A Review Of A Honda 4 Stroke Brushcutter

This review covers the Honda UMK425U 4 Stroke 25 cc Brushcutter.

Purchase price with Honda Oil - $580.

The standard head is a bump feed which holds about 4 meters of 2.4 mm nylon. The machine also comes standard with a harness, blade and 2nd guard for the blade.

I purchased this machine only a few months ago so the long term reliability and repair costs associated with it are unknown from my own point of view. In my own opinion, brushcutters, whipper snippers, and most other machines require at least a year of commercial use before they can be evaluated fairly and properly.

The Honda brushcutter is proving smooth to operate with low vibration and medium noise levels.

Power levels on the other hand are more than adequate for everyday use on regular mowing work. On heavy duty slashing work of long grass, this machine is NOT the one to choose or use. The lack of power in these situations will in fact slow you down by perhaps 20-50%. So it will cost you money in poor productivity.

This leaves the assessment process with several possibilities:

• Accept the machine for what it is and use it for everyday use with good reliability and performance, and accept that you will be slowed down on the rare slashing jobs or buy and use a larger back up machine,
• Buy a 2 stroke which will have the extra power available when you need it, on a few jobs now and then,
• Buy the 35 cc model for when you need the extra power. I wouldn't recommend this option because the extra fatigue caused by using a heavier machine throughout the day CAN and eventually WILL cause health problems (tendons, joints RSI etc - possibly shortening a career).

So I can honestly say at this point in it's life cycle, I am happy with the purchase.

I've been advised by other parties that continuing use of this 4 Stroke machine on an angle is not a smart idea because it inhibits the flow of oil around the engine, I can't confirm or deny this.

An Update - 18 Months Later

This is an update on the performance of this machine 18 months after it was purchased and the original review was written.

I am very happy with this machine, it has proven to be my most reliable brushcutter of the 4 I have used in the past 7 years which have been used commercially. Today, it still runs smoothly, does the job well and starts without effort.

Common problems I have faced with brushcutters in the past have been worn out clutches, engine gaskets blowing, unreliable performance and starting, and carbys breaking. All these problems surfaced within the first 18 months of owning these machines, yet I have seen none of these problems with the Honda, it continues to run like the day I bought it.

The only problem I have noticed is when I use the Honda heads, which do seem to wear out rather quickly, other brands are available which may overcome this problem.

I have had no problem with engine performance whatsoever whenever using it on an angle, which is frequently, so if the mower shop tells you something like this, it's fluff. As I stated previously it is underpowered for slashing work, but for normal everyday purposes, it's top notch!

I can state without hesitation that this is one of the best machinery purchases I've ever made for my business, and highly recommend it to anyone looking to purchase a new brushcutter.