Help me choose a string trimmer please

[Poindexter]

My 2cycle string trimmer has given up the ghost.

I will consider corded, but this time of year I am mowing 2-3 times per week (what with 20 hours of daily sunshine and plenty of rain this year). I do have a 100 foot extension cord, 12ga, but it is heavy.

I am keeping my 4 cycle snowthrower until I move and my 4 cycle lawn mower until it dies. I maintain enough driveway for 12 vehicles to park and about 150 feet of two lane suburban street so the snowplow drivers don't mess up our delicately balanced parking situation.

Besides the (dead) string trimmer, I do have a 2cycle leaf blower that I run twice annually. I will consider a battery powered lawnmower when the current 4 cycle is dead.

To my way of thinking, each of lawn mower, string trimmer and leaf blower are mature technology, what I am really looking for is battery and charger technology. I am going to be running these tools more or less from May to September. The batteries are going to be in storage more or less 7 months annually.

The EGO line is selling very well up here, I do have a friend with both the lawn mower and the snow blower, so his batteries for those get cycled year round, and he is ecstatic with them.

I do run at least one 20 inch box fan year round. It is always either wood smoke season or pollen season or wildfire season or mold season, so a battery powered fan that can pull 500-1000cfm through a furnace filter could keep my battery packs in the gym year round. Or I need a trickle charger. What I don't want is to be replacing batteries every 2-3 years.

If it matters, for the trimmer, I can do a lick and a promise trim job before mowing in about 15 minutes. A first class job around all the garden beds and the wood sheds and the raspberry canes and the berry bushes and the outdoor kitchen is more like 45 minutes.

Appreciate your insights.

 

[TomMcDonald]

I have the 18v x2 Makita power head including the trimmer, hedger, pole saw, extension poles, etc. The trimmer is excellent and I use it to trim my 1/4 acre no problem. It is as powerful or more as my Tanaka 25cc gas trimmer.
If you need or desire other attachments I would look seriously at a power head system. The Makita package is great.

 

[EbS-P]

Well…. It could be an opportunity to choose your battery powered yard tool eco system or just get another 2 cycle trimmer. I’m a huge fan of the carbide tipped blades on trimmers. I’m not quite ready to put that an ego trimmer.

To me it comes down to budget. I like my Stihl KM power head. I have string trimmer, saw blade and hedge trimmer attachments. I have ego blower and chainsaw. I had the ego trimmer head in my cart and decided that I don’t need it. I have fuel/oil mixed up and ready to use most of the time. The ego chainsaw is fine for 15 minute jobs (not 15 minutes of cutting). The blower is fine for quick yard cleaning but not really fall leaf cleanup unland I use it to “fog”/ mist spray for mosquitos. I can spray 1/2 acre with 3/4 gallon of mix on one battery. About 10- 15 min on high.

At the end of the day I don’t see a point of getting just one battery tool. But if you are wanting to ditch 2 cycle motors (excluding wood processing chainsaw) now would be the time.

 

[vbu]

I know you said you're looking for battery power, but I'll give you my recommendation anyway.

I have the Honda versattach system, and I love it. You can get just the string trimmer, but I have that plus the pole saw, edger and hedge trimmer.
It's a 4 stroke powerhead so you're not dealing with mixing gas and more importantly to me the stank of a 2 stroke engine. It's also much quieter than a 2 stroke, and vibrates less IMO.

You do have to change the oil in it, but it only takes a couple ounces. I just change it when I'm already doing another oil change, so I change oil in it 2-3 times a year. It's literally a less than 5 minute job where you just dump out the oil and refill it.

 

[Poindexter]

Appreciate the input so far.

I am making a conscious effort to not buy anymore 2 cycle equipment- but there is a certain amount of carbon tied up in making rechargeable batteries. If I am replacing the batteries often enough total carbon could be a wash and the expense could get out of hand quickly.

Also, I am not getting any younger and wrasslin with the big extension cord isn't getting any easier.

I will look at the 4 cycle powerhead systems this afternoon.

