Planned Obsolescence?! Why Would STIHL and ECHO Do This?!
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
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My name is Bre. I took two years of small engine repair at the local college. When I left school, I fell into a wonderful job at a local small engine shop where I worked the counter for a couple years. In 2010 my husband and I opened up our own small engine shop in central Arkansas where I am able to work alongside my family and best friends. We see over 2,000 pieces of small engine equipment every year, and answer 1,000's of small engine questions. We specialize in brands such as Briggs and Stratton, Kohler, Echo and Shindaiwa, but work everyday on MANY other brands like Stihl, Husqvarna, Honda, Craftsman, Remington, Red Max, Troy Bilt, Scag, Bad Boy, Hustler, World Lawn, Poulan, Mantis, Etc.. Hopefully, my experience I share, will save you Time, Money and Frustration in the future!
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I am a retired small engine technician.I sometimes work on equipment from my friends and when I run into something I have not seen I check your site for an update. You are a straight shooter and I appreciate it.
So that they throw it away and buy a new one
Good video, I removed the grease plug on my two Shinduawa trimmers, drilled and tapped them for zerk fittings. One or two pumps from the grease gun periodically has worked well. They are about 20 years old and still going strong. I’m working on 5 acres which has to be cleared each season. Keep your great videos coming. Randy
I like that idea; sounds pretty simple to do, so I'm going to try it with the trimmer I bought last year. What's the worst that can happen? I'll need to buy a new lower shaft like she says? Worth a try. Thanks!
@@d.e.b.b5788 The worst that can happen: You blow out the seals on your hub. Mechanisms that have zerk fittings to allow you to pump grease in must also have a vent to let the old grease out on the other side. A hub like these does not have the vent, so when you pump grease in under pressure, it will have to find a way to let the old grease out.... thus damaging your seals. That is why these hubs do not have zerk fittings, you are supposed to just press the grease in with your fingers or a spoon, not under pressure.
Then why did older trimmers have zerks which worked without problem? If a missing vent hole is the problem (did the old trimmers have vents?) then it seems simple to drill a small hole in the appropriate area. None of my lawn equipment's zerks have vents--you pump grease into them until a little peeps out the seal. Presumably that's where the old grease eventually escapes anyway.@@JamieTransNyc
@@rcnelson Bushing (what I assume you are talking about greasing) and gearboxes are a bit different. You could do like you said and drill a vent hole, but you might still end up with too much grease in there and have it come out the seals once things heat up, or in a worst case, push a seal out of its bore.
I have never seen a trimmer with a zerk, just a plug you remove and stuff grease inside manually.
@@JamieTransNyc I assume they use lip seals to seal the shaft, they will work like a vent most of the time. Not ideal though.
As a manufacturing engineer, that is what is required of almost everything made. It's called: designed obsolescence. In college we had an entire course on designing for obsolescence after a specific time.
That's some immoral garbage to waste money and fill the world with more garbage...
@@DieLuftwaffel world is a business
@@DieLuftwaffel
It's not immoral, it's unethical. It's also been going on for many decades. My father taught me about the concept one day when we were out looking at new cars. That was back in the 70s, and manufacturers have been utilizing this since well before then. It's how they ensure that, sooner rather than later, folks will need to replace their product.
People should be ashamed for some of the junk they design now. Lubed for life stuff is a joke. Who's life, what life are they talking about. I recently bought a new pickup, I still have my old Ford. If I would of had the time I would much rather had my old truck totally refurbished than had a new one. The quality was much better .
@@Rotorhead1651 Designed obsolescence (or planned obsolescence, which is the more familiar term) to me is something engineers should not be taught. This is one of many reasons companies like Apple, Samsung and John Deere are getting a push back from customers for the right to repair the devices they bought.
My experience with universal joints is that the well sealed, non greaseable, OG, factory joints last 10 years. When people insist on greaseable replacement joints, they're never greased and they're back for new joints 2-3 years later. Introducing dirt and the wrong type of grease doesn't help the gear set.
A great point. I've seen this on my own vehicles even though they did get greased.
Had my Toyota Tundra for 12 years, 390,000 Km’s Greasable U-Joints. Never touched one, other than to grease them! New truck has them all sealed.
