Tanaka Brushcutter

Tester46

I'm looking at buying a Tanaka TBC 240PFS brushcutter. It'll be used to keep grass, weeds and briars (possibly some gorse) under control around the edges of my 4 acre site. It'll also be used to keep manners on growth in some parts within the boundaries of the site, but not the whole 4 acres.

I don't plan to use it to cut trees (!) but it will be dealing with lots of big weeds and lots of briars and some bushy growth regularly.

The shop says the 23cc 2-stroke engine on the Tanaka will do the job just fine and will last for years. It's good value - €289.

Is the 23cc engine enough or should I be going for a bigger (28cc or 30cc) engine to cut through the weeds faster and to keep the engine in good nick longer?

What alternatives would you look at for my site? Max budget is €350. I'm not a brand junkie so I don't care what make it is so long as it's good

CJhaughey

I have a couple of strimmers a 26cc and a 40cc Tanaka and they do very different jobs, the smaller one is a D-handle and I use it with nylon line for work around trees and shrubs, the bigger one has a cow-horn handle and a steel cutting head and I use this for bigger stuff like blackberry and heavy grass.
The smaller one will do it but will take a lot longer and be harder on the machine.
If you only want one machine then perhaps a 30cc+ machine would be better for your application.
I would always go for a bigger machine if possible, the 28-30cc strimmers aren't that much heavier than the 23cc ones.
Around rocks and stones nylon works best, steel heads for the rest. I don't use the nylon teeth type so I can't comment.
Nylon line should be kept soaked in water for best life.

Tester46

CJhaughey wrote: »

I have a couple of strimmers a 26cc and a 40cc Tanaka and they do very different jobs, the smaller one is a D-handle and I use it with nylon line for work around trees and shrubs, the bigger one has a cow-horn handle and a steel cutting head and I use this for bigger stuff like blackberry and heavy grass.
The smaller one will do it but will take a lot longer and be harder on the machine.
If you only want one machine then perhaps a 30cc+ machine would be better for your application.
I would always go for a bigger machine if possible, the 28-30cc strimmers aren't that much heavier than the 23cc ones.
Around rocks and stones nylon works best, steel heads for the rest. I don't use the nylon teeth type so I can't comment.
Nylon line should be kept soaked in water for best life.

Thanks CJhaughey. I am only going to buy one strimmer/brushcutter so it will need to have both nylon line and steel heads. Given what you say, something closer to 30cc sounds better for me as i will need to cut back a lot of blackberry, heavy weeds and bushy plants.

CJhaughey

You won't go wrong with Tanaka.
I find them good, Most Japanese made stuff is pretty reliable.