Stihl FS 130 / FS 130R

Does good work – We purchased this Stihl FS 130 brush cutter in early December 2016. We have so far had it only a few weeks. We have an acre which was recently slashed and some of the grass around the rocky/shrubby areas was around 5 feet high. We wanted a good brush cutter to do the job and cut that stuff down. We used it for the first time and it was great. We previously had a Ryobi brush cutter which we purchased for about $350 from Bunnings. That machine had trouble doing even our small backyard area and was often hard to start and looking back, we should have just got a Stihl machine from the very beginning. There is no comparison between the Ryobi machine we had and the Stihl FS 130. The power is incredible and suits someone who is a little beyond the typical home gardener - it really suits someone who has a bit of land to look after and someone with tall grass. We purchased a steel grass blade to do the long grass and a roll of trimming line to do the shorter stuff. He first time we used it we racked up 6 hours on it. The steel cutting blade can be turned around so that you get a bit more use of it before it goes dull. It works like a dream. Starts first time. A female (5 foot 1) 56kg can start it first time. Came with harness, free esky and a basic took kit. The first service is due at 60 days or 10 hours. That first service is free through the Stihl shop. So far so good with the Stihl. This is the first Dtihl machine that we have owned and I would consider paying a little bit extra for other Stihl gardening machines such as lawn mowers in the future.

3 year - 2 broken 130R engines – I couldnt be less happy with my 130R engine, the first one was plagued with starting problems and fuel leaking through the carb. It was eventually replaced, the new one developed similar problems and has now (after just over two years) died all together and is beyond economical repair! I'd stick to the 90 series of engines, more than man enough for the job, lighter and easier to start. Powerful Heavy and utterly unreliable.

Stihl FS 130 – A gutsy brushcutter when it worked... I have replaced the shortblock engine when the exhaust valve stem broke and now I have to replace the whole brushcutter as it has happened again, both in aproximatly two years. My Stihl mechanic said it was not uncommon for the 4-Mix to have this expensive problem. As I have always used a Stihl as a semi professional brushcutter I will replace it with a Stihl but certainly not the FS130, prehaps the FS240 Great power to weight ratio and when running well it was easy start Major mechanical failures with with long down times.