Weed wackers

[CraigStu]

I went to replace my $99 corded wacker the other day at HD. Thought I should look at battery powered ones. WTF, They range from $200 up to about $500 some of that depending if you just get the tool or tool + battery + charger. But still, what is with the insane prices?

 

[Dakotadadv8]

Pull the weeds good exercise

 

[acer66]

Most of them have different level models then you add bare tool, with one or two batteries and batteries with different amps version.

 

[Firebrick43]

I went to replace my $99 corded wacker the other day at HD. Thought I should look at battery powered ones. WTF, They range from $200 up to about $500 some of that depending if you just get the tool or tool + battery + charger. But still, what is with the insane prices?

 

[tyyost]

What isn’t expensive these days? Batteries for nearly every platform from big names to harbor freight and Walmart start close to $100. String trimmers are a big load for decent run time so a compact battery isn’t going to make it.

I’d imagine a corded one these days would cost close to $75 and a 100 ft 14/3 cords going to be another $30-$40? Walmart has some models starting at $100, part of the problem is where you started looking I guess. Stihl has a model with battery starting around $200…

 

[ScottsGT]

Just my M18 12 amp battery for my blower, string trimmer and hedge clippers was over $200. My edger is Ryobi. Much cheaper alternative and lighter weight. It’s been fantastic doing about 800’ of edging when I mow. My heavy gas attachment edger was killing my back.
OP, check into the Ryobi lineup. Milwaukee is far from cheap.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I’d advise getting gas and saving some money. I haven’t had good luck with the battery ones and they are too expensive. I bought my Stihl at Rural King for about $230 much better than the junk Milwaukee one that we returned. And I’m a Milwaukee fanboy.

 

[acer66]

I am happy with my Ryobi 40v multi head weeder.

Their basic one string not so much.

 

[Copymutt]

Ryobi is marketed as a home owner product. They are less $ than the contractor grade tools.

However, the 10 Ryobi tools I have range from 6 months to multiple yrs. Old. The 40v weed whacker wont quite complete an acre & 1/2 of busy landscape w/ the 4ah battery.
Last week I dropped one of the drill drivers from a full 20’. It bounced, ejected the battery, but no damage.
Key to saving is watch the numerous sales. Once you commit to a brand you can take advantage of the buy this and get this free.
Two Ryobi tools that aren't up to par are the ice auger that weighs more than a gas version and the low end angle grinder that makes it maybe 5 minutes on a 2ah battery.

 

[bwringer]

Do you live on a 27 acre mountaintop compound, like most of the folks on this forum, and expect your weed whacker to deal with oak saplings, thorn thickets, and random intruders?

Or do you have a fairly standard suburban lot and need to trim the grass? Be realistic about your needs.

For the latter usage, pretty much any of the battery-powered models will do just fine. If the price stings, remember that you won't need to futz with crappy carburetors and crappy gas any more.

Also remember that the crappy cheap MTD 2-cycle weed whackers sold under 143 different brand names are worse than worthless. Same for the very cheapest machines sold by Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna. They're throwaway garbage.

If you really do need a gas-powered machine, you need to step up to a better level of machine, and these are not cheap.

If you've already bought into a particular tool battery ecosystem, then see if they make an option. I have a lot of Ryobi stuff, so I have a cheap Ryobi string trimmer and blower that use the same 18V batteries and work extremely well for my less than 1/2 acre in the city. I can do all the weed whackery and grass blowing needed with one charge of a 2AH battery. I've had these for about three years, and they're still going strong.

The very day I bought my battery-powered stuff, I set the 2-cycle garbage out at the curb. 2-cycle engines are officially banished from my garage henceforth, and good riddance to the stinky, delicate piles of ****.

There really is nothing like chucking in a battery and getting straight to work, quietly.

Or maybe you really do enjoy yanking starter strings with growing dread and frustration, endless futzing with teensy Chinese carburetors, and inhaling exhaust fumes on the rare occasions the damn things actually do run.

 

[ScottsGT]

Well put bwringer

 

[Snapped-off]

I've got a 36v Makita string trimmer that works good. I put a brush blade on it when needed. I've also used an ego trimmer which I like better.