I don’t want sealed U-Joints
One of the reasons for NOT using greaseable U-joints is, Non greaseable u-joints are much stronger! As much as twice as strong, because of the hole that runs through the middle of them. I worked in race car prep shops when I was young and was told by factory reps., and an engineer. I asked, it seemed to make sense.
In this application where there is no void in the metal of the gears, it doesn't make sense to not have a way to conveniently grease the gears inside.
@@drummer0864 Your story makes no sense.
1 - How many broken U-Joints have you seen?
It’s a very rare occurrence, normally
damaged from lack of lubricant.
2 - Have you ever seen a gear in a U-Joint?
If you have, please send us a picture.
@@davehudson4607 Greaseable u-joints are cross drilled for the grease to get to the bearing caps. There for, they are not as strong as solids u-joints are. You can still grease them just have to take the out and put them back in. If gears were cross drilled they would not be as strong for the same reason. You brought up u-joints and I did not intend to confuse anyone making that comparison. Back in the 60's and 70's, I saw a lot of broken u-joints, as I worked in a speed shop that repaired and built drag cars. lots of muscle cars back then. I also worked in a repair/ gas station right on an interstate and saw a few there too. Those were mostly from lack of maintenance. Having a gearset that is not readily service with some kind of lubricant is defiantly a set up for failure. Just so you don't think I'm some nut job, all you have to do is be able to get the lub in the case and the gears will distribute the grease where it needs to go. They don't have to be drilled. Are we ok now?
Greed never goes out of style. Take care of all your equipment. Don't give these companies a dime more than you have to.
Most of my equipment is more than 30 years Old, so when things break, I use my other Good Old Tools to repair everything I own. My craftsman tools were given to me in that gray Box, 50 years ago for Christmas. Kathy gave them to me. LOL and big smiles....
Except when you need new parts. Don't trust the knockoffs.
If these companies don't continue to chase pennies like this they go out of business. Free market IE globalist crapitalism for you.
I got an antique sythe sickle with two foot blade still works and sharpen when needed 😜🤔
Large land tracts no lawn mower 🤔
I use my Stihl Trimmer and Blower at one (1) Residence Only and had a Variety of Issues over the past 12-15 years with both. Some were Replaced Under Warranty. 🤔
Can almost guarantee it was not the Engineers that wanted this change, it was the bean counters. My experience in the auto industry, is that the bean counters win more than the Engineers.
If the company is asking for it they prob have to fo it, I'm n guessing at this though.
High! 😊
American consumers are demanding manufactures build cheap tools so they can stay comfortably blind to the devaluation of the US Dollar
Bean counters cost companies more money than they save.
@@dennislaws5187 Especially when it ends up costing them a fortune in warranty work.
I’ve got a straight shaft craftsman. Don’t use it a lot. Never even thought about greasing the gear head. Don’t think it’s got a grease nipple on it. Thanks for the info.
Greetings from Europe!🙋
I used to work for a STIHL dealership for 7 years and we were told that the lower range home trimmers (FS 55/56/70) should be serviced every year or so. Our workshop greased the gearheads by extracting one bearing. I think STIHL used the removal of the grease plugs on the lower range of trimmers either to promote their semi-pro (FS 89 onwards) range or to make more cash for their dealerships.
Could you/we not just install a service grease nipple?.. Anywhere in the housing,.. And we would be back in the good servicing track for these equipments?.
@@gorgon9786 technically, yeah sure, it's possible, but the regular Joe who's gonna buy the cheapest tool in the range usually lacks the knowledge, motivation and funds to improve it; at best they'll maintain it by the book (in most cases not).
I love your honesty and practical approach to companies efforts to stick it to the customer. Myself, I have had to fab grease fittings where they didn't exist. A lot of folks may not want to drill and tap, or have a shop of their own. I usually buy used, and go from there. Thank you for helping people deal with "The Man" .
I noticed the lack of grease plugs on stihl strimmer gear heads a few years back, when i started in small equipment back in 1988 we always told customers to regularly grease the gear heads or they would scrap their machine, repairs would out cost the value of the machine.
