Well, after failing to get my old Craftsman chain saw running and using the little Ryobi chain saw my wife bought for trimming Crepe Myrtles, I can see the virtues of using a battery to power infrequently used equipment.
So, any rechargeable string trimmers that won't impress me with their utter feebleness? The Ryobi one doesn't get good reviews and looks to use a replaceable pre-loaded spool instead of being re-fillable.
Based on name only, maybe a Stihl? Note: I have no experience with these.
https://battery.stihlusa.com/categories/trimmers/?_ga=1.95185436.1446467837.1492690734
I have the Ryobi one(48v?). It works well for how little I use it(2x per year-ish). I also have their leaf blower, which I use more frequently - it works well, but I end up needing to swap batteries before I'm through.
I bought this one last week. Black & decker, 40v, lithium ion. As far as battery, color me impressed. I used the thing cleaning up my backyard, off and on all day. More use than my normal trimming session. When I was finished, the battery was half left. Whatever you buy, make sure its powerful (not 18v), and lithium ion.
I have a 15 year old Toro. Lots of battery, string is too thin.
For a regular sized yard, with regular sized grass and weeds, battery powered is best by far. If my Honda lawnmower ever dies, I'm going battery for that too.
Mine is an 80V Kobalt. It has 2 power levels and a variable trigger. I trim quite a bit around my 3 acres on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and it handles everything that I ask. It's close to gas powered trimmers in terms of what it's capable of. Oh, and the battery charges completely in 30 minutes which works perfectly for me as I can do all of my trimming, and throw the battery on the charger while I mow, and then come back and use my fully charged battery in the leaf blower (which also rocks).
My Worx finally died last season, and it did a great job, being very antiquated in terms of battery technology (18v).
I have a bigger yard now, so I stepped up and bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TZLUEFG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a monster. Highly rated, and Tuna recommended.It has way more power than the Worx did, and I haven't killed the battery yet, even after edging my entire sidewalk and driveway.
I've been documenting my experience with the 40v Ryobi unit:
I'm still thrilled with it. I busted it out to trim the front street edge the other day, still haven't charged it from last summer. No idea about the spool, I'm still using the line that came with it!
tuna55 wrote: My Worx finally died last season, and it did a great job, being very antiquated in terms of battery technology (18v). I have a bigger yard now, so I stepped up and bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TZLUEFG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's a monster. Highly rated, and Tuna recommended.It has way more power than the Worx did, and I haven't killed the battery yet, even after edging my entire sidewalk and driveway.
Funny. Based on the little bit of research I did, that's the exact same unit I was looking at.
1988RedT2 wrote:tuna55 wrote: My Worx finally died last season, and it did a great job, being very antiquated in terms of battery technology (18v). I have a bigger yard now, so I stepped up and bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TZLUEFG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's a monster. Highly rated, and Tuna recommended.It has way more power than the Worx did, and I haven't killed the battery yet, even after edging my entire sidewalk and driveway.Funny. Based on the little bit of research I did, that's the exact same unit I was looking at.
My eight year old can trim the lawn, and it's got enough power to cut through anything so far. I'm impressed. The battery is huge physically, but no heavier than the Worx battery. I wanted to get a Milwaukee to use the same battery as the drill I love so much, but it was way too pricey. It's balanced really well. I like it so far.
I'm totally thrilled with my Ego trimmer.
It's a Home Depot product line- a bit pricey, but very powerful, fast, and good ergonomics. Same battery pack works an awesome leaf blower (and probably other tools).
My only reservation is the charging time- takes a while. But I trim my entire 1 1/2 acre yard on a single charge, so I don't really care how long it takes to charge.
Looks like Tuna and I are recommending the same thing!
BTW, you are missing a thrill if you don't also buy the Ego leaf blower.
It has become an integral part of everything I do- clean the car, the shop, the yard, the driveway, and, Oh yeah, leaves.
SVreX wrote: BTW, you are missing a thrill if you don't also buy the Ego leaf blower. It has become an integral part of everything I do- clean the car, the shop, the yard, the driveway, and, Oh yeah, leaves.
I have a crappy wired B&D blower and want very much to get the wireless one from Ego. Thanks for helping me resist spending money.
My grandmother has an old B&D string trimmer, around 40v IIRC? It works well and does both the front and back yards on her house (fairly small yards) on one charge with no loss of performance if you pulse the trigger. If you hold it down constantly though, it burns the battery down in just a few minutes.
IMO it's silly to buy an ICE-powered lawnmower, string trimmer, or leaf blower these days unless you have the size of yard that typically isn't cared for by the owner.
I'll throw another vote in for the 40V Ryobi system. I have both the leaf blower and trimmer.
The trimmer works great, and the attachments from my old Craftsman 2-cycle are interchangeable. It'll run the edger attachment, but will go into thermal overload protection if there's too much stuff for it to cut through. 10 Seconds and it resets, and you can continue on your merry way. That being said, my yard (and house for that matter) is new, and there isn't much requirement for edging.
As for the leaf blower; I don't think I've ever harbored this much affection for a lawn tool. It's a thing of beauty.
As others have said, once my 15-year-old MTD mower dies, I'll be purchasing the Ryobi 40V mower as well.
I'm happy with my Black & Decker.
It will be starting it's sixth year.
Granted, I have a small yard.
I bought a Black nad Decker 18v trimmer back in 2010. It's served me well but the batteries finally petered out this year. Just replaced it with a Dewalt trimmer this week.
I have 1/3 of an acre and one battery would get me through it just fine. The bump feed on the B&D didn't work very well, but otherwise it was great.
I have been using a 60 dollar 20v no name for several years without issue. It sometimes has to have a recharge of I am trimming a lot but I have had it since 2011 I believe.
You people suck! Here I was perfectly happy with my toro 4 stroke string trimmer/edger/rototiller and now you are making me feel like a dinosaur for burning dinosaurs to trim around my property. Grumble.
My only concern with the EGO trimmer is that I don't have an over-inflated self-image. I'm really a pretty humble, down-to-earth kind of guy. I just wonder if the thing is going to be right for me. 
GameboyRMH wrote: IMO it's silly to buy an ICE-powered lawnmower, string trimmer, or leaf blower these days unless you have the size of yard that typically isn't cared for by the owner.
I'm definitely not push mowing my acre. But now I am researching electric conversions for lawn tractors...
In reply to KyAllroad: Don't feel bad, the dinosaurs are most likely being burned at the electric power plant.
So what's the argument for going gas nowadays? Is it just the battery capacity limitations and fear of the new and different still driving people to the dinosaur powered trimmers?
I'm in the market for a trimmer as well, actually almost posted a thread of my own the other day. I've been looking more at gas trimmers, partially due to fear of range limitations (from what you lot are saying sounds like that won't be a problem) and partially because I feel like I can fix it if it ever breaks (which it almost certainly will more frequently than the electric trimmer.) Perhaps I'm just a Luddite.
This really makes me want to get a battery trimmer. I bought a B&W Grass Hog corded trimmer and blower set in like 2005 and I still use it every season. I replace parts every year, either the auto feed lever or the plastic cap. It just keeps working and I find it hard to get rid of things that work. I'm waiting for Harbor Freight to offer one I guess. you know its coming...
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