SHINDAIWA T262 / ECHO SRM-2620 (same trimmer?)

[Merkava_4]

http://www.shindaiwa-usa.com/Products/T ... /T262.aspx

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tRnmphRkmtk/maxresdefault.jpg

They look the same other than colors.

[KE4AVB]

Very possible as the brands owned and distributed by Yamabiko are Kioritz, Shindaiwa and Echo. Kioritz (Echo) merged in 2008 with Shindaiwa.

[bgsengine]

Yep - pretty much the same machine in different colors it appears from the parts list.. same WYG-9 carburetor same engine specs. and as noted Shindaiwa and Echo are fraternal twins these days much of it all being actually built in the USA in the Lake Zurich, IL Plant..

[Merkava_4]

It's looking like the Shindaiwa version is going with a solid steel drive shaft as per info from dealer.

[KE4AVB]

Maybe bgsengine can tell us if the C504000050 shaft is solid core or not as it is use on about 40 different Echo bushcutters.

[sawman]

When the SRM-2620 was first introduced it had the hollow steel drive shaft. In December of 2016 ECHO made a running change to the flex cable. To identify units built with the flex cable the serial numbers will have a prefix of; T942, T943 and T944 or a date on the emission decal of Dec 2016 or later. Also another visual identifier out of box the trimmer heads will have a Black colored trimmer line. The changes were implemented to alleviate some vibration concerns some users were finding at certain RPM’s
The Shindaiwa T262 has no released running change as of yet and it has the solid shaft.

[bgsengine]

Also they have an update kit to retro-fit older SRM-2620 to the flex shaft - steel shaft has splined ends, flex shaft does not. They have not done so with the T262 as of yet - likely due to the concern not showing up in the Shindaiwa version but the part number mentioned is the same and is listed as solid steel shaft - though we have not had to replace any so I havent had one of them in hand to verify solid or hollow.

[KE4AVB]

Tnx, BGS as that's my problem as I haven't seen any either. The two Echos I worked on where flex shafts.

[BLES]

According to dealer update last month, only differences are the brand-specific preferences. The shaft that Shin users prefer, and the throttle lever/handle assembly. Long-time Echo customers preferred the "feel" of the cable drive as mentioned.
BLES