Battery powered weed wackers?

I hate those little engined gas powered stuff.

I rarely get more than a season out of it before it's too much trouble or too much money to fix. Just been out whacking around the ponds and I didn't quite make it all the way around before I have to go fiddle with it AGAIN!

Also hate the hard start and gas mixing issues. You've always got to have the separate gas can around.

I've loved electric and battery powered lawn mowers.

I've hated battery drills etc. because the battery life is too short and the cost to replace too high. I do love their convenience tho.

So is there a decent battery powered weed wacker out there?

I have 3 acres to take care of so it will need to replace the batteries on the fly and needs to be a fairly heavy duty unit.

BTW while I've bought the cheap stuff before only the good stuff has lasted me any amount of time.

it's an interesting idea.

I think if I had a number of acres to take care of.. I would build a hybrid riding mower. Something with an electric drive and cutting deck, but with a honda generator to power it. I could then park it up and plug in blowers, weed wackers, and other electric devices into it and not be tethered to either "shore power" or a gas/oil mix

In reply to mad_machine:

Then you're tethered to something that you have to start and maintain, the exact thing people with electric and battery outdoor equipment are looking to get away from. It would also cost about the same as real commercial gasoline powered equipment.

In reply to carguy123:

Do you drain the fuel tanks at the end of the season? That's what kills most power equipment. We've used $100 Homelite weedwhackers for 2 years, and they were beat on hard every day by my dad's lawn crew. The machines last, lack of maintenance is usually what kills them early.

You can buy ethanol-free pre-mix in a can. I've never used the stuff, but from what I understand, it's basically 100% gasoline treated with 2 stroke oil and Sta-bil.

I have had this one for 3 years and I'm very happy with it.

http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/nst2018.aspx

As long as you're trimming grass, it works great. It doesn't have enough power to cut anything heavier. I have about 3 acres, and use 1 1/2 batteries to do all my trimming.

In reply to Zomby Woof:

I'm surprised it lasts that long. I know the power tools that go with that battery pack drain the pack fast, and the packs don't seem to last very long. Does that weed eater seem use a motor weaker than a drill motor, so that it doesn't eat the pack so fast?

No idea, but the battery is pretty big.

I think a battery pack in a back pack or sling with a short cord to a whacker would be nice. It would go for a long time between charges and give you a lighter tool.

Tried the 2 cycle trimmers, the corded electric ones, and the battery powered ones. Gave up and got a 4 cycle trimmer from Sears.

It's a little heavier than the others but has lasted 4 years now with no problems. And I have gotten a bunch of the other tools that you can use with the motor unit.

I have dad Worx unit for a while that has been good, neat string feeder system, too.

After cussing at three different gas trimmers, I bought a B&D like the one shown.. For me it is great. Battery life seems good. Very easy to change.

I'm glad my knockoff-brand 2-stroke trimmer fires up easier after a winter sitting than my motorcycles do.

I really don't take care of my 2-stroke stuff, but every year it starts and runs pretty good. I must be lucky.

We have the black & decker one, we've had it about 7 years and it works well. I get about 45 min of weed whacking out of the battery before it dies. A big plus is that my wife isn't afraid to use it (she picked it out, actually). No need to pull start and it's actually pretty quiet. Biggest negative (aside from the fact that the battery can run out) is that the battery is a pain in the butt to remove. My current technique is to slam the battery with the heel of my hand and then it pops off. Hopefully the newer models have improved on that design.

I dont know how people have such problems with string trimmers.

I got mine for free from my uncle who was gonna toss it in the trash. A really nice Ryobi straight shaft unit with two lines. I put in fresh gas, cleaned the plug and air filter, and its been running flawlessly for 3 years. All I do when i put it away in fall is pressure wash it and fill it with gas. Fires up on the 2nd pull every time.

I am now the go-to guy for 2 strokes for my friends. Ethanol eats the fuel lines and fills the carbs with junk. Clean the carbs, clean the filters, clean the plug, new ethanol safe fuel line, and rock and roll.

Apparently they have. I push the button and it pops out.

I have a B&D with 4 batteries, and while convenient, power sucks.

My new Stihl gas whacker is awesome! They also offer batter powered models and if you want something that really works, I say to get a Stihl.

How good is the string feeder mechanism on the Stihl? And are there any of those plastic knife like replacement heads available for it?

My last B&D didn't fare too well in that department.

I have the same B&D trimmer. It works better than expected. I'm not a fan of the specialized string cartridges, or the lower handle that broke inexplicably on mine. That aside, it gets things done pretty well.

I also have the B&D cordless trimmer. Works reasonably well although definitely not anywhere near as good as the cheapest gas trimmer. I don't use it much, though... My 2-stroke Red Max back-pack leaf blower seems to work better when I use it more often, so I make a point of using it to sweep the driveway and sidewalk after mowing.

With my recent success at resurrecting my lawnmower (4-stroke), I'll have to take another stab at rebuilding the g/f's Stihl 2-stroke trimmer that hasn't run in 3 years.

12 different cutting head options for the Stihl!

Stihl Accessories

Another vote for Stihl. Mrs. BDT got me this one: Stihl FC 70

Maybe overkill for my little yard, but it is nice to have something that works without fuss.

She got me one of their blowers as well. Works great.

the simple solution is to get a bottle of Round Up and spray it around everything that you need to trim around, which leaves only grass that you can get with the big mower.. if you are a decent driver, you can get right up withing about an inch of any obstacle in the yard and with the Round Up, you'll never have to use the weed whacker... which frees up time for other stuff- like playing in the garage or sharing your opinions on the internet.

I've never had an issue with gas-powered stuff. It works much better than the cheap electric and battery-powered equipment. It also works better and is cheaper than the good battery-powered stuff.

For the people that were asking about the cordless trimmers. I did this section beside the barn hill with the 18V B&D

It took 3 batteries, and I'm surprised it actually did it.

This is the other side. Pretty heavy stuff for a little cordless.

I have a 2 year old "Firestick" cordless trimmer that doesn't have replaceable batteries and I like it a lot. It's done 3 days worth of clean-up around my new trees and such while I have been putting down mulch and it still has not been on the charger. Pretty much the battery lasts longer than I have the patience for trimming, so it's all good, and at $79 it's hard to argue.