I recently tried finding a fuel tank for an FS 108 brush saw, needless to say it's obsolete. I'll admit it is an older brush saw but hey she still runs like a champ. (no more air filters available either so I just made one out of a cheap sponge made from similar material)
I think they started this MANY years ago, now that you mention the fuel tank..ALL the manufacturers, from WAYY back when, decided to make the fuel tanks on trimmers from a material that CANNOT be repaired satisfactory with ANYTHING when they crack or a hole wears in them..nope, nothing works for long..JB weld, epoxy, even plastic welder, nothing..they always leak...then they charge you out the ears for a new one(I remember a new tank for a Green Machine was over $50 WAY BACK IN THE 1980's!)..then, when they become obsolete, you can't get a new tank, can't really repair the old one, and a used one off another model won't fit-not even close..so...time for a new trimmer!....
@@dyer2cycle You might try plastic welders again. I've repaired many small engine "plastic" gas tanks with a $12 Harbor Freight plastic welder...in just a few minutes. Granted...you need to learn how to use the plastic welder...there is a learning curve. Have used this plastic welder on MANY other plastic projects too. Oh..remember to wear gloves while using the HOT welder.
Haven't tried a HF plastic welder..might have to try that...used to try plastic welding with soldering irons, etc...I think most of those older tanks were nylon, seemed nothing would bond with them. I will say, glues, epoxies, JB Welds, etc., etc. are a complete wasted effort..they will NOT hold leak-free long term...@@thinking6307
@@thinking6307 good tip
@@dyer2cycle Have you tried Seal All? It is intended to be used on plastic fuel tanks
IKR? It wouldn't be the first time I've tapped and installed my own zert in something.
In the 90s I noticed a trend of small 2 stroke motors beginning to have half a "crank", only one bearing and flywheel to hold the crank pin. Briggs & Stratton also went to plastic (either nylon or delrin?) cam lobes on their 4-stroke motors.
Wow! So, that's when all of that started.
I am extremely impressed with your discussion of the missing grease plugs on new gear heads. I think if I ever really work with small engines your site will be a must-watch for my own education and understanding of current practices. I did watch this video to the end and it looks like you had some really scary moments. My suggestion is to never work alone and after dark in your place of business. Always have one or two others in the shop with you. I know you have to pay them, and perhaps as overtime compensation, but having others with you is really best. Never answer the door to a stranger after closing hours as well. Perhaps by appointment with someone you know, and with some helpers also in the shop with you, it is okay. But never alone. Never with a stranger. I once saw a sign on the back door of a Starbucks warning the reader to never, ever open that door during the hours of darkness for anyone knocking on it. I think that is good advice for any shop employee. There is much safety in a group. I apologize for seeming so lecturing.
That’s not even lecturing, that’s projecting your fears.
She's probably got a shooty thing anyway
I am 62. And still in the fight( Thanks To You) You are awesome
My kid says I modify everything, its true.
If their is no grease head, drill a hole and add a zert. I have added zerts to many things. Just last week the brakes on a older quad did not work, brake pedal was frozen up, no grease. The only way to add grease is remove panels, foot pegs and such, then remove brake pedal clean and grease. Simple fix, drill tap and add a grease zert. I have done this to several dirt bikes swing arms as well.
That reminds me i need to grease mine! Already have the stihl grease just haven't done it! Thanks Chickanic
Glad you covered this I wondered why I could not find grease plug on my Stihl. Now I know.
Wondering if you can drill and tap for grease plug.
Great video.
My family and I own two Stihl retail stores in SE GA ,Ive worked on the equipment for 15 years and almost never have to put gear boxes on the FS56c and thats are best selling trimmer. Stihl also has sealed gear boxes on the edgers now and never have problems with those either, We service and sell hundreds of units a year. I will admit I was weary of them as well but have had very little issues with them!
I too have not seen a gearbox failure on a Stihl with sealed unit, but time will tell right
On a side note, Stihl's warranty is incredible for dealers.
I bought a srm2620 last week with a build date of June 2023 and it has the grease plug.
