Battery powered weed trimmer

[S&S_Work_Saws]

So I've got a Stihl FS131 4 stroke trimmer for the big stuff. Now I'm in the market for a battery powered string trimmer for the smaller stuff and for my wife to occasionally use. It doesn't have to be a Stihl necessarily but I am a big Stihl fan. Any recommendations??
Also I'll add that I'm a carpenter by trade and have a huge pile of DeWalt 20V and Metabo 18/36V batteries but not sure if either of those companies make a weed eater.

 

[Seachaser]

I get whichever is on sale. I got a good deal on Milwaukee trimmer and saw head not too long ago by watching Home Depot’s deal of the day and Northern tool. It surprised me. My wife can even run it. I have a Husky for the real stuff.

 

[Philbert]

The battery is half the tool.

Start with the batteries you have, if you have that option.

If you choose a different battery platform for your OPE, look st the entire ‘family’ of tools supported.

You may swear that you only want this one tool, but they are like eating potato chips: leaf blower, hedge trimmer, lawn mower, pole saw , . . .

Philbert

 

[LAWN BOY]

I have a little Black+Decker cordless trimmer that I got 1 year ago. It’s great for little stuff. My grandma has one she got 6 years ago and it still works great. They are super affordable.
My grandma has an Echo 58V cordless weed whacker, along with other Echo cordless tools. I use it as much as she does. We love it. It’s 4.5 years old and hasn’t had any problems.

 

[Mycamaro_68]

So I've got a Stihl FS131 4 stroke trimmer for the big stuff. Now I'm in the market for a battery powered string trimmer for the smaller stuff and for my wife to occasionally use. It doesn't have to be a Stihl necessarily but I am a big Stihl fan. Any recommendations??
Also I'll add that I'm a carpenter by trade and have a huge pile of DeWalt 20V and Metabo 18/36V batteries but not sure if either of those companies make a weed eater.

If you have Dewalt 20V batteries already I would check out their options (I think they have a couple different models). I have the 20V dewalt that folds in half. It works pretty well for what it is. I'm not a big fan of the balance of it though. The motor is at the trimmer head so kinda heavy with nothing more than the battery to balance it out. I think most if not all battery trimmers have the motor at the trimmer head so maybe they all feel like that?

 

[RCBS]

I was gifted a milwaukee a couple years ago. It didn't offer me any benefit over my Huskies (2 pull starters). Same weight with battery attached and less power and run time. Pretty happy I didn't need to spend any coin to learn that. It gathers dust while I keep whoopin on the gassers.

 

[Philbert]

I’ve been pretty happy with the various, battery-powered string trimmers that I have used (Oregon, Redback).

Quieter, and less smelly than the 2-stroke one I had (McCulloch?). No starting issues. Lighter too.

Comparable to the corded electric ones I used (Toro, Craftsman, Black&Decker), with the convenience of no cord.

Fine for a residential, city lot. Maybe different for a rural setting. Not for heavy brush.

Only issues I had were with the string trimmer heads, which did not like to feed if / when they got dirty.

Philbert

 

[MS261CM]

I had a DeWalt 20V string trimmer and it was ok. The trimmer head is flakey in several ways but it got the job done. Some people change that out to a Husqvarna head but I'm not sure what one.

I had a DeWalt pole saw and it was serviceable. Chain speed was slow so it was a bit bouncy with its 3/8 chain but it got the job done.

I had the DeWalt 20V chainsaw and it was a disappointment. The bar nut had a torque limit feature that prevented tightening enough to hold the bar. The saw would throw the chain and chew up plastics. I eventually replaced the chewed plastics and filled the torque limiter with construction adhesive. The saw that bought a year or so and the drive inverter failed. I recycled the parts and bought a Stihl MSA140 that committed me to AK30 batteries. No problems with the Stihl. Higher chain speed and 1/4" pitch so it doesn't bounce around like the DeWalt.

I also had a DeWalt 20V hedge trimmer attachment for the pole saw. Battery is in the handle and motor is at the cutter with both tools. I didn't care for the brushed motor but this trimmer had a worse issue. The business end of the motor loosely presses into a recess in a plastic header. Two screws thread into that end bell before a drive gear gets pressed onto the shaft preventing further access to the screws. That would all be well and good but the end bell of the motor has a couple radial slots on the same radius as the threaded holes. When the motor is pressed in, probability is that the slots not threaded holes are lined up with the screw holes in the plastic. After several heat cycles the motor starts twisting back and forth about 15 degrees. Eventually the gears jump and jam up the mechanism. I don't think the gear can be pulled without tearing up the armature so this tool also departed via my recycle bin.

I sold the DeWalt pole saw while it was still running. I gave the string trimmer to my son for the 15'x25' "yard" behind his apartment. He moved to a place with a larger small yard and I set him up with a Stihl AK30 powered motor. That put us on the same battery system. He'll use the string trimmer however long it lasts and go with Stihl.

The Stihl homeowner (AK) tools I have are a Kombi pole saw/weedwhacker. The motor and battery are at the operator end. As mentioned I have an MSA140 saw. I also have the newer ???60 hedge trimmer and the carbon extension for the pole saw (get the aluminum one).

Problems I've had with the Stihl tools:

1) The propulsion drive for the little mower seemed to be skipping gear teeth ans the speed adjustment failed, all on the first mow. The dealer traded it out for the non self propelled unit and refunded the difference. The blade drive was fine and it mows fine so that was a happy ending.

