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Bought A Stihl Fs 90r Trimmer Today

9K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  NUTNDUN 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have had my Troy Bilt trimmer for about 6 or 7 years now and it never fails each year I have to clean the carb to get it to start for the first time of the season. Thanks to the ethanol fuel we have all been blessed with and the fact that I am never on top of the maintenance thing to either make sure I start the stuff and run it once or twice a month or drain the gas out all the time.

Dad has a two stroke trimmer he bought a while back as well but I gave up last year trying to get it running. The Troy-bilt did alright but it is one of the bent shafts and it lacked power most of the time. I decided it was time to get another trimmer. I wanted something that had a shoulder strap and I was also going to get one with the bike handle bars. Where I work at is a Stihl dealer so I went over to the show room.

My plans were to get an FS 130 with the bike handle bars. I picked the display up and it just wasn't comfortable so I picked up the FS 90R which has the loop handle and it was a little lighter and I liked the loop handle a little better. The more I thought about it, it isn't like I do commercial lawn care and am out there trimming 8 hours a day.

I also read up that the FS 90 and FS 90R are usually the ones that the commercial lawn care crews will have on the truck for trimming. So the FS 90R came home with me. Hopefully this will be the last trimmer I will need for a long time. I also picked up another 6 pack of synthetic oil for the trimmer and my Stihl 362 chainsaw. I did fire up the trimmer when I got home. A guy needs to play with a new toy right?

The Stihl trimmer seemed to do very good. I am curious to see how it does once it is broken in. It is definitely more powerful then the Troy-Bilt I had. I guess time will tell. The shoulder strap does make it very nice and hopefully my arms won't give me any fits. I have carpal tunnel in both hands so I could only ever use the trimmer or any engine powered tool for maybe a half hour max before I would have to put it down and walk away. At least not the strap will take most of the weight which should help I hope.
 
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#2 ·
I should also add that the FS 90R was about $130 cheaper then the FS 130 which played a big factor in the decision. That and I think the 130 would have been overkill for what we need it for. I am looking forward to getting one of the brush cutting blades though and see how it does cutting down some of the little pine tries that are growing along the fence line. I did pick up one of the three plastic blade trimmer heads for it too. I can't stand those thick weeds that refuse to be cut with a normal trimmer string.
 
#4 ·
We do seriously try and put seafoam in them but don't always remember. I do need to get better with this as maintenance on them all the time because of the ethanol fuel does suck.

I will try and get a couple pics tomorrow. I already got it dirty so it won't be as purty LOL.
 
#5 ·
Hope you enjoy your new toy. I get trimmers all the time that have just been sitting then one day the owner picks it us and wonders why it won't fire up. A good stabilizer is the answer, I leave fuel in my old weedeater brand trimmer over winter and it fires up in the spring.
 
#6 ·
The other thing I didn't realize is the trimmers except for the FS 250 are all 4 mix. I guess it is Stihl's terminology for a four stroke that uses mixed gas like a two stroke. I am used to the four stroke style trimmers though because that is what the Troy-Bilt was. But the Troy-Bilt had a crankcase for separate oil and gas.
 
#11 ·
Sounds like a nice trimmer George. The other day I was listening to an automotive repair phone in and the expert they had there commented that he does not use regular grade fuel but uses the mid grade because according to him the mid grade does not have the Ethanol mixed with it like regular does. That may be specific to this market but he's a well respected veteran of the automotive industry and usually has this stuff correct. I'm switching to mid grade for my mix gas and tractor gas to see if it makes a difference. One good thing is with all that Ethanol in the regular gas you shouldn't need to worry about adding antifreeze (methanol) in the winter.
 
#12 ·
I have been running the AMS Oil 50 to 1 mix for several years and always use 89 octane gas both on the golf courses and at home. I was told that mixed fuel should have 89 octane gas simply because mixing the oil with the gas lowers the octane rating. Makes sense to me. Plus since using the AMS Oil and 89 gas I have never had a two cycle engine failure except where the operator used straight gas.

