Battery Powered Week Whacker

[RalphVa]

Kobalt 40v has been in use for a long time. Gotta rewind some 0.065 line onto it about every other time.

Ralph

 

[caver]

I have the EGO brand...bought it online. One battery probably lasts a half hour?

 

[BigBlue1]

Want to buy the DeWalt. I already have several DeWalt 60V carpentry tools, the 60V blower & chainsaw and the 60V impact along with several 60V batteries.
I hear there are some minor drawbacks on the weedeater, one being the guard is small, but they have a newer version with a bigger guard?
How does one tell if the newer version is the one they are getting?
Also, hearing its collapsible, which is great for storing in truck toolbox, but hearing the electric cable is frail or flimsy?

Anyone know if these have been resolved so I can buy with peace of mind?

I don't think the 60V version is foldable. That's the new 20V version (dcst922p1). I have no need to fold mine and it's only a couple months old so I can't say how durable the cable is.

I did seriously look at the 60V but I have no other 60V tools and you can't use the 20V battery packs on the 60V tools. I don't want to start over with batteries since I have a good collection of 20V max batteries and all the tools I have work great.

Looks like they may be coming out with a 40V set of tools that may include a trimmer, but I can't find much detail.

Rob

 

[old and tired]

I have EGO string trimmer and 18" chainsaw and love them both..... It's a workhorse and never skips a beat, even when overworked like that.

I would also recommend EGO, 56 volt batteries come in different capacities. We got a lawn mower too with a big capacity battery - What I like about them is they will go into turbo mode when they need the extra power.

I showed it off to a friend and went into the pasture with blackberries and it ripped everything down with no problems...

 

[EddieWalker]

All my cordless tools are Makita, and when I decided to give a cordless weed eater a try, it was a Makita. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's proven to be a lot nicer then I had imagined. First, I've never run out of power while using it. I have a lot of Makita batteries, but the two that I put in it to do my yard and fence line always gets the job done. Lots of power just like a gasoline powered weed eater. But he biggest surprise has been in how easy it is to use. I never really realized what a pain it was to fuel up the gas powered weed eater and then to get it started. It was never hard, but it took time and it there was a process. Now I just push a button. Next big bonus was how quiet it is. I knew it would be quite, but I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it being so quite. Weed Eating is now easy and fun!!!

 

[Hay Dude]

I don't think the 60V version is foldable. That's the new 20V version (dcst922p1). I have no need to fold mine and it's only a couple months old so I can't say how durable the cable is.

I did seriously look at the 60V but I have no other 60V tools and you can't use the 20V battery packs on the 60V tools. I don't want to start over with batteries since I have a good collection of 20V max batteries and all the tools I have work great.

Looks like they may be coming out with a 40V set of tools that may include a trimmer, but I can't find much detail.

Rob

Ah, learned something new. I thought 60V was foldable. Its not a must have for me, either. Would be nice for storage in truck, though.
Thanks for the tip.

I just weed whacked 1/4 mile of steep embankment. Stihl weed whacker head/engine really hot on the right arm.
I need to try a battery cordless soon.

 

[TractorGuy]

I had carb issues this spring with my old John Deere gas trimmer so I went and bought the Dewalt 20V Max model. I got the newer version that folds. Overall, it is really pretty decent. With a charged battery it seems to have plenty of power. My two complaints are that the string length is shorter than I'd like and I'd love to have higher capacity batteries than I have currently so they last longer. Don't get me wrong... I can trim a fair amount on a single fully charged 4 or 5 aH battery. Usually my whole area that I trim. But if I don't happen to have a fully charged battery it can run down before I'm done.

It's a solid unit that seems to stand up to Dewalt's level of quality, which I've found to be good. It's light, which is really nice. And it is much quieter than a gas trimmer. I think people with close neighbors might find that part nice. I may try to extend the shield out an inch or so which would get me a longer line length. With that and keeping my batteries charged up more religiously it would really have few things for me to complain about.

I should also mention that I like how they load the line on these trimmers. Easier than other ones I've used in the past.

Rob

Found a listing for 5 AH battery on eBay for $58 so I ordered one for a spare. My weed trimmer came with a 5 and my grease gun has a 3 AH but i don't see me pulling the grease gun battery for a few extra minutes of trimming. Two 5 AH batteries will definitely outlast my desire to run a weed whacker.

Seller has 100% feedback and the listing shows 60 sold and 9 left.
New DeWalt XR 2v 5.ah Battery DCB25 Li-Ion Battery with indicator | eBay

 

[BigBlue1]

Ah, learned something new. I thought 60V was foldable. Its not a must have for me, either. Would be nice for storage in truck, though.
Thanks for the tip.

I just weed whacked 1/4 mile of steep embankment. Stihl weed whacker head/engine really hot on the right arm.
I need to try a battery cordless soon.

