Ryobi RY30 String Trimmer Review

I paid $99 for a Ryobi RY30530 string trimmer at Home Depot. The main reason I chose it was that I didn’t want a flimsy electric model and top of the line trimmers were more than I wanted to pay for.

There were 5 or 6 pieces to put together but it was easy and I didn’t need to use the instruction book. Started up easy and ran fine for about five minutes when the “bumping head” stopped working. I took it apart and the rope tangle was not going to be an easy fix. Fortunately, the trimmer came with a free fixed-line trimmer head. I put that on and went back to business a few minutes later. The rope is very easy to insert into the fixed line head. If you get this trimmer do yourself a favor and put the impact head right in the trash and install the fixed string head.

I chose the curved shaft model and the shaft was a bit short for me. The 30cc 2-cycle engine is certainly powerful enough for home use. It has always started off easy for me. The engine is noisier than my previous model and it hurt my ears at full speed. The power and noise of this trimmer make hearing and eye protection essential. I’ve ignored safety precautions with less powerful clippers, but I wouldn’t do that with this machine. The plastic where the shaft meets the motor gets very hot and slightly burns my arm. The instructions say not to pull the trigger when starting the engine, but that’s the only way you could start it when it’s hot. This is not a problem when you know the trick.

There’s an option to add accessories like a blower, edger, and cultivator; however, I have not tried these yet.

Overall, the Ryobi RY30530 is good value for money. I’m going to be careful not to burn my arm at the engine hitch point. I wish Robi would make the motor quieter and the shaft a few inches longer. He would probably get the shaft straight if he had another one of these.