 | Brand Weed Eater Model FLSST25 Listprice $109.99 Price $129.78 |
This light weight trimmer has a straight shaft that extends reach for easier trimming under shrubs and fences. The straight shaft is great for taller folks, taking the strain off the back for more comfort. The unit's 25 cc engine spins the head fast to make quick work of the feistiest thistle, grass, and weeds. A 17-inch cutting path and dual-line cutting head team up to cover a lot of ground quickly. The unit's gear-driven system means better trimming performance at any speed. And, weighing just 8-1/3 pounds, this trimmer is not only easy to handle, it's kinder to the shoulder and back as well. Poulan's Quick-Snap head means ten-second spool replacements, less downtime, and more productivity. The unit is EPA and C.A.R.B. compliant for optimal efficiency and safety. Best of all, a rugged plastic housing and lightweight aluminum shaft offer unsurpassed durability and longer tool life. The purchase includes replacement spool and is covered by a manufacturer 2-year warranty. Brian D. Olson ....read more
Weedeater didn’t stand by their warranty
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I purchased a Weed Eater Featherlite gas trimmer model FL20C in Oct. 2009 It seemed to work fine the one time I used it, except it vibrated quite a bit. Early this spring I got it out and started it up. It wouldn’t shift gears. I called the store I purchased it from and was referred to a phone number from Weed Eater. I called that phone number and was given another phone number. Every rep I talked to couldn’t believe I wanted to fix a 70 dollar trimmer. Hey I only got to use it once! Weed eater finally referred me to their service partner. I took it down and again, the service rep was incredulous that I actually was asking them to fix a cheapo trimmer. Since fixing it would cost more than replacing it, I asked for a replacement. All of a sudden they weren’t set up to fix Weed Eater brand. I went home, made several more phone calls, talked to incredulous reps, and finally got a message on my answer machine that said that I could bring it into the original service partner if I would wait a few days. Weird thing was that only after I said I would review them online did I get a response. There’s power in the web! Poulan owns Weedeater now so I hope they read this message.
Trimmers Have Gone Downhill
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought this trimmer at WalMart to replace an old Featherlite I used for about ten years with nary a problem. Not so with this thing — I carefully mixed the gas and (supplied) oil and went to work in my 1/3 acre suburban yard. The first thing I noticed was the full choke/half choke/run lever was “squirrely” in that it just sort of floated smoothly between settings instead of snapping into place at each stop like my old trimmer; OK, so I did get it started but then had a heck of a time keeping it running at anything but full throttle. As soon as I decreased the speed of the unit, say to half throttle, the engine lost power and sputtered to a stop; it did this repeatedly over an hour’s time. And forget moving from place to place in the yard with the thing running at idle — it won’t simply idle (my old one had no problem doing so), but instead stops running altogether.
I also had major problems inserting new .065 line into the notches (the instuctions say notches, not notch, for this single-line trimmer); I lift weights, but all my strength couldn’t force the line into the notch(es). Frustrated with the poorly-written instructions and the difficulty keeping the machine running, I submitted questions to the online help address and was promised via return e-mail that I would receive answers within 24 hours. Eight days later I hadn’t heard anything so I called the 1-800 number on the machine owners manual and proceeded to get a major runaround from a rude female employee who said, “You’ve got the wrong number — this is an independent parts line.” I asked her how that could be, having called the number in the manual, but she didn’t care about my predicament. I finally did get a return e-mail, nine days (not 24 hours) later that simply told me to go visit service shops in my area to fix the problems. RIGHT! Like I’m going to waste my time doing that for a brand new machine.
I’m going back to WalMart right after I finish writing this and hope I can get my $$$ back to put on a better machine (different brand).
piece of crap
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
My girlfriend has had this trimmer for 2 years, and it started giving her trouble right out of the box. She said she thought it was just her inexperience, but that wasn’t it.
As many other said..it’s difficult to start, and runs terribly. The string is a huge pain to keep feeding and re-spool, and it won’t stay running unless you run it full throttle, which is incredibly noisy. It also started smoking this season. And at this time, the shaft won’t spin. That’s happened several times as well.