My first experience with planned obsolescence was when my cousins brand new Ford truck blew its engine. Turns out the oil pump relied on a single plastic gear that was supposed to be replaced at a specific mileage. He went slightly farther than that and it failed, the whole engine blew.
I had the upper shaft of my ~10 year old Husqvarna string trimmer go bad last year with the plastic bearings for the flexible drive shaft melted. A new genuine shaft housing with all the interior parts was about $35 on line. It was about a 10 minute job to swap out the shaft. I’ll bet a lot of owners would have just scrapped the machine and headed to a big box store for a replacement.
Ridiculous. Glad you got it fixed though.
@@BritonAD Thanks for the reply. It pays to do a little homework to see if parts are available to repair equipment. Sometime you get lucky, but sometimes you’ve got to junk equipment which could be fixed if parts were available.
The FS 55, 56, AND 70 are sold without a grease plug for at least 10 years in my country.
i have never looked into that before but if i had to guess the bearings in that head maybe a ZZ bearing which are sealed so no need to re grease they are replace when shot or replace hole head.
people don't grease it because they don't READ the literature or about scheduled maintenance.. (most people and some shops don't even know about the decoking procedure on 4mix engines! or that they discontinued the product for that procedure yet its still part of scheduled maintenance)fyi.. they sell a tube of grease that threads In that bolt hole... bonus tip.. running the trimmer enough to spin the head will help when trying to get the the grease in it!
Way back in 74 when I got out of the Navy I worked for an appliance repair shop where the owner and head tech explained to me that refrigerators were designed to only last for 7years and I have been watching everything with a callus eye since then.
I noticed the lack of grease plugs lately. The first thing i do to a new weed whipper is PUT GREASE IN IT! So now I remove the gearbox and load grease thrugh the top! A holes
👍👍So much of this world is BS.
Love my Makita - Dolmars. They are simple and solid.
i been running stihl trimmers for 30 years commercially. never greased a head. engines wear out first. i buy new stihl power heads and put old shaft/head on and keep running them
Nice. You need a Big Wheel (28 feet in diameter). At 4:00 we have our problem statement: 12000 RPMs (revolutions per minute) at 400 MPH (miles per hour). What is the radius of the wheel? I talked it over with ChatGPT and here's what it said: If I have a wheel rotating at 12000 RPMs (revolutions per minute) what radius must the wheel have if the speed is 400 MPH (miles per hour).
ChatGPT
To determine the radius of the wheel, we will:
Convert the speed from miles per hour (MPH) to feet per minute (FPM) since there are 5,280 feet in a mile.
Calculate the circumference of the wheel.
Divide the speed in feet per minute (FPM) by the revolutions per minute (RPM) to find the circumference (since circumference = distance/revolution).
Use the circumference to find the radius.
Given:
Speed ss = 400 MPH
RPM = 12,000
Convert 400 MPH to FPM:
sFPM=400×5280=2,112,000 feet per minutesFPM=400×5280=2,112,000 feet per minute
2 & 3. Calculate circumference CC of the wheel:
C=sFPMRPMC=RPMsFPM
C=2,112,000 feet per minute12,000=176 feetC=12,0002,112,000 feet per minute=176 feet
The formula for circumference of a circle is C=2πrC=2πr, where rr is the radius. Solving for rr we get:
r=C2πr=2πC
r=1762×3.14159r=2×3.14159176
r≈28 feetr≈28 feet
So, the radius of the wheel must be approximately 28 feet.
When I changed out the rear U joint on my truck the new one came with a grease fitting. I thought that was strange since the original one didn't have one. The parts guy said the originals were supposed to be "permanently lubricated". Which apparently was not true since at 80,000 miles the lube was gone and I was turning needle bearings into dust one revolution at a time.
I think manufacturers claim permanent lubrication because that is true, up until the end of the warranty timeframe. To them, that's permanent, cause after that they don't care how much longer it lasts. In their opinion if its beyond warranty, then its time to be replaced anyway.
