RevRico said:Do any of the battery powered options use the trimmerplus system?
The setup with one power head and then changeable accessories like string trimmer, hedge trimmer, pole saw.
Stihl offers that, the Stihl kma 130.
RevRico said:Do any of the battery powered options use the trimmerplus system?
The setup with one power head and then changeable accessories like string trimmer, hedge trimmer, pole saw.
Stihl offers that, the Stihl kma 130.
I have been using my Kobalt 80V system for at least five or six years now. As noted, I can swap out the accessories. I use the line trimmer and edger the most.
I have two pole saw attachments, a reciprocating blade that might be okay if I ever bought a good blade for it, and a chainsaw one that's scary good.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
So my memory is crap - I went out & checked yesterday, and what I currently have are Ryobi 40v.
I have 2 question hopefully you can help me with:
This is what my current battery/charger look like, for reference.
I have the Ryobi 40v trimmer that takes attachments, backpack blower, and chainsaw. I love them.
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
That looks like a small Gen1 pack, probably 1.5-2ah. The battery interface is the same from that early pack to the current 40v. So you can use a 12ah from a new ZTR on your weed wackier or I can put that old pack in my push mower.
I can't speak to the quality from that era of battery but the new stuff has a lot better cells and better quality control.
A new leaf blower or string trimmer should come with a pack with double to triple the capacity of that pack and a much better charger. The quality and performance have increased drastically since Ego left HD for Lowes.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Oh that's awesome! I've not had any problems from the tools, just the batteries & chargers. Since the current batteries will fit my tools, that seems like the easy button & hopefully will be a step up in reliability. Thanks!!!
I actually acquired a Kobalt/Greenwork 80v string trimmer and battery for free.
I took some fiddling, but I was able to revive the battery.
At this point however, battery tech is getting so good that I'd go for a newer battery system over the biggest battery. I get the feeling Kobalt/Greenworks is phasing on the 80v systems in favor of lower voltage batteries with better intelligence.
The dual battery options from Makita look especially good because you get the higher voltage power but the ability to use the batteries with other tools.
Milwaukee has a M18 chainsaw that gets good reviews too.
I think if I were buying a garage full of tools, I'd be going for the Makita stuff. Milwaukee is good too, but I think Makita has a slight edge with the 18/36v dual battery setups. Milwaukee does not appear to leverage 2x M18 batteries for any higher-voltage stuff. If you want higher voltage with big red, you do the 72v MX Fuel.
Which makes me wonder if they'll ever do yard-maintenance stuff in MX Fuel...
the_machina said:I have all EGO yard tools. They're great, but pricy.
Friends have the Ryobi 40v system, and for most jobs I can't tell much difference other than the price tag.
If you don't see yourself using it a ton, check Direct Tools Outlet (the factory Ryobi refurb store) for refurbished / factory blemished 40V tools, and compare the prices to Home Depot.
Looking to pull the trigger on a strimmer and pole saw today or tomorrow. Looks like direct tools outlet is down. Every page gets me a 404 error. That's a bummer, I'm always looking to score a deal and "refurb" is usually just returned items.
I live on a property that had been neglected for a decade or so from the previous owners, and my last year has simply been fighting back on the deferred/neglected maintenance in and around the house. Last weekend's project was limbing/tree thinning around the house, powerlines, and shoreline. I borrowed this from my dad-
Let me tell you- this was a lifesaver. Holy cow is it a useful tool. No precarious ladder standing with a chainsaw, plenty of power for modest limbs, tons of reach, and relatively light-ish (at least well balanced).
I bought one of my own the day I returned it, I loved it so much.
I pulled the trigger on a Ryobi Expand-it string trimmer and pole saw. $305 with tax and free shipping. I'm sure it'll be more than adequate for my needs, string trimming florida grass (pretty light stuff) and pruning palm trees.
I've got Kobalt for my yard equipment. That's a mower, leaf blower and chain saw. I got that two years ago after finally getting sick of E36 M3ty gas powered stuff. My good friend and next door neighbor already had the Kobalt 80V stuff for probably five years, and even his original small 2.5ah battery. Even after that time, and having left the battery outside in the mower over at least one (bitterly cold and nasty) Michigan winter, he can still do over half his yard with one charge. I got the biggest battery they do the 6Ah, and that can do my 2/3 acre lot and still have 25% charge left. I also have a smaller, I think it's 4Ah battery and charger that came with the either the blower or chainsaw I don't recall. The great thing is, because the are the same cross section, if I need to I can put the 'big' battery in the smaller tools, or the smaller battery in the bigger tools. I've never run out of electrons yet. but if I did I can borrow batteries from my neighbor or vice versa. I will say though that the 6Ah batter is expensive if you need to buy a new one, like way over 50% of the purchase price of the mower, battery and charger.
