Tanaka hedge trimmers

[paul knight]

Anyone used a tanaka tbc 230s? I have allways used sthil previously but the agent is trying to get me to buy this. There is a huge price difference (£200)! Does that say it all about the quality.

[tommer9]

Anyone used a tanaka tbc 230s? I have allways used sthil previously but the agent is trying to get me to buy this. There is a huge price difference (£200)! Does that say it all about the quality.

 

I know a couple of guys who have tanaka gear and love it. I think that the engine is basically ok- its jap after all, but its all the other bits that will let you down prematurely. If money is an issue- it usually is for me!- then look at a second hand stihl maybe?

 

I looked at one the other day- it was a pole pruner. Like you the dealer was trying to get me to buy tanaka over stihl, but longevity is an issue for me, and it was a very heavy machine compared to its stihl counterpart- felt clumsy. Bought a hyauchi in the end!

[paul knight]

Unfortunatley they didnt have a tanaka to trial. They wont get one in without deposit as its the end of the season. Quite difficult to get a feel for a machine that you cant see running! I purchased a husky 425 top handle on their recommendation earler this year and was really impressed with it compared to the ms200t (not as good but for the price a good saw). Still thinking stick with a manufacurer I know.

[tommer9]

I am inclined to agree with you. maybe you should get some other prices on the stihl machine- there are several on arbtalk who can supply, and they all do good prices, and Jonesie is having a show this weekend in kent where there are good deals to be had i am sure.

 

That tanaka is 1.1 hp, 21cc machine right? The stihl fs50 is the same power and i have found one on line for £130, the tanaka being about£190. I reckon that you should stick with stihl, and go for it. Good luck.

 

What happened with the maniscopic in your avatar BTW!!!?

[paul knight]

Pollarded 10 willows on a bung with a 5ft drop either side. Driving up and down all morn grabbing brash for a big burn up. Had to lift the boom to navigate over the pollarded trunks. Got a bit to close to the bank on one trip and couldnt drop the boom as it would of pushed me further over, quickly put in in forward but was too late. Came out shaken but unscathed! the farmer I was borrowing it off was supprisingly calm. Had a great afternoon in the pub aferwards. Allways makes me smile when I see the pic.

 

cheers for the response I'll check out the fs50. I reckon they are trying to push the tanaka as there is probably a greater profit margin for them.

[Robert_S]

i have a set of long reach tanaka hedge cutters snapped a couple of parts in the gears but parts are cheap, leave a nice fine cut so i use them for the tighter trimmed hedges and i use my stihl ones for any serious hedging

[Steve Bullman]

i have a tanaka and i think its a great little hedge cutter...the only let down is the small fuel tank. i personally wouldnt buy a stihl hedge cutter as the cut quality isnt as good.

[tommer9]

Pollarded 10 willows on a bung with a 5ft drop either side. Driving up and down all morn grabbing brash for a big burn up. Had to lift the boom to navigate over the pollarded trunks. Got a bit to close to the bank on one trip and couldnt drop the boom as it would of pushed me further over, quickly put in in forward but was too late. Came out shaken but unscathed! the farmer I was borrowing it off was supprisingly calm. Had a great afternoon in the pub aferwards. Allways makes me smile when I see the pic.

 

cheers for the response I'll check out the fs50. I reckon they are trying to push the tanaka as there is probably a greater profit margin for them.

 

orry mate, i think i may have misunderstood things- that tanaka code you put in brought up a brushcutter i think, which i compared to a stihl, so you may want to check what i wrote earlier. I have to agree with Steve on the cut thing, althouh it does depend which model stihl, as i had one which the quality of cut was sacrificed for size of branch it could cope with, there was a different gearbox for a finer cut.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Have had Stihl, Echo, Tanaka, Kawasaki (Sarp) and cheaper machines. The Tanaka was light but fell to bits pretty quickly. I will personally only buy Echo hedgecutters from now on...

[jjames]

I have one small Tanaka, one small echo and one long reach echo. The small Tanaka went blunt very quicky in the first year but the small echo is still as sharp as the day I bought it two years ago. The long reach echo is 4 years old and has just gone in for blade adjustmnet and a sharpen. I was looking to replace it for possibly a tanaka but the blade does not fold back to the shaft and i was worried about damaging it and the blade does not look that strong. The dealer told me to get my echo serviced and sharpened and it will be as good as new. Echo all the way me thinks