Girl! Please have a talk with Louis Rossmann on this issue and right to repair
About 12 years ago, when we bought 10 acres, I bought an echo weed eater and a small echo chainsaw, on the advice of a friend. I don't abuse equip., but use hard. Last weekend I used the weedeater, literally started on the first pull. The chainsaw carb. started leaking gas a few years ago, I put on a $20 amazon replacement, and it's working like new again (added a larger echo chainsaw about that time), the only maint. they have ever needed was cleaning fuel filter. When I lived in the burbs I would buy the cheapo weed eaters and was lucky to get a few years before something broke. I will never say anything bad about echo, I have been amazed.
I worked for a Japanese car company years ago. We were presented with 3 versions for each part. One was high end, expensive, but would last almost indefinitely. One medium quality, and one cheaply made.
The manufacturer would then choose which level part to produce, price point….
I can tell you we are not getting close to the same quality parts in our vehicles as we used to.
Have you ever heard of Toastmaster toaster? We have one that my parents received as a wedding gift in 1947. It still works. The only reason we quit using it is because they widened bread so bread won’t fit in the old 76 year old toaster. Toastmaster went out of business because their product was too good. How long does the typical widebody toaster last? About 5 years max. Toastmaster is a tale told in business and engineering classes to illustrate the benefits of planned obsolescence.
Keep it. Seems like the farther back you go the better it's built.
i absolutely love the way you explain many of these items, you have helped me a good number of times! Thank You!
Thanks for producing another interesting, thought provoking video. I discussed with the local ECHO dealer about it. He'd been in business for ~40 years (because I don't have permission, I won't name him). Even he didn't know about the sealed head. He also stated that he may have had to replace 10 trimmer heads in all those years. Mainly due to breakage from abuse. From my own experience, I had a Ryobi trimmer for 30 years. Used it as a homeowner. Never gave second thought to the head. However, thanks for the tip on replacing the head, just in case.
Man you lucked out with the Ryobi!
Just like how most, if not all, vehicle manufacturers have eliminated dipsticks for the automatic transmission, and now some have also eliminated them for the engine!
You sort of addressed my comment. If most of your customers don't realize they have a grease port, and you rarely see an Echo trimmer that has a failed head, then there doesn't seem to be much need for the grease port - at least on Echos.
They don't realize there's a fitting/was a fitting because they're manuals didn't show them! This was designed for service techs, not most homeowner users. And most people probably don't take their trimmer to a shop unless it's already broke. I bought a new FS70 earlier this year. It has no fitting. I'll take it apart and grease it myself, but I'll forever avoid buying another Stihl anything!
My brand new I Stihl FS-56 RC- trimmer has a 26-2 cutting head on it and it has a grease plug on it, just like my 30 year old FS-76. My trimmers have never turned 12,000 🎉RPMs. About 9,100 is the max that I have ever set them. I have never had to replace a gear head. I grease my gear heads several times a year. And remove the straight shaft about every ten years and clean and lube it, deadlier if it get noisy.
You said it. For most users they don’t know what a grease nipple is for even if it had one. A good many consumers buy small equipment, use for a season, and when it runs out of gas and won’t start, they buy a new one.
Thank you for both your knowledge and your honesty.
Great info! This is why I watch every one of your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Engineer here. The synthetic greases that are used today are much better than the old grease that we used for everything 20 yrs ago. My company builds tie rods and ball joints. Mostly automotive. All joints are sealed with special grease that does not break down. No grease fittings. No debris gets inside. Should last 30 plus years in severe road conditions. They will outlast the car if you stay out of the ditch.
Just take a tiny drill bit and drill a hole through that outside housing use your chainsaw bar greeser and Greese it full Like years ago when we used to Greece the nose sprocket of the chainsaw bar works just fine
Drill a hole where it use to be and tap out for a grease fitting simple add you own. It will probably get greased more often than not then.
Call them out. I sure do. You keep being awesome.
Same thing on your spindles for your lawn mowers most of them don't have grease fittings The wear out quicker buy or beware
Didn't know they come without them. Even my angle grinders get dissembled, cleaned n re-grease the gears. If the head is getting unusually hot it's a sign.
You are one of the best small engine mechanics out there keep the videos come. You rock girl
drill and tap for zerk. it works grate
Retired dealer here. I would take the fitting off a long time ago. 99.9 percent didn't have a clue what the fittings was for !!!! Manual, who reads them anyway?
