Which battery trimmer to choose?

[stefs12]

How to know on which trimmer blade be putted?
Can blade be putted on every trimmer?
Example this?
product

If i get a blade, is then important if i get 20v or 40v because blade will probably cut all grass?

 

[lxskllr]

No, a blade won't go on every trimmer, and some where it would physically fit, wouldn't be appropriate to install. The machine would be too weak to power it, and it could tear the machine apart. I don't really know much about electric cutters. What *I* would do is go to a site like echo, look over their electric trimmers, and see what approved attachments go on which machine. Then go to a site that has trimmers you're interested in, and find one with similar specs. You go to echo first cause they don't have a million nonsense SKUs like greenworks has. When you find a likely candidate, download the manual for it, and make sure a blade can be fitted. At a minimum, you'll need 20mm or 25mm(most likely) arbor to use off the shelf arbitrary blades. There should be a washer, and a nut available to fix the blade to the machine. If you see a lot of weird stuff in the manual pictures, proceed with caution.

Also, you want to pick a brand that has a good presence in your country. If something breaks, you need to be able to get parts for it. That brings up the second point. If you buy an expensive quality machine, it's better to get it from a local dealer if you have such a thing, and if the dealer's any good. That doesn't mean a big box store. That means a dealer that specializes in landscaping equipment. You'll probably pay more, but they can help you pick a machine, and back you up if you have problems. If you don't have a *good* dealer, then you're on your own, but you'll still need to be able to get parts, so don't buy things that will be difficult to support.

 

[stefs12]

I am really thankfull for you explanation.
I dont know what to do.
I was think to buy this and find some blade, but now not sure:
product

 

[lxskllr]

Again, I don't know much about electric tools, but the strategy I'd follow goes something like this...

First, pick a good single brand to find a machine. It should be generally available in your country, and should have a good reputation for quality. Choosing from many brands just adds confusion, and it makes the process overwhelming. Also, some brands aren't really brands. You listed a Craftsman. Well, they don't make anything. Someone is building the machine, and they put their name on it. If you need parts, who do you go to? It isn't clear anymore with the dissolution of Sears. The machine could come from several factories, and when whoever owns the Craftsman name gets tired of that machine, and releases another, the parts stream could dry up. You listed Greenworks machines. If they're generally available where you're at, and I lived there. I think I could be happy with their products. Their reputation seems good, and there's a wide variety to choose from. Again, this isn't an endorsement. I don't know this company, but I've liked what I've seen since this thread popped up.

Next, determine what you'll use the machine for. Do you want the possibility of adding other attachments? How often will it be used? Someone in a rowhouse with a 10'x20' yard has a different need and duty cycle than someone with an acre+ to maintain.

Now, get a price range of the available machines. We'll say similarly equipped machines range from $100-$500. Unless you're in the 10'x20' rowhouse, you can probably remove the $100 machines from consideration. They won't have the power, flexibility, and durability you need for a satisfying experience. That leaves us with a price range of $200-$500, with $500 being a professional machine. Do you need a professional machine? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Professional gear is typically more durable, and provides more power with less weight. Everything just a little nicer. That has value, even if you aren't making money with it. If a pro machine really doesn't make sense for you, start looking at lower end machines. Download manuals, find reviews online. See what machine matches your needs, now and into the future.

The biggest thing, is don't buy solely on price, Some things aren't worth zero cost. They have negative value due to frustration and inadequacy for the job. If you can't afford the machine you need now, save your money til you can. A machete is cheap, and will work til you can afford the machine you need.

 

[Greenman]

I have two battery tools. An ancient B&D drill I got free from Marlboro ~25 years ago, and a Dewalt impact driver I found in the road last year. I don't really use either of them. I make holes with a handcranked drill, use screwdrivers to install fasteners, and cut wood with a chainsaw or carpentry handsaw.

I can't imagine how I'd survive without a drill, impact driver, jigsaw, circular saw, a few nail guns, a table saw, two or three sanders, a router, and basic dust collection.

 

[stefs12]

I still not sure which to choose, right now this looks interesting, it have 48v 8A because of 2 batteries, can attach a couple of things on him, i see online that on this head can be putted blade, its brushless.
But to be honest i am not sure if i ever use any of this things, for now i just need to cut grass, so i am not sure will i buy this or cheaper model.
model

 

[sdifox]

How big an area and how far is it from an outlet. Corded tools are way cheaper and more powerful. Trimmer is not really for grass cutting.

 

[stefs12]

0.74 poweroutlet is far away. I dont need to trim all once, it can be in 2or3 times.

 

[sdifox]

0.74 what? M²? Cuz if it is hectare, good luck. We talking about flat lawn or just grass? If it is .75 hectare I would look at a lawnmower.

