no attachment installed at all.

 

[7sleeper]

Looking for a brush cutter to cut and maintain shooting lanes and keep the perimeter of a couple forest fields from being encroached upon. I will use this a few times a year.

I've narrowed down to 3 units: FS310 (a beafed up FS130), FS250 and a Husky 336FR. The FS310 is a 4-mix, the last two are 2 cycle. The FS310 and 336FR have AV. Dealers within reasonable distance for both. Prices are ballpark the same. Which would you buy and why?

For your needs I would get a real brushcutter(f.e. FS310) with AV. I have a Stihl FS 120(predecessor to the 130) and now new to me a Hitachi CG40EY (T). The Hitachi is more "beefier" in construction and the AV is very nice. For longer working times I let my son use the Stihl and grab the hitachi myself. Between your choices it is probably more "personal liking" than anything else. The Husqvarna line should be very snappy as far as I have understood but I do not believe that I would profit in any way. For me it is "full speed or no speed".

You won't go wrong with either.

Good luck!

7

 

[jughead500]

get the fs250.the 4 mixers are good but the engines are better suited for polesaws.i just bought my second fs250 a few weeks ago and i'm just as happy as i was when i bought my first one.

 

[XSKIER]

So Keith, what is your targeted species? Thistle, burdock, or tall grass? Sumac, honey suckle, or other 1"-3" wood? What cutter head do you plan on running? The great thing about Stihl products is that there are many cutter and gaurd options available, with complete interchangeability from FS 90 to FS 350. I've used an FS 450, KM 130R, FS 80, and FS 66 R on my place to do all of the questioned tasks. I've found that when running a bike handled clearing saw through a stand of small trees it is nessecery to have an assistant clear the cut trees from your path. I've found the '130 R with loop handle to work well on saplings if I'm by myself and have to clear my own path as I go. When running the three or four blade grass knives, or poly cut, I've found max horsepower is not always needed. It's not like I'm going across an entire waist high ten acre pasture though. The FS 80 works good for me with poly cut, keeping the thistle and burdock down. I never really like to hold my equipment at WOT while not loaded. And it's not easy to keep a consistent load while brushing. For this reason I prefer the Stihl '130 motor for running between half and full throttle. The 4-MIX just seems to have so much more torque and response around half throttle than its two stroke counterparts. The A/V system of the 310 looks nice, and is definitely appreciated on a long outing of trimming. On my FS 80, I have the deluxe harness, but the vibes still get to me at about 1 1/2 tanks of fuel.

 

[Franny K]

Chainsaw
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Hand Held Equipment and Tools
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Axes, blowers, hedge trimmers, log rollers etc.


You do want bike handles.

I would get the husky one. I got the comparable model in 2000. It looks to me like you are in the $600 range. The reason is that Stihl puts a one inch arbor on their smaller stuff and a 20 mm on their burshcutters named that instead of trimmer. In order to mount a 12 inch three prong blade on the stihl two cycle one (put in the options here) you would have to go to brand x blade so maybe the gearbox isn't designed for that.

 

[KeithNyst]

So Keith, what is your targeted species? Thistle, burdock, or tall grass? Sumac, honey suckle, or other 1"-3" wood?

Thanks for the in input so far folks. Keep your feedback coming.

Target will be poplar, ash, balsam and alders from 1/2" to 3". Once shooting lanes and perimeter are in check, I should be able to keep the
edges and lanes clear with something less than a chisel tooth or beaver blade.

 

[Philip Wheelock]

FS90 is a bit light on power for a full-time brushcutter and my hands feel buzzy after a couple of tanks. Didn't have that problem running a FS250.

 

[jus2fat]

I have a Honda true 4-stroke (equivalent to a Stihl FS-110) and I've used the FS-130.

These have great torque but are slow to rev-up and also slow to rev-down..I don't like that.

My next purchase will be a FS-250 2-stroke with handle bars to reduce vibration and better control.

I use a chisel metal blade (can sharpen with a round file) on the Honda and I prefer over a "beaver blade".

J2F

 

[sunfish]

I've been using a FS110R for 5-6 years for exactly what you are needing to do. Plus using string for yard duties... One would think it's a bit small, but it does a fantastic job!

 

[Adirondackstihl]

Fs250

 

[nmurph]

Here's what I run in similar situations-

BASF | Arsenal® Herbicide

 

[Adirondackstihl]

Here's what I run in similar situations-

BASF | Arsenal® Herbicide

Will it kill poison ivy ?

 

[sawfun9]

I have an fs250r ( factory hot rod) and it's great for jobs under an hour but over that the vibes are almost as bad as a nonAV-090. If I were going to spend hours clearing grass or light brush, I'd get the fs310 with out a doubt. Mainly just for the AV, but it also will use less fuel than the fs250.

 

[nmurph]

Yep, pretty much anything. It doesn't seem to work very well on pines around here, though I have seen a few wilt from it being absorbed through the roots from adjacent hardwoods and then translocated to the pines. It also is not very good on briars. Otherwise, it works well. It is deadly on oaks/maple/gum.

 

[XSKIER]

Will it kill poison ivy ?

[video=youtube_share;ftOvhsBbXfg]http://youtu.be/ftOvhsBbXfg[/video]

Yep, it's a lot cheaper and less labor to chemically control the invasives. I do miss the snort of the 4-MIX, but I don't miss itching for a week after.

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

FS250is my choice, because it runs the standard autocut 25-2 line head and shares parts with most of the other trimmers
where the FS310 is a FS130 motor with an up graded air filter, and the drive/cutting assembly from the clearing saws.

 

[mattaggie]

If you are going to spend lots of hours using it, FS310. It will be much kinder to your body after hours of use.

 

[Will_C]

I have a 250 for the same kind of work as the OP. I am very happy with it, but I will agree the vibration gets to me after an hour or so...I find anti-vibe gloves help a great deal.

Will

 

[exSW]

I use mine for just about the same thing as you are planning.There is no replacement for displacement in this application.I have an 8410 Efco the new model is 8421 40cc.Cracked the fuel tank yesterday,Efco had me a new one today and the dealer had it installed by 3:00 pm.Pretty good service.Oh yeah,A/V is very good.