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2Ryobi RLT254SDSO

Ryobi RLT254SDSO

 VerifiedMPN: RLT254SDSO
2Ryobi RLT254SDSO
2.9

8 reviews

Positive vs Negative
38%24%38%
Build Quality
3.6
Value for Money
4.0
Ease of Use
3.6
Cleaning & Maintenance ?
3.2
Safety
4.5
8 reviews
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George SP
George SPNSW12 posts
  Verified

Good value, good product, but head broke after 9 months – This is the straight shaft model, purchased from Bunnings for $298 in Dec. 2023. I used it pretty heavily. It comes with a handy mini can of oil for mixing with petrol, and a tool to rewind the line quickly. If you follow the instructions the engine starts easily all the times. The device is pretty powerful and uses very little petrol, a full tank… Read more ·  1

last me for several cuts of an average 750 m2 block. Loading the wire is also easy. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because the head broke down within 10 months, it just lost the top knob first and I kept using it and rewinding manually, eventually the whole lot failed. If you are aware of this issue you can buy replacement knobs pretty cheap, but you might need a couple every year or so. I found that an old head from my previous electric aeg fits and am using it for now. I will go to Bunnings and ask about warranty replacement and update the review later

rollinwinnies
rollinwinniesNSW9 posts
 
Build Quality
Value for Money
Ease of Use
Cleaning & Maintenance

Don't bother – No H\L carb adjustment and bogs down until its fully warmed up even when it new. You can only load in short amounts of line into the head otherwise the line gets too hot and melts itself together and will no longer feed out and snaps. Rubbish I should've just spent the extra $100 on a Stihl or Husky. Show details

Fred
Fred17 posts
 

Pretty good for a basic trimmer – Had this for a couple of years now and it's been fine. The 2.7mm line is ok and can get through most things provided you're not too aggressive and the bump head works very well. Installing new line is really easy. Only downsides to me are that the trimmer is slightly off balance due to the engine being heavier than the head (being able to move the… Read more

harness mount up just one or two cm would have been good but the trigger mounting is stopping that) and that it's no use as a brush cutter as you cannot fit a blade attachment to this model and instead have to buy the "expand-it" attachment for AUD$149 whereas a blade would have been around AUD$30. Apart for this it starts fairly easily and isn't too heavy or noisy. A good purchase as far as I'm concerned.

gregds66
gregds66NSW7 posts
 
Build Quality
Value for Money
Ease of Use
Cleaning & Maintenance

Good as a trimer – I purchased the RLT254SSO for $298 from bunnings. I thought it was a good buy. I've had it for a few months now and it has been good at the standard tasks that I've thrown at it each weekend. I've had no issues with the quality of the unit for the tasks it has done. I've come to fit a brushcutter blade and it won't work. Really disappointed in… Read more

this, can't get it to lock in properly. On reflection and some googling, I now know that I should have gone with the RBC254SESO model as it supports the brushcutter blade. A bit disappointed, only a $30 difference between them, but a major consideration between the models, in my opinion. So now I have to spend the same again, plus some just so I can fit the Brushcutter blade, crazy and not impressed Ryobi!!

Spit
SpitNSW3 posts
 

Very dissapointed – Only used it once and put it away and got my old one out , Going to take the new one back to Bunnings, Hard to start and keeps powering down all the time as though its going to cut out , especily if its going flat out and you take your hand off the trigger and then go to power up again , enough to drive you crazy , very dissapointed afyer having a Ryobi for the last two trimmers , Its a heap of crap

oz_consumer
oz_consumer175 posts
 

The instructions are a disgrace and the line keeps getting stuck inside – LINE STUCK: The line keeps getting stuck inside, requiring you to stop, remove the head, remove the line completely, rethread and wind (Instructions at end to help others.) Moreover, the company selfishly chooses not to tell you how to fix this in their instructions. I had to find a YT video by a user - more time wasted. The reason they don't -… Read more

clearly - is because they don't WANT you to KNOW this might happen. That is just toweringly selfish. (I will change this review if I discover over time that this problem was just novice user error) . BAD INSTRUCTIONS OVERALL: It took an hour to assemble it when it could have taken 20 minutes. Useless pictures with hardly any words. People need to realise: people DON'T buy from that famous Swedish furniture company because of their 'great' INSTRUCTIONS! People HATE that company's NON-instructions! Companies should NOT emulate them. Also the clip for the harness was incredibly difficult to put on. Companies are foolish to provide poor instructions because it invites a lawsuit if anyone is injured! Handy info: there is a YT video provided by the company which at least shows how to start the machine, even though the assembly instructions are outdated. . INSTRUCTIONS TO HELP OTHERS IF LINE GETS STUCK INSIDE: (You can also see this on a video by Chamika Nawarathne called 'How to take out the line stuck in 36V Ryobi Line Trimmer and put a new line' - it applies to the petrol model too) 1. Just like the instructions on page 26 of the manual: twist the assembly until the arrows on the bump head and the lower part are lined up well 2. Press in the two side buttons hard whilst gently pulling the whole assembly up towards you: The whole top will come off and you will see the spring 3. Remove the line entirely! Don’t try to thread the string back through the holes! 4. Replace the cap by lining up the two release clips with the holes. TIP: make sure both clips are inside the assembly! 5. Thread the string back in as shown on Page 26

brin
brin2 posts
  Verified
Build Quality
Ease of Use
Cleaning & Maintenance
Safety

ryobi shaft line trimmers – I brought this because I have had an older one from 2011 I believe it was the first one made in green it was an awesome trimmer but the pull start stopped griping so instead of putting time and money into it I decided to replace it only paid $100 for it got it on sale back in 2011. now, this one its harder to start more steps, and pulls old one… Read more

took 2 to 4 pulls this one takes 5 to 6.

its balance and weight is not as good but I'm not used to it yet.

it runs really well the bump head is far superior.

I am a firm believer in straight shaft line trimmers I have had both of these as straight shafts.

overall good for the money.

time will tell for this new one but the old one proved itself to be a good one.

LittleChicken
LittleChicken22 posts
 

If ryobi spent few more dollars it would be great – I should state from the beginning that i like ryobi (building 2nd house with our fav drills) which is why, when our previous line trimmer needed replacing we bought the ryobi straight shaft model. Pros - very easy to start. It takes a couple of steps but starts well. It comes with a variety of options like the Pro line and the heavy duty cord, and… Read more

has a convenient line winder which did make the job easier than trying to deal with springs and holes and not having the line unravel, and it has a bump feed that actually works. Cons - doesn't tell you how to deal with broken line in the head (obvious in old school line trimmer) and you get *seriously* covered in debris. I will be the first to admit that i don't often wear safety gear - basically just ear plugs - but i would not recommend anyone use this without the full spectrum of gear. (I pulled out a fragment of stone embedded in my finger and several small spears of weed from my eyes - lesson learned). I think the shape and size of the guard needs to be revisited or perhaps a new design offered as an additional product accessory. (We're using this on a rural property with head high grass and spinifex so maybe the standard guard is OK with domestic yards.) All in all, it does the job but a couple of tweaks could make it great.

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