Stihl FS-240 vs. FS-310

[Axe and Anvil]

My first post on The Forestry Forum, I love the forum, and I'm proud to be here! 8) I came for the timber framing, but first I need help on trimmer/brushcutters.  :D Don't know if this is the right board or not (admins feel free to move it), but I'm looking at picking up a new Stihl trimmer/brushcutter, and wanted opinions on which of these two machines would be the better buy. The 310 is 4-stroke, which doesn't really bother me, and I think the 240 is 2-stroke, and appears to be slightly more powerful and very slightly lighter. I've read of at least one person claiming the gearbox is more robust on the 310, which is VERY appealing, and the anti-vibration feature on the 310 sounds VERY, VERY appealing...

We live on the family "farm" with over 100 acres of hardwood timber, and this machine will get used extensively for clearing shooting lanes, limbing trees, clearing fencerows, etc, in addition to heavy grass and weed clearing/trimming.

[joe_indi]

With the 310 you have a 4 Mix (4 Stroke) that has fantastic torque , even it has a few ccs less displacement than the 240.
Add to that the 310 is the comfort version of the FS130.
With its four point anti vibe system you have less fatigue for longer hours of work.
And the engine is extremely frugal on fuel.
Cons are that the valves will need adjustment once in a way, better done DIY to save money. If left unused for long periods the carb tends to play up. Solved by running it at least once a month on fresh fuel for 10 minutes.
The weight of the 310 comes from the extra hardware such as metal fan housing, anti vibe  unit, beefier drive tube and shaft and a bigger gear box.bigger drive tube.

The 240 has the new gen 2Mix  exhaust stratified engine. Uses less about 20% less fuel than a regular engine of the same size, lots of mid range power, very light weight.
Its a pro brushcutter but the 310 is in the clearing saw class.
In your place I would go with the 310 any day
Joe

[streem26]

I have a commercial Stihl straight shaft trimmer with the handle grips, not sure which model. I have a round saw blade on it and it makes short work of briars, saplings and all sorts of brush. I use it to trim back paths, create new paths and cut shooting lanes. It works great and when that blade is sharp it will cut down 6" trees if you need to without a problem. I really like it and it is a work horse.