 

[Gardener]

All of the trimmers you are looking at have the motor located on the spool end of the shaft. High quality battery units have the motor on the power head, the same end where the battery is located. That provides a better balance and is easier to control, which matters when doing anything requiring a degree of finesse like edging.

If you are cutting a large area, or you wish to use the unit for edging, look for the later design.

 

[snoopy7548]

 

[Muse]

I have EGO power+, but looking at your choices, it's out of your price range.

Amazon.com

Neighbor turned me onto EGO, he said it was Consumer Reports favorite. Pricey, but I got an EGO "refurb" off Ebay for $100.

Bought it in July 2022:

Ebay - Ego ST1502SF-FC Power+ 56V String Trimmer Kit 15'' With Rapid Reload & Split Shaft Certiified Refurbished. Includes 2.5ah battery/charger $99 Free Shipping from Grand Forks, ND (Acme Tools) $109.15 incl tax

The seller was evidently offloading many of a model that had been supplanted in the manufacturer's line, I figure likely in an arrangement with the manufacturer. My impression was that it was brand new unused, and reviews appeared to confirm that. Didn't have the full warranty of one that would cost perhaps 60% more. However, so far so good and reviews looked positive so I went for it. The Ausies call them "strimmers," short for string trimmers. I have a single battery only. If it isn't used for 30 days the battery automatically reduces charge to a level at which it best maintains long term viability, IIRC about 30%.

All of the trimmers you are looking at have the motor located on the spool end of the shaft. High quality battery units have the motor on the power head, the same end where the battery is located. That provides a better balance and is easier to control, which matters when doing anything requiring a degree of finesse like edging.

If you are cutting a large area, or you wish to use the unit for edging, look for the later design.

One accessory I got later was a shoulder strap, which makes handling a lot easier, less fatigue. I do edge with it, boy, that is saving my arthritic hands plenty, I used to edge with an unpowered shove-it-along device. It's well designed and durable but you need brute strength, especially if the ground is dry. The battery powered trimmer is easy to edge with, but finesse helps. I also use for lawn, weeds and trimming bushes.

 

[stargazr]

I am really thankfull for you explanation.
I dont know what to do.
I was think to buy this and find some blade, but now not sure:
product

You posted a picture that is similar to what you need to trim. I don't think you need to mess around with blades.

There are minor differences among the trimmers you are considering. First of all, voltage relates to power. But know that when there are two batteries with the deal, the listed voltage is double. In other words, if it comes with two 24V batteries, they say it is 48V. Personally I would go with 40V.
Also there are 2.0Ah and 4.0Ah batteries. The 4.0 batteries are larger, and last longer and add a lot to the price.

The dimension in the description (12", 14", 15" etc) is referring to the size of the cutting path.

If going with Greenworks I would probably get something like this, although having a second battery is nice. You could always add a battery later.

Amazon.com

 

[Red Squirrel]

Given it's hard to get stuff where you are just get whatever you can get.

For a trimmer you really don't need anything that powerful, it's just a motor spinning a string fast. I have a 18v Ryobi that I use for my yard at the house and it's fine and do the whole yard on a battery. I have tons of those batteries since all my tools are Ryobi. In fact I even brought it to my off grid property to do thicker stuff. I ended up buying the Greenworks for that since it will be better, but the Ryobi did do ok.

I don't have a better picture but here's one just to give an idea of the type of stuff I did with it. Lots of thick grass and other plants. Only issue I had is I forgot to bring spare string and ran out pretty fast so didn't finish it but where you see the thick grass where the tent is, it was like that everywhere else.

 

[dlerious]

The seller was evidently offloading many of a model that had been supplanted in the manufacturer's line, I figure likely in an arrangement with the manufacturer. My impression was that it was brand new unused, and reviews appeared to confirm that. Didn't have the full warranty of one that would cost perhaps 60% more. However, so far so good and reviews looked positive so I went for it. The Ausies call them "strimmers," short for string trimmers. I have a single battery only. If it isn't used for 30 days the battery automatically reduces charge to a level at which it best maintains long term viability, IIRC about 30%.

My batteries (5AH) lose some charge, not sure how much - one just has a single indicator while the other newer one has 4 or 5. I didn't see anything on the charger for doing a storage charge like on my RC chargers. My head unit can be used with various other attachments. They have a cheaper trimmer that's single purpose.

 

[feralkid]

I have two battery tools. An ancient B&D drill I got free from Marlboro ~25 years ago, and a Dewalt impact driver I found in the road last year. I don't really use either of them. I make holes with a handcranked drill, use screwdrivers to install fasteners, and cut wood with a chainsaw or carpentry handsaw.

Bread Knife makes a good Drywall Saw in a pinch.

 

[sdifox]

Bread Knife makes a good Drywall Saw in a pinch.

