Help..I need a new grass trimmer...(elec or battery) (1 Viewer)

[Stinkin Ref]

need a new trimmer for a pretty big yard and some tall grass every once in awile....went on line to Lowes and Home Depot and seems there are the same issues (won't feed, gears break, etc) for a bunch of the ones out there now....mostly the Black and Deckers.....tired of shutting down and rewinding, etc....want to find something with little hassle and reliable....tired of trimming being such a nightmare and spending more time putting on line then trimming......

tia...Ref....

 

[Spanky267]

need a new trimmer for a pretty big yard and some tall grass every once in awile....went on line to Lowes and Home Depot and seems there are the same issues (won't feed, gears break, etc) for a bunch of the ones out there now....mostly the Black and Deckers.....tired of shutting down and rewinding, etc....want to find something with little hassle and reliable....tired of trimming being such a nightmare and spending more time putting on line then trimming......tia...Ref....

I have the 18 volt Black and Decker trimmer/edger and a decent size yard about a 1/4 acre lot. It works pretty well and I get tall grass/weeds near my fence where I cant get in with mower. It seems to handle those things as well as my old gas trimmer could. Line feeds smoothly and doesnt tangle. I would recommend that you buy and extra battery and the one hour charger that they sell. It usually takes me two batteries to do the whole yard, trimming near the house and the fences and then edging the sidewalk and flower beds.BTW I bought mine on craigslist for $20 and it works like a champ. The other tools in the line are pretty good also. The little chainsaw works well for small jobs. I use it to prune small trees and my palms.Get as many batteries as you can afford, they always come in handy.

 

[jamny]

My problem is I use it along bricks and it rips up the plastic center of the spools. I have to push down to release more wire.

 

[AcerFC]

I just got an echo and so far so good

 

[Chaka]

This may help.

Just in case the OP is a metaphor.

 

[3C's]

I bought the "cheap" Ryobi 26cc trimmer from Home Depot. I can't recommend this one based on the reviews online because apparently I got one of the only ones that works well. Starts in 3 or 4 pulls. Runs well. I use it on a ditch every week which takes about 15 minutes and on the rest of my 2 acres. I also use it at an animal shelter about every other week...two hours solid of trimming.

 

[Random]

If you can still find it at Home Depot, Ryobi has a 18v LiOn trimmer/edger and leaf blower packaged together for $119. Got mine about a month ago and it seems to work fine. The blower is kinda weak though.

 

[=Smackdown=]

Get a self propelled gas powered Lawnboy.

It will cost more but will last you a really long time.

 

[glumpy]

need a new trimmer for a pretty big yard and some tall grass every once in awile....went on line to Lowes and Home Depot and seems there are the same issues (won't feed, gears break, etc) for a bunch of the ones out there now....mostly the Black and Deckers.....tired of shutting down and rewinding, etc....want to find something with little hassle and reliable....tired of trimming being such a nightmare and spending more time putting on line then trimming......

tia...Ref....

I have the 18 volt Black and Decker trimmer/edger and a decent size yard about a 1/4 acre lot. It works pretty well and I get tall grass/weeds near my fence where I cant get in with mower. It seems to handle those things as well as my old gas trimmer could. Line feeds smoothly and doesnt tangle. I would recommend that you buy and extra battery and the one hour charger that they sell. It usually takes me two batteries to do the whole yard, trimming near the house and the fences and then edging the sidewalk and flower beds.BTW I bought mine on craigslist for $20 and it works like a champ.

The other tools in the line are pretty good also. The little chainsaw works well for small jobs. I use it to prune small trees and my palms.

Get as many batteries as you can afford, they always come in handy.

I'm going to have to check out that charger--bought one of these w/extra batteries for my wife to use on some relatively easy trimming--and those batteries take almost a day to recharge on the charger that comes with the package. Meanwhile my 'easy' trimming wears out the battery in about 20 minutes. Meanwhile--what I use is a Stihl brush cutter which has served me well for years--but it doesn't sound like you need that one!

