Battery powered weedeaters

[jcummins]

Considering getting one. My wife using a corded one which breaks the line repeatedly. She's always after me to cesspool them. She admits it's at PITA.

She won't use the gas power one, due to weight, but ALSO the vibration. She has issues with her arms due to the vibration.

Question. How controlled is the vibration on these type of trimmers. And which current one is the best performing one?

 

[4570Man]

I've never actually used one but I've held several and they're heavier than my gas one.

 

[Citydude]

I have a Black and Decker Brush Hog. It's really lite and works well for my yard. I'm not too impressed with the battery life however so have two batteries and two chargers.

 

[RoyJackson]

I have an EGO weed eater...
I've had my gas powered units that always became a PITA to start and are pretty noisy. The EGO is pretty well balanced, battery goes for quite a while, easy operation. The string used is .095" and will take down stalky vegetation.
The batteries are lithium-ion...best to have two on hand. Another nice thing is the EGO batteries fit in any EGO product, so if you buy something else (I also have the chain saw and leaf blower), you can buy the "bare bones" (no charger, not battery) products for considerably less money.
I've had the unit for two seasons now...I like it as much as when I first bought it. It's probably the first week eater I've owned that I haven't cursed out repeatedly.

 

[k0ua]

I have one and it is what I use 95 percent of the time. It is the Ryobi, and probably is not as robust or as powerful as the one Roy mentioned, but it works for me. I am old and fat, so have only run down the battery once, and let me tell you I was done by the time the battery was done. A younger man would want to have two batteries on hand.

No problem as I have several as the batteries fit all my other Ryobi tools. The weed eater was fairly cheap as it came with no batteries or chargers just like I wanted it to.

Sure my huge and very heavy gas powered weedeater is more powerful and will cut down light brush that my battery powered weedeater wont touch. But the battery powered is the one I grab and go trim with.

You won't miss the noise, the vibration the stink the fuel mixing and keeping fuel fresh and the starting hassle at all.

The battery powered one is much quieter, and mine has no vibration. It is lighter than my gas one, but is not feather lite. as the motor is down there near the ground, but the 4 amp hour battery does balance it somewhat. But I am no where near as worn out as I am packing my gas trimmer up and down these steep hills here in branson.

I have a DR power trimmer on wheels, that I brought from the "flatlands" when I moved here, but it hasn't been used here in years. It always wants to roll away from you down hill and it just wears you out try to hang on to it or pushing it up steep hills. It was great when I was a "flatlander"

Don't hesitate, pick a good battery powered weedeater and never look back.

 

[aczlan]

My father in law has a Kobalt 80V one and loves it. Less vibrations than the big gas one and comparable power when the battery is good.

Aaron Z

 

[jcummins]

I have an EGO weed eater...
I've had my gas powered units that always became a PITA to start and are pretty noisy. The EGO is pretty well balanced, battery goes for quite a while, easy operation. The string used is .095" and will take down stalky vegetation.
The batteries are lithium-ion...best to have two on hand. Another nice thing is the EGO batteries fit in any EGO product, so if you buy something else (I also have the chain saw and leaf blower), you can buy the "bare bones" (no charger, not battery) products for considerably less money.
I've had the unit for two seasons now...I like it as much as when I first bought it. It's probably the first week eater I've owned that I haven't cursed out repeatedly.

Roy, what's the vibration like?
Just read some reviews that put the Ego as best value one.

 

[RoyJackson]

Roy, what's the vibration like?
Just read some reviews that put the Ego as best value one.

I've never felt vibration...I guess it's there....just never noticed it

 

[BrandonR]

I have the ryoibi 40v one, I like it the battery lasts about 30 minutes of continuous use, quite a bit longer real time though since it starts instantly. I also have the hedge trimmer that uses the same battery it works well.

 

[Creamer]

I just bought the Ryobi 40V mostly because I was looking at the pole saw option. I used it once and was not impressed. It would be fine for someone who is only trimming grass around the house but it will not cut anything tough. I even have to go much slower along the sidewalk than i have with either of my gas trimmers.

I think a lot of the issue with the Ryobi is the low RPM. There is not enough cutting power. The fact that it is only a 15" cut dramatically reduces the tip speed (read cutting power) as well. I was also shocked at how little torque the motor has.

