Customer Reviews

Troy-Bilt TB20CS 17-Inch 31cc 2-Cycle Gas-Powered Curved Shaft String Trimmer with Detachable Shaft

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

If you are in the market for an entry level ( $120 or less ) gas powered string trimmer, the Troy Bilt TB20CS has to be at the top of your list.

After much research, I chose this item over all the rest. My reasoning was as follows :

1). The TB20CS receives the most 4 and 5 star ratings of any entry level trimmer, both here as well as other review web sites.

2). It has a 31 CC engine, as opposed to 25 CC engines found on many of the competitive trimmers. That's 22% more power capacity.

3). It uses .095 trimmer cord, which takes a heavier beating than the thinner cord in some of the competition.

4). This baby has a clutch. Some of the competition does not bother with this, I prefer that my cutting line comes to a stop when I feather the throttle back to idle.

5). I like the split shaft that allows me the option to use other tools.

6). Standard dual line bump head spool provides twice the cutting action as some of the single line competitors.

7). It includes the Speedlock fixed line spool for no added charge.

8). Cost : $99.96 at Lowes. Also $99 at Troy.com, but be careful of shipping charges.

A special note to anyone using 2 cycle engine driven tools :

You will note a lot of folk downgrade these items due to either poor starting or poor running characteristics at speed. I suspect these folks have failed to follow one or more guidelines for use of 2 cycle equipment :

A). Follow the manufacturer's recommended procedure for starting. They are the ones most familiar with their product. ALWAYS hold the throttle open 1/4 of the way when using full and half choke.

B). Never use old gas. That stuff you mixed up last year will cause you big trouble this year. My rule of thumb is to replace gas once it gets to be 3 months old ( with or without a gas stabilizer ).

C). Always mix oil and gas to the manufacturers specification. If it calls for 40:1, do not mix 30:1. That will cause starting as well as running problems.

D). When finished with a session, pour the gas from the trimmer back into the gas can. Start the trimmer and run 'er dry.

I used my TB20CS for an hour today with great results. Never ran engine above 50% throttle cutting grass 18 to 24 inches tall. Had to line feed only three times during the hour after hitting something really BIG in the grass. That .095 cord zipped through some heavy twigs as well as cactus without snapping.

My only negative is that my forearm started to ache after that hour. But then again, the TB20CS is not a light weight. A sling may be in order if I plan on extended use.

GO FOR IT !!!!

When my old trimmer finally wore out after 17 years of perfect service I decided to buy another one just like it rather than repair it. The old brand has changed and this is as close as I could get to my "old friend." I could not be happier! It is very similar to my old one but starts even easier. All of my old attachements fit it and work perfectly. I am very happy with this trimmer and would recommend it to everyone.

I saw pretty good reviews for this on Amazon so I decided to try this WHAT A MISTAKE! It comes with two heads, the first one is a feed line that seems to cut off the line at the drop of a hat...so I thought I would try the easy load head...when I did the line kept flying out. The unit seemed flimsy, couldn't keep line in it and was hard to start so I decided to contact Amazon to see if I could return.

I LOVE Amazon and will continue to buy most of my electronics, books, music here but in this case I was sorry to learn that I couldn't return it to them because it had been filled with gas which renders the unit un-mailable because it is flammable...I totally understand this reasoning but wish they made this more obvious on the order page for this item. I would not have purchased a weed wacker here for that reason.

I called Troy Bilt and they were not helpful at all, so I took it to one warranty center where the attendant was incredibly unhelpful and obviously not interested in taking the unit. The 2nd place was very kind but kept the unit for about 2 months while they figured out what was going on and finally said a spring was out of place (that I assembled) and that was what caused the line problem. They assembled properly and I picked up the unit.

This morning I started the unit (again very hard to start as other reviews have said), and for the first ten minutes the unit kept stalling. Then, after I got it going for a few the line flew out again...went to replace it then attempted to restart. The pull rope came completely out of the unit. At this point, I am contacting Troy Bilt to demand a full refund on this absolute piece of garbage. I cannot speak to the quality of other Troy Bilt units, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT. I will update on what Troy Bilt does in regard to this either way.

I've had this trimmer for about a 18 mos. now and have just purchased the edger attachment. I did so thinking that maybe the trimmer might die on me after a year. Because of the reliability I decided to plunk down the $70 dollars for the edger attachment and am even twice as pleased! My El Toro lawn had about 5 years of edge growth. The trimmer had sort of a tough time initially but that was understandable. The lawn looks great now and I'd recommend this trimmer to anyone looking for value and convenience. I'd definitely purchase again!

After looking at various gas powered trimmers all priced over a $100, I was kind of hesitant considering the price, but overall it turned out to be a great product. A bonus is the edger which can be purchased as an attachment saving on the cost of buying a separate edger.

Don't buy this trimmer unless you like to continuously work on getting the string to feed through the head. The part on the trimmer where the edger attachment is supposed to connect to broke off about 30 minutes after I got it out of the box. I did not get rough with it; this is a flimsy product and I regret buying it!

Easy to assemble. Great for trimming along fences. Not as great for edging without an optional attachment. Good value for the price.

Was looking for an entry level trimmer.
I should NOT have purchased this one.

It failed after 1 use, and no help was offered from the manufacturer.


My story...
The line feeder is very poorly designed, and after many attempts to get it to feed properly, I gave up and used the fixed line attachment.

So far so good...
I used the unit to trim a small area - seemed to work OK.
Two weeks later I grabbed the unit again - this time the pull line broke in my hands rendering the unit inoperable.

A quick call to Amazon - who provided the number for the manufacturers service center..

I was informed I would need to drive 20 minutes and drop the unit for inspection.
I explained that I would prefer to mail to them because I don't have the time to spend on a $100 item that was only used once, and just purchased 14 days ago.
The service person replied - suit yourself sir - then hung up on me.

I will continue to purchase my items through Amazon, because their customer service was excellent - But troy built as lost my consideration forever.

I have used many a power tool and don't consider my self a novice with these type products - so buyer beware on this one.

We are clearing 10 acres in Texas. My wife, 2 sons and me.
We bought 2 and so far so good. Heavy use every day. You clean the air filter at 10 hours. So we can have 1 down for maintenance and the other in operation. I haven't found any replacement air filters yet. A circular spongey looking thing....if parts not available maybe it should be a 4 star. But she seems to chop the grass A-OK. I have replaced the orange cutter cord twice. At $60 each, I mean that is a very good deal!

Once you have it for about 6 months it becomes the hardest starting machine I ever owned.