Bil
 
#13 ·
Thanks Bill. I know the newer oils don't make much smoke. Maybe it's the mix ratio. I've been using the Stihl oil in my chainsaw. I'm only using it for property maintenance but the big issue I've always found with 2 stroke engines is fuel and carb problems when you let them sit for any extended period.
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
George you will like the Stihl! I used to think they were over rated, until I bought a Stihl Chainsaw a year ago.
They are everything they claim to be!! When my throw away Homelite gives up Stihl is the one I'll be getting.
As for the ethanol, I live in a town of 16,000 population and there is only one station that sells anything other than 10% ethanol.
Little choice in my case.
 
#17 ·
I had a Ryobi trimmer and it was a POS to speak plainly. It took 15minutes to get it going and it would run erratically. I took it in for service under warranty and they told me it was just bad gas. Got it home and it was still the same way. Apparently they were all like that. Some sort of carb issue I think. Eventually i got sick of dealing with it and got rid of it. If I buy another it will be a Stihl. I have a good dealer for them (The JD dealership) and have one of their chain saws as well.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have Poulan stuff. The Sears chainsaw, leaf blower and Poulan Pro trimmer. I hadn't used the saw in years and I pulled so much the cord came out of the recoil. I finally got it going. The others get used every week or so in the summer. No problem with storage over last winter. I started using Seafoam last year.

I think I would go with a Stihl product if any need replacement.

Waiting for the pictures.
 
#19 ·
We got home from taking the tractors to the Little Guys Show about 45 minutes ago. I had to change the dressing on my wife's ankle before checking in on the site.
Figuring George would be too busy, I went to the garage to get some pics of his new trimmer. Ignore the date as I haven't yet reset it since installing new batteries.
Hopefully some action shots will be posted in the near future.

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#24 ·
I didn't get a chance to use the trimmer today like I was planning. We just got home from the Little Guys show for the day and going to eat dinner and call it a night. Will try and get some trimming done tomorrow.
 
#25 ·
George,

I have had stihl products since 1988....my stihl o28super chainsaw still runs well...outside of cleaning...new chain and bar recently...have had no repair cost to think of.....my stihl blower is about 12 years old.....my neighbor borrowed it one day and 2 weeks later he bought one.....looked across the street a month or so later and my other neighbor had one...guess they had been talking..


I bought a newer brushcutter last year..think I got the 110....I decided to go with the handlebars because I bought it to clean brush on some land I own. I had to clear small saplings and pretty heavy brush...I have been please with it so far as well.....I will say for "weedeating".....the handlebars would wear me out in my opinion as well......but to cut the heavy brush with a saw blade I think the handlebars are a must. I sure feel better with that blade a good distance way from my legs!!

Enjoy the Stihl!
 
#27 ·
Speaking of the blower. I would love to get one of the backpack blowers at some point. It is a pain in the arse with all the trees and having to clean out the pool area every year. Between the maple tree that is right beside the pool and all of the pines that are at the back fence row. It leaves a big mess each year.
 
#28 ·
Just one quick add to this thread...people have the predisposition that 89 and up fuel has a lower flash point which would lend itself to a quicker or hotter burn...This is NOT the case The higher the rating the less likely the fuel is to 'pre ignite' which is why JP5 (Jet propellant) is very close to diesel fuel. And Ethanol is used in Dragsters...So really what the oil and higher octane rating is doing is allowing your engine to operate 'somewhat more stable' due to the fact it will resist preignition...

Good Luck with the trimmer...
 
#29 ·
To add to the Stihl discussion...

I purchased the FS 70 RC-E today along with the BG 55 blower. I officially got fed up with my 14 year old Homelite string trimmer. The FS 70 is a tank compared to the Homelite and is much easier to start. After spending three summers on grounds crew during seminary and using Stihl products I am sold on them.

 
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#30 ·
To add to the Stihl discussion...

I purchased the FS 70 RC-E today along with the BG 55 blower. I officially got fed up with my 14 year old Homelite string trimmer. The FS 70 is a tank compared to the Homelite and is much easier to start. After spending three summers on grounds crew during seminary and using Stihl products I am sold on them.
Congrats on the new Stihl trimmer and blower Travis. I would love to get a backpack blower at some point because of all of the trees and of course the leaves all seem to end up in the pool area.
 
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