Only thing I can't go full electric on is chainsaws.

Gotta pay that convenience fee if you want one..

 

[ScottsGT]

I have the M18 chainsaw. I’m not a lumberjack, just a home owner that trims small branches once every two years or has to cut up a dead tree once every three to ten years. Perfect for my needs. I have Dads old Husky that needs a carb. I just don’t have a need to get it going again. I should sell it or give it away because if I did get it running again, it would sit unused and be back in that shape when I did need it again.

 

[LB-1911]

I went to replace my $99 corded wacker the other day at HD. Thought I should look at battery powered ones. WTF, They range from $200 up to about $500 some of that depending if you just get the tool or tool + battery + charger. But still, what is with the insane prices?

$200.00 is the starting point.
Current cordless tool platform?
Mower replacement in the near future?

One source of reviews.

Best Battery-Powered String Trimmer Reviews 2023

What's the best battery-powered string trimmer for your needs? We got our team together to determine top picks for a range of priorities!

www.protoolreviews.com

Best Electric Lawn Mower 2023 - Battery-Powered Mower Reviews

Our experts test the best electric battery lawn mower in 2022 including battery-powered, push, riding, mulching, and self-propelled mowers!

www.protoolreviews.com

Good Luck

 

[Mike65]

We have a gas-powered Ryobi weed eater. For what we need it for it does a good job I believe it is the RY252CS model with a curved shaft.

RYOBI 25 cc 2-Stroke Attachment Capable Full Crank Curved Shaft Gas String Trimmer RY252CS - The Home Depot

Introducing the RYOBI 2-cycle gas curved shaft string trimmer with a full crank engine for 2X longer life. This string trimmer accepts RYOBI Expand-It Universal Brand Fit attachments adding versatility

www.homedepot.com

 

[jpaw]

I have a Stihl gas and a Makita 18v battery. For quick cleanup I always grab the Makita now. It's just so convenient and light not to mention it does great with grass and everything but the toughest weeds. Living on 10 acres I don't think I'll ever be able to give up on gas but it definitely gets used a lot less.

 

[oldmachinenut]

Buy once, Cry once…..
Back to reality, I have the Ryobi 40 volt with the changeable attachments and I am very happy with it.

 

[Crabman]

You can get the light duty Ryobi for $45 delivered on ebay, open box.

OPEN BOX - Ryobi P2080 ONE+ 18-Volt Cordless String Trimmer/Edger (Tool Only) 46396014917 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for OPEN BOX - Ryobi P2080 ONE+ 18-Volt Cordless String Trimmer/Edger (Tool Only) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Batteries can be had on sale at HD or Direct Tools Outlet. HD runs Ryobi days once or twice a year which is 2 4.0ah batteries, a charger and a free tool, usually a list of maybe a dozen.

HD has 2 4.0 plus charger for $79 right now.

RYOBI ONE+ 18V Lithium-Ion 4.0 Ah Battery (2-Pack) and Charger Kit PSK006 - The Home Depot

This RYOBI 18V ONE+ Lithium-Ion 4.0 Ah Battery (2-Pack) and Charger Kit provides up to 3X more runtime compared to standard 18V lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are compatible with over 280 18V ONE+ Products to power through all types of projects. Built with professional grade lithium-ion...

www.homedepot.com

You can get factory recon 4.0 on DTO for about $30 and the charger is about $15 I think.

Good luck finding the right fit.

 

[jonesg]

Gas powered are fine if you are scrupulous about never putting it away without running it dry first.
always use pure gas, no ethanol **** and add stabilizer to gas container.
doing all those I have never had a problem.

 

[reader2580]

Gas powered are fine if you are scrupulous about never putting it away without running it dry first.
always use pure gas, no ethanol **** and add stabilizer to gas container.
doing all those I have never had a problem.

I have had good luck with the canned fuels. Even if I leave the fuel all winter I can dump out the old fuel in the spring and it will start right up with fresh fuel. Canned fuel is expensive, but I use like one can per year. If I mixed a gallon of fuel with two cycle oil I would spend the same amount of money.

