Battery Powered Weed Whacker
 

Anyone here use a battery powered weed whacker? After a decade with a faultless Weed Eater, I've had two gas units become a pain to get/keep running. My thoughts are to try a battery unit or just bite the bullet for a Stihl.

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I have one and love it! Tons of power, two speeds and battery last quite a long time, never even needed a spare battery. I think mine is made by Black and Decker but not positive. I'll never go back to gas!

Dan

Thanks for the feedback--would you kindly let me know the brand when you've a moment.

Interested in brand recommendations, as well as overall thoughts.

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I purchased a Kobalt from Lowes in the spring and I absolutely love it. Charge lasts hours and it is very easy to change the line.

I have one by Black and Decker and love it. I have burned out, seized, and worn out many gas weedwackers over the years. The electric one is great. No issues and always starts! :)

I did buy a second battery so I always have one in the charger. I have a commercial property that I use it at so sometimes the first battery runs out.

There are a couple of them on sale now at Lowe's. I have had mine for about 10 years so that model is no longer available.

I have the Husqvarna 536LiLX 36v and love it. I really like being able to change the direction of rotation at the press of a button.

I also have the chain saw T536LiXP, hand blower 436LiB and pole s 536LiPT5 from this series and they all rock. These are not the Home Depot/Lowes quality ones, they are the pro grade.

They were running a promo when I bought mine, so I ended up with 2 chargers and 4 batteries. You can buy these tools standalone with no battery or charger to save money, just buy one as a package and use the same battery for other tools. I really have no need for 4 batteries, the run time on these is surprising.

I recently purchased a Ryobi 40 volt unit that can be expanded with attachments. I have had their 40V hedge clipper for a few years and it's fantastic, powerful and long lasting. I just ran the weed whacker for about 2 hours, it worked great and the battery still had about 25% charge left.

Look ahead
 

As codeman mentioned, there is a good chance you will end up with many tools, powered via the same source.

We went EGO Power+ and their products are outstanding. Between NH and home we have (at least) pole saw, blower, string trimmer, push mower.

Sounds like it's just a matter of grabbing the right set! Anyone have any info on specials/values?

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I've had 2 Black and Decker's, the first one had the old style batteries and they didn't last too long. The newer one has lithium batteries and after 5 years they are pooping out. I will probably reluctantly buy some new batteries.
My son inlaw just bought a Green Works and he loves it. He has the blower also and it is very powerful.
If I had to buy again I would stay away from B&D.
I would never go back to gas!

Only thing left in my shed that is gasoline is the snow blower. Electric everything else. Rounded out the shed by scooping an EZ Go lawnmower and absolutely love it.

I would suggest you hit the local library and check Consumer Reports and see what the top recommendations are in terms of ease of use, dependability, and price value.

I have the B&D whacker and a little chainsaw. Both have been great but of course you are not going to clear a lot with them. 40 volt

I have all Stihl equipment with the exception of a RedMax leaf blower left over from my landscaping/mowing business. All overkill for a homeowner but the equipment is so dependable and starts with a couple of pulls in the Spring that I’ll never sell it. However, Batteries of today are fantastic!
I have a battery ice fishing auger and it is the balls...much better than the gas augers that historically are fussy.
Based on the battery powered trimmer reviews here I say go for it!

Traded gas for electric last summer and after two years of use I couldn't be happier. No pulling, no gas, no hassle....just squeeze the trigger and go.

I bought a Dewalt unit as I wanted something which used the same batteries as my other cordless tools. No complaints at all.

Just picked up a 60V Greenworks for $135. We'll see how it goes. My only real concern is longevity. My Echo blower is over a decade old, Stihl chainsaw about the same. I'm not confident I'll get that time out of a battery...

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I use Black and Decker 20 volt Lithium weed whacker, leaf blower and cordless drill. All use the same batteries. I will never go back to gas powered.

It’s a 24 volt Black and Decker. I have had it for a number of years now and it’s still going strong with just one battery.