 

[DodgyNomad]

See if anyone sells Kress in your area. Worth looking into for sure.

 

[Eman85]

I'm looking at all of the options and it is confusing. The EGO stuff looks good, I'd like to know about the service side of it. Right now I have Ryobi 18V tools so I bought an 18V trimmer and blower. They work pretty good but batteries don't have enough to do all of my trimming and leaf blowing. I recently had a problem with one of my Ryobi chargers and I'm finding their customer service is non existent. I still have my 2 Stihl trimmers and blower.

 

[EbS-P]

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[Ashful]

Where are the weights of commercial-quality variants of battery versus 2-stroke string trimmers of a given type landing today? Interpret "type" however you like, straight vs. bent shaft, single hand vs. handlebar, or string vs. blade heads. For me, carrying the damn thing all over 4 acres of manicured lawn for a half hour at a time, that'd be the primary consideration.

Run time, whether per battery or per fuel fill, and trimmer head string capacity would be second and third. I hate having to interrupt my work and walk back up the hill to my barn to refuel or re-string the spool, especially on a hot day in July.

Like a few others here, I'm using the Stihl KM, but with the biggest motor (KM 131 R). I need the big motor for running some of my other attachments, primarily the bed redefiner, even though it's total overkill for string trimming. Lugging that heavy motor around may have biased me, or given me more appreciation than most, for seeking a lighter tool.

 

[EbS-P]

Where are the weights of commercial-quality variants of battery versus 2-stroke string trimmers of a given type landing today? Interpret "type" however you like, straight vs. bent shaft, single hand vs. handlebar, or string vs. blade heads. For me, carrying the damn thing all over 4 acres of manicured lawn for a half hour at a time, that'd be the primary consideration.

Run time, whether per battery or per fuel fill, and trimmer head string capacity would be second and third. I hate having to interrupt my work and walk back up the hill to my barn to refuel or re-string the spool, especially on a hot day in July.

Like a few others here, I'm using the Stihl KM, but with the biggest motor (KM 131 R). I need the big motor for running some of my other attachments, primarily the bed redefiner, even though it's total overkill for string trimming. Lugging that heavy motor around may have biased me, or given me more appreciation than most, for seeking a lighter tool.

Weight is a concern. Runtime is not just buy another battery. All the commercial systems have a backpack battery. Pay for what you want/need.

 

[begreen]

It takes 1-2 hrs of trimming to do a good job on our yard. I went through several variants both 2 stroke and 4 stroke before settling on the Stihl 2 stroke with handlebars and full harness. I don't like having to mix the gas and would like electric, but the Stihl is so tough it just keeps going. I haven't put a cent into it during the last 12 yrs of service. It is lower vibration and much tougher than those that preceded it.

 

[begreen]

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That was helpful. I have the Makita leaf blower and the max run time is similar to their string trimmer 10-15 minutes. Looks like the EGO and Dewalt are worth considering.

 

[EbS-P]

That was helpful. I have the Makita leaf blower and the max run time is similar to their string trimmer 10-15 minutes. Looks like the EGO and Dewalt are worth considering.

The ego has different battery sizes. 2-10 Amp hours.
I have a 2 and a 2.5. Probably won’t buy the 10 untill I have a mower.

 

[begreen]

The 2.5 amp keeps the weight down, but only 30 minutes runtime. I think you need the battery backpack to handle the bigger 10 aH battery.

 

[TomMcDonald]

That was helpful. I have the Makita leaf blower and the max run time is similar to their string trimmer 10-15 minutes. Looks like the EGO and Dewalt are worth considering.

The Makita 18v x2 platform is more sensible for bigger yards.

 

[begreen]

The Makita 18v x2 platform is more sensible for bigger yards.

That is what I have. It only goes 10-15 minutes on the two batteries. This is similar to what the string trimmer tested at.

 

[TomMcDonald]

That is what I have. It only goes 10-15 minutes on the two batteries. This is similar to what the string trimmer tested at.

Interesting. I have the makita power head system and get heaps longer than 15 minutes on 2x 5ah with the trimmer attachment.