She’s gonna look for a new trimmer asap. We might just set this thing on fire soon.
I’d give it 0 stars if I could. This trimmer doesn’t have a single redeeming quality.
To Be Avoided!!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This is the single most frustrating piece of lawn “equipment” I have ever owned and used in 48 years.
Takes many, many pulls to start, (yes, I follow the instructions to the letter), and still I struggle.
Once started, WHEW, it runs better on “half or partial choke setting”, then it does in “run” setting.
I have had mine about one year and now when I do get it started and move it to “run” in immediately stops. (It has done this since I bought it brand new.)
If am ever so fortunate to get it to operate in the “run” setting it stops as soon as I pull the trigger to use it.
It is also so INCREDIBLY LOUD, YES, I AM SHOUTING TO MAKE A POINT!!
Without ear plugs I actually have an earache in both ears when I am doing using it for 10 minutes.
I am so very, very disappointed in so many ways!
I don’t even know that I would donate it to a charity to be “fixed”.
Why give them my problems, I am sure that have enough of their own.
Don’t waste your money on this one!
I am so sorry I did!
Trimmer
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This trimmer has been doing a great job for me. It is well built and runs well. This is my third gas trimmer and this had a good write up in consumer reports so I hope it lasts.
5 years still running strong
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this model at Walmart in 2004 for less than a $100 and have used it roughly every weekend since. So far I estimate I have about 300 hours logged in on this thing. So far, I haven’t even cleaned the filter, nor had any maintenance issues, or even changed the spark plug once. I always planned to just run the trimmer into the ground and then buy another one but this thing won’t die. The only thing wrong after 5 years is it won’t idle on the run setting any longer so I keep it on the half choke setting and it runs fine there.
Most importantly, I live in the tropics where the grass grows about 3 inches a week and this thing still gets the job done.
The line at .65 is a bit flimsy and I go through quite a bit of it, so if you have tough weeds and hit rocks a lot your line will break so go for a heavier model. However, if you just want to edge your lawn once a week, I highly recommed this unit.
I never thought that cheap looking plastic thing would work for as long as it has – I am impressed.
Don’t waste your money
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Immediately upon receiving this product I assembled it, gassed it up, and pulled the starter. It started right away! Only problem, it would not STAY running!! I messed with it for about 20 minutes before finally giving up and calling the 800 number.
After a wait of seven minutes a customer rep told me the problem was the carburetor. The carburetor was not “Adjusted” for my area (Ohio). I would have to take it to a repair shop. This product was just minutes out of the box!!!
An email to the company confirmed that the most likely culprit was the carb and that some areas of the country have this problem.
economy trimmer
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Folks I have this weed eater since 2001, and it has gotten many work-outs sometimes I run it for almost 2 hrs trimming 3 acres of light to moderate weeds. I will say this I have changed the spark plug once, and have never been to concerned of the gas to oil mix ratio, just guessing most of the time. It is a little tricky to get started, a few primers and a few pulls on full choke, a few primers and pulls on moderate choke, and off and running removing the choke totally. She runs smooth, and never misses a beat, and I was very happy with almost every feature, but the bump and feed system totally sucks. I mean I’m always turning it off flipping the spool over and pulling the string out to get the proper length etc. I think I paid &69.00 at lowes back in 2001 at, and I’ve gotten my money out of this, but the time I spend on the bump and feed really slows me down to a crawl. I realize I need a bigger more expensive unit now, but if you have moderate trimming and live in a more city to suburban setting with little ground this will be a nice selection. I think I over used the bump/feed spool, and have suffered through ever since. The little motor humms and I’ve never done any service but the plug and the throttle wire after many uses had to be repaired, and $20 bill at my local mower shop so now you can make a more informed choice about this one!
Great product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The featherweight weadeater is an excellent buy. This product should be used by the homeowner, not the professional, because it is light duty. My son bought one and really liked it, so I also purchased one from Amazon and am very happy. Also, the price charged was very fair.
