The Second Times A Charm
Written: Jul 09 '04 (Updated Jul 09 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Twist mechanism, auto line feed
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: A great trimmer edger, worthy of the 5 star rating. Powerful and innovative, not overpowering.
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| digitaldoc's Full Review: Poulan Twist 'N Edge Gas Trimmer Te450 |
Introduction
To fully understand this review, you need to know that last month I bought a Ryobi weed trimmer/edger that was returned a week later.
http://www.epinions.com/content_144737275524
I still needed a gas trimmer/edger. Now I was a far more educated shopper for this type of product. It was taking over 1.5 hours to do the whole property each week with the electric model. With my thick Zoysia lawn, and a long sidewalk and beds to edge, my backyard had become a "proving ground" for these devices. My new gas can has 2 cycle fuel in it ready to go, so it was off to the store for some shopping. Let's see why this device is a keeper.
Shopping Experience
I ended up at my local Wal-Mart. They had a whole rack of these, and this one was the most expensive. I was able at Wal-Mart to hold them and this one felt right. I think being able to hold the product before I buy it is important, and I couldn't do that at Big Lots. It was not too heavy. It had some innovative features and I was willing to pay the premium for them.
The box was a little shorter than the Ryobi, but a little wider. It fit in the back of an Altima with no problem with the seats down.
Features
-25 cc 2 cycle engine
-3 position choke
-twist shaft
-adjustable handle
-easy pull cord
-curved shaft
-0.080 inch line
-auto feed line head
-17 inch cutting path
On paper, this appears about middle of the road in terms of power and engine size. It is near the top in terms of features
Assembly
The manual was well written. The unit comes mostly assembled out of the box. They included a bottle of synthetic 2 cycle oil. As I already had some fuel mixed up, that's what I used.
The only thing to assemble was the guard onto the head of the machine. It is setup to only fit one way. It attaches with a thumb screw- no tools required. They truly made this idiot proof.
We gassed it up and were ready to go wack some weeds.
In Use
The unit has the starting instructions written on it- a thoughtful touch. I primed it, pulled the handle with the choke in the closed position. After it tries to run I switch it to the partial closed position. Pulled the cord twice and then it was running. After 10 seconds, put the choke in the open position and ease off the throttle.
The auto feed line is wonderful. The line is always the proper length. This speeds things up considerably. the machine can always work at maximum efficiency at cutting. On top of that, one can work much faster because there's no stopping to check on the line and play with the bump cap. I'll never go back to a bump type of feed. With the bump ca, I was constantly checking on the line length. Then when it was a little short, hit the head to bump it and advance some line. Sometime it wouldn't advance, or too much came out. With this design, I had none of these problems, just pure clean, continuous cutting. Simplifies the task a lot by taking care of one major hassle. The box states it uses 40% less line as well; I'm not sure about that claim. If it uses the same amount of line it's still a great design.
The twist shaft is excellent as well. By activating a switch, the curved shaft can be rotated. This allows the cutting head to be parallel to the ground for weed trimming, and perpendicular for edging. While a straight shaft will accomplish the same thing, there is a definite advantage to this. Unlike a straight shaft, for both trimming and edging, the motor and controls are upright. The handle is in the right spot, as well as the throttle. That makes it much easier to handle the unit.
Additional features include the easy pull handle which is much easier to pull than on the Ryobi. The adjustable handle can be adjusted for angle, but not position. It is smartly mounted in the center of gravity for the unit.
The unit's noise was definitely less than my Ryobi. It was tolerable. The unit did not vibrate which made it easier to control. Also, the engine is covered in plastic so when I rubbed against it, it was warm, but couldn't get burnt.
The unit performed very well. It was able to instantly pulverize the weeds between the sidewalk cracks. It accomplished the edging in a straight fashion creating grooves not seen in years. The grass by the fences and trees was cut quickly and evenly. At no point did I feel the unit was underpowered. Most tasks were accomplished at less than full throttle. The unit did not stall out once. The gas tank is 8 oz., it used about half of that on a 45 minute jaunt. In short, it more than held its own in the backyard "proving ground."
Conclusion
Well, I guess you get what you pay for in the end. This trimmer/edger is plenty powerful, but not overpowering. It is a "modern marvel" with its innovative technology. If you look at my other reviews, it is rare for me to give out the 5 star rating, and this Weedeater truly deserves it.
After you finish in the yard, perhaps you'd like to burn a DVD disc
http://www.epinions.com/content_145685450372
or see one of my other 5 star products
http://www.epinions.com/content_138039561860
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
digitaldoc
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Men don't outgrow their toys, they just get more expensive.
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