 

[Godsbrother]

I have an 18v with an extra battery pack and it sucks. I can't remember ths brand but I got it at Home Depot. The thing works well for about 5-10 minutes but slows down significantly after that . I am lucky if if I get 20 minutes out of two batteries.

I am going to get a gas powered one one of these days...

 

[firstseason1988]

I need a new trimmer too and I agree with OP that all the reviews makes it sound like there are no good ones. Battery ones sound like a horrible experience. More and better recommendations please.

 

[Spanky267]

need a new trimmer for a pretty big yard and some tall grass every once in awile....went on line to Lowes and Home Depot and seems there are the same issues (won't feed, gears break, etc) for a bunch of the ones out there now....mostly the Black and Deckers.....tired of shutting down and rewinding, etc....want to find something with little hassle and reliable....tired of trimming being such a nightmare and spending more time putting on line then trimming......

tia...Ref....

I have the 18 volt Black and Decker trimmer/edger and a decent size yard about a 1/4 acre lot. It works pretty well and I get tall grass/weeds near my fence where I cant get in with mower. It seems to handle those things as well as my old gas trimmer could. Line feeds smoothly and doesnt tangle. I would recommend that you buy and extra battery and the one hour charger that they sell. It usually takes me two batteries to do the whole yard, trimming near the house and the fences and then edging the sidewalk and flower beds.BTW I bought mine on craigslist for $20 and it works like a champ.

The other tools in the line are pretty good also. The little chainsaw works well for small jobs. I use it to prune small trees and my palms.

Get as many batteries as you can afford, they always come in handy.

I'm going to have to check out that charger--bought one of these w/extra batteries for my wife to use on some relatively easy trimming--and those batteries take almost a day to recharge on the charger that comes with the package. Meanwhile my 'easy' trimming wears out the battery in about 20 minutes. Meanwhile--what I use is a Stihl brush cutter which has served me well for years--but it doesn't sound like you need that one!

The charger that comes with it is terribly slow. Look for the Black and Decker 1hr charger. You may find it near the lawn tools or in the Power Tool section. I also know that they have them at Wal Mart. It's about $30 to $40 dollars and well worth it. I have the Power Tools that use the same batteries and I charge all of my batteries in the dual charging station that came with my drill and circular saw. It takes about 3 hrs. I don't have the 1hr charger. I have 6 batteries so I always have two or three fully charged. I can do my whole front yard, and about 1/4 of my back yard on one battery. At that point I switch to battery #2 and finish the back yard. Black and Decker also sells a higher capacity battery than those that come with the tools, but you'll have to search for them or buy them online.

They are good solid tools and run well. But you have to know their limitations. They are relatively powerful, but not as powerful as gas and not as cumbersome as corded tools.

 

[Darrinll40]

I bought an 18v Black and Decker Hedge Hog(?)and am able to use each battery 2 or 3 times before it needs charged. It also came with 2 batteries so it fits many other tools that I have. Once it sat idle with the battery attached for 3 weeks and then worked for almost 20 minutes before winding down. I would recommend it.

 

[tonydead]

I bought the "cheap" Ryobi 26cc trimmer from Home Depot. I can't recommend this one based on the reviews online because apparently I got one of the only ones that works well. Starts in 3 or 4 pulls. Runs well. I use it on a ditch every week which takes about 15 minutes and on the rest of my 2 acres. I also use it at an animal shelter about every other week...two hours solid of trimming.

Please never, ever, ever buy Ryobi. They are the cheapest pieces of cr... Spend just a bit more for ECHO. All my yard stuff are gas powered ECHO products. They have easy start technology now days, my GF has not had a problem getting any of them started. One pull with the choke, next pull on regular and they start. Edger, blower, chainsaw.Always buy the heavy duty string (titanium corners) for the edger. It's worth the cost compared to the time wrestling trying to replenish the cheap stuff.