OK for the price, messy to use
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this to replace my previous curved-shaft weed eater which I had for 8+ years. This one has dual line which is a plus. The main problem is the guard seems to be smaller or less effective than the guard on my previous weed eater. Just trimming the grass around the house makes a mess of my clothes. You definitely need goggles or a face shield, just safety glasses will allow grass chunks in your eyes. It is easy to start even at high elevation, has plenty of power and will cut most weeds. But I dread using it because I can’t stand being totally covered in grass and weed chunks embedded in my clothes and skin. My old weed eater did not do this.
garyl
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Don’t waste your money or time. I bought this weedeater from amazon.com. I received it within a few days. It has never been used because it would only run on half choke & would not idle. I called the 800#, they said take to the repair shop where it resides now. I was told that I may get it back in 2 weeks. They had to order a carburator.
Nightmare trimmer. Works on his own.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I have this trimmer for one year and I always postponed the time I need to trim my grass. It takes forever to get it started and sometimes does not start at all. No starting fluid or fresh fuel help either. It works only on Full choke and sometimes half choke. No star for it!
Buy the Ryobi instead
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I really give it zero stars. Got to admit, this is the worst Wal-Mart purchase I ever made. Used the product 2 and 1/2 times. That’s right, I was struggling thru trimming my yard for the 3rd time with this sucker before I said “no more”. It literally died around 25 times while trying to trim my yard. This is the 1st “Weedeater” product I’ve purchased, and some might say I just got a bad one. Don’t know about that, but I do know it’s the last “Weedeater” product I’ll ever buy. Wal-Mart was good about the refund. Bought a similar Ryobi at Home Depot for about the same price. Great machine.
Weed Eater string trimmer
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I found the Weed Eater FeatherLite 17 inch 25cc gas powered string trimmer relatively easy to start. It has plenty of power and it is easy to handle because it is well balanced.
FeatherLite is great for the average yard
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is my second Weedeater, The 1st was a featherlite with the curved end. Lasted 8+ years and never failed me. Thought the straight line would be easier for reaching under bushes, etc. Takes a little getting used to with the straight line shaft, so as not to cut to close to ground. The guard is a little too small for the two string lines coming out. Sure does throw the small stones,dirt onto your legs.
Overall I have been pleased with the power, start up. I have 1/2 acre city lot with a fence line and it works well. The Amazon purchase saved me $30 over the cheapest store price, and with free shipping.
Ideal for smaller built user.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The SST25 is much better than the previous curved shaft Weed Eater I had. Being a first time user, I wasn’t aware that the curved shaft types are more suited for taller people. My right shoulder would be frozen after 3 hours of continuous use. Wasn’t fun at all. Takes about 2 days to recover.
I find the straight shaft is more suited for my height (5’7″). Quite comfortable to operate. No frozen shoulder. Engine works well too. Doesn’t die at idling. Excellent for light duty work.
Unable to cut tall grass (2FT) though. Grass would seize the spindle. Probably not designed for that.
Engine is a bit difficult to start. Can be quite annoying if you are not accustomed to it.
Can do with a bigger guard at the front. Debris, especially small stones can fly backwards.
Overall, an excellent product for the price. It will not hold up under professional use but for occasional weekend lawn maintenance, its’ exactly what I need.
Excellent for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Come on people, for $64 what do you expect? It is no Echo or Stihl, but you can buy one of these every year for the next 4 years in a row to equal their price. It is extremely light weight, simple to use, and cuts great. For the people who could not get it to start, did you actually mix the proper 50:1 gas to oil ratio, or just thrown regular 87 octane in there and expect it to start?
I am a homeowner, maybe spend 20 minutes trimming once a week after mowing. If you do more than that, sure maybe you need to spend a bit more. But knock it down to 2 stars cause it does not match up to your neighbors commercial grade Stihl. It is a bargain string trimmer, you can’t go wrong with this one. Fill it with 50:1, wind some string, push the prime bulb 3 times, pull on the string…..and it works until you shut it off.
Update : Now that the price jumped up a lot, you might want to rethink the purchase. it was great for what you got at under $70. I am since used the trimmer, and it cuts very effectively, does not take a lot of throttle to get through most stuff. Sting is strong. idle is rough, but what else do you want for $70 two stroke weed eater?
