Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63362 in Home Improvement
• Brand: Swisher
• Model: ST65022DXQ
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 104.68 pounds

Features

• Efficient and durable 6.5 HP trimmer mower
• Powerful 6.5 HP Briggs & Stratton Quantum engine
• Trimmer head rotates 90 degrees vertically to become an edger; superior ground clearance
• Includes protective eyewear, engine oil, and replacement trimmer line
• This item is not for sale in California/Non CARB compliant

Amazon.com Product Description
The Swish 6.5 HP Trim Max trimmer mower is designed to reduce back stress associated with hand-held mowers, yet it provides three to four times the power for effectively trimming overgrown edges and mowing high weeds and lawns. Equipped with a 6 HP Briggs & Stratton engine, the Trim Max maneuvers rugged landscapes and manicured lawns with ease. While many other standing trimmer mowers feature sharp steel blades, the Trim Max uses a .155-inch diameter cutting line for greater safety. Users can adjust the line's tension belt for better performance and extended belt life. The trimmer mower cuts a wide 22-inch swath and automatically turns off when idle, saving fuel and adding further safety. Powdercoat paint covers all metal parts for greater durability. The trimmer head is located on the left side of the mower while 14-inch wheels allow the trimmer mower to turn corners deftly while providing clearance in rougher terrain. To prevent debris from clustering around the machine, Swisher built a debris guard onto the rear of the trimmer mower. The Trim Max also benefits from easy care as all bearings are sealed, so there's no need for lubrication. The simple task of replacing the cutting line requires no tools, and the trimmer mower runs on regular unleaded gasoline.

What's in the Box
Mower, one container of engine oil, replacement trimmer line, and protective goggles.

Amazon.com Buying Guide
Five Tips for Buying a Mower
Choosing a lawn mower is a matter of sifting through a bewildering array of types, power ratings, and fuel sources. Let’s break it down a little to make the process easier.

What types of walk-behind mowers are there?
There are four basic choices: push reel, electric, cordless, and gas. All have strengths and weaknesses.

• Push reel mowers are powered by you. They’re quiet, they don’t need cords or recharging, and they don’t pollute. But on large lawns, you might not want the workout you get when using a push reel mower. They also tend to be less effective on grass taller than two inches.
• Electric mowers need to be plugged into an outlet to power them, which means you’re constrained by the location of power outlets, the length of your power cord, and any obstacles that may snag the cord. If you have a small yard but don’t want the forced exercise of using a push reel mower, an electric mower may be for you.
• Cordless mowers are powered by a rechargeable battery. You don’t have to deal with the hassles of keeping a cord plugged in, but battery life becomes a constraint. Depending on the battery capacity, the size of your yard, and the height of your grass, you may not be able to complete your mowing job on one charge.
• Gas mowers offer the most power, which is best if you’ll be mowing tall, dense grass or if your yard is larger than 2,000 square feet. But you will have to keep gas and oil on hand as well as keep the engine serviced.

What do all the power measurements mean?
All that matters to you is whether the lawn mower’s blade will spin fast enough to cut your grass. Unfortunately, mowers are rated in far more technical terms.

For gas mowers, there are three power measurements you may see:

• horsepower (hp) refers to the amount of power the engine can produce;
• torque is the amount of horsepower that is transferred to the blade;
• cc (cubic centimeters) is another to measure an engine’s power based on the displacement volume of its cylinders.

There also are two types of engines: two-stroke (also referred to as two-cycle) and four-stroke (or four-cycle). Conventional wisdom is that two-stroke engines offer more power but also more pollution.
For electric and cordless mowers, power often is measured in volts, amps, or watts. To satisfy your inner techie, here’s how to calculate the horsepower:
51. Multiply the volts by the amps to get the wattage.
52. Divide the wattage by 746 to get the horsepower.

More horsepower doesn’t always mean more cutting power. That’s why, starting in 2007, most lawnmower manufacturers began rating walk-behind lawn mowers in torque power or cc’s--not horsepower. If torque isn’t available for a gas mower, higher cc figures usually mean higher torque (and more fuel used per stroke, incidentally).

However, you don’t want to buy a mower based on the power measurement alone. Make sure it has the features, warranty, and quality of reviews you’re seeking.

What features should I look for?

• Cutting Deck
  This refers to the blade housing. The wider the cutting deck, the fewer passes it will take to mow a given area. However, consider how many obstacles there are in your yard. The wider the deck, the tougher it may be to fit the mower into tight spaces.
  

