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  john doonan November 7, 2014 at 11:06am

  hmmmm dont think reach comes into it gary, theyd be more or less the same length, maybe abit more of a difference with the pole pruner attach, but you can get ext poles for both to if needed, but i am 6'2 so id be able to cut the top of a 9ft hedge no problem, its how fast and easily can i change it from trimmer to hedge trimmer that be my main concern, theres a definate weight advantage with the brushcutter around 0.7/0.8kg lighter "doesnt sound a lot but if your holding a machine above your head for half hour at a time it would make a difference" then theres the price advantage "no need to buy trimmer attachment" so id probably lean towards that unless its a pain in the back side changing attachments, yeah multi tool would be more versatile but i dont think id be interested in getting more attachments for it like power broom etc
• PRO

  Seth Burgess November 7, 2014 at 11:26am

  It depends on what make it is. If you look at a Stihl tools. It's two bolts which takes the head off and you're left with the shaft. Slide the other tool back on and do the two bolts back up and its ready to go. Takes about 30 seconds or so.
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  Paul McNulty November 7, 2014 at 2:34pm

  I was told that the Stihl FS90R strimmer was big enough to do strimmer and LR hedgecutter, but not other heads. It's been perfectly good for that, and it's a cheaper option than the combi. You'd have to go to the 130 if you want the polecutter as well, and by then you might as well have the combi.

  It's 30 seconds to swap heads if they are perfectly clean. The shaft and heads get grease on them, and the tool in the van picks up dust. It can take a bit of cleaning, or hard work, to get them swapped.

  The combi is better overall, although you need to carry spare plastic inserts as they're rubbish, and it gives you the option if you want to add to it in the future.
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  Seth Burgess November 7, 2014 at 3:45pm

  Not sure why they told you you can't use a pole cutter with a 90 engine. I regularly use a polesaw with a 90 engine and it's fine keep it sharp and cut smoothly and it's like the larger dedicated polesaws. the only problem I have with it is the lack of dog teeth but a bigger engine won't solve that.
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  Geoff Norfolk November 7, 2014 at 4:43pm

  I've had an FS130 for years with the separate hedgecutting attachment....... as Paul says, its a 30 second job to swap the heads over and I can recommend it. I don't use the attachment much but its handy to have it tucked in the van for use when needed. I've also got the chainsaw attachment tucked in the van which can also come in handy.
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  Paul McNulty November 7, 2014 at 5:20pm

  
  
  Seth Burgess said:

  Not sure why they told you you can't use a pole cutter with a 90 engine. I regularly use a polesaw with a 90 engine and it's fine keep it sharp and cut smoothly and it's like the larger dedicated polesaws. the only problem I have with it is the lack of dog teeth but a bigger engine won't solve that.

  
  I guess, if you want to use multiple heads, they recommend the engine with more grunt as it'll do the job better and last longer?
  
  Certainly, if you ask for a combi engine, and want to run three attachments or more, they'll say you need the 130 engine.
  
  I like the 90 as it's mainly used for slow strimming, and easier to use at low speeds. It doesn't run the hedgecutter as well as my old 130, but it's not the main use for it.
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  john doonan November 7, 2014 at 6:32pm

  all thats been spoke about so far is stihl machines, ive been looking at jap brands mostly tanaka/echo/shindaiwa, could get the tanaka 230s along with hedge trimmer attachment for the price of an fs90.....its 1kg lighter as a brush cutter 1.5kg lighter as a long reach hedge trimmer much better on vibration levels, or shindaiwa multi tool with trimmer & hedge trimmer attachments in the region of £400 cheaper than the 130km r, sure the stihls have more power, but do you really need a 2hp engine to go through hedges when regular petrol hedge trimmers are lucky if their 1hp
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  Adam Pilgrim November 7, 2014 at 6:53pm

  Tanaka TBC 230 makes a very good hedgecutter with the TPH200 cutter head - I have one set up like that.

  To fit the cutter head is two allen key bolts - assuming the shaft splines line up the first time (usually don't - can be fiddly).

  I do a lot of hedges and a fair amount of strimming so have independent machines but to remove the strimmer guard and cutter gearbox isn't a massive task - so long as the guard screws come undone - not a problem if they have been greased from new.

  Also the 'D' handle would be a pain so that would be two more bolts to remove. Altogether wouldn't take many minutes I guess - if I couldn't justify separate machines, I would without doubt buy a Tanaka 230 'smart fit' (split shaft system) and use that instead - same engines, just easier (tool less I believe) to change tools.

  Hope this helps?
• PRO

  Seth Burgess November 7, 2014 at 7:38pm

  
  
  Paul McNulty said:

  
  
  Seth Burgess said:

  Not sure why they told you you can't use a pole cutter with a 90 engine. I regularly use a polesaw with a 90 engine and it's fine keep it sharp and cut smoothly and it's like the larger dedicated polesaws. the only problem I have with it is the lack of dog teeth but a bigger engine won't solve that.

  
  I guess, if you want to use multiple heads, they recommend the engine with more grunt as it'll do the job better and last longer?
  
  Certainly, if you ask for a combi engine, and want to run three attachments or more, they'll say you need the 130 engine.
  
  I like the 90 as it's mainly used for slow strimming, and easier to use at low speeds. It doesn't run the hedgecutter as well as my old 130, but it's not the main use for it.

  
  One dealer said to me that I had to use a 130 because the 90 would break down in a few months of use. But my (now preferred) dealer said that it's not a problem to use a 90 and if anything brushcutting should use the larger engines but hedge trimming thin stuff a 90 provides more than enough power and a polesaw being sharp makes the difference over the engine sizes.
  
  I've got an old 2007 model that used to be my dads and a late 2013 4mix model and they've both run without a hitch all year.
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  Paul McNulty November 7, 2014 at 9:56pm

  Seth, I guess our dealers are used to us, and our needs?

  They have to assume that the contractor going in saying "I only use it a couple of hours a month" actually means "I thrash it all day, every day".

  I'm not a fan of combis, or switching heads. For me it works, as I use the hedge attachment rarely, and the strimmer for light edging only. If I wanted either machine for harder work I'd always go for a dedicated one.