Dan

Hooked...
 

Amazon sent me to Greenworks when I needed a cordless pole saw. At the time, there were only the 40W and the 40W MAX battery models—which are not interchangeable. :confused:

Pleased with its ease of use and apparent quality, I bought a pair of 12-inch chainsaws, a pair of leaf blowers, and a pair of lawn trimmers. Total so far: seven tools and a pair-each of batteries and chargers. (It helps to shop the sales at Black Friday and Presidents' Day). The manner of chain-tensioning is nearly instantaneous—ingenious! :cool:

The leaf-blowers aren't very powerful, but probably in line with others in the same power range. The lawn trimmers are tricky to manually reload the trim-string, but Greenworks makes "string-modules" that snap in—available at extra cost.

Seeing at least one major project ahead, I also bought a Greenworks "Cart". (They don't call it a "powered wheelbarrow"). It's a little "fiddly" to use, but I guess they didn't want a new customer to be towed into the street! :eek2: It could use a limited-slip differential, but carries good-sized loads for about ¾-hour of actual battery use (when new).

A Greenworks lawn mower takes two 40V MAX batteries, but with no real lawns, I'll pass on that one. :look:

Bought the B+D 40 volt WW 2 years ago. Love it. Just last week I bought the 40 volt hedge trimmer. Love that too. My gas powered tools are now a thing of the past.

GreenWorks 82V
 

I am running the 82V GreenWorks trimmer and blower. Great performance! Richter repair in Moultonborough carries the line.

I purchased a Black and Decker weed whacker and hedge trimmer combo special that came with (4) 18V batteries and 2 chargers six seasons ago. One of the 4 batteries doesn’t hold a great charge any longer but the other 3 are holding up well. I’ve used the pair of battery operated tools mostly to maintain about 1/2 acre of property during that time. I switched to battery power as a bit of an experiment having been a 2 cycle user for a long time and it’s worked well in my case. I’ll look for my next set of battery operated tools on sale as well.

I've heard good things about GreenWorks tools.
They had an 18V drill and impact driver set at Costco for $99 last year but I had never heard of them before so I bought the same Ryobi set on sale from Home Depot. That was a mistake, the Ryobi is piece of crap. I wish I returned it and bought the GreenWorks.
Too late now, Costco's doesn't have the GreenWorks set anymore.
82V sounds powerful!

Just last weekend I almost threw my Stihl gas model through a wall (for the tenth time!) PITA to start runs ok only after it's warm/hot. Once the original factory setting changes the slightest forget it. Manual sounds so easy to adjust with the set screws...Ya right! I'm thinking it's electric time.

Never did by into the Gas weed wacker or Blower movement.... Yes they always looked cool, and I did have envy....

But Still using the Weedeater Trimmer that my Dad bought, ummmm who knows 40 years ago now.... and the Craftsmen blower that he bought 30 years ago... that run on extensions cords..... Yep, I have about 300 ft. of extension cords now, at the camp to get all over the property... but hey.... compared to the price of these cordless version, I am glad the old faithful tools are still working....

I would think that these new cordless versions, will probable last a long time. The issue always will be the batteries, however with battery technology, getting better and better, as well as companies that seem to support the old battery packs, once companies stop producing them, your probably looking at a good situation all around.

I have a 15 yr old gas back pack blower which starts super easy to this day never any issues, my Stihl weed wacker S_____.

Question - How's the torque on the electric ones? Just don't want it bogging down on one thick piece of grass. Well not literally but you know what I mean. I cut some pretty thick crap.

I would think 82V would power through anything.:eek:

I have the ryobi 40v weed whacker and blower. They are about as good as gas powered versions and were a good value. The whacker has plenty of power and great battery life while the blower also works great but uses up the battery more quickly. The newer blowers look completely different and perhaps have longer battery life. I have tried a neighbor's 18-20v versions and are nowhere near as good.