 

[tonydead]

I bought the "cheap" Ryobi 26cc trimmer from Home Depot. I can't recommend this one based on the reviews online because apparently I got one of the only ones that works well. Starts in 3 or 4 pulls. Runs well. I use it on a ditch every week which takes about 15 minutes and on the rest of my 2 acres. I also use it at an animal shelter about every other week...two hours solid of trimming.

Please never, ever, ever buy Ryobi. They are the cheapest pieces of cr... Spend just a bit more for ECHO. All my yard stuff are gas powered ECHO products. They have easy start technology now days, my GF has not had a problem getting any of them started. One pull with the choke, next pull on regular and they start. Edger, blower, chainsaw.Always buy the heavy duty string (titanium corners) for the edger. It's worth the cost compared to the time wrestling trying to replenish the cheap stuff.

Here is the one I recommend, well worth the money over Ryobi : TrimmerAnd this string: String I didn't see it on line at Home Depot, but, they had it last time I was there.

 

[TheFanatic]

need a new trimmer for a pretty big yard and some tall grass every once in awile....went on line to Lowes and Home Depot and seems there are the same issues (won't feed, gears break, etc) for a bunch of the ones out there now....mostly the Black and Deckers.....tired of shutting down and rewinding, etc....want to find something with little hassle and reliable....tired of trimming being such a nightmare and spending more time putting on line then trimming......

tia...Ref....

I have the 18 volt Black and Decker trimmer/edger and a decent size yard about a 1/4 acre lot. It works pretty well and I get tall grass/weeds near my fence where I cant get in with mower. It seems to handle those things as well as my old gas trimmer could. Line feeds smoothly and doesnt tangle. I would recommend that you buy and extra battery and the one hour charger that they sell. It usually takes me two batteries to do the whole yard, trimming near the house and the fences and then edging the sidewalk and flower beds.BTW I bought mine on craigslist for $20 and it works like a champ.

The other tools in the line are pretty good also. The little chainsaw works well for small jobs. I use it to prune small trees and my palms.

Get as many batteries as you can afford, they always come in handy.

I'm going to have to check out that charger--bought one of these w/extra batteries for my wife to use on some relatively easy trimming--and those batteries take almost a day to recharge on the charger that comes with the package. Meanwhile my 'easy' trimming wears out the battery in about 20 minutes. Meanwhile--what I use is a Stihl brush cutter which has served me well for years--but it doesn't sound like you need that one!

I have the same problem. But I have gotten pretty good with the trimmer so I can get all the trimming I need done before the second battery dies. STill might like to get the 1 hour charger. Didn't know that was an option. I didn't want to spend $60 on a third battery when the trimmer only cost me like $110 with two batteries. As for how it works, other than the short battery life it works fantastic....

 

[Spanky267]

need a new trimmer for a pretty big yard and some tall grass every once in awile....went on line to Lowes and Home Depot and seems there are the same issues (won't feed, gears break, etc) for a bunch of the ones out there now....mostly the Black and Deckers.....tired of shutting down and rewinding, etc....want to find something with little hassle and reliable....tired of trimming being such a nightmare and spending more time putting on line then trimming......

tia...Ref....

I have the 18 volt Black and Decker trimmer/edger and a decent size yard about a 1/4 acre lot. It works pretty well and I get tall grass/weeds near my fence where I cant get in with mower. It seems to handle those things as well as my old gas trimmer could. Line feeds smoothly and doesnt tangle. I would recommend that you buy and extra battery and the one hour charger that they sell. It usually takes me two batteries to do the whole yard, trimming near the house and the fences and then edging the sidewalk and flower beds.BTW I bought mine on craigslist for $20 and it works like a champ.

The other tools in the line are pretty good also. The little chainsaw works well for small jobs. I use it to prune small trees and my palms.

Get as many batteries as you can afford, they always come in handy.

I'm going to have to check out that charger--bought one of these w/extra batteries for my wife to use on some relatively easy trimming--and those batteries take almost a day to recharge on the charger that comes with the package. Meanwhile my 'easy' trimming wears out the battery in about 20 minutes. Meanwhile--what I use is a Stihl brush cutter which has served me well for years--but it doesn't sound like you need that one!

