Lehr Eco Trimmer ST025DC

This tool is the best. No more mixing gas and oil. It starts on the first or second pull. No smell of gas on your hands or in your garage. The string trimmer on my craftsman I could never get to work… correctly (that might be because I didn't understand how to load it properly). With the Lehr I went on YouTube and got visual instructions, followed them and it has been a snap. The string releases very easily out of both sides. I better shut up I don't want to jinx the product. When is this company going public?

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I was excited to see this propane powered trimmer as an alternative to gasoline. There were 2 problems with this unit right out of the box. The cam lock band around the propane cannister would not latch… and the unit would not start or run worth a darn. I contacted the company who put me in touch with the tech service department in Texas. There, a very helpful tech walked me through the process of richening up the mixture screw (not easily accessible)and also explained that the cannister cannot be latched over the seam of the can, but must be slid back a ways. After all that the unit would start (after a number of pulls) but still doesn't run very well. I've got to take it apart again to richen up the mixture screw some more since 1.5 turns did not do the trick. So... the jury is still out on this one. You'd think it would come all ready to go from the factory.

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I just purchased a LEHR ST025DC trimmer. My original thoughts were 1) Wow its quiet, 2) Seems to have good power, 3) Seems tail heavy and the working angle is weird. After a half hour of trimming and… noticing a smell of burning plastic, I shut it off to take a break. When I tried to start it the cord pulled all the way out and the recoil mechanism did not work. I pulled the housing off and pieces of melted plastic fell out. Now I know what the smell was. LEHR requests "DO NOT RETURN THE UNIT TO THE RETAILER", I wonder why. I will see how they want to handle it. I purchased two and they both smelled of plastic. Made in China. Real Eco Friendly.

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I received the detachable, curve shaft model as a Father's day present. I've used it twice so far. It was easy to assemble and started after a few pulls. The manual said it takes a few minutes for the… engine to warm up. At first, I wasn't impressed with it's power. I had the throttle fully engaged and thought there's no way the optional brush cutting attachment would work, but after a few minutes the rpms really ramped up. I had to barely touch the throttle to get good power. I found the unit heavy, very unbalanced and awkward to use. I'm right handed and was using my right hand on the throttle. I had to pull up with my right arm to get the trimmer head near the ground. I'm 6'4" and perhaps the curve shaft wasn't the best choice for me. I tried moving the handle, but when I positioned the handle where it was comfortable for me I had to bend my knees to get the trimmer head down to the ground. The second time I used it it again started right away, but when I was almost done the engine stopped. I thought I was out of propane and went to change the canister. I found the canister covered with oil. I switched the canister anyway and heard a hissing sound coming from the engine (the propane was leaking) and oil was dripping out. I called customer support and they told me I put too much oil in it. I rejected this idea because the manual and an extra flier warned about putting to much oil in. The support rep assured me I put too much oil in and said the full marker on the dipstick is not right. It's about 4/5 the way up the stick and the rep told me the full mark is really about half way up. The hissing sound was coming from the carburetor diaphragm and the rep told me how to reset it (this is not in the manual). I removed some oil and reset the diaphragm and everything appears to be ok. While I had the rep on the phone, I inquired about returning the curved model and getting the straight shaft model. The rep said they only accept returns when there is a catastrophic engine failure and suggested since I had the detachable model I could buy the detachable straight shaft for $179. Since the curved unit cost $199 this seemed unreasonable to me. Since I'm stuck with it, I tried to make some improvements. I added some weight to the trimmer end so I wouldn't have to hold up the engine end (only 1 or 2 pounds). This made a big difference. I also want to add something to the handle to make it longer so I don't have to bend my knees. I rate the Lehr a 3 out of 5 mostly because of the no return policy and the weight. If you're over 6' I would definitely buy the straight shaft model. If you have a lot a trimming to do, the weight will be an issue, but adding a little weight to the trimmer head end to counter the weight of the engine works for me.

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