Something similar to this is Arrow Swivel Riveter #RHT300 which they've changed to Quick Change Color Coded rivet heads that don't require the Wrench Tool to change out the rivet heads, so the Tool is no longer provided in the handle pouch. The idiots don't realize that the tool is also needed to access the barrel when the rivet gun jams. I sent the first order back because I thought it was a mistake, but the reordered package was also missing the wrench tool but it's clearly pictured in their advertising, and the description says it comes with a wrench tool.
for the last 20 years cut the lawn and drove my john deer riding lawn mower straight into the shed and closed the door. changed the oil once every couple years, a flat tire every yeah or two. and washed it probably 4 times total. although i have gone through about 14 sets of blades but whos to say who is at fault for that one. (every other machine and tool i own is very well taken care of though.) i hate cutting the grass. i just feel like its 3 very tree filled acers off of my most likely very short life.
I wonder how hard it would be to drill, NPT tap, and plug to make our own grease plug. Thank you!
This is the trend in all manufacturing today. Commercial trucks aka tractor trailer power units have no grease fittings on their universal joints. Most of these trucks are putting over 1800 ft lbs of torque through these joints and no way to grease them. I see them almost every week one the side of the road with the driveshaft hanging down aka broken u-joint. Gotta love the new way of screwing the buyer
What about drilling and tapping a grease fitting into those things?
you can pull the gear head off the shaft and grease it that way. After all you are supposed to grease the drive shaft inside the tube by removing it and slathering the grease so put some in the head when you take it off to do you shaft maintenance.
Thank you for important information.
drill it tap it install a grease fitting end of problem I even do this with my trimmers with grease plugs
One year old Ryobi 40v blower parts have been discontinued! Planned obsolescence!
Most people cant operate a grease gun, definately cant load one. I have seen to many with to much grease in it, and somd where they pumped so much grease in it that the shaft was packed half way up the trimmer. Others break the Zerk fitting off. You cant fix stupid. Dont beat a dead horse.
Without grease plug: The mould is very slightly more simple and requires very very slightly less metal. They don't need to cut threats into a hole that doesn't exist anymore, saving a tiny bit more money. And they don't need to make and install that bolt. All in all, it makes the machine a tiny bit cheaper. Let's say 10 Cents in total. No matter if it's Dollar Cents or Euro Cents, it's close together. If they sell 10 Million machines per year, they made 1 Million USD/EUR of extra revenue just by deleting the grease plug.
In private use you get pretty far without ever greasing the head because you simply don't get many hours on it. In professional use, you wear out a head quickly when you can't grease it properly and you have to buy replacement much more often, which means millions of USD/EUR extra for the manufacturers.
I'm an engineer, but I'm an electrical engineer, so I can't help you. But I WILL say... I'm glad I went with an attachment system. I have an Echo PAS. This may be like the automotobile manufacturers who claim that the fluid in the transmission will last the lifetime of the vehicle. If you figure that a destroyed transmission will often end the life of the vehicle, then I guess they're right.
I recently purchased a Makita xru15pt1 36v electric brushless string trimmer and don't see a grease fitting on mine either! I'm just a homeowner and won't be using it as much so hopefully it s😢
They probably held some customer clinics and found that 99% of customers didn't know they had to grease the gear head and had never done so. Then the cost cutters deleted it ruining the company's reputation for durability.
its pretty simple they took the grease plug out so the gears will wear out and you either have to buy a new gear head or a whole new trimmer which is what they are banking on
Up sell. Offer to drill and tap a hole to be able to grease them then. 20 min of work to save having to replacing is worth it.
June 23, 2023 2 pm. Went to homedepot to purchase a Honda mower. Homedepot pulled all Honda mowers off the shelf. What is going on?
Bri made a video that she uploaded last October 29, (2022) explaining that Honda was getting out of the lawnmower manufacturing thing in 2023. It's now 2023. Why they would do this is beyond me.
@@edwardschwenk3100 Yeah I saw that video set for Sept 2023. I checked homedepot stock inventory and they had 17 in stock. I went the next day the salesperson stated that they were told to pull them from the shelf. I'm wondering if that was my last chance.