I would like to find a battery powered trimmer that won't hurt my back.

 

[Zeke]

My corded trimmer stopped dead mid session. No drama, no smoke. Opened it up and determined DOA. I got a gas one that didn't run for 15 bucks and got it running in 30 minutes. I hate it. I too went looking at new and look at CL, etc. every day. Too much$$ new or used. I guess I'm stuck with gas until that is done for.

 

[Kuma601]

How large of an area are you going to be using this? I'm using a well aged Black Decker 18V Grasshog. I dislike bump feed and the old B&D is auto feed. That is a nice feature as bump breaks my flow in trimming stuff. When it doesn't feed you'll bump it again and it it doesn't feed you want to smash the damn thing especially if you have to stop, take the spool off and find why the line was jammed in the spool. I've had that issue with 2 others B&D cordless models and even with a factory wound spool was used. YMMV Went back to the old one. (Newer in B&D case was not better.)

This guy bought the Project Farm top rated DeWalt:

 

[65ranchero]

Try this, I bought a 19" mower just for trimming where me 54" rider will not fit
I like it a lot and I believe they are made in NC.

Electric String Trimmers & Edgers | Greenworks Tools

String trimmers (weed eaters) and edgers are perfect for putting the finishing touches on your lawn. Find the best lightweight, easy-to-use solution for you.

www.greenworkstools.com

 

[bb29510]

im sorry, i bought the ryobi 40 v because i was tired of the pull start. i really like it, its worth the money

 

[ChefRex]

My last couple have been off the curb, free is good.

 

[P0234]

Direct tools has great deals if you are patient. Gas or electric models are around $50 when on sale. Sometimes you can do even better if you are up for refurbished. I got this last summer.

 

[nbpt100]

I fully recognize that battery powered is the future. But for now I am doing ok with cheap MTD curb find 2 stroke stuff. I have installed new carbs, fuel lines, spark plugs and the key is non ethonol gas with synthetic 2 stroke oil. I have some stuff going on 4 yrs old and they run ok. My blower is an Echo 2 stroke and that has been working just dandy. I am not willing to poney up $200 for any equipment of this type. I ahve been surviving on CL deals and curb finds for a decade. Just be vigilent about the fuel.

 

[engineer2]

I'm done with 2 stroke stuff. About 4 years ago I bought a 2x18 (36V) Makita string trimmer. I rarely run it in 'annihilate mode'. Only need to recharge every fifth use or so. Uses standard trimmer heads. Looking back, an 18V would have been fine for my 0.2 acre suburban lot.

 

[mrb1]

I finally had enough of the 10+ year old Bolens 2 cycle a few weeks ago. My issue was I don't weed eat every time, so it sits with the fuel in too long unused. Tractor Supply still has the 60V Greenworks for $150, with battery and charger. Claims as much torque and power as the same size engine in the Bolens. I believe it. Works great. I run it half an hour, come in the garage for a beer and recharge for another half hour of use. Never lost any power. First battery op tool I've purchased (besides drills and lights) and love it. String system and head seem pretty good so far also. A battery rider will never replace the old John Deere mower though. ***this one is lower priced because it does not accept any attachments, unless ya want to do some serious cobbling

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...immer-with-25-ah-battery-and-charger-st60l254

 

[southalabama]

I’ve got an Echo PAS gas system and a boatload of attachments including a steel blade that will cut saplings.

I’ve got husqvarna gas chain saws and the newest addition is an Echo battery chainsaw. Love it. No mixing oil. Running to get gas. Keep battery charged and ready to go. That said. Batteries aren’t cheap. Still haven’t bought a spare battery.

 

[Dmm698]

Do you live on a 27 acre mountaintop compound, like most of the folks on this forum, and expect your weed whacker to deal with oak saplings, thorn thickets, and random intruders?

Or do you have a fairly standard suburban lot and need to trim the grass? Be realistic about your needs.

For the latter usage, pretty much any of the battery-powered models will do just fine. If the price stings, remember that you won't need to futz with crappy carburetors and crappy gas any more.

