Pretty sure that model has either a 5 year or lifetime warranty on the coil. After the standard warranty you have to pay labor but the coil is free. Labor shouldn't be more then 30 minutes.

COMPLAIN, but don't yell. If they don't come around contact Stihl, you can find contact info for Stihl in your owners manual or at "stihlusa.com"

1) Yes, they could check a coil in 20 minutes. That doesn't mean that they did.
2) The 2nd opinion would be my own. Checking for a spark is pretty easily done. If you have no spark it's generally going to be the plug, coil, switch or wiring in between.
3) Im on the fence on this one.
4) I'd explore opinion 2 before going here.

Try what was suggested from Navada Walrus and Week Cutter. Then I would buy a new one before spending too much time. Your's is a home owner model and is 4 years old already. Time for a new toy!!! I am not so sure I would pay $50 to fix it, new one is only $200 if I am not mistaken.

I don't know about you yungman but I expect more than 4 years of homeowner use from my homeowner Stihl products.

I like new things after 4 years!!! If it runs, I'll keep as long as possible, but if it give me problem, I am not going to sweat over it too much. As I said, try fix it first, but not putting too much effort. You always take a chance something else go wrong after you fix this problem.

You see "Deadest Catch"? The guy decided to spend $40K to overhaul the engine rather $60K to change a new one. Went out for the crab season, engine went, have to limp back and almost lost the whole season.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will have to check the spark plug after I pick it up, I thought when I checked it before I took it in, it had a spark. As for the warranty, from what I could find in the manual and on their site, it only has a 2 year warranty.

I am still hoping to hear some suggestions for a replacement.

Thanks again.

Jim

Echo SRM210 or even Echo GT200 curved shaft for $169 in OSH. If you only use an hour every other week and you don't want to spent a lot of money those are not too bad. Having said that, I won't get a curve shaft.

If you want to get fanncy, then it's a different story!! You have to name your price. for $300, you can get much better ones.

From an economic point of view, for a 1 hour use every other week, a Ryobi from Home Depot or a MTD (Troy-Bilt or Bolens) from Lowes may be your best buy. Take a look at the base models, then decide if you want to step up to one that has a clutch, and possibly step up to the straight shaft.

If he has a good back, all the cheap stuff and curve shaft are ok. If he has a weak back, I think the SRM210 which has a full length straight shaft would be better. I have the Troy Bilt 4 cycle trimmer. The engine is very good, the shaft is too short, hurt my back after a while of trimming. Now I have the Honda HHT31S ( fancy toy!!!), it is so much better for my back because it is longer.

MTD is definitely a good mid range stuff. My Troy Bilt really took a beating. It is still working, the 4 cycle is strong. The tap advance head is questionable. The Honda head is a lot better. Don't have any experience with Ryobi, but I am a die hard Ryobi power tool fan!!! If you need disposable tools, get the old style Ryobi now before it discontinue. I use them to do earthquake retrofit, that is heavy duty work, they survive. I just bought 2 18V drill in HD for $29 each!!!! With battery and charger!!! My old battery crap out so I bought them just for the battery. The guy told me they are going to discontinue by the end of the year. Keep your eyes peel for deep discount later.

I can confirm about the back with the ryobi trimmers. The new troybilts are pretty much the older versions of the ryobi. The 2 strokes have the same 31cc engine and the layout is same. I have a 775r. I works great and still going strong after 7 years. However, its not very long and if you have to reach a little, you back will ache. I do about 30-45 minutes of trimming and the stuff not on flat ground kills my back. Overall the trimmer is great for refurbished unit, but it could use a longer shaft.

I am glad someone else feel this way. I am not tall and I have problem with my back.

I would bite the bullet and get the SRM210 or something with longer straight shaft( usually about the same price.) Only Echo is true commercial though. I don't know the pricing of Kawasaki, they are usually good price too.

