Weed wackers? What to get

[TechMan]

Which...?  Using some saw gas in a truck in a pinch, or putting in the mix deliberately?

Years ago they used to sell stuff to put in your gas for extra cylinder lubrication.  I wonder how different it was?

Either.

[charby]

Are you saying to dump a gas mixture with 2 cycle oil into your car's gas tank?

Yep I dump all my old 2 cycle fuel in my truck every spring. Sometimes up to 5 gallons depending how much fuel is in the boat tanks.

[Tallpine]

Either.

Well, if you were in a truck out of gas, and had a gallon of chainsaw mix along, would you walk instead

It didn't help that my old 2-ton only had a 20 gallon behind the seat tank.    

Actually, the time that I remember for sure using saw mix in a truck, I think it was somebody else's truck.  I had this deal with an old man that ran a landscaping business to finish a timber sale that he had bought for some reason.  This was before I bought my truck by few months, so I was going to use his old GMC with a huge straight six and a five and three transmission.  I seriously underestimated the gas consumption, and it wouldn't even make it from town and up to the woods and back on one tankful.  I got down on the highway at least before it quit, and there was a gas station down the road about a mile.  The saw mix got me to the top of the hill and I coasted down to the station.  This was on US 24 between Woodland Park and CS.

The GMC V6 that I had later got about 10 mpg loaded and empty, except under long pulls on steep grades.  So it wasn't too bad for range except for the time we hauled a mobile home in a headwind.  We could hardly get from one gas station to the next and then finding one that you could get into with a 10x50 was interesting. 

[geronimotwo]

Yep I dump all my old 2 cycle fuel in my truck every spring. Sometimes up to 5 gallons depending how much fuel is in the boat tanks.

+1 to that.  my truck will eat that stuff up, while the 2cycle tools get a little finicky.

back to the op,  have you thought about the multi-tool heads?  i just remembered a friend of mine has the larger stihl powerhead and a number of attachments  (limbsaw, powersythe, tiller, string trimmer).  he loves it.  it is a bit more for the original purchase, but the tools get cheaper from there out.

[41magsnub]

+1 to that.  my truck will eat that stuff up, while the 2cycle tools get a little finicky.

back to the op,  have you thought about the multi-tool heads?  i just remembered a friend of mine has the larger stihl powerhead and a number of attachments  (limbsaw, powersythe, tiller, string trimmer).  he loves it.  it is a bit more for the original purchase, but the tools get cheaper from there out.

I have one of those and love it.  Chainsaw on a stick!  The edger and weedwhacker attachments work well too but are less fun.

[AmbulanceDriver]

We've got this one:

http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/expand_it

Currently have the straight shaft string trimmer and edger...   It's a little underpowered at times, but gets the job done around our little 1/4 acre....

[AmbulanceDriver]

Well, reading up on reviews of the ryobi powerhead, wishing we hadn't bought it and had saved up for a stihl...   

[Sideways_8]

Are you saying to dump a gas mixture with 2 cycle oil into your car's gas tank?

Figured everyone knew this. That's what I get for figuring.

We replaced our old Ryobi with the Stihl. It ran alright, but the Stihl beats it out anytime. The pole chainsaw thing is kind of cool, but it is too short to get a lot of reach. A good pole saw with a sharp blade can really reach up there, and if that won't get it, the tree should probably be climbed.

Edited to add a few forgotten thoughts:

Ethanol in gas has been mentioned quite a bit. If you buy a gas weedeater and only plan to use it once every few months, run it completely dry before you put it up. Ethanol will wreak havoc on fuel lines and carburetors when left sitting too long. Avoiding those issues is a lot easier than having to fix them after the fact. Replacing lines and having to rebuild a carburetor is a pain. Speaking of carburetors, if you don't know how, take the time to learn how to tune them. Temperature, humidity, age of gas can all affect it. Lean a two-stroke out too much and the piston will find really awesome ways to weld itself to the cylinder.