Also remember that the crappy cheap MTD 2-cycle weed whackers sold under 143 different brand names are worse than worthless. Same for the very cheapest machines sold by Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna. They're throwaway garbage.

If you really do need a gas-powered machine, you need to step up to a better level of machine, and these are not cheap.

If you've already bought into a particular tool battery ecosystem, then see if they make an option. I have a lot of Ryobi stuff, so I have a cheap Ryobi string trimmer and blower that use the same 18V batteries and work extremely well for my less than 1/2 acre in the city. I can do all the weed whackery and grass blowing needed with one charge of a 2AH battery. I've had these for about three years, and they're still going strong.

The very day I bought my battery-powered stuff, I set the 2-cycle garbage out at the curb. 2-cycle engines are officially banished from my garage henceforth, and good riddance to the stinky, delicate piles of ****.

There really is nothing like chucking in a battery and getting straight to work, quietly.

Or maybe you really do enjoy yanking starter strings with growing dread and frustration, endless futzing with teensy Chinese carburetors, and inhaling exhaust fumes on the rare occasions the damn things actually do run.

If you have a postage stamp lot the electric one probably works well. I dont have a ranch by any stretch at a little over 2 acres, completely in the woods sans a driveway entrance, but I hate batteries.

The only 2 stroke equipment i've ever had issues with is the cheap junk homeowner grade stuff. My Husqvarna 525 string trimmer, and my 580 backpack blower are probably close to 5 years old now. Husky saw is probably 15 years old. I dont drain tanks on any of them or run any of them dry, and they typically run on 8 month old fuel I pulled out of my stand ups in the fall come spring time. '

On the rare occasion i've got some stale race gas around that'll go in as well, and the smells a treat. To each their own.

 

[CraigStu]

I actually went ahead and bought another corded trimmer. But I have makita drills and 4 batteries so I will look at that brand. HD had several of their battery tools in the lawn tool area but no trimmer. I had been eyeing Makita sales for a year wanting another drill. I had bought them maybe 5-6 years back for $99 including one battery and a charger but the best I saw in that year was a bare drill for $139. I had resigned myself to getting one and then was in HD and happened on the back endcap of one of the tool isle shelf units that had 6-7 Makita things on sale. Whoa, drill,charger, battery for $99. I grabbed one and 2 days later went back and grabbed the last one. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[ctandc72]

Guess I'm lucky. I have an Echo - the "crappy version" I bought at one of the Box stores maybe 7-8 years ago? Bought it after a brand new Dewalt Cordless died after maybe 20 minutes of use and then had to wait 2 weeks for "factory repair" (the place was about an hour from me - so it was cheaper / faster to drop it off rather than ship it). There was an entire bin with just Dewalt cordless trimmers. After multiple phone calls they finally "determined" mine couldn't be repaired and shipped me a brand new one. Sold it and bought the "crappy" Echo.

I only use the canned fuel. It gets used pretty heavily since I live on a few acres. One of the $20 cans of fuel usually lasts an entire season. I don't even drain it. Every year, after sitting all Winter, add some fuel if needed, prime it, choke it, crank it up.

It's bump feed - but rarely ever jams up. When it's empty you just line the notches up, feed the string in through one hole, out the other side and wind the string in. No disassembly required.

 

[wolfhawk73]

I just bought the following. About $200 off for the combo. I've been waiting for that combo to be available for a discount, because I use all those tools twice a week. I have my yard (1/2 acre) and my mother's (1 acre) to maintain, and I can do it all just as quickly going cordless.

Milwaukee trimmer/edger/blower combo

Tried them for the first time yesterday. The trimmer has as much or more power than my Poulan Pro, and the blower is light years ahead of the TrimmerPlus blower attachment for the Poulan and a heck of a lot easier to use. I already have six M18 tools, so I have extra batteries if needed. I have my Poulan plus all of Dad's gas-powered stuff (Stihl weedeater with attachments, two chainsaws, two hedge trimmers, one WeedEater blower), and I'm glad to getting rid of it all. I'll eventually get M18 tools if needed to replace them.