Still it is lighter, quieter, and easier to use than a gas one and works fine for light trimming. As for me it is going back - it is certainly not as advertised "Gas Like". It has nowhere near the cutting power my 30 year Ryan which was the cheapest trimmer I could find back then.

 

[jcummins]

Bought the Ego...$179 @ home depot.

 

[RSKY]

Lowes has a 10% off today if you use your card. I am looking at the 40-volt leaf blower for cleaning off the front porch. May later get the little chainsaw for limbs, etc.. Anybody got one of those?

RSKY

 

[Bird]

I, too, have the EGO, same as Roy Jackson. The only real immediately noticeable difference between it and the Stihl I had been using is that the head turns the opposite direction. That took a bit to get used to. Of course, quieter, no rope to pull to start it, seems to be about the same power. And instead of the same other tools that Roy has, I have the leaf blower and self-propelled mower, so I have the 7.5 battery for the mower, the 2.5 for the string trimmer and a 2.5 for the leaf blower. And as Roy said, any battery fits any tool. I also got two chargers, so I never run low on battery power.

 

[RPW]

I've got the Snapper 60v. Dual string and hardly any vibration. Battery that comes with it is a 1ah and will last about an hour on light to moderate grass. Fast charge. You can also get a 2ah or a 4ah battery. Liked it so much that I got the Snapper mower. It cuts just as good as my gas powered one. Replaced my gas trimmer and mower either because of gas leaks or just refused to start and got tired of working on them. Snapper also had the best reviews.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I have a Black and Decker Brush Hog. It's really lite and works well for my yard. I'm not too impressed with the battery life however so have two batteries and two chargers.

I have the B&D also. It works well, and if you have at least 2 batteries you can actually get some work done. I am 70, so when both batteries run down it's time for a glass of water and a nap.

 

[boggen]

perhaps a "push weed eater" think push mower, with front half of deck cut off, and large rear wheels, and a thicker string strips that get used.

if string is constantly breaking see about a thicker string diameter. some of the heads you just poke a thicker string through and twist 1/2 turn or so and that is it. till it breaks, then slide in another thick string into head.

you might consider a different head all together. using 2 to 4 blades that pivot. and no string what so ever to mess with. if a blade hits something, it leans out the way and continues on.

 

[Mace Canute]

I used to weed whack at one time and had a lot of problems with the string breaking. I heard that soaking the string in water makes it less prone to breaking so I tried it and it did seem to help quite a bit.

 

[Creamer]

I used to weed whack at one time and had a lot of problems with the string breaking. I heard that soaking the string in water makes it less prone to breaking so I tried it and it did seem to help quite a bit.

Most of the 'string' is nylon and nylon dries out and gets brittle. That would be especially true in your drier weather. Nylon is very hygroscopic. Even here I throw my roll of string into the lake if I haven't used it the year I bought it (which is most of the time).

 

[kenr74]

I sell a line of battery powered tools. Without getting into a sales pitch I would just add not get hung up on voltage. The magic is in how the motor uses it. I've seen 40V tools outperform 80V many times.

If you are just breaking line but happy with the trimmer there are trimmer heads out there that will help or just buy better quality line. Trimmer line is definitely a get what you pay for product.

If the line is over a year old or sits in the sun soak it over night. Even buying it brand new at a store it won't hurt to let it soak up some h20 before putting it to use.

 

[joefromga]

There are 2 ryobi 18v trimmers. One is super lightweight and you can use it one handed. It's not has powerful but is fine for a small yard.

I have both and the other is a full size 18v (same battery) and has Teo speeds. Low is fine for the yard but high speed is quite fast and powerful and 30 minutes per battery is expected. The larger one also has a tilt head feature for edging that works well. The auto string advance works well but wastes string but they're all that way now and they keep you from running out of string.

Thinner string like a sharper knife - it cuts better but if you're not good at wacking Weeds you'll break it more often. It also spins faster due to less centrifugal mass.

The full size 18v ryobi is great for a larger yard. Even for 2ft Weeds. I have a Husqvarna gas and I also have the monster Husqvarna brush cutter which is a saw blade and is awesome but I always use the Ryobi 18v. It's light and easy and doesn't stink with smoke.
Very happy with it.