I am not eating any bread as hard as drywall

 

[lxskllr]

Given it's hard to get stuff where you are just get whatever you can get.

For a trimmer you really don't need anything that powerful, it's just a motor spinning a string fast. I have a 18v Ryobi that I use for my yard at the house and it's fine and do the whole yard on a battery. I have tons of those batteries since all my tools are Ryobi. In fact I even brought it to my off grid property to do thicker stuff. I ended up buying the Greenworks for that since it will be better, but the Ryobi did do ok.

I don't have a better picture but here's one just to give an idea of the type of stuff I did with it. Lots of thick grass and other plants. Only issue I had is I forgot to bring spare string and ran out pretty fast so didn't finish it but where you see the thick grass where the tent is, it was like that everywhere else.


View attachment 96421

I like that big rock you have. Are there many big rocks on your property?

 

[Muse]

I have two battery tools. An ancient B&D drill I got free from Marlboro ~25 years ago, and a Dewalt impact driver I found in the road last year. I don't really use either of them. I make holes with a handcranked drill, use screwdrivers to install fasteners, and cut wood with a chainsaw or carpentry handsaw.

I bought my first battery tool likely in 1977. I was hired to work on sailboats and my boss told me on day-one I had to buy a battery powered drill to carry around with me on the docks. I bought a Skil. It was pretty primitive and low power, you can't find anything as low power now AFAIK. I kept that thing for years and years and kept it working one way or another. I believe it was 6 volt. I replaced the batteries (a project) more than once IIRC. Finally it crapped out entirely and I bought a 9 volt DeWalt, which I loved. I bought a second DeWalt a few years later and the quality wasn't there, which is ridiculous. Those were all NiCad drills. I finally went to Li-ion with Porter Cable, infinitely better, keeps a charge!!! Rarely have to charge. The NiCad drills, seemed like most times I needed to use one the charge had depleted. I resisted Li-ion batteries for years because I heard that when fully charged they deteriorate faster, it seemed like a problem, but the advantages far outweigh the problems I found out. I have lots of battery powered stuff but I like AC for a lot of stuff. Here's a really good Skil battery screwdriver. I have several of them! Not super powerful but terrific design:

SKIL Rechargeable 4V Cordless Screwdriver with Circuit Sensor Technology, Includes 9pcs Bit, 1pc Bit Holder, USB Charging Cable

Amazon.com

I have a battery screwdriver from Harbor Freight that's more powerful, for those tougher jobs but the Skil ones are the ones I reach for usually.

 

[Muse]

I can't imagine how I'd survive without a drill, impact driver, jigsaw, circular saw, a few nail guns, a table saw, two or three sanders, a router, and basic dust collection.

I have all that except nail guns, router and any kind of dust collection. The table saw I made myself out of scrap wood, sundry parts and a used dryer motor I bought for $5. Day to day it functions as my grinder!

 

[Red Squirrel]

I like that big rock you have. Are there many big rocks on your property?

Yeah there's quite a few, it's decently rocky terrain which is pretty cool. Should make for interesting landscaping features once I get to that point. It's also not too crazy that it will make doing anything too hard either. Lot of areas that are just regular soil. I'll find out how deep it goes once I start digging. I might be on a giant rock for all I know.

Don't have a lot of pics from inside the bush but it's basically like this in lot of areas in the bush too. Lot of that moss is also rock under it. Fun fact, one of the mines here was discovered when a prospector slipped on moss and landed on a big rock and found a gold vein. I almost repeated that history myself a few times... lol

 

[Greenman]

I have all that except nail guns, router and any kind of dust collection. The table saw I made myself out of scrap wood, sundry parts and a used dryer motor I bought for $5. Day to day it functions as my grinder!

I've seen a couple of home made table saws that worked well. I bought one because I wanted precision and good dust collection. Mines dialed in about as tight as a mid range table saw gets.

 

[Muse]

I've seen a couple of home made table saws that worked well. I bought one because I wanted precision and good dust collection. Mines dialed in about as tight as a mid range table saw gets.

The motor on mine has a shaft that sticks out on both sides. On one side I keep a grinding wheel, on the other side I leave an arbor. If I want to use it as a saw, I bring it outside, set it on a table in my patio, remove the arbor and bolt on a circle saw blade, then attach a by-me custom-made adjustable table, set the distance the blade will reach above the table and set an adjustable side rail. I use this setup to rip slats once in a while.

 

[iRONic]

😂I’m house Makita.

 

[Paratus]

😂I’m house Makita.

Just finished the first part of building a cabinet to hold all my battery powered ryobi tools:

Designed some and printed some brackets to go with a 3D printed Rubbermaid fast track clips to mount the cabinet. Now need to make a face frame and a couple of doors for it. Then stain it I guess.