2) The carbon string trimmer extension mates up with M/F square drive features in the power head and attachment. The aluminum extension uses a 1 piece steel driveshaft with those features. The carbon extension uses a hollow aluminum tube with steel features pressed into the end. The male square drive feature is pressed into one of those steel ends. It was loose in my extension. On first use coupling was marginal and I found the square drive falling into the aluminum tube or out of the assembly depending on orientation. The dealer swapped this extension for another that seems properly pressed together. I wicked a little red locktite around that feature in the replacement. Another issue I had with the extension is that the space between the aluminum tube and a plastic inner liner was filled with stiff grease. The liner has external splines intended to index it to the aluminum end fittings and keep it from turning. Those splines just buzzed as the high viscosity grease spun the liner while consuming more power than the power head. The plastic is a self lubricating sleeve. I cleaned the grease out and the tool works fine.

I've been happy with the Stihl tools with those two issues resolved. I'd recommend non self propelled with the little mowers as stated in another thread.

 

[S&S_Work_Saws]

I've got piles of DeWalt batteries. Everything from 1.5ah up to 10ah. Like I said I'm a carpenter by trade. My issue with DeWalt in recent years is the quality seems to have gone way down hill. Used to we would get a new guy on the crew and we would recommend he take his first check and get himself a set of DeWalt power tools. The last 2 or 3 guys DeWalt sets have had multiple tools break under normal use or just quit working within a month. It has gotten bad enough that I probably have 20+ DeWalt batteries and thousands of dollar worth of DeWalt cordless tools and I am scared to buy anything else from them. And these tools that are breaking are some Chinese knock offs. These have all been purchased from DeWalt at full retail tools.
I was going to try to switch to Milwaukee but the nearest home Depot (I believe that's who carries them) is over an hour away.
So I took a shot in the dark and went with Metabo. So far Ive been mad at myself for not making the switch sooner.
So if you guys have had good luck with the DeWalt weed trimmer maybe I can go that route and at least get use out of all of these DeWalt batteries.
I've got a 2 acre lot to mow and trim but it's in a fancy ass subdivision (unfortunately) so it's all just short grass trimming around my house and a handful of trees.
Thanks for all the insight everyone.

 

[Moparmyway]

I’ve been impressed with the brushless Milwaukee M12 & M18 line. Everything except their M18 Backpack sprayer is stellar, the sprayer is just a pile of crappola

 

[S&S_Work_Saws]

That has been the best impact I've ever had so far. Every day abuse, in every kind of weather. Just keeps on running

 

[FergusonTO35]

The store manager of our local TSC says the Greenworks battery stuff is the best he has ever tried and he gets very little returns or complaints on it, so there is that. If you already use the Makita 18v batteries, this would be my first choice:

Makita USA - Product Details -XRU24Z

18V LXT® Lithium-Ion Cordless String Trimmer, Tool Only

www.makitatools.com

 

[GCJenks204]

The store manager of our local TSC says the Greenworks battery stuff is the best he has ever tried and he gets very little returns or complaints on it, so there is that. If you already use the Makita 18v batteries, this would be my first choice:

Makita USA - Product Details -XRU24Z

18V LXT® Lithium-Ion Cordless String Trimmer, Tool Only

www.makitatools.com

Thanks for this tip. What I always struggle with is Makita using different models numbers in the USA than the rest of the world. Do you think this one is the equivalent?

https://www.makita.ca/index2new.php?event=tool&id=3919&catid=7

 

[Philbert]

What I always struggle with is Makita using different models numbers in the USA than the rest of the world.

Probably due to different voltages, regulatory approvals, etc.

Sometimes companies use different model numbers for items sold through different sales channels.

Philbert

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks for this tip. What I always struggle with is Makita using different models numbers in the USA than the rest of the world. Do you think this one is the equivalent?

https://www.makita.ca/index2new.php?event=tool&id=3919&catid=7

Good point, I have no idea if they would be equivalent. Although, I would think they would want to minimize the number of engineering and design changes for cost sake.

 

[GCJenks204]

Good point, I have no idea if they would be equivalent. Although, I would think they would want to minimize the number of engineering and design changes for cost sake.

Have you used one? I really started looking at battery power for my wife to use but I wonder if it is tough enough to do what we have, more weeds and thistles than grass in the areas she'd be trimming. I am skeptical of the .065 line being tough or will trimming on gravel just shred it? Likely need to get the more powerful one and hope she can handle it enough to make it worth while owning.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I haven't used one, no. I have used plug-in electric weedeaters quite a bit, mostly old school Weed Eater models, and always found them to be quite capable. If I lived in town with a small yard I would probably go with a plug in model. Stihl makes a nice one, I gave one to my sister for her birthday.

 

[r7000]

harbor freight.
if they had their blue predator line as a string trimmer (they don't) I would get that as I have a few drills and that 20v battery I assume would fit.
The batteries between their bauer, predator, and the other model line are all different.
There is a 20v bauer trimmer, so if you had other HF crap that used that battery that would be a plus.
and they have a 80v atlas trimmer for $80, and other atlas brand stuff; the reviews are basically 5 star, but I don't think the $80 trimmer comes with the $140 8v battery.