Battery powered weedeaters

[dragoneggs]

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.

I think Joe hit the nail on the head. For me, I have a large yard and lots more to tame. I have graduated from an electric B&D to gas Echo to my gas Stihl now. If you have need for light duty then electric or battery is fine and less to maintain. I am going against hardy out of control weeds and blackberries, and I use .090 or maybe larger line (can't remember). I need the power. Wife hates it for several reasons, hard to start, noisy, heavy. I might invest in a battery operated one just so she will use it.

 

[johneic]

I have the Greenworks 40v eater and like it a lot. I had many of the small gas eaters in the past and started using a 12v eater a couple of years ago. I bought a Greenworks 40v pole saw based on my needs and reviews a year ago. Since I was "In for a penny" I bought the weed eater, tool only. I admit it is not as powerful as a gas unit, but I find it to be about 90% as powerful with 90% of the features. I do not eat a lot and get about 4-5 uses out of one charge (I use Glyphosate most places my mower can not get to).

 

[Michael Aos]

I'm probably going to order the Dewalt 60V MAX String Trimmer this weekend.

I have 2x 20V trimmers, but I'm not especially happy with them.

I also have the Husqvarna 163cc 22-in Walk Behind String Trimmer Mower. It's not bad, but I wish it were self-propelled.
--

 

[Bird]

I am going against hardy out of control weeds and blackberries, and I use .090 or maybe larger line (can't remember).

My 54V Ego trimmer uses .095 line and seems just as powerful as the Stihl with the same size line that I had.

 

[Gem99ultra]

If you want to try two of the battery powered trimmers, make the first one a lithium-ion powered Workx. It won't last long enough to have a vibration problem. You can then toss that one in the trash and 'try' to find something better. I know - I've been through two of those Workx trimmers. Both failed miserably.

Unfortunately, the gas trimmers have proven to be more powerful and mobile. A distant second would be the corded electric.

 

[cdaigle430]

I also have the Ryobi 40V with multi attachments capabilities. It has the edger, weed wacker, hedge sheer and sweeper attachments. I love it, had it for two years same battery. Light weight, quiet and versatile. I also have a Troy Built gas weed Wacker with multi attachments-never use it and the attachments work on the Ryobi as well as the Ryobi attachments work on the Troy Built.

 

[Creamer]

My Ryobi is back in the box ready to go back where it came from. Much too weak for real work. Handy though for light trimming if you have the time to play with it.

 

[millsan1]

I have the larger RYobi 18V. Works well for me, but I only do a little trimming. I bought it because I already have a bunch of the RYobi 18V tools, so using the same battery made sense to me.

 

[ArlyA]

Could you try a quality built, 2 stroke whacker?? The good ones are not that heavy, got power and don't vibrate much. My spouse runs one lots! We also have a Honda model she'll not use. Says its to heavy so its FS.

 

[RoyJackson]

Could you try a quality built, 2 stroke whacker?? The good ones are not that heavy, got power and don't vibrate much. My spouse runs one lots! We also have a Honda model she'll not use. Says its to heavy so its FS.

I think most of us went to the battery powered units because 2-Stroke engines can be so much of a PITA.
I've had 2-stroke trimmers...and my EGO trimmer is every bit as powerful. I'd written before, the EGO trimmer uses .095" string...that's larger (and more resilient) then the .080" most 2-stroke trimmers use.

 

[aczlan]

Could you try a quality built, 2 stroke whacker?? The good ones are not that heavy, got power and don't vibrate much. My spouse runs one lots! We also have a Honda model she'll not use. Says its to heavy so its FS.

My father in law has a Stihl FS110 and a Kobalt 80V electric.
The Kobalt will keep up with the Stihl as long as the battery holds out.

Aaron Z

 

[ArlyA]

That Kobalt 80V electric whacker wouldn't "cut it" for us since we work for hours and hours and at high HP levels. But it might work for the original poster...

My father in law has a Stihl FS110 and a Kobalt 80V electric.
The Kobalt will keep up with the Stihl as long as the battery holds out.

 

[tcreeley]

My wife has a 40v Ryobi and 40v Ryobi chainsaw (she just got).

She loves the weed wacker. Lasts about an hour for her. Cuts everything- goldenrod to tall grass.

They offer a large battery - 95 wh and a smaller battery 55 wh. The weed wacker came with the larger battery and the chainsaw with the smaller.

The batteries are interchangeable within their 40 v group.

