Rechargeable string trimmers - anyone?

[doitmyself]

My elderly neighbor has about ten minutes worth of string trimming to do after mowing. Only grass, no heavy weeds.

Does anyone have experience with rechargeable string trimmers? Brands? Trimming time between charges?

Thanks

 

[1999nick]

I am rather elderly, 70, and I have a Black and Decker string trimmer, which I have used for about three years. It is lighter and much easier to use than a gas powered trimmer. I use it for trimming around brick-edged flower beds, out-buildings, light poles, etc. Probably gets used about 15 minutes at a time. The string lasts a long time between renewals, and is easy to refill from a big roll of string I got at Lowes.

I have had, and still have, a gas powered trimmer, but it just got too hard to keep it running. I have a 29 year old gas powered EDGER that I use to edge my almost 300 feet of curbing. I have a square corner lot, about 150 ft by 150 ft. It does a much sharper and easier job of curb edging than a string trimmer many use for this purpose.

I would definitely recommend a rechargeable string trimmer for this gentleman. I don't know exactly how long it trims on a charge; it does not run down in the 10 to 15 minutes I usually use it.

 

[gfcrane]

I had a Sears (Black & Decker) string trimmer for, as I remember, four years. It was very handy but only used for edges with no heavy cutting. Normal use was about 20 minutes with immediate plug into charger until the next time. In the final year it began to run pretty slow after 15 minutes but I struggled thru the season.
When I went to Sears for a replacement battery, the price was just about as much as a new trimmer of the same model. This seemed strange so I bought a cheap Weed Wacker (cost less than the battery) to my regret. Hard starting, poor idling, cantankerous beast.
Next time I am torn between another battery powered one or a more expensive gas powered model. The battery powered unit was nice until the last year, preferable to the gasser. My cheap WW is now three years old and I may throw it away one of these first days, so the cost differential is not much if any.

 

[wileyE]

Somtimes it's good to fully discharge the battery before recharge, maybe not every time but at least do it every once in awhile. I've found this can make a big difference in battery life and can give a better charge.

 

[slalom44]

I had a Black & Decker rechargeable trimmer years ago. It lasted two years and wouldn't hold a charge after that. And I found the battery replacement to be ridiculous too.

Before that, I had an electric trimmer that you plugged in. That thing always worked. I probably got 10 years out of that thing before I trashed it. I can't remember why I got rid of it, but it wasn't because of the electric motor.

 

[IBelieveinlube]

I have a Ryobi rechargable that I bought about 5 years ago at Lowes. Works great. Light and powerful...think I paid about $100. It's not a toy, it really works hard. Uses the light weight blue string pretty quickly, but the string is cheap. Highly recommend this unit.

 

[1999nick]

quote:

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Originally posted by slalom44:
I had a Black & Decker rechargeable trimmer years ago. It lasted two years and wouldn't hold a charge after that. And I found the battery replacement to be ridiculous too.

Before that, I had an electric trimmer that you plugged in. That thing always worked. I probably got 10 years out of that thing before I trashed it. I can't remember why I got rid of it, but it wasn't because of the electric motor.

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My Black and Decker is probably on borrowed time now, as I have had it for about 4 years. It is still holding a good charge so far, tho. I leave it on recharge all the time; it charged all last winter.

I also have a small rechargeable hedge trimmer. The battery in it lasted about 5 years, and then began to not hold a charge. This trimmer only cost about $45, and the best price I could find for a new battery was about $35, so I just threw it away and bought a new one. That's what I will do with my string trimmer when its battery plays out.

 

[bob_ninja]

Certainly for infrequent use battery powered machine is better. Less hassle. However, batteries also have their own issues:

1) Even when not in use batteries loose power and must be recharged every couple of months. The common mistake is to forget your drill/trimmer/... battery in garage during winter and have it drain to the point where it is damaged.
On the other hand you can leave it plugged in all the time so long as you have a "smart" charger, otherwise it may get damaged again.
2) High cost (as already pointed out)
3) More powerful batteries consist of a higher number of cells and have a higher chance of a 1-2 cells runing the pack. The typical case is after 4-5 years pack doesn't hold the charge, even though 90% of the cells are still just fine. 1-2 bad cells however can evern reverse and work against the other cells, so the overall pack performance is ruined. As the pack is sealed, you cannot replace only 1-2 cells (which would be much cheaper), but have to get a new pack.

See:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=118353

All that being said, I will certainly switch to battery powered next time because I don't use mine very often.