I couldn't believe my son's 2005 Mustang didn't have a dipstick to check the transmission fluid, either...not being able to check or add fluids is ridiculous on anything...as far as gearheads, I have only had 1 or 2 Echo ones stripped, with hard use/abuse any many, many hours(been doing this for 35 years...not so much anymore)..the Stihl ones, I've seen many stripped, usually abuse. They were decent, but didn't seem as strong overall as the Echos...Husqvarna 123, 223, 325, early 323 and 326 trimmers had REALLY weak gearheads that almost always wound up stripped out eventually, even under moderate use...they did come out with a better replacement and superceded the old gearheads, early in the production run of the 326(they can be identified by having a bigger diameter gear bulge on the housing). This same basic gearhead is still used on the 525 series trimmers...it seems to be roughly on par with the Stihl gearheads on durability. Also, many manufacturers will use a cheaper, weaker gearhead on their low-end consumer models. Example would be the Husqvarna trimmers, the low-end consumer models typically designed and manufactured by Poulan will have a cheaper weaker different design gearhead than the pro models....
Call the Product Managers and ask them on the Phone - then play it for us or tell us what they said.
They went the way of the automakers "sealed" transmissions, they claim you don't need to replace the fluid.
At night when everybody is sleeping the lube ferry comes out of the bearings and lubes themselves. 😂
Follow the MONEY... Is it possible to tap the shaft and put a grease fitting on it?
Next time someone knocks on your door that late, just fire up a chain saw :)
I would think grease is too heavy for a high rpm part. They should be sealed in an oil bath.
Oh. Now talk about the lack of nose grease hole on the Stihl chainsaw bars!
Synthetic grease might be the reason. I have seen huge improvement in the live of a gearbox with the use of synthetic grease or oil.
They did away with the grease plug for the same reason they did away with oil drain plugs in car transmissions. Some bean counter figured if they saved .02 cents on a million units, they can save a bundle of money.
If it is a greased and sealed unit just like a bearing it should not need grease in the future if it is sealed properly.
Stihl has had a fantasy of moving metal parts being "permanently lubricated" I believe it started in the sprockets of their chainsaw bars
Uh oh, grease plug?! I'm supposed to grease these?!! Running out to my shed right now, lol!
How often should you grease your strimmer head?
It is a drag that they've omitted the grease fitting, but since probably 85% of the users don't know there was one and another 10% don't grease them anyway, it's already proven that the heads last a long time without any attention. Can kind of see the manufacturers ask themselves, why bother.
Can the head be disassembled & reassembled so you can drill & tap & add your own plug ?
Hey, they're just following the most successful companies. Ford, GM, Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, etc., pretty much every company is now making disposable products, requiring that we buy a brand new version every few years.
Opportunity of .09 savings per head, limited warranty claims and majority of users never grease them so they decide let’s removed it. I am sure they have added a ultra secret lifetime lube to ensure service expectations are met. That’s how cost savings work at the Company work for. Same with unjoints, ball joints etc…….
I'm glad someone's paying attention I'm seeing this sort of stuff on all sorts of things it's all about the almighty dollar
They removed the grease fitting because they don't want it to last and wear out sooner, so they can sake more parts.
Greed examples:
Rich people who keep trying to get more and more money are often accused by being greedy.😒
Prices on the split boom will be going up
Bean counters we can Save .5cents for every head! People dont use them anyways and no one is gonna notice! We Noticed the question is who is running things behind the scenes that both noticed that the other took it out n did the same n removed the pluggie
Nothing wrong with pointing out garbage products when you see them!
I have an Echo trimmer, bought in 2010 never greased it. I think it is time to grease it.
What I don’t like is that these companies put plastic as critical engine components!😠 So much plastic instead of metal! Gets harder to find plastic parts as they get older! Cracked plastic parts, plastic gears that easily grind or shear and many times hard to find replacement parts! If found can be exorbitantly expensive to boot!
Glad my srm-225 is 3 years old.
should i clean out the inside with brake cleaner before greasing or just add more grease to the old?
I grease my units every 50 hrs. But I wonder where the old grease goes?