Customer Reviews

Troy-Bilt TB554 9-Inch 158cc Briggs & Stratton 500 Series Gas-Powered Lawn Edger with Curb Wheel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I just purchased a Troy-Bilt 4HP triple blade Edger at Lowes yesterday. The unit edges well. We have a long driveway (500 ft.) with lots of curves, and I believe we can keep grass from growing into the driveway with this unit. On the downside, I've only tried to start it a couple times, with poor success both times. Right out of the box, it took about 15 pulls to start the first time. After running for several minutes, I released the safety bar, which kills the engine (there is no clutch to stop the blade... releasing the bar kills the engine). Then, with the engine already warm from just runing, it took another 10-15 pulls to re-start. The unit has no choke, only a primer bulb which I believe contributes to hard starting. Zapped by "big brother" again!

UPDATE: After using this edger for about 2 months, I believe my rating to be a little to hard. The problem is that the number of pump primes needed to start the machine cold is considerably more than stated in the instructions, at least on my edger. The instructions written on the edger say to pump it 3X. The instructions in the users manual say to pump the primer 6X. By experience, I've learned that if I pump it 12X, it usually starts on the first pull. As long as I know this, it is not really a problem. Our driveway is 450 feet long, so requires 900 feet of edging total (because there are two sides). The edger does a good job. However, it will only dig a maximum of 2 1/4". This is lower than other edgers I've used. Because the edge of our drive is higher than the ground, if I edgw with the wheels on the hard driveway surface per the instructions, I can only dig less than an inch deep. If I want to edge deeper (up to 2 1/4"), I have to have the wheels on the ground. This is contrary to the instructions, but works. Because I'm satisfied with the edger, and have overcome the initial starting problem, I would change my rating to a 4.0 if amazon allowed that.

I purchased this unit at Lowes on 3/18/2009 to replace a worn-out Craftsman unit that was 20 years old. I purchased the Troy-Built because of prior satifaction with another Troy-Built product, a backpack leaf blower.

I was disappointed with several features of this product after I got it home and tried to use it. 1) As others have commented, the engine is quite reluctant to start, requiring much more priming than the manual would lead you to believe. 2) There is no choke or throttle control. 3) There is no blade clutch which means that the bail has to be held at all times for the engine to start or run, and the blade is turning at all times that the engine is running. 4) The blade turns forward which means that it tends to pull the tool away from the operator, making control more difficult since the operator is pushing the tool at the same time the blade is pulling it. 5) The first time I used the tool, it threw the belt; re-installing it was more tedious than necessary. 6) The right rear wheel is intended to be height adjustable so as to control the angle when edging along a curb. This adjustment requires pulling a metal finger in-ward with one hand while the right rear of the tool is raised off of the ground, presumably gravity would then pull the wheel downward to the proper placement. My example, required a hammer to attempt to knock the wheel into the next notch. This technique also requires either two people or three hands. It cannot be done two handed.

Overall, this was not what I expected from a company with a reputation as good as Troy Built. It is possible that I just got a bad unit, but having successfully returned to Lowe's with no hassle at all, I think that I will shop around some more to find the features that I think are necessary.

I purchased the Troy-Bilt 158cc Briggs & Stratton 500 Series Gas Powered Lawn Edger. The order was fulfilled by Amazon. When it arrived, the box was a bit banged up but not bad enough in my opinion to refuse delivery. A day later I opened the box...

I was shocked how badly it was packed. No filling, no stuffing, just the bare edger floating in a thin box with no paperwork (no owners manual, no warranty, nothing). I also noticed the pull start assembly on top was deformed - most likely due to the packaging, no telling how many times it bounced around on its way to me. So I attempted to dry start the unit; shocks; it wouldn't even turn.

When I contacted Amazon, they told me no return on this unit. I attempted to argue that it was DOA. They said they would not accept return of hazardous materials. Interesting take on their part... It was okay for them to ship out hazardous materials but not accept the same in return - though no oil or gasoline was ever poured into the unit.

Since they would not reconsider, I did the next best thing I could - I contacted my credit card company and disputed the charge. We'll see where it goes...

All in all, I cannot rate the edger because I could never start it. It may be a great unit. I can certainly rate Amazon, and it's not looking good for them.