My wife is 65, 5'3. The Ryobi is a good match.

 

[RoyJackson]

That Kobalt 80V electric whacker wouldn't "cut it" for us since we work for hours and hours and at high HP levels. But it might work for the original poster...

Battery powered units aren't for everybody...depends on the work. I have two batteries charged, so if one runs down, I've got the other handy.
If one is doing typical trimming around the house, a battery unit works great...but if one is working a field, or distance from home, maybe a gas unit would be the better choice.
For example, I also have an EGO battery powered chainsaw. It's very handy for yard clean up, trimming branches, etc. But I wouldn't want to drop a 24" diameter tree with it.

 

[k0ua]

Battery powered units aren't for everybody...depends on the work. I have two batteries charged, so if one runs down, I've got the other handy.
If one is doing typical trimming around the house, a battery unit works great...but if one is working a field, or distance from home, maybe a gas unit would be the better choice.
For example, I also have an EGO battery powered chainsaw. It's very handy for yard clean up, trimming branches, etc. But I wouldn't want to drop a 24" diameter tree with it.

I think you have hit upon it there Roy. We all have different needs when it comes to weed wacking. For those of us that a small corded weed wacker would do what we need to do, the battery powered ones are much more convenient not having to drag a cord around, and in some cases they are even more powerful. But to those that do commercial work, no way are these battery powered units are going to "cut it". And for some homeowners that cut a lot of tough weeds or cut for a long time they are not going to be the best choice for them either. But truthfully, I think I started my big gas powered "eater" maybe once last year, and haven't so far this season. The little battery powered one is just way more convenient. Pull the trigger and go.

 

[aczlan]

That Kobalt 80V electric whacker wouldn't "cut it" for us since we work for hours and hours and at high HP levels. But it might work for the original poster...

I agree, that's why we have the FS 110 to work on fence lines and other places where we will be running it for a while.
He likes the Kobalt for when he's working on little projects or just weed eating around the house.
I actually picked up a Ryobi weedeater today that came with a weed blade and a chainsaw for a whole $7.
It turns out that those attachments also fit on the Kobalt so we can now use the weed blade or the mini chainsaw on either weedeater. The seller said that the Ryobi would start but not idle or stay running long, so I'm going to start with a $10 carburator from Amazon to see if that fixes its problems.

Aaron Z

 

[widefat]

We have a 40v Kobalt.
Hate it. It runs ok, but the ergonomics stink, and after a few minutes your 'trigger' hand is hurting due to the position required to hold the button down.

 

[Welshman]

When I first started reading this thread, I didn't think I would be posting to it. Yesterday my Craftsman C3 19.2 volt trimmer gave it up. I really liked it and because I've got a bunch of C3 tools, I've got several batteries. It's demise was hastened by my wife - for some reason, this year (after 5 previous years), she got it into her head that it was "bump feed" (it's not). I saw her out in the garden a couple of weeks ago banging the heck out of it. I stopped her and she said she couldn't get it to feed. I corrected her, but she apparently had a relapse a couple of days ago. I was using it yesterday along my fence lines when it started making noise. The power head is loose inside and I can see a small screw floating around in there. Long story short, it doesn't come apart. Oh well.

Turns out Lowe's has the 40v on sale for $149.00 with 2.5 a/h battery and charger, plus a free 2.5 a/h battery. I bought it. I used it today and here are my thoughts: Plenty of power. My 14' diam. fire pit had overgrown with thick weeds to about 30". The trimmer is 2-speed so I started on the high speed, but after about 3/4 of the way through, I switched to the slower speed, and it still worked fine. After I finished that I did some trees and flower beds. After about 45 min. the battery gave out, so I put in the second one and finished what I had to do.

What I don't like about it is that it's heavier than my Craftsman at 7.1 lbs. (doesn't sound like much) plus the battery, and the balance could be better - which means that my wife probably won't like it - which means I'll be doing more trimming, although my sister just bought a lightweight Works, so hopefully she will use that. It's definitely longer and as a result I can get farther under my decks. So far I haven't noticed any issue with my trigger hand (it's palm activated).

To the OP's original question, there is no discernable vibration. Also, the "new" version of the 40v. uses .080 line where the older version uses .065. It seems to hold up better.

Obviously, I can't speak to durability or longevity yet, but it seems pretty solid.

So far, I like it for the money.

 

[jocww]

I like my Milwaukee fuel 18v. Ive had it for 2or 3 months andit works just fine.