Easier on my back, no noise fatigue, and no more smell in my garage.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

I use a black and decker autofeed corded going on 11th year on my 1/4 lot. I've been thinking about upgrading to battery, but can't seem to pull the trigger. I'd definitely save some time from having to move the cord around, but hard to let go of something that still works.

That said, that Dewalt does look pretty nice if the reliability is there, and I'm a fan of the black and gold. Anyone have firsthand experience with that Dewalt?

 

[paredown]

Just my M18 12 amp battery for my blower, string trimmer and hedge clippers was over $200. My edger is Ryobi. Much cheaper alternative and lighter weight. It’s been fantastic doing about 800’ of edging when I mow. My heavy gas attachment edger was killing my back.
OP, check into the Ryobi lineup. Milwaukee is far from cheap.

I bought the first gen Milwaukee String trimmer when they dumped them because the gen 2s were coming out. Even at the relative bargain price, I'm not that impressed. It's heavy, has a bad balance point and no automatic head. OTOH--I do like not putting gas in it, so there's that.

I've got an old Poulan Pro that needs a gasket--I'll probably get that fixed and continue to use it--and keep the Milwaukee battery for other things.

 

[Spud McGee]

I'm rocking the kobalt 24v one. It works fine. I bought them back when kobalt's battery line was still new and replacement batteries were dirt cheap.

With today's prices, I would recommend the milwaukee one. Dont buy it straight up. Look for the deals. Usually home depot has them in the "special buy" category where you can get the different pole saw/edger/weed whacker/hedge trimmer packages. You get a lot more bang for your buck vs paying msrp.

 

[niget2002]

How large of an area are you going to be using this? I'm using a well aged Black Decker 18V Grasshog. I dislike bump feed and the old B&D is auto feed. That is a nice feature as bump breaks my flow in trimming stuff. When it doesn't feed you'll bump it again and it it doesn't feed you want to smash the damn thing especially if you have to stop, take the spool off and find why the line was jammed in the spool. I've had that issue with 2 others B&D cordless models and even with a factory wound spool was used. YMMV Went back to the old one. (Newer in B&D case was not better.)

This guy bought the Project Farm top rated DeWalt:

I didn't watch the video, but that's the string trimmer that I bought/own.

 

[niget2002]

That said, that Dewalt does look pretty nice if the reliability is there, and I'm a fan of the black and gold. Anyone have firsthand experience with that Dewalt?

Wife bought me the Dewalt for Father's day last year. I use it as both a string trimmer and to run an edger attachment. I use a 9aH dewalt battery on it. I can trim around my entire property and usually edge the entire driveway, street, walkways, and back patio with the 1 9aH. Occasionally I've had to swap to a 6aH battery to finish up if I haven't trimmed in a while and am having to hack away at thicker weeds/grass.

I've only ever needed to run it at low speed. I don't think I've ever tried using the faster speed. Might cut better at the higher speed.

I feel it's well balanced, although the spot on the shaft where you want to carry it single-handed there's a big sticker telling you not to hold it there. I'm assuming the weight of the battery on one end and the weight of the cutter on the other makes that point a weak spot.

I've been happy with it.

I also recently replaced my 2 stroke leaf blower with the big Dewalt 60v leaf blower. That thing works really well for me too. I bought it with the 9aH battery and can do the entire patio and driveway on half a charge. It's powerful enough to blow dried dirt out of the cracks in the driveway. I wasn't paying attention while blowing off the front porch and managed to blow half the mulch out of a flowerbed out into the yard :/

 

[WisJim]

We got 40 volt Greenworks about 7 years ago and the batteries are still working well. We have string trimmer, chainsaw, pole saw, and mini -tiller and they all work great, and we haven't had any batteries go bad yet. The really great thing is that my wife will use the weed wacker or chain saw because they start up right away, no messy gas and oil, no pulling over and over on the starter, just turn it on and go. If I was starting out today I might go with a different brand because of battery interchangeability, but I'm not going to replace these tools yet.