I highly doubt you'd get 1/4 mile of ditch/embankment done with a single battery. And the power of my 20V Dewalt is not as great as my 2-stroke JD trimmer. Works perfectly fine for me but my use is probably 'moderate'.

Rob

 

[Hay Dude]

I highly doubt you'd get 1/4 mile of ditch/embankment done with a single battery. And the power of my 20V Dewalt is not as great as my 2-stroke JD trimmer. Works perfectly fine for me but my use is probably 'moderate'.

Rob

Yeah Im keeping the Stihl around for that embankment.

 

[Maxify55]

They don't have enough torque for Florida's jungle, I've found.
I'll stick with the 2 cycle & regular Glyphos application where applicable.

 

[aczlan]

We have a Kobalt 80 volt one which seems to work well and will keep up with the Stihl FS 110 that it somewhat replaced until the battery dies.
The battery seems to hold up pretty well, probably somewhere between half tank in a full tank of fuel worth of trimming with the FS 110.

Aaron Z

 

[Alan W.]

I have the Kobalt 80 volt trimmer also. Works great. Now have the chainsaw and blower to go with it.

 

[dragoneggs]

I think the plunge into battery op tools requires some thought. I think it is best to standardize on one brand/platform if you can to keep your battery count/cost. down.

I have been using Stihl gassers for some time and recently been making the move to Stihl battery tools. Decided to go with AP battery line vs. AK for more power since I am used to gas. Couldn't be happier. Sold all of my gassers except my string trimmer until now. Didn't want to give up my Stihl FS130R but I am now convinced I can depart with it if someone will pay what it is worth.

That said, Stihl is expensive, but I like to buy tools and expect them to last a long time. Never been disappointed with Stihl. I even use my battery chainsaw 95% of the time vs my gasser.

If you are not using your battery tools often, then don't spend the money for top of the line. Sorry I don't have any direct brand comparisons though. Good luck with your purchase, but think long term and what your 'fleet' might look like. For instance, I settled on Dewalt 20V cordless hand tools for my shop quite awhile back. Nice to not have different brands, different batteries and a wall of chargers.

Bottom line, it really depends on how much you will use them and how heavy duty do you need.

 

[Bill Groom]

Another satisfied Echo owner here, it is a fantastic tool

 

[Oldpath05]

I'm getting sick of these small gas trimmers my self, if it's not starting it's stalling and then the noise tied of earphones to.........

 

[WM75Guy]

I have the Oregon 40V chain saw, trimmer, and 2 blowers, 1 for the stables and 1 for the garage. They work great. Easy to load string, cut a 10' length, slide each end through the 2 holes on the cutting head, and twist the knob to wind in the string. Uses 0.095 string, which cuts everything I need.

 

[Oldpath05]

I didn't know battery trimmers used .095 line, thought they used smaller line. I did some trimming today with .080 string it didn't cut everything I needed, the darn stuff kept breaking it's only good for grass, .095 would be better or plastic blades. I did find good video on reloading these small trimmers. How To Tips for Easy Restring of Weed Eater with 2 strings - YouTube

 

[dragoneggs]

I have switched to all battery Stihl's as I think I mentioned earlier. After using my electric Stihl trimmer for about a year, yesterday I finally sold last Stihl gasser, my trusty FS130R trimmer on Craigslist. Hard to part with it as it has been a great workhorse but my wife could not start it. I proved my equivalent battery trimmer does a great job even in demanding whacking ops. I now have a hedger, trimmer, blower, chain saw, and pole hedger sharing two AP batteries.

The plus with the Stihl AP line is you wear a battery belt so the weight of the trimmer is far less than the gasser equivalent! So easier on the back, the noise is less and it starts with the flip of a switch. :thumbsup:

The con... yes they are expensive. :thumbdown:

The plusses outweigh the negatives IMHO. :2cents:

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I have EGO string trimmer and 18" chainsaw and love them both. I replaced the string trimmer head with a circular saw blade and clear trails of up to 2" saplings. It's a workhorse and never skips a beat, even when overworked like that.

How heavy is the chainsaw? I've been thinking of a cordless chainsaw for arborist work, but need one I can run one handed at arms length. 18" is pretty big for that. 10" would be adequate. Anything larger and I'll fire up the Husquvarna.

I happen to have a B&D cordless weed whacker, courtesy of my wife, who had fantasies of using it herself. It's OK for little jobs, but worthless for wading into thick weeds. Other than that, I don't own any cordless tools, but there are times when a lower power tool would be easier to control.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm getting sick of these small gas trimmers my self, if it's not starting it's stalling and then the noise tied of earphones to.........

I've been picking up gas landscape tools free on bulky pick up days... never seen pickins so good.

The trickle to battery might become an river at this rate...

The Honda powered self propelled mower was the best so far but also picked up half dozen string trimmers.

For battery power I am very pleased with Stihl AP and find reaching for them even if it takes only minute or two ..

But for acres of hillside Brush my big ECHO gas can't be beat.