Battery powered hedge trimmers

[RichZ]

We have a bunch of large berry bushes that need trimming. My wife and I were thinking of getting a battery powered hedge trimmer. Anyone have one they would recommend or one that we should stay away from? Home Depot has a 60 volt Greenworks Trimmer that looks interesting, and the price was just reduced to $179 from $219.

Thanks for any info!!

 

[MoKelly]

We have both a Black & Decker and Weedeater. Both work fine. Both are 20v Lithium.

The Black & Decker is lighter. The battery weighs less.

Both run well for about 2 hours before batteries need a recharge.

MoKelly

 

[newbury]

Do you have any other tools invested in battery systems?
I'd look there first.

 

[ernemats]

I have a Ryobi 40 volt and it does good on things up to about 3/4 inch diameter, a real beast compared to my 18 volt Black and Decker

 

[kenmbz]

I have an M18 Milwaukie pole saw and Weed wacker. But I have an Echo gas hedge trimmer.

How many feet of total trimming do you need to do ? The Pole saw works great, trimmers takes a lot more battery.

I run hedge trimmer for many hours, so as above mentioned, you will need batteries, gets expensive if you pick a different brand. Even the cheaper brands batteries are expensive.

 

[GeneV]

I got a black & decker 40 volt, LHT2436. Uses the same battery as my weed wacker/edger, so that's convenient. I absolutely love both the hedge trimmer and weed wacker, use them all the time, no complaints.

 

[bearthebruce]

We use a Husqy 40v hedge trimmer for that work. Cuts up to 3/4 inch with no real problem. Only maintenance is to keep the cutter oiled regularly - we do it before and again after use.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I have a 20 volt DeWalt. Works great. Only hedge trimmer that I haven't cut the extension cord with . . .

As previously mentioned, if you already have battery powered tools that you're happy with, think about going in that direction. I have 20 Volt DeWalt drills, saws, lights, etc. I bought the "bare tool" version of their hedge trimmer which didn't include batteries or chargers -- I already had those. Made for a very good deal and it works GREAT! Much better than hassling around with extension cords.

I can't speak to gas trimmers since I've never had one, but can't imagine anything being more convenient for me.

 

[ZTMAN]

Mowers Direct has a close out price on Shindaiwa Hedge trimmers. Cannot bet them for the price. Heavy duty. Can even grease the motor. Deal of the century imo. Been using them for over a year. Great battery life.

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[RalphVa]

As a master gardener, I only use a hedge trimmer on dead stuff or stuff I want to die. It causes branches at the tips of where you've cut and will cut off the light and air circulation to the inner part of the plant. Va Tech's former (now retired) hort head bought a blueberry farm somewhere in the county. She also bought an old JD tractor. Seems the previous owner came by one day when she and her husband/partner were pulling the rounded/trimmed shrubs out of the ground with the JD tractor.

 

[MoKelly]

As a master gardener, I only use a hedge trimmer on dead stuff or stuff I want to die. It causes branches at the tips of where you've cut and will cut off the light and air circulation to the inner part of the plant. Va Tech's former (now retired) hort head bought a blueberry farm somewhere in the county. She also bought an old JD tractor. Seems the previous owner came by one day when she and her husband/partner were pulling the rounded/trimmed shrubs out of the ground with the JD tractor.

Yikes. This I did not know.

We just had 10 master gardeners from the STL MG Club in my wife’s tennis facility on Saturday to do some clean-up and beautification. There are 55 large bushes. They all used battery powered trimmers to clean them up.

None of the MG’s said a peep about the battery trimmers. They sure knew how to use those things and get the bushes trimmed.

They also planted 100’s of perennial.

MoKelly

 

[ChuckT]

I picked up a Kobalt 40v string trimmer and then a hedge trimmer during a sale. They work well for wifie. I've got a gas powered Husqvarna string trimmer for heavy stuff.

 

[mikester]

I have the greenworx POS hedge trimmer that constantly jambs, the motor smokes, plastic parts break and fall off. Battery is good for about 5-10 minutes use, takes over one hour to charge.

On the plus side it's much lighter than my gas powered Stihl pole trimmer. The Stihl never jambs and cuts anything that fits in the jaws. Major upper body workout using this puppy but it's built heavy and it just works.

Greenworx struggles on everything.

Hindsight says I should have bought a Stihl battery powered unit instead of buying cheapo junk AND a real tool to replace it.

 

[kenmbz]

I have used a hedge trimmer to trim back dying bushes and bring them back to life. It just takes care and you can't cut too much each time.

 

[RichZ]

I have the greenworx POS hedge trimmer that constantly jambs, the motor smokes, plastic parts break and fall off. Battery is good for about 5-10 minutes use, takes over one hour to charge.

On the plus side it's much lighter than my gas powered Stihl pole trimmer. The Stihl never jambs and cuts anything that fits in the jaws. Major upper body workout using this puppy but it's built heavy and it just works.

Greenworx struggles on everything.

Hindsight says I should have bought a Stihl battery powered unit instead of buying cheapo junk AND a real tool to replace it.

Thanks for all the info!!!

Mikester, I really appreciate that head's up, I was thinking of getting the 60 volt Greenworx, and now I won't!!! Is yours the 60 volt?

 

[TBone]

I have a Ryobi 40 volt and it does good on things up to about 3/4 inch diameter, a real beast compared to my 18 volt Black and Decker

I also have a Ryobi 40v that I bought at Home Depot and it has been a beast. You can do a whole lot of cutting between charges. I'll buy another if (when) this one ever quits.

 

[RalphVa]

Yikes. This I did not know.

We just had 10 master gardeners from the STL MG Club in my wife’s tennis facility on Saturday to do some clean-up and beautification. There are 55 large bushes. They all used battery powered trimmers to clean them up.

None of the MG’s said a peep about the battery trimmers. They sure knew how to use those things and get the bushes trimmed.

They also planted 100’s of perennial.

MoKelly

They weren't taught to use shears. They were trained to use hand pruners. I had a couple pruning classes even before doing MG training. They did not train us to use shears.

 

[RichZ]

Today I went to Home Depot and bought the 60 volt Toro hedge trimmer. It looked like the most solidly built one, and hopefully the 60 volt battery will have good power. I won't have time to use it for a while, but I'll report on how it works.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I have a 20 volt DeWalt. Works great. Only hedge trimmer that I haven't cut the extension cord with . . .

As previously mentioned, if you already have battery powered tools that you're happy with, think about going in that direction. I have 20 Volt DeWalt drills, saws, lights, etc. I bought the "bare tool" version of their hedge trimmer which didn't include batteries or chargers -- I already had those. Made for a very good deal and it works GREAT! Much better than hassling around with extension cords.

I can't speak to gas trimmers since I've never had one, but can't imagine anything being more convenient for me.

Another vote for DeWalt. Like CH4Ohio, my array of battery powered tools all are DeWalt yellow & black. I have a good supply of 20V batteries, one for each tool plus 2 extras. The battery powered hedge trimmer is a blessing especially when trimming in remote areas; a much improvement over my old gas powered Ryobi (and heavy) trimmer.

 

[Diggin It]

If hedge trimmers killed hedges, there would be no hedges left anywhere. I've never seen damage caused by one. If anything, my hedges grow faster after being trimmed.

I've got one of these Trimmer Plus attachments:

It's intended for gas power heads, and they have a caution against using it on electric heads, but I've never had a problem with either source. I'm looking for a Ryobi 18V power head that I can use both it and my pole saw attachment.