I have the same problem. But I have gotten pretty good with the trimmer so I can get all the trimming I need done before the second battery dies. STill might like to get the 1 hour charger. Didn't know that was an option. I didn't want to spend $60 on a third battery when the trimmer only cost me like $110 with two batteries. As for how it works, other than the short battery life it works fantastic....

If you are using the Black and Decker Edge Hog then the 1hr charger would be really helpful. Especially if you only have 1 or 2 batteries.

 

[Heavy B]

I bought the "cheap" Ryobi 26cc trimmer from Home Depot. I can't recommend this one based on the reviews online because apparently I got one of the only ones that works well. Starts in 3 or 4 pulls. Runs well. I use it on a ditch every week which takes about 15 minutes and on the rest of my 2 acres. I also use it at an animal shelter about every other week...two hours solid of trimming.

I have this one as well, I believe. It cost approx $130 and has interchangeable parts...the Expand-It system. I have the edger, the hedge trimmer, and weed whacker attachments.

I've had it for two summers now. It's a bit clunky on starting; but once it gets running it's generally fine. It's pretty heavy - the shaft is steel or heavy aluminum; but this gives it a very stable feel IMO. And I use the different powerhead extentions more often than I thought I would. This may certainly be subjective, but I feel that it's more powerful than my old Craftsman weed whacker. Don't remember the cc to cc comparison, however. So that might be apples to oranges.

While I had reservations about Ryobi going in, (bought it on price and hope) I felt good enough once I'd owned it awhile to purchase a Ryobi blower. Same thing - tough to start...need to baby it through warming up. But once it's running, it great.

Link

I'd give the Ryobi weed whacker and one half out of

The rough starting is a pain, and the occasional stall when I use it at odd angles compounds the rough starting. But, it works very well when it's rolling, and I'd probably buy another one if money was tight.

 

[Mr. Retukes]

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

A Scythe Beats a Weed Whacker in a Grass-Cutting Race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, EnglandA man cutting grass with a scythe totally blows a man operating a weed whacker out of the water–or grass, that is–in a 2010 grass-cutting race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-scythe-beats-a-weed-whacker-in-a-grass-cutting-race-at-the-west-country-scythe-festival-in-somerset-england/

 

[Wingnut]

A Scythe Beats a Weed Whacker in a Grass-Cutting Race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England

A man cutting grass with a scythe totally blows a man operating a weed whacker out of the wateror grass, that isin a 2010 grass-cutting race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-scythe-beats-a-weed-whacker-in-a-grass-cutting-race-at-the-west-country-scythe-festival-in-somerset-england/

Yeah but who's more tired afterwards?

 

[ChiefD]

A Scythe Beats a Weed Whacker in a Grass-Cutting Race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England

A man cutting grass with a scythe totally blows a man operating a weed whacker out of the wateror grass, that isin a 2010 grass-cutting race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-scythe-beats-a-weed-whacker-in-a-grass-cutting-race-at-the-west-country-scythe-festival-in-somerset-england/

Yeah but who's more tired afterwards?

Probably the guy sitting down with a nice cold beer watching the other guy.

 

[dmac37]

I have the 18v black and decker and this works good for my 3/4 acre lot. It would not be the best for huge brush clearing but for basic grass trimming it is hassle free. Every gas trimmer I have owned seemed to give me fits.

I have multiple 18v B&D tools so having 5 or 6 batteries to rotate helps to avoid waiting for a charge.

 

[NutterButter]

I didn't realize so many people used electric trimmers.

 

[heckmanm]

A Scythe Beats a Weed Whacker in a Grass-Cutting Race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, EnglandA man cutting grass with a scythe totally blows a man operating a weed whacker out of the water–or grass, that is–in a 2010 grass-cutting race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-scythe-beats-a-weed-whacker-in-a-grass-cutting-race-at-the-west-country-scythe-festival-in-somerset-england/

I would use a LAWN MOWER for that task. How does the scythe do trimming around trees or along a fence or the side of the house?