• Mulching and Bagging
  Want to collect your clippings? Choose a mower with a rear- or side-bag option. Want to leave clippings on the lawn as fertilizer? Get a mower that mulches. A "3-in-1" mower will mulch, bag, or side-discharge.
  

• Wheels
  Larger wheels mean easier handling, especially over rough terrain. If you can, go with at least 7-inch-diameter wheels in the rear--larger if your yard is hilly or uneven. Some higher-end mowers have front wheels on casters, which gives you an extremely tight turning radius.
  

• Height Adjustment
  Most mowers allow you to adjust the distance between the blade and the ground. Think about how much range you really need.
  

• Safety
  Many newer rotary machines are available with a lever or bar that must be depressed to keep the mower running (some models include a handy blade-brake that lets you release the lever without killing the engine).
  Also, look for models with a rubber flap at the back to block objects thrown from the blades. You should always wear safety goggles when mowing and follow all the manufacturer’s safety instructions regardless of the mower you’re using.
  

• Batteries
  If you’re buying a cordless mower, think about how long it will run on a single charge. Most batteries take several hours to recharge, so you want to make sure it’s going to get the job done before it runs out of juice. As a rule of thumb, a typical 24-volt mower will run up to one-and-a-half hours and cut up to a third of an acre; a 36-volt mower will go for three hours and cut up to a half an acre.
  

• Cord holder
  A cord holder is useful for keeping the cord of your electric mower out of the way when you make turns.
  

• Starters
  Gas mowers are available either with recoil (pull-cord) or electric starters. Newer recoil motors start much quicker than those you remember from summers past. However, go with electric if you can afford it: your mower will start with the push of a button or the turn of a key.
  

• Self-propelled or push?
  A self-propelled mower moves forward without you having to push it. All you have to do is steer. If you have a relatively flat lawn, save a few bucks by skipping this feature. However, if your landscape has a slope or an irregular contour, a self-propelled model may be the best choice. Rear-wheel drive tends to offer better traction.
  

• Variable Speed
  If you want a self-propelled mower, look for models with variable speed. This feature allows you to make adjustments within a continuous range so you can find the exact speed that’s comfortable for you.

What servicing and maintenance is necessary?
Always buy a mower that comes with a manufacturer’s warranty and follow the manufacturer’s routine maintenance instructions for

• Cleaning the mower after usage;
• Keeping the blade sharp;
• Keeping the engine tuned up (gas mowers); and
• Keeping the battery charged (cordless mowers).

While Amazon.com does not accept returns on gas-powered mowers, the manufacturer’s Website or product manual will list the nearest service center.

What does CARB-compliant mean?
CARB is an acronym for California Air Resource Board, whose stringent air-quality standards have been adopted by many states. If your state requires compliance for gas mowers, confirm that your model is CARB-certified before you buy. While CARB-compliant mowers run cleaner than noncompliant models, they still emit pollutants. If you want to go green, an electric or push reel mower is the way to go.

Customer Reviews

My new Little Friend.
I flashed the plastic and my Swisher DXQ was delivered less than a week later. Having used it for several days now, I'll post my review here.

Some assembly is required. You'll put on the wheels, and the handle. I noted what another reviewer said here previously about the handle coming loose, so I used lock-tite on the handle nuts, and they have not come loose yet. Yes, the wheels are plastic, but remember this unit is under $400. Besides, you'll appreciate the lighter weight (no self-propel on this model).

The unit comes with a small can of Briggs oil, just enough to fill the crankcase, nice touch. Put in some gas and the engine cranked right up for me and ran well.

What I use it for: I have some open areas (septic fields, horse barn areas, etc) which tend to get overgrown with high thick weeds. I use the Swisher to 'pre-cut' those areas, going in and knocking down chest-high overgrowth to about 4 inches. After this, I follow up with the rider mower and put on the finish cut.

I have found the DXQ is adequate for this task. The 6.5HP Briggs flat-head (not OHV) engine is just about the smallest motor acceptable for this work. In very thick or high overgrowth you'll find this motor challenged with the the load, and you can even stall it if you push too fast. But if you slow down your pace a little it will pull through it fine. For most knee-high weeds and overgrowth, this motor is sufficient to take you through it at a steady slow walking pace (yeah, just like the TV commericals for the DR mowers :).