 

[begreen]

Ah, that explains it. My batteries are 3ah.

 

[Ashful]

It takes 1-2 hrs of trimming to do a good job on our yard. I went through several variants both 2 stroke and 4 stroke before settling on the Stihl 2 stroke with handlebars and full harness.

Same here. But I've found I really don't need to trim everything every time, so now I do either 1/2 or even 1/3 of the trimming with each mowing, depending on season. I've broken the yard up into zones, with regard to trimming, to help me keep easy track of what was done or skipped on the prior mowing(s).

 

[Solarguy3500]

I have the Ego string trimmer and 18" bar chainsaw and I really like them both.

The string trimmer came with the 2.5 Ah battery and the chainsaw came with the 5 Ah battery. So, with the 2 batteries I can get through all the trimming on my 5 acre property. About half is woods, so I'm not having to maintain all 5 acres.

The trimmer is much more powerful than the gas unit it replaced. I like the fact that I don't have to worry about a carb getting gummed up on a regular basis. Another bonus, I don't need ear plugs.

I like the chainsaw so much that it has become my go-to saw, and the 372 XPW only comes out now when there's something big to buck.

 

[Poindexter]

I pulled the trigger today on a corded "6.5 amp" Craftsman brand from the homestore.

I don't like wrestling the cord around, but my initial finding is the corded 6.5 amp trimmer is more powerful and quieter than my old 21cc Husqvarna. I am expecting company from the lower 48 in about 2 weeks and do need to trim sometime this summer.

I did look at all the things in town today. I am not in a hurry to buy any of the current crop of rechargeable batteries. I get this is fast growing technology with lots of growth right now. When the batteries in my TV remote go dead, I need either AA or AAA batteries and I can pick from multiple brands. Once battery technology matures and I can run say a Stihl leaf blower and a Husky string trimmer and Milwaukee sawzall on one form factor X battery I will then invest in form factor X technology. There is too much proprietary tech in the current products line for me to feel good about buying any of them.

Local the only 4 cycle powerhead I could find was on a Honda string trimmer for $$$. 2 cycle powerheads with multiple attachments by both Stihl and Husky were well represented.

Once we have a form factor X battery, someone should come up with a waist belt or a shoulder sling, a 25-30 inch cable, and a line of hand tools like 3/8 chuck drill and a impact wrench to help an old guy like me change the tires on my truck.

 

[EbS-P]

I pulled the trigger today on a corded "6.5 amp" Craftsman brand from the homestore.

I don't like wrestling the cord around, but my initial finding is the corded 6.5 amp trimmer is more powerful and quieter than my old 21cc Husqvarna. I am expecting company from the lower 48 in about 2 weeks and do need to trim sometime this summer.

I did look at all the things in town today. I am not in a hurry to buy any of the current crop of rechargeable batteries. I get this is fast growing technology with lots of growth right now. When the batteries in my TV remote go dead, I need either AA or AAA batteries and I can pick from multiple brands. Once battery technology matures and I can run say a Stihl leaf blower and a Husky string trimmer and Milwaukee sawzall on one form factor X battery I will then invest in form factor X technology. There is too much proprietary tech in the current products line for me to feel good about buying any of them.

Local the only 4 cycle powerhead I could find was on a Honda string trimmer for $$$. 2 cycle powerheads with multiple attachments by both Stihl and Husky were well represented.

Once we have a form factor X battery, someone should come up with a waist belt or a shoulder sling, a 25-30 inch cable, and a line of hand tools like 3/8 chuck drill and a impact wrench to help an old guy like me change the tires on my truck.

I’m guessing the actual battery cells in all the major brands are the same cell size. The physical form factor and connection of the battery pack are brand specific and probably not something that can easily/legally sold. Add that many brands run different voltages. I think the belt pack is a good idea.

 

[Eman85]

FWIW I have seen adapters so you can adapt brand x's battery to brand y's tool. I agree that the technology is developing but unlike gas engines which have basically stopped developing the technology behind electric/battery will continue for decades or longer. That said most of us don't have that many decades left in the tank.