 

[cosjobs]

Not a big B&D fan, but I've had their LI 40v weedeater/blower for about a year now and they are quite impressive.

I think both tols and a battery were about $160. An extra battery is another hundred. Worth it.

 

[whiskey7]

I didn't realize so many people used electric trimmers.

+1FWIW, I have a gas Stihl and it works great.

 

[tommyboy]

I have a battery one, it blows

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I didn't realize so many people used electric trimmers.

+1FWIW, I have a gas Stihl and it works great.

This is what I'm getting soon.

 

[proninja]

I bought the Ryobi electric one from HD because my wife said she'd use it if we got a battery powered one. That, uh, hasn't happened, and now I have this crappy no power battery electric trimmer.

I'm not a rich guy, but I'm done cheaping out on lawn gear that I need. When this thing dies, I'm buying a Stihl gas powered, and that will be that until I die and give it to my kids.

 

[NutterButter]

I didn't realize so many people used electric trimmers.

+1FWIW, I have a gas Stihl and it works great.

This is what I'm getting soon.

Look at these big ballers.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

ending up buying a Stihl electric after doing a ton of reseasrch.....

the biggest thing for me was wanting something where I wasn't having to load the spool every two seconds....something that had easy push down to release more line (and that would actually work instead of beating the thing into the ground).... and then when it was time to replace/reload, would be easy to load.....

still haven't found it.....

you still have to have a masters degree in applied technology to figure out how to refill the spool and then feed it into the trimmer.....line still breaks every two seconds, doesn't release line the way it should, and is very frustrating and mostly time consuming to try and reload...

would have taken it back, but really just gave up.....some of this might be easy for the advanced yard guy, but these type of things don't come easy to me and I get frustrated pretty quick.....

are there trimmers that don't use line?......that maybe trim with something else that you never have to worry about replacing....?

 

[simsarge]

http://www.homedepot.com/s/trimmer%2520blades?NCNI-5

Can't verify these work, but i do remember seeing them and the $8 have decent reviews

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

You got to be careful with those extra tough cords and attachments. If you use them on and underpowered machine such as an electric one , it'll burn the motor up.

 

[berndog]

I had a Stihl trimmer that was easy to start no matter how old the gas was and worked like a charm. Unfortunately some ******* stole it out of my shed.

I tried to cheap out and bought a Ryobi and it is a piece of crap. It's so crappy I made my kids trim the grass with a pair of scissors last weekend. You can add it to the list of why they probably hate me half the time but I want nothing to do with that trimmer anymore.

 

[3C's]

A Scythe Beats a Weed Whacker in a Grass-Cutting Race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, EnglandA man cutting grass with a scythe totally blows a man operating a weed whacker out of the water–or grass, that is–in a 2010 grass-cutting race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-scythe-beats-a-weed-whacker-in-a-grass-cutting-race-at-the-west-country-scythe-festival-in-somerset-england/

I would use a LAWN MOWER for that task. How does the scythe do trimming around trees or along a fence or the side of the house?

http://r.sfglobe.com/2015/04/16/man-with-scythe-cuts-grass-next-to-man-with-lawnmower

 

[DocHolliday]

I bought the Ryobi electric one from HD because my wife said she'd use it if we got a battery powered one. That, uh, hasn't happened, and now I have this crappy no power battery electric trimmer.

I'm not a rich guy, but I'm done cheaping out on lawn gear that I need. When this thing dies, I'm buying a Stihl gas powered, and that will be that until I die and give it to my kids.

My wife bought me a Ryobi electric trimmer from HD for my bday a couple of weeks ago. I looked at it for 2 seconds and told her to return it as I walked away.

Not sure why people want to go the electric trimmer route. It is not going to work as well as a gas-powered trimmer. Choosing to use an inferior tool never ends well. Ever.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

I bought the Ryobi electric one from HD because my wife said she'd use it if we got a battery powered one. That, uh, hasn't happened, and now I have this crappy no power battery electric trimmer.