Buy it if you can still find it cheap!
Weedeater
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I do like the Featherlite weedeater; however, it seems to overheat very easily and is difficult to start. It is more efficient than the last one I had because it covers a larger area.
Wasted Money
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Don’t waste your money on this nightmare. I bought one, brought it back because I could not get it started. Traded it in for another…same problem. I thought…well…one more time. AGAIN. Will not start. So I called the 800 consumer number, and they gave me the runaround about sending into the repair shop! Uh…no. It should work right off the shelf if you are selling your product.
I also went to get this at Walmart, and I saw the same weed eater with fuel in it, so someone had returned it, and they (Walmart) just put it right back up on the shelf!
Lose-Lose situation.
Last Weedeater brand product I buy
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought this new, having used a smaller model of the featherlite line of trimmers for years now. The PREVIOUS models I owned have been well-balanced easy to use trimmers, if a little underpowered. Upon the demise of my last featherlite, I decided to get this model since it had more power and double trim lines.
I’ve used this trimmer 3 times now and I will be getting a different brand ASAP. This engine just will not start or stay started- I restarted it 13 times trimming around my house today- normally takes about 15 minutes. I’m pretty familiar with small engines and how finicky they can be- usually you can find a balance on the choke that will run fairly well (my previous weedeaters ran best at ‘half-choke’) but this one won’t stay running at any setting. The recoil spring also came loose, uncoiling inside the cowling the second time I tried to use it. That took an hour to fix, but it was a welcome relief from the constant cranking I did to start/restart this POS. My arm is literally still shaking, half an hour after I finished trimming today.
The last straw is the terrible imbalance this weedeater has. You have to brace it on your leg to pull start it, and if you manage to get it running you’ll have to counter-balance it by resting your arm against a hot engine cover for the duration. Coupled with my last experience with a Poulan chainsaw, I am now done completely with Poulan/Weedeater.
Best gas trimmers I have owned to date!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased mine almost two years ago and can’t say enough good things about this gas trimmer. I recently owned a Bolens (Troy built) which only lasted 1 year and was a total piece of junk. Prior to that had a Homelite which was a total piece of junk. Next to my Poulan which I started with and lasted 8 years, also which happens to manufacture weed eater nothing has ever compared until now. People make the first mistake with the weed eater brand by priming before starting which I learned not to do, they are so easy to start always by the fourth pull. I only ever prime mine if it runs out of fuel. I got mine when Wal-mart had a promotion 2 years ago for only $49.99 and it looks like I got lucky. Poulan is a great company that makes a qaulity product for the money.
Bad carburator
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
New, out of the box the thing ran horribly. I tolerated it the first season…had to hold the throttle wide open at all times. The second season – it will not run. Had it apart about 3 times, no obvious problems. I broke the air filter cover and choke lever off when I threw the POS across the garage in frustration. Now I can hold my hand over the air filter to keep it running. The problem’s obviously a poorly adjusted carb. The problem is the jets require a special tool…so I’m going to have to improvise. The way I see it, I might as well try because it’s useless in it’s current condition. With a properly tuned carb this thing should be ok. BTW…this weedeater was a gift, if I have to buy a new one I’m going electric.
Weed Eater
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I read other reviews and many claimed this model Weed Eater was “hard to start”. Mine came and indeed was hard to start and required priming and several pulls. The carburator is set from the factory at a very lean mix and requires a special screw driver to adjust. Once adjusted with aprox 1/4 turn more open, this weed eater starts first pull every time with no problems at all. Suggest if anybody has this problem adjust mixture slightly and problem is 100% resolved
This weed eater dosn’t work well for long hours
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
This weed eater works okay on small yards only and dosen’t do well on big yards. My complain about this weed wacker is that it waste a lot of string when eding and once in a while it stall, hard to start. I know is one of the cheapest out their but dosen’t do to well. Finally I decide to buy another brand which is echo and husqvarna weed wacker which works excellent and don’t have a problem with echo or husqvarna, plus if you ask most repair shop about this weed eater brand they’ll say it trash and recommend to buy echo or husqvarna, sthil, red max and plus if you buy brand new echo power equipment for homeowner you have a five year consumer warranty even if it cost $200 or more.