When I got the Kobalt stuff I already had an older Black and Decker strimmer. The Strimmer is over a decade old now, and one small battery will do the 3/4 of my yard even after all this time. Those small 20V Lithium batteries are cheap, like less than $40 for two aftermarket ones. I have two actual B&D ones and still after all these years they are performing great.
One of the great things about electric yard tools, other than never having to worry about E36 M3ty gas, crappy cheap carbs, stale gas, varnish etc. etc. is the relative silence. OK, they still make noise for the person operating, but the whole neighborhood doesn't need to hear your E36 M3ty little gas engine with no pollution control making a racket and stinking up the place. Weekends are noticeably quieter now. We're about 50/50 lawn service / people doing their own yards around me. Sure the pro services obviously still use bigger, heavier duty, gas equipment, but they tend to come during the weekday. Now even if several people are out mowing, trimming, blowing, you can still sit and enjoy your yard without the noise.
I will never buy another gas powered peirce of yard equipment again. Electric all the way. My Aarens snow blower is only about a decade old, so I hope that will stay around a long time, but I wont be disappointed when it dies, or I decide to sell it. That thing, while a beat, is very labor intensive on the carb, even using staibilizer and running it dry in the spring.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I've been reducing my cylinder count for years (2013 LINK, 2017 LINK) and couldn't be happier. Less gas and small engines to deal with. Moved to a house with 3X the yard, so I have a riding mower now and can't afford an electric rider. Maybe I'll build one.....
In reply to golfduke :
I have the same pole saw. It's been very useful. Would recommend it.
I have WORX 20” Deck Cordless Mower Trimmer Combo Kit. I recently moved to a big yard with a lot more grass and it took me two charges. It replaced a corded mower that did a great job, but now I don't have to replaced a ext cord when I run over it ever year. It is not setup for someone taller like myself. When it comes time to replace it I will likely go with a greenworks or Ryobi.
Bumping this.
I use a riding mower to do most of the grass, and I use a push mower to do the edges and tighter stuff. It takes me maybe 15 minutes to do the edges. The gas mower I have right now is fine, but I'd like to go electric with it.
The Ego mowers have good feedback on here, but I have a Ryobi One 18v weed whacker. Is the difference in the Ego that much more that it would make sense to get another battery system for the small amount of mowing I have to do?
I also found out Ryobi makes an electric riding mower. Doesn't use battery packs, though. It's a plug in.
I'm not a fan of battery powered tools in general, so I'll go with machete, for sheer joy of use. Practically speaking, these guys see a lot of action:
My wife calls them "lobsters."
1988RedT2 said:I'm not a fan of battery powered tools in general, so I'll go with machete, for sheer joy of use. Practically speaking, these guys see a lot of action:
I was beaten. I came here to say my cordless shovel has been great for 30+ years.
On topic, I have had the B&D 40V string trimmer for like 9 years now. I've worn through one metal edge guide and a few spools of string, but other than that its been great. I have the blower for it and its great for clearing off the sidewalks/driveway after mowing/trimming, but aside from that not so good. The batteries will occasionally show an error and I'll just take them out and plop them back in the charger and they are fine.
If I were to get new tools, I'd be leaning toward milwaukee because thats what I have for drill/driver/etc. and I'd like to have all my batteries compatible. I've used their pole saw, chainsaw, and a few other yard tools and all of them have impressed me. Unfortunately when they release a mower its going to be $1 billion or so.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Milwaukee released a mower this spring, $1,000 price tag with two M18 12Ah batteries. It's a good mower but not as good as it should be for being a red tool that took a few years to develop.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Exactly, and that's hard to justify when I have a Honda gas thing that does the job, unless I had some other M18 equipment that needed bigass batteries (chainsaw for example).
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
If you already have some Ryobi cordless stuff I would go with that. For the small amount of mowing you will do the Ego would be overkill.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Milwaukee tried really hard to copy the Honda HRN216 aside for the integrated mulch door. The handles, self-propel paddle and overall aesthetic is Honda but with Milwaukee branding language.
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