Green Machine GM23000 2-Cycle Straight Shaft Gas Cordless Trimmer, 26cc

took out of the box and followed the directions. The plastic line guard hardware did not fit around shaft and I could not attach it.I filled it with gas/oil mix and primed it according to instructions, set the choke. pulled the rope till I had blisters and it would not start.It would not even begin to kick over, I bought fresh gas (although the month old gas ran fine in my blower) and made a fresh mix, every day for a week I tried to start this machine and it wouldn't start.Amazon was great, they returned my money and because of the nature of the item it could not be returned.I would have given it 1 star but because of amazons assistance I gave it 2.machine is a nice small machine, not to heavy, I really wish it would have worked

This thing is the real deal - depenable start, lightweight so you can go for a while and have no back pain. I read one review before buying this where the person said the arrows to wind the string are backwards and lo and behold they are. The light weight is due to the design. Thin plastic and not much housing at all lend to the light weight. I noticed when I was cutting a 200 foot line of weeds about 3 foot high on the border of my property that the unit was getting real hot - no doubt it would have burnt up if I had done aother 200 foot stretch. Use your good judgement and give it a rest. This thing is not professional grade but will perform well if treated right. Those reviews from those people who said they couldn't get the thing to start more than likely never have used gas oil mix tools. If this is you stay away from this. Get you a electric. All gas/oil mix tools have to be started in accordance with the directions or the will not start. That's the way they are.

My old Green Machine 2-Cycle Straight Shaft Gas trimmer started losing power and smoking approx 2 years ago and finally died after 22 years of trimming my 3/4 acre lot. What an awesome trimmer it was, and I didn't take the greatest care of it. I used Stabil fuel stabilizer in it for many years, maybe changed the spark plug two or three times, never drained the fuel out of it to winterize it, and it still lasted 22 years. I think the Ethanol E10 gas finally got the best of it.Anyways, I couldn't believe it when I saw this new Green Machine trimmer for about 1/2 of what it should likely be priced at. So I just bought one. I am using  MTD 6525638 TruFuel 50:1 Premixed Fuel Plus Oil  in it with zero Ethanol, and plan to use that fuel to avoid any fuel related Ethanol problems. This trimmer is very powerful, and runs great on the TruFuel. I used it at approx. 1/2 to 2/3rds throttle to edge my driveway and sidewalk, because full throttle was hard to control while edging, and as little as 1/2 throttle would get the job done. At full throttle, going through the thick grass while edging, the cutting head wanted to "walk" because the trimmer head was spinning too fast. So I toned it down and it was easy to get it at just the right speed/power for the job. Going forward, I may try and run with more throttle since I have already dug out the soil next to the concrete, so future passes this year should be easier to control and go faster.I also did one modification/upgrade. I did not want to use the provided "bump" trimmer head with dual 0.080" line. So I purchased and installed the  Tanaka 32308 No Brainer Quick Load Cutting Head for Straight Shaft String Trimmers . Since it has a lower profile trimmer head, I had to modify the grass shield on the Green Machine to move it up the pole shaft an inch or so to allow the line to clear the shield. There is a small plastic tab on the grass shield (that keeps it from moving on the shaft) that I knocked off with a 1/2 inch chisel that allowed me to slide the grass shield up the shaft until it was in the right alignment. I just tightened the wing nut on the shield again and it is plenty sturdy enough for me. For my disclaimer, you have to make your own decision if you want to make any modifications to your trimmer such as what I did. I am happy with what I did, but I am sure that the manufacturer would not approve it, and any modification you make to your trimmer is at your own risk. Just had to state that as I am not responsible for any changes that you make to anything that you own. Some lawn professionals even remove their grass shield entirely, but I wouldn't recommend that.Anyways after installing the Tanaka No Brainer trimmer head, I installed Rhino-Tuff 0.155" Round (dark red) Serrated line that I purchased from the Orange Box store because the Oregon Round 0.155" Gatorline that I bought on Amazon was slightly too large to fit the Tanaka No Brainer trimmer head.With the very powerful Green Machine equipped with the No Brainer trimmer head with 0.155" line, this beast edged my Zoysia grass that has not been edged at all this year, just like it was butter. I was able to do my initial edging pretty fast (approx. 200' of concrete of driveway and sidewalks) with a single 17" piece of 0.155" line. The line did not break and it was worn down a little more than half way by the time I finished.I originally wanted to buy a cordless lithium trimmer because I was worried about 2-Cycle Gas trimmers. However, even if this trimmer only lasted 2 years, it is cheaper than replacing a Lithium battery, and this machine is significantly more powerful than any cordless lithium trimmer. Since I am using the TruFuel, I expect this Green Machine to last many years. It may not last as long as my original Green Machine, as I assume they are now built not as well as they were 22 years ago.But I am very happy with the way this machine performs, especially with my modification to use the Tanaka No Brainer cutting head. If you make that same modification, just be aware that some 0.155" line will not work in it. They also make 0.130" line that will definitely fit it.Two other modifications that I plan to make are to replace the handle with the longer handle that came on my old Green Machine. It sticks out twice as far as the new handle and I think that will give me a little more control. Also, I plan to install an inexpensive strap such as one of these  UTS-1 Universal String Trimmer Strap . I may even duct tape a towel around the strap since I just want a cheap temporary strap. The Green Machine is not too heavy for me at all (this new one is lighter than my old trimmer), but I injured my hand not too long ago and while it is healing, I think moving much of the weight to my shoulder would be a good idea instead of holding all of the weight with my hands.Anyways I totally recommend this Green Machine. I love it, and it really is a great value for what you get. It has plenty of power to spare. I expect that I will use approx. two cans of TruFuel in it per year. You can buy TruFuel on Amazon or locally.

Never have a problem starting it when I use the correct ratio (50:1) of gas to oil mixture. It has a lot of power and it's light weight for its size. It idles freely and I've never had to adjust the carburetor. However, there is a major instructional error on the bottom of the string cog where it tells you which direction to wind new string with the 4 tiny arrows. It tells you to wind it clockwise, but that is wrong!! If you do it that way, you will not get any string to come out. It didn't take me long to figure out this instructional error after a few times of not being able to eject new string. Other than that, this is the perfect weed eater and it hasn't given me any problems. Please note that it has a tiny gas tank which meant more frequent gas fill ups than other weed eaters I have used in the past.

This weed wacker didnt make it 4 months....It was always hard to start and even shuts off on its own when it gets hot. It wasnt the way I used it, sometimes it would run an hour , other times it wouldn't start at all!....Season isn't over and guess what, It wont stay running....I trashed it and bought a stihl 4 stroke....You get what you pay for but save your money and buy quality if you can.

Was wanting something that was inexpensive to use on my small yard. Took item out of box. Had it assembled in less than 5 min. Followed instructions on gas mixture. Machine started up easily. I have used this item 8 times now. Starts up easy everytime. I even use it as an edger along the driveway. Item is light weight and handles great. When you let off the gas the engine idles normally and the rotator comes to a complete stop. Something I haven't seen before on other models like craftsmen weed eaters. I would buy this item again. For the money it works perfectly for my needs.

Ohhh, it will start, but only once a day. Be aware it only runs for 2 minutes though, so you have to be fast(experience after many tries). I have used plenty of grass powered weed eaters in my time as a maintenance man and they all seemed to run without a hitch. This thing is a pain in the behind. I didn't use it directly when I bought and now it is out of the return window, what a shame. Live and learn.