Worst WeedEater I’ve EVER Had!!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This Weed Eater is the worst weed eater I’ve ever owned. I am a very experienced person with lawn and garden equipment and generally disassemble and reassemble my own equipment to fix or maintenance it. It took me an hour and a half to first start this weed eater. I know what it means to flood a weed eater and this was not the case. Once I got the weed eater started it continued to vibrate severely as if the timing is off or as if it was assembled improperly, I don’t know yet that’s just speculation. On this model you have the option to adjust the carburetor with a sprigged screw. The carburetor cannot be adjusted enough to even allow the weed eater to idle on its own. Even if it ran great the balance of the over all design seems to be poorly thought out. And if you would like to turn the weed eater on it’s side to use it as an edger or trimmer you have to take the line guard off to be able to see what you are doing almost anyway you turn it, that is but for one, but then you are looking directly into the line of debris being thrown from the weed eater. I will be returning this item if they allow me to.
WEED EATER
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
THE WEED WORKS OK. GOOD PRICE
HARD TO START. ONCE STARTED IT WORKS FINE.
Weed Eater trimmer
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So far everything has worked great. I have a respitory problem so lots of pulls on any machine is hard to do. This unit pulls easy and starts quickly.
Brand Name Junk
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Well lets see. Brand new out of the box using fresh gasoline and the included oil the unit was almost impossible to start. Once started and warmed up it wouldn’t idle reliably even with the idle adj screw cranked all the way in. I’d let off the trigger and it would idle for maybe 20 seconds then slow down and die. Wouldn’t restart without sitting for 5 minutes or so.
The line spool came off a couple of times for no apparent reason. But no wonder since a cheap metal clip instead of a knob with a bolt holds it on.
Then it starts leaking gasoline from the carburetor. Down the little clear rubber tubing from the carb to the gas tank.
The Weedeater engineering team needs to start over. I experienced most of the starting and dying issues mentioned in this forum and more. My arms feel like I benchpressed 300 lbs today after having to restart this thing over and over and over again.
An exchange was out of the question. I got my money back.
Should have checked here first before buying it. Hindsight=20/20
Weed Eater 17-Inch 25cc Gas-Powered Straight Shaft String Trimmer #FLSST25
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Previous to this trimmer, I had never had a gas powered string trimmer. So, I read some other reviews of about this one to get a feel for what users really thought. There seemed to be more positive reviews than negative for this unit. Now I am also a very happy owner. This trimmer started right up from unpacking and has worked flawlessly for me. Even my 75yo mother has started and used it to weed trim in her many flower beds. I would recommend this trimmer to anyone looking for quality and reliability at a very reasonable price.
All things considered, I can live with the quirks
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
As the old adage advises, you do get what you pay for and I chose this model based on a consumer rating service recommendation and price. My property is large enough that an electric model would be cumbersome however the areas that cannot be trimmed with the lawn mower are minimal so I only needed a light duty trimmer. For less than half the price of comparable models from other manufacturers, the weedeater adequately meets my needs. The trimmer is somewhat finicky but over the last six months, I have adapted to the nuances of its operation. As I noticed in other reviews, it can be, at times, difficult to start however for the most part after about six pulls the engine does engage. The idle is problematic so most often I just keep the trigger fully depressed. That uses more fuel but it significantly reduces my frustration with cut-offs and restarts. Obviously, since the idle seldom works the off switch is pretty much superfluous but in that regard it isn’t any different my lawnmower which has auto cut off as a product feature. Cutting line replacement is probably the largest headache as the dual feed spool is difficult to thread without entanglements but through trial and error, I was able to come up with a methodology to get the head on correctly with minimal difficulty.
In the end, if price is the primary consideration, the weedeater is a reasonable option but if you are unwilling to invest a little more time in getting it to work, look elsewhere.