Battery Powered Weed Eaters

[wjmst]

For some reason I don't have much luck with 2 stroke weed eaters. They only seem to last for a few years then I am spending more time, effort, and money trying to fix them than it would be if I just bought a new (cheap) one each year.

Not only that they are crazy loud and my wife can never get it started without me, plus it is too heavy for her to operate for any length of time.

That being said, I am considering a battery powered weed eater. Has anyone used these and do they have a recommended brand or model?

Thanks.

 

[forgeblast]

My friend just bought a ryobi for his father, much much lighter. the problem was it was last years with the older style batter and charger. Many people left the lithium batterys on the charger and wore them out in no time. He had a month left on his warrenty and they replaced the battery and charger with no cost to him. He does like the unit over all.

 

[clemsonfor]

Unless it will last a lot longer than the battery blowers sold i would not buy one. My in laws have a blower and cant blow their 60ft drive off with it.

A corded one if you can deal with the cord would be better.

 

[WVBill]

I just read a review of battery powered weed eaters somewhere.
Consumer Reports, Popular Mechanix or Popular Science, I think.
I'll look in my magazine rack when I get home....

 

[HCJtractor]

I would be very skeptical of battery operated weed eaters. First of all, the batteries are expensive and usually short lived. I have a Ryobi handheld blower. After a year, one battery is dead, and the blower has broken twice. And I only used it for 5 minutes every week for blowing my office sidewalk.

I also think a battery powered weedeater would be very light duty and limited in usefulness. If you have had bad luck with gas powered ones, I would question which ones you had. If you bought a Sthil homeowner version, or even a more expensive professional model, it would last for years, with minimal care. They are simple to start. That's my opinion, having used the same Sthil regularly for over 10 years. No way a battery one will last that long, or have anywhere near the power.

 

[JD15302155870]

I agree. Buy the cheap 2cyl gas and you can throw them away on the way home. My Stihl works great and cranks on the first pull.

 

[troutsqueezer]

First, if you spend the extra money and get an Echo or a Stihl they last and last. I can speak from experience here as I do a lot of weedeating around the acreage.

But there is the wife, as you mention, so all criteria must be reconsidered. My wife cannot start anything gas powered, no matter how many times I show her. This is why Ryobi has been a Godsend at my house. I have about every Ryobi battery-powered piece of equipment ever made and even two of some models.

Recently I bought the Lithium version of the weedeater. It's light, it comes with the larger lithium battery and charger. You don't have to tap the head to get it to feed (my wife always had a hard time tapping the head on previous models --- it's a girl thing --- they don't have the control to tap only when necessary). It doesn't weigh much. The spool refills easily. The handle is nice and big and adjustable. It will cut fairly good-sized weeds but certainly not anything close to the Echo's capability. But those larger clumps of weeds are not the ones the wife usually targets. She hates those stray strands sticking up along the flower bed edge. For that, the Ryobi works perfectly. Get it.

 

[beppington]

I own many of the Ryobi battery powered tools, including the blower: It eats batteries fast.

It seems, & make sense, that the tools that require high speed motors eat batteries faster. i.e. The drills eat batteries slower than the blower or the circular saw (also fast spinning). And the drill set on Low speed lasts longer than when it's set on High High speed.

I wouldn't expect much from a battery powered weed eater.

- - - - -

One more thing: Stihl has it's new Easy2Start pull system. The effort to pull is reduced, as it "loads up" a spring that releases & cranks the motor. You can pull pretty slowly & the engine will turn over & start.

 

[anojones]

I have a black and decker one- 18V I think. It's light duty but will take care of grass along walkways, fences etc, it's also lightweight and easy to use with a self loading string (no need to bump). That being said, it just hangs in my shop and never gets used- the batteries wear out fast and are too expensive to replace. I ended up buying a Stihl- loud, heavy and still always messing with the string getting stuck in the head, but I haven't found a better alternative. My wife can mow and I will string trim.

 

[Bird]

If you bought a Sthil homeowner version, or even a more expensive professional model, it would last for years, with minimal care. They are simple to start. That's my opinion, having used the same Sthil regularly for over 10 years.

My FS55RC is only 6 years old, but anyone should be able to start it with the Easy2Start system, or as the salesman called it, "the Granny start system".:laughing: