Can anyone recommend a quality electric weed whacker?

[evintho]

I don't want/need a gas powered unit. I don't live out in the country, have acres of land or tall/thick grasses. I don't even have a lawn. I live on 13,000 sq ft of landscaped property with lots of sprouting grass/weeds thanks to el nino over the winter. I had a 2 yr old Black & Decker unit that gave up the ghost the other day. Granted, B&D isn't top of the line but I expected a little more out of it!

I'm looking for something of reasonable quality that will work and is gonna last! Also, something my 5' tall wife can handle easily. Max price in the $50-$90 range. I've been perusing Ebay and have seen some Echos, Worx and Toros. Not sure on the quality of those units. Any recommendations/opinions are greatly appreciated!

 

[kd3pc]

little stihl unit will last a life time. They have a battery powered as well as AC line powered. My wife loves theAC unit and it is easy for her to use and is still powerful enough for her to be happy.

 

[djjsr]

I have a Ryobi that works fine. I had a B&D and a Toro. They didn't have as much power and didn't have removable battery packs. I have lots of Ryobi tools and lots of their 18v lithium batteries.

 

[LB-1911]

I don't want/need a gas powered unit. I don't live out in the country, have acres of land or tall/thick grasses. I don't even have a lawn. I live on 13,000 sq ft of landscaped property with lots of sprouting grass/weeds thanks to el nino over the winter. I had a 2 yr old Black & Decker unit that gave up the ghost the other day. Granted, B&D isn't top of the line but I expected a little more out of it!

I'm looking for something of reasonable quality that will work and is gonna last! Also, something my 5' tall wife can handle easily. Max price in the $50-$90 range. I've been perusing Ebay and have seen some Echos, Worx and Toros. Not sure on the quality of those units. Any recommendations/opinions are greatly appreciated!

Give this one a look -

ONE+ 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Hybrid Electric Cordless String Trimmer/Edger

Product pg
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/563

 

[gdocktor3]

I would go with ryobi 18v or something similar where you can use the batteries in other tools if you ever need. Drill, sawzall, even the spot/flash light.

 

[pendragon1998]

Give this one a look -

ONE+ 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Hybrid Electric Cordless String Trimmer/Edger

Product pg
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/563

I have one. Good light to med-light duty tool. One Li-ion battery gets me around my little house once. I would buy it again.

 

[buckwheat_la]

Dewalt machine is a monster. First one i have seen that seems commercial duty

 

[Skin]

Higher end Toros with removable Lithium Ion batteries are pretty nice (speaking from personal experience) but a bit over your budget. I think they start around $120. If you have a lot of thick tall weeds though there isn't anything battery under or around $100 that isn't going to bog down.

 

[BD1]

450 to $90 ?? Not gonna get much but a throw a way after a couple of seasons if that. I bought the Echo 58 volt and it has been awesome . Had it a few years.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-58-...rimmer-with-4-Ah-Battery-CST-58V4AH/205565995

 

[nh_yota]

I have a Ryobi cordless string trimmer that I bought a few years ago. It's the cheaper Ryobi blue and orange model not the newer silver and green model. I have a city house with a small yard so it's perfect for me. I had a corded Weed Eater string trimmer but I got tired of having to drag out the extension cord every time I wanted to use it, even for a quick trim after I mowed the lawn.

Mine came with the One+ NiCad battery which lasts just long enough to trim the borders of the lawn after mowing. The motor doesn't have enough power to cut anything more than grass or fine weeds so those I pull out by hand or trim with grass shears.

Would I recommend it? Sure if you're like me and all you need is something to trim the borders when you're done with mowing the lawn. The price is good and it's held up well. It uses the string line cartridges which are pricey but you can buy a roll of the small gauge trimmer line and re-string the cartridge yourself.

For anything more than a simple grass trimming I'd recommend a model with more juice.

 

[77Ford]

DeWalt 20 volt or 40 volt......

 

[Farmall450]

Dewalt or Echo

 

[Wamsutta]

Stihl has a new cordless out now.

 

[sponfit]

I have the 20v dewalt and I've been impressed by it so far. I can get 20-25 minutes of run time cutting mostly overgrown weeds.

 

[evintho]

Sorry guys, I didn't make it clear. Not looking for cordless. Looking for a corded weed whacker. My cordless tool platform is Milwaukee. Not even sure if they make a cordless but if they did, I'm sure it'd be outside my budget! I'm perfectly happy with a corded weed wacker. My 100' extension cord pretty much gets me anywhere I need to on my property.

 

[JJThrasher]

I have the 20v B&D with the chainsaw. Works pretty decent for me.

 

[LB-1911]

Sorry guys, I didn't make it clear. Not looking for cordless. Looking for a corded weed whacker. My cordless tool platform is Milwaukee. Not even sure if they make a cordless but if they did, I'm sure it'd be outside my budget! I'm perfectly happy with a corded weed wacker. My 100' extension cord pretty much gets me anywhere I need to on my property.

The RYOBI 18V ONE+ Hybrid String Trimmer / Edger has two power sources for versatile lawn maintenance no matter where you are. This string trimmer can run off of a cord or a RYOBI 18V battery

Give this one a look -

ONE+ 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Hybrid Electric Cordless String Trimmer/Edger

Product pg
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/563

You'll notice there is also a blower that accepts a cord.

 

[Catamount]

DeWalt 20 volt or 40 volt......

WHAT. Where are you seeing that for $50?

That's $199 when I look home HD.com

 

[ryolse]

The wife and I have been enjoying our Ego trimmer and mower.

http://thd.co/1WCC41N

 

[racintj]

Protoolreviews.com will be doing a shootout with around a dozen of the latest and greatest cordless weed trimmers. You may want to check that out in the next few days.

 

[Fixed]

I've used the Ryobi one, where you can run it off either a battery or a cord. It's fine for grass, small weeds, etc. Definitely not going to be using it to clear any brush though.

 

[jdl25]

No. I can't imagine a corded trimmer keeping up with a 2 stroke Stihl or Echo in terms of quality.

 

[rrich1]

I have the makita non brushless weed wacker. Even with the purchase of even 1 battery will more than make up for having to deal with a cord. I would seriously consider it. The makita i bought is $99

 

[77Ford]

WHAT. Where are you seeing that for $50?



That's $199 when I look home HD.com

Picked up (2) at HD in store last fall [emoji6]

 

[FMC1959]

Sorry guys, I didn't make it clear. Not looking for cordless. Looking for a corded weed whacker. My cordless tool platform is Milwaukee. Not even sure if they make a cordless but if they did, I'm sure it'd be outside my budget! I'm perfectly happy with a corded weed wacker. My 100' extension cord pretty much gets me anywhere I need to on my property.

Even after clarifying what you do not want, no one cares. They only care about telling you what they have and why you should get the same.

 

[406Rich]

Corded Stihl here, going on 15 years, stihl going...

 

[evintho]

Thanks for the replies. I finally just went down to the local home improvement store and picked up another Black & Decker 6.5amp, 14" trimmer. For $50 I should get my monies worth. I just consider the B&D a disposable trimmer.

 

[todd_fuller]

I used to have a Ryobi corded string trimmer... total beast: RY41002 (https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/129). Not many companies have the motor in the handle which has a couple advantages. You can make the motor bigger, you can now have interchangeable heads (edger for instance), and the balance of the trimmer is away from the head.

The problem is that they don't make it any more and no one else out there really make a decent corded string trimmer that doesn't cost as much or more than good cordless options. I ended up with a cordless version from Ryobi and there are a number of good options out there in that space which is likely why there are so many responses for cordless.

 

[48548]

I used to have a Ryobi corded string trimmer... total beast: RY41002 (https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/129). Not many companies have the motor in the handle which has a couple advantages. You can make the motor bigger, you can now have interchangeable heads (edger for instance), and the balance of the trimmer is away from the head.

The problem is that they don't make it any more and no one else out there really make a decent corded string trimmer that doesn't cost as much or more than good cordless options. I ended up with a cordless version from Ryobi and there are a number of good options out there in that space which is likely why there are so many responses for cordless.

I went through a bunch of b/d and bought this corded one as well. Seems pretty good. I have been using it for a year and would recommend it. I don't think it is the best I have used, but if I can get 5 years out of it I am happy. I have such a small grass area I need to use this to trim parts and edge that I am unable to do with the mower. But you can get different attachments if you need them. Here is the link to the one I got and it is still for sale just not in store.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-18...raight-Shaft-String-Trimmer-RY41133/205481831

 

[dale500]

Thanks for the replies. I finally just went down to the local home improvement store and picked up another Black & Decker 6.5amp, 14" trimmer. For $50 I should get my monies worth. I just consider the B&D a disposable trimmer.

I'm sure your new trimmer will handle your needs. I have a similar one and it works fine. The week point of their system is their string. It's junk and it drove me crazy. Get some Husqvarna Titanium Force line (found mine at Lowes) and wrap your own spools and the performance will be much better.

 

[TXBDan]

I'm curious about the Kobalt 40V trimmer and lawn mower. Perhaps another topic.

 

[outlawz2004]

I have one like this, the grasshog. Bought it from Lowes a few years back and it works great. Very strong for an electric. Before this I had a corded Weedeater brand that lasted about 12 years, then a smaller black and decker that lasted about two years.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...ssHog-Grass-Weed-Trimmer/7912705/product.html