I don't get it yungman. Only Echo is true commercial???? After 4 years you want a new machine? 4-mix is no good? MTD is mid-range? You seem to have some strong opinions about brands and commercial quality but you don't use them (nor do I think you have based on what you have said previously).

masiman

I said for $200( same price as FS55), SRM210 is the only one you can get in commercial quality. I own MTD...Troy Bilt trimmer, did you read my post?

Yes I'll get a new one after the warrante is over if it is a cheaper piece unless I am interested in fixing it myself. This is $200 homescaper trimmer!!! Have better things to do than running all over the place to have it fix. I question 4Mix after reading all the complains.

This is all my opinion only, not the law of the land. You get it now?

Do you have any suggestion for the original poster?

I want to thank you for all of your suggestions. I decided to bite the bullet and bought the Echo SRM210. I still have the old Stihl and I guess I will try to sell it. They did say they would give me $25 bucks if I want to get rid of it.

Thanks again.

Hey cornbread
Good for you, your should like it. I have the Echo HC151 which is the same engine. It is a very good engine just a little cold blooded......a little hard to cold start. The trick I do is as follow.
1) prime the primmer bulb hard for about 10 times.
2) Close the choke all the way.
3) Pull until it start( 3 to 5 pulls)
4) Open the choke as fast as you get to it and let it idle for 20 second and is good to go.

Use fuel stabilizer like Stabil in your gas. Old gas is the main killer of the carburator. If you do not use often, buy a small gas can, like one gallon or less to make sure you always have fresh gas. Keep the gas tank of the trimmer full all the time. Air in tank make gas go bad faster. After 4 months max, pour the remaining gas in the can into your car and get new gas if you use it too slow.

Use JASO FD rated oil....Echo Power Blend is good and no more oil than 40:1. I do 45:1 myself!!

Change air and gas filter once a year.

Your trimmer will likely last longer than you want it to!!!!!

Thanks yungman for the helpful hints. The Stihl was never easy to start either. The gas is the biggest problem I have, I only mix it 1 gallon at a time and it lasts too long. The trimmer is the only thing I have that takes a mix so I don't use much. However, I didn't know you could run mixed gas in your car, it doesn't cause any problems? Why do you suggest using a mix that is a little richer in oil than the manual says? I am kind of ignorant when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks again.

I dump mix into car because car have a lot of gas and will dilute mix to nothing. Just be sure you have at least half a tankful and right before you drive the car so it will get mixed in.

I am not suggesting to put more than what is recommended. I mensioned about 40:1 just to say don't go over. A lot of people put more oil than they should. If you are doing 50:1, great!!! More oil just cause more deposit which kill the engine faster.

Beware of Stihl FS55 ignition coil. I had problem after 5yrs and 5mos of trimmer not starting. I diagnosed myself that the coil was bad. My unit was out of warranty acording to Stihl. There is no freebe even if you do the work yourelf. 5 years and that is it for free coil. No problem, I've got a few coils from other small engines I have salvaged. Had one that fit perfectly. Engine would start but would not rev past idle. Found out from the Coil manufacturers web site [Walbro] that the model coil that Stihl uses has an electronic circuit in the coil that automatically ADVANCES the spark timing when magnets in flywheel pass the coil.As a matter of fact their coil is call a Magnito. Most older ignition coils even if they fit don't work that way, hence the high price of Stihl coils [magnito] from about $35 to as much as over $100 depending on the motor and model. The cheapest coil I found that was NEW for FS55 was $33.50. The old style coils cost any where from $10 to $20 and lasted 3 times as long. I see certain sites selling used replacement parts. This very delicate coil is one thing I would not take a
chance on buying Used unless you could get it dirt cheap. The idea behind this Coil design is that the engine starts quicker and you don't need as much warm up time. Unless you're weed trimming for a Living, the 2 minutes you may save from Start up to Warm up is no big deal. Real cheap weed trimmers that may not start quickly and take longer to warm up is not a result of old style coil design, it's more the result of a very cheap inefficient CARBURATOR design.