Troy Bilt TB 575 Review

Troy Bilt TB 575 ReviewIntroduction

With Honda not available through Amazon, there are only a couple of 4 bangers out there.  The TB-575 is one of em.  We think it’s the best of the bunch to be honest.

As a reminder the benefits of a 4 stroke brush cutter/stringer

  • No More Fuel Mixing
  • Quieter/Less Vibration
  • Less Noxious Fumes
  • Carb Compliant

But the downsides

  • More complicated than a 2 stroke
  • Harder to use the trimmer as an “edger” as oil runs out of the pan.
  • Heavier

Specs

With that out of the way, the TB 575 does have pretty good specs.  Weighing in at 13 lbs, with an engine that boasts 29 cubic centimeters of displacement, and making a good bit power. (Oddly HP #’s are hard to find). With a D Loop handle and a straight shaft, this should be ready for some serious Weed Eating.

Attachments – You should be able to attach your other Troy Bilt attachments.

Usage and operation

Start Up  – The reviews are mixed on how easy it is to start and how well it keeps going.   The general trend is that people that are very good about running the unit on 100% pure gasoline, with no ethanol, they have no problems.  Whenever I see someone has carburetor issues, it’s often a fuel problem.  But the carb is what mixes the air and the fuel.  If there are problems there, the machine will not start right or ever run right.

A lot of users found that it was hard to start. Some even went as far as to jump start and that did not work well.

There is an easy start option for those who are not fans of the pull start. The easy/jump start uses a power tool to get the motor going.

Idle and Restart – For those that were able to get started and keep it running they found that it would not start once the engine got hot or the outside temperature was very warm.

All that being said many found it was easy to adjust the idle after it was started.  This is sometimes a problem on brush cutters and weed eaters.

Ergonomics –  When it comes the ergonomics of the TB 575, it is a big dumb oaf. Most reviewers say that the unit is very heavy for a string trimmer.  On top of being very heavy,  It does not come with a harness. So a prudent buyer would get a harness when they buy this unit.

When you are actually using the unit, the lack of harness make it very awkward. When something is hard to use you use it less or you hate it whenever you use it. Never a good sign

Vibration and Noise –  Using the machine is like riding a roller coaster. It vibrates a lot which is what you expects with the cutting tool but there is no vibration protection in the handles. And what that means is, when you’re actually cutting you are vibrating the hell out of your elbows.  Many describe the unit as loud.

Bump Head Design, Line Feed, and Reload – The spool  is not well designed. Now when you have to reload the line it is he’s easy to do but since the the poor design makes the string snaps. This means that you have to rethread constantly. When it comes to adding more line the bump head does not work well.  This is a common complaint on these models, and it’s hard to chalk it up to user error.  Indeed, if everyone is making the same mistake – perhaps a redesign is in order.

Sometimes  the head comes apart. Other times is hard to change the line.  And under heavy usage the head will get hot and some of the internals melt.

Long Term

Build Quality – In terms of build quality, there were many recorded complaints

  • Gas cap leaks
  • Screws are poor
  • Air filter housing fell off.

Long Term Engine Issues – In terms of the engine it has oil problems. Either the engine runs to hot) all of the oil, or the engine itself leaks oil. When these things happen the engine overheats. One user even opened the inside of his engine and found that pieces that fell off into the case itself and scratch the size of the cylinder. Once the sides of the cylinder are scratched, the engine will lose compression. Once you lose compression, you lose power. If you lose power you cannot do the job.

Endemic to all two-stroke engines there are fuel problems. Either the user uses ethanol instead of pure gasoline. ethanol corrodes and rots the fuel line between the tank and the engine itself. Or ethanol itself gums up the carburetor.

No Clutch – In terms of transmitting the power from the engine to the cutting head the TB575 does not use a clutch. Motor turns the shaft which turns the head. When using it as a brush cutter, this design flaw means that you have a one-to-one relationship with the power of the engine and the cutting strength of the blade.

Conclusion

In terms of using the tool is actually better to use it as a brush cutter rather than a weed eater.  But by limiting the function, we can put this on the short list.