Lowe's, Troy-Bilt and Briggs Stratton are name brands and you expect quality. This edger not only missed the mark, it did not even find the page. Saying it is difficult to start is being way too nice. I took it back to Lowe's once for the starting problem. Rather than 30 attempts to start it, it was now 15-20 attempts. I took it back to Lowe's again, and now they want to charge for the repair. Before taking it back to Lowe's the second time, I took it to a local small engine repair. They quickly diagnosed the problem as a defective carburetor and said Lowe's should warranty the repair. When the primer bulb is pushed, it should shoot gas into the carburetor throat. Mine shoots the gas onto the outside wall, no where near intot he carburetor. The cheap plastic carburetor is the issue. It is probably the same issue with most of the hard start problems. Sad that it appears Lowe's Service does not stand behind their product.

As has been noted by other reviewers, this edger is very hard to start. Priming 10-15 times helps but not always. After a year of frustration, I gave it away.

Ever since Troy-Bilt sold out to the same company that makes Yard Machines and MTD junk their name has been in the toilet, and with good reason.

If you want the quality Troy-Bilt used to be known for, go buy a McLane or Little Wonder edger. Yes, you will pay more. If you are wealthy, buy a Tanaka and be happy for the rest of your life.

On the plus side, any of the aforementioned brands have this advantage over the Troy-Bilt: you won't have them out on your front sidewalk with a "free" sign on them next season.

I purchased a troy-bilt lawn edger model 554 1 month ago and have used it 3 times. The drive belt broke during the 3rd time I had used it. Uncertain as to why. I had not been "over-taxing" the system by edging through thick grass, etc. Needless to say I am very disappointed. Does anyone else who has had this problem have a suggestion as to how to avoid it from happening again? Is there an "industrial strength " belt available?

With no damage to the carton, my edger had either a frozen engine or binding accessory. I removed the spark plug and with great effort the engine can kind of turn over. I am instructed to take it to a Troy service center 30 miles from my residence. More later on that. The pull cord is out and will not retract. Even the most basic inspection at the factory should have uncovered this problem. Now Amazon says they are done with this deal and I am stuck with an inoperable and unstartable edger for which I paid $296. We'll see what the "authorized service center" comes up with but I'm reasonably confident that all the inconvenience will be borne by me the consumer and no help from Amazon.com. John Marshall, Bluewater Bay Florida

I purchased this unit at Lowe's a couple of weeks ago and was a little skeptical after reading some of the reviews online, but decided with a Briggs & Stratton motor, it was probably a dependable product. Besides, the options at Sears and Home Depot weren't any better.

Out of the box setup is a piece of cake. The unit is basically ready to go. All I had to do was swing the edger handle up into operating position and tighten the ergonomic knobs at the hingepoint. I'm happy to report that after closely following the instructions for fueling and adding oil to the unit starting the engine was a snap. I was curios to see how it would do the next several atempts, but time would tell.

A major design issue I have with this unit is the fact that the blade will always turn as long as the motor is running. There is no idle position on this machine. Also, the mechanism for depth of cut is designed so that the entire front end of the unit goes up and down instead of the blade itself. It's possible that this would be a fine way to operate the depth of cut, but given the weight of this machine and the combursome cable and handle used to raise and lower the depth of cut, this process is just plain awkward. A mechanism raising and lowering the blade alone would have been better (but I'll bet it wasn't cheaper to make that way).

The actual function of the unit started out well. It made very clean simple cuts and controlling the machine's stability wasn't much of an issue to me. Unfortunately, after 100 feet (yes 100 FEET) of edging bliss the cable that supports the depth of cut snapped at the operating handle causing the cutting blade to contact the bare concrete of my street which as you might guess made a less than desireable racket and simoultaneously chipping and warping the cutting blade. To summarize, the cable that connects the front of the machine to the operating handles had a small hooklike fastener on the end of it which connects to the handle for raising and lowering blade depth. This small hook (made of aluminum)is cast onto the cable. The cable serves to create a natural failure point in the casting. To call this a poor design is an understatement! Needless to say this is the piece that failed/broke and ultimately caused me to return the unit to Lowe's.

Fortunately, I had purchased the edger within the last 30 days so Lowe's gave me no problems with the return.

In short, The motor seemed operate flawlessly for the short time I used it, but poorly designed mechanisms on the device really undermine what could be a pretty decent machine. Since your considering spending this much on an edger anyway, just pony up a few more bucks and buy a McLane. It also has a B&S motor but the rest of the unit is built for long term use. My father in law has a McLane that he bought over 20 years ago. I'm buying an edger because I'm tired of having to borrow his. Additionally, the McLane has more features than this unit.

Put on handle,filled with oil & fuel and it started on the first pull out of the box.This only could be easier if it edged the lawn itself!.I could not be more pleased with the purchase.i have used it the entire season with no trouble and it does the job in 20 minutes.