PRODUCT REVIEW
STIHL FSA 130 Brushcutter: The cordless future?
By PETER BRETT
asymmetrical – the left side of the bar is further out than the right. There is some adjustment of the handlebar via the screwed locking knob in the middle. This performs the dual purpose of allowing the user to adjust the angle and length of the bar and it is a very efficient and established way of doing it. Since no tools are needed, the user can adjust the handle ‘on the go’ by simply stopping the cutter and resting it from the shoulder harness while a better angle is set.
weeks since the grass on the pavements started growing again this spring, I have had to endure about 45 minutes of the angry buzz of two stroke motors strimming as the council contractors do their jobs up and down my road. The words ‘noisy’ and ‘smelly’ apply here and if I transpose the cutting job to, say, a hospital or school grounds, where fumes and noise are definitely not indicated, then it would seem like a no-brainer to use a battery-powered brush cutter.
WHEN it comes to doing your bit for the environment, the use of a battery- powered brush cutter may seem like a small contribution in the grand scheme of things. But if all users of such tools did it then that would make a huge difference, especially if the new tools were as efficient and powerful as their petrol-powered counterparts. Parity of performance is a key feature in my book and any tools that don’t perform, literally don’t cut it.
But there are lots of other reasons why the use of battery-powered garden tools should be encouraged. Every couple of
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The STIHL FSA 130 certainly caused a minor stir amongst the couple of council workers I showed it to. They were keen to try out battery power because they would like to reduce the noise, vibration and fumes that are a regular part of their working lives. Although they had only a few minutes’ trial each on the FSA 130, their verdict was very positive – ‘powerful’ was the word used to describe the performance, and I must agree.
‘Traditional’ construction and layout The STIHL FSA 130 follows a similar pattern to pretty well all brush trimmers – namely, a long alloy pole with a motor on one end and the cutter head on the other. These are similar in weight so tend to balance each other out. The ‘cowhorn’ or bicycle handle roughly in the middle of the pole is convoluted in that it has a number of curves in it that make it
I have found that it is important to find the optimum balance of the machine to suit the height of the user. With just the right projection of the cutter head, smooth swinging cuts from left to right can be made that just fly across the surface of the grass and leave an even surface. Too far forward and the cutters or brush dig into the grass and cause a ‘catch’ that leaves the overcut grass with a ‘circle of evidence’ of your slip up. With eight hanging points for the clip on the harness on the pole, and adjustments on the harness too, users will have ample adjustment room to find a comfortable and efficient way of avoiding those ‘dang circles’.
Out of the box I was lucky in that the test machine was delivered fully assembled – all I had to do was adjustments. I reckon that, had I received a new machine, I would have needed a good 20 minutes to read the
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