I'm not a rich guy, but I'm done cheaping out on lawn gear that I need. When this thing dies, I'm buying a Stihl gas powered, and that will be that until I die and give it to my kids.

My wife bought me a Ryobi electric trimmer from HD for my bday a couple of weeks ago. I looked at it for 2 seconds and told her to return it as I walked away.

Not sure why people want to go the electric trimmer route. It is not going to work as well as a gas-powered trimmer. Choosing to use an inferior tool never ends well. Ever.

....maybe....no gas....no oil.....none of that gas/oil mix that none of us know how to mix to begin with.....no pull start......I think I pretty much learned the entire 4 letter word checklist watching my dad try to start his gas trimmer.....then found out you could combine many of those 4 letter words in one sentence and also add "er" or "ing" to many of them....and wow, if you got tired of pulling the cord.....just pull it as hard as you can on the last pull and see if the cord breaks....cause I guess the next thing you do to try and start it is throw it down on the ground as hard as you can to see if that works......and then go get a beer.....

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

If you can't do 3rd grade math and have a bad temper, it's probably for the best that you avoid all power tools.

 

[parrot]

Another Stihl vote. After years of using garbage Weed Eaters, Ryobis, etc, bought a good Stihl last year. Spent about $100 more than I would have on a cheap one, but never regretted it for a second.

 

[Random]

I also have the 18V Ryobi battery powered trimmer. I've had it 5+ years and it still works. It is underpowered but if you're just doing basic residential stuff you really don't need much power.

 

[Van Dyman]

I bought the Ryobi electric one from HD because my wife said she'd use it if we got a battery powered one. That, uh, hasn't happened, and now I have this crappy no power battery electric trimmer.

I'm not a rich guy, but I'm done cheaping out on lawn gear that I need. When this thing dies, I'm buying a Stihl gas powered, and that will be that until I die and give it to my kids.

My wife bought me a Ryobi electric trimmer from HD for my bday a couple of weeks ago. I looked at it for 2 seconds and told her to return it as I walked away.

Not sure why people want to go the electric trimmer route. It is not going to work as well as a gas-powered trimmer. Choosing to use an inferior tool never ends well. Ever.

....maybe....no gas....no oil.....none of that gas/oil mix that none of us know how to mix to begin with.....no pull start......I think I pretty much learned the entire 4 letter word checklist watching my dad try to start his gas trimmer.....then found out you could combine many of those 4 letter words in one sentence and also add "er" or "ing" to many of them....and wow, if you got tired of pulling the cord.....just pull it as hard as you can on the last pull and see if the cord breaks....cause I guess the next thing you do to try and start it is throw it down on the ground as hard as you can to see if that works......and then go get a beer.....

I've been through a bunch of trimmers - electric, rechargeable, gas (2- and 4-stroke). The weak ones drove me nuts. Not enough power. The electrics and rechargeables only had a single string (in those days, not sure anymore). And iirc they all came with thin strings that break quickly, meaning I had to reload the string more often. The 2-stroke gas trimmers (I've had a few) were ok but required me to mix gas and oil.

I finally got a 4-stroke and will never go back. No more mixing oil/gas, no more extra gas can sitting around the garage. It cuts through the tallest weeds/grass like a hot knife through butter.

 

[Van Dyman]

A Scythe Beats a Weed Whacker in a Grass-Cutting Race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, EnglandA man cutting grass with a scythe totally blows a man operating a weed whacker out of the water–or grass, that is–in a 2010 grass-cutting race at the West Country Scythe Festival in Somerset, England.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-scythe-beats-a-weed-whacker-in-a-grass-cutting-race-at-the-west-country-scythe-festival-in-somerset-england/

I would use a LAWN MOWER for that task. How does the scythe do trimming around trees or along a fence or the side of the house?

http://r.sfglobe.com/2015/04/16/man-with-scythe-cuts-grass-next-to-man-with-lawnmower

I don't think that's the type of mower he had in mind. What was that thing!!?? Weird. It looked like a hedge-trimmer on wheels.