You won't make a smooth pretty cut with this machine. When you're done with an area that had substantial heavy overgrowth, it will look rough and overlaid with 'hay', like a tractor had gone over it with a bush-hog cutter. If this is what you want, you're good to go. For me, I wait a couple of hours for the hay and clippings to dry out, then I go over it with the rider mower. It's a lot easier on the mower than plowing through the high stuff straight off, and the results look beautiful.

The trimmer head spins clockwise, as viewed from operator's position. I have found it helps to 'outline' an area, then go around it in shrinking counter-clockwise loops. This lets you throw the cut debris to your right, away from the uncut area that you will cut on the next pass.

The machine is LOUD. There's the engine noise, plus a nearly ultrasonic noise from the trimmer line. You will definately want earplugs, or some form of hearing protection.

The size of the trimmer line is .130 or .150. I've found this size line blazes away through vegetation overgrowth, but it doesn't like trimming up against hard solid objects such as concrete foundations or wooden fence posts. Doing that makes flex too much and it breaks off quickly, back at the spindle. You'll want to carry some spare pieces of line in your pocket, for those instances. Or just keep the Swisher in the open overgrowth areas, and it'll be fine.

I removed the guard around the trimmer head, in order to let the machine 'breathe' better and more easily eject the cut vegetation. I'm not recommending this for everyone, but just saying it works better for me. The Swisher comes with a free set of eye protection goggles. You'll need them. Stuff flies everywhere.

Another reviewer mentioned the cooling air intake on top of the engine getting clogged, and this does happen. This Briggs engine cover has a fixed stationary grille over the air intake. With all the debris blowing around, a lot of it will get stuck on that grille and it will reduce airflow into the cooling fins. Other Briggs engine models have the grille attached to the flywheel, so it's spinning around at engine speed, and tends to be more self-cleaning. That would have been helpful here. So every so often you'll want to reach down with your (gloved) hand and brush debris away from the intake grille. It comes off with two small phillips screws, so remove it and clean it out good every few hours.

This is a hard-working engine when you're cutting substantial overgrowth, so it goes through a tank of gas pretty quickly. In addition, I'd suggest doing about a 5 hour oil change interval for the same reason. The machine gets dirty. Keep a brush handy for removing debris from the air cleaner, carb, gas cap, etc.

When you're buying equipment like this, it's important to analyze your needs honestly, and choose the appropriate machine for the task. With that said, the DXQ is basically a decent ENTRY LEVEL machine. It has the smallest size engine acceptable, no electric start, and no self propel. It's not going to have the power or features of it's big brothers. (That is, if you're planning to knock down multiple acres of heavy overgrowth, or have challenging terrain to deal with, you maybe should be looking at a bigger machine.) But you're not going to be paying $1500 to $2000 for this machine either. Just 400 bucks lands the DXQ on your doorstep in about week. My particular needs are to control of seasonal and occasional overgrowth of smaller (sub-acre) areas. And the DXQ does that job quite well.

I found the other reviews here helpful in letting me know just what I was getting into. Based on that and the attractive price tag compared to all the other models, I felt confident in ordering this unit.

After using the Swisher DXQ for a few days, learning its strengths and limitations, I actually found myself having too much fun using it. Those bad boy gangsta weeds had tormented me long enough, and now they were goin' down before me. I was feeling a little like Al Pachino in 'Scarface': "You want a piece of this?? Well say Hello to MY LITTLE FRIEND!"

Enjoy and be safe.

Yes, it will chop just about anything.....
I have used this trimmer for the past three months to control the weeds around small trees. It will cut through just about anything (including trees!) without bogging down. The line will last quite a while as long as you are chopping weeds and not rocks, barbed wire, or anything metal. Overall a very good product. I have not ever used the tilt head. The only drawbacks are the flimsy wheels (replace with metal rimmed wheels) and the tendency to get too close to something important! The brace holding the guard did break off but a quick weld fixed the problem. My machine has been run for about 120 hours with no problems under some severe conditions (heat, dust, large amounts of vegetation, etc). I would purchase this item again but I may look at the Trail Cutter for my application in the future.

Worked Great!
Have used it over an hour now and seems to work great. Really like the tiltable head. Allows you to shave right down to the ground. I have tried a DR trimmer and I like this better because of the tiltable head. Only problem I had with it was the bottle of oil that was shipped with it leaked all over everything. Was quite a mess.