Cordless Weed Eaters

[VirginiaLonghorn 4782]

Echo cordless … several tools designed to operate on a 58V rechargeable battery.  I have the string trimmer and blower.

Both are powerful, but a second battery is required to finish most jobs.

No issues with the blower.  However, the trimmer’s weight is very poorly distributed. Most of the weight is farthest from the head which makes the bidness end almost impossible to control.  You can bet on choppy results.  No bueno!

PS:  I had the Ryobi 40V trimmer.  Loved it, but the motor went bad.  Replaced it with the Echo .. and have regretted ever since.  Bigger ain’t always better.

Edited August 10, 2021 by VirginiaLonghorn

[1978horn 896]

Bought the 40v(4Ah) Ryobi weed eater last year and the 40v(6Ah) mower in June.  Love both and haven't had any issues with power or finishing the lawn(mostly St. Augustine) with the battery that came with the mower.  I was really tired of dealing with gas so this has been great for me.  

[BearSchlong 8120]

Bought the 40V Ryobi trimmer and the edger last week, love it.  Will probably get the mower too within the next month but am using my B&S Gas mower because it still works.  Wife is getting me the cultivator attachment for my Birthday today.

Plus her uncle is procrastinating picking up the John Deere zero turn so I've been using that in the backyard, because it's a blast, even though I'm using it to mow about 2000 ft2.

I have a 20'x40' garden that was her grandfather's, can't wait to see how well the cultivator works on keeping it weedless.  Might have to bite the bullet and get a full size one.

[TeeDubya 3362]

1 hour ago, BearSchlong said:

Bought the 40V Ryobi trimmer and the edger last week, love it.  Will probably get the mower too within the next month but am using my B&S Gas mower because it still works.  Wife is getting me the cultivator attachment for my Birthday today.

I have the Ryobi 40v mower, and it's great.  I have a corner lot, a 30 minute mow, and can mow about 1 time and halfway through a second on one charge.  My bag capacity is the same as my old Honda 6.5hp GP mower.

[William_Cannon 86]

I will never go with a battery operated weed eater. Just personal preference. I’m sure they’ve come a long way since I used an electric but the power difference between gas and electric/battery was too much back then. Echo gas powered until I die.

Gagree… gas ftw. I have a Toro and feel the same.

[wood 11287]

On 3/2/2020 at 6:41 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

What's your experience with these things?   My 10 year old Echo gas powered is on it's last legs and thinking about diving into the rechargeable segment.   I do want to get one which has batteries that are interchangeable with other yard tools such as a hedge trimmer and blower.   

My experience with them is that they suck & I won't use anything but my Echo gas-powered trimmer. But my boys wanted something lighter to do people's lawns with, so we got them a battery-powered Ryobi. It works well enough & uses the same batteries as my other Ryobi One+ stuff.

[wood 11287]

On 3/2/2020 at 7:58 AM, pearlandhorn said:

I will never go with a battery operated weed eater. Just personal preference. I’m sure they’ve come a long way since I used an electric but the power difference between gas and electric/battery was too much back then. Echo gas powered until I die.

[BearSchlong 8120]

I'll never buy a gas weed eater ever again, and the only reason I haven't retired the gas mower is because it works and I just haven't spent the $600 on the Ryobi mower.

Ryobi 40v FTMFW.  Bought the edger and cultivator attachments.

My new house has a garden that had been neglected for a year and that cultivator tilled it like a champ. Surprisingly strong, all I did was hold on while it tilled up all the grass and weeds.  Battery was sufficient, but if anything I'm going to get the mower that comes with 2 x 6ah batteries, and possibly one extra so I'll have ample power for all devices.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13528]

Agree that the gas and electric cord tools can be more powerful. but not every job requires the weedeater equivalent of an evinrude 150 hp engine. 

My old electric cord leaf blower might be able to flip my car over but the battery powered ryobi does a good enough job with leaves.

[Revolution512 1495]

I have the E-Go mower and trimmer. I bought the mower so my 12 year old could handle it and he can with ease. I have a zoysia lawn and it can still get choked down if you get off schedule. Trimmer is great. Very light, auto spool feature is fantastic. Haven’t tried the blower, still have a gas Echo that is going strong. Ready to be done with gas though.

[Catpfish 618]

1 hour ago, Revolution512 said:

I have the E-Go mower and trimmer. I bought the mower so my 12 year old could handle it and he can with ease. I have a zoysia lawn and it can still get choked down if you get off schedule. Trimmer is great. Very light, auto spool feature is fantastic. Haven’t tried the blower, still have a gas Echo that is going strong. Ready to be done with gas though.

You won't regret getting the blower.  It runs on a bigger battery (that can still be used by the trimmer) and puts out more air than my Stihl gas powered

[BearSchlong 8120]

Ryobi mower is awesome!!!!

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2740]

Battery powered Dewalt trimmer and blower.  Blower is great.  Trimmer is aight.  It feeds easily but does lack a little power on tough St Augustine runners.  

Edited August 26, 2021 by T’Boo Ted Marshall

[ChickenSandwich 9855]

21 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Battery powered Dewalt trimmer and blower.  Blower is great.  Trimmer is aight.  It feeds easily but does lack a little power on tough St Augustine runners.  

which version of the trimmer?  I have the 60V Max and it has more power than my last echo gas powered.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2740]

7 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

which version of the trimmer?  I have the 60V Max and it has more power than my last echo gas powered.

The twenty twin twin.

[Brothahorn 10087]

Bought a Black and Decker trimmer/edger and blower. 6 years ago. As long as I stay on schedule it works fine. I did get like 3 extra batteries so I could always have one fully charged.

Might up grade next year. But in the city, I see no need for gas anything except a mower.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Team Milwaukee, M18.

I have this setup in a battery op'd pole saw, 21⁰ framing nailgun, 2 blowers + a host of other stuff.

The irritating thing (about ANY manufacturer, actually) is the speed to charge. The rapid charger costs more than a non-speed version & I assume it is because they want you to spend more $$, not that there is actually much of a difference in the parts costs to actually MAKE the things (see: IBM & home vs. business class printers from the late 80's, Tesla with extended range batteries, etc.).

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[Jkwellborn 6749]

I’ve got an M18 rapid charger. I don’t think I’ve ever used it.

[CooterBrown 18033]

I can no longer recommend the EGo weed eater for the one reason that you cannot replace the string spindle with an after market cutting head. I was happy to put up with the stupid winding head until the string ran out but fuck me if I’m going to keep using that shit.

[KYHorn 17206]

On 8/29/2021 at 5:19 PM, CooterBrown said:

I can no longer recommend the EGo weed eater for the one reason that you cannot replace the string spindle with an after market cutting head. I was happy to put up with the stupid winding head until the string ran out but fuck me if I’m going to keep using that shit.

Dammit. I literally just bought it this afternoon and this was the one thing I wasn't very clear on. Do you have to use EGo line, or are you talking about the plastic piece the line goes around?

[CooterBrown 18033]

Dammit. I literally just bought it this afternoon and this was the one thing I wasn't very clear on. Do you have to use EGo line, or are you talking about the plastic piece the line goes around?

The plastic head unit. It can’t be removed and replaced with an aftermarket one.

Take it back while you can unless you like fighting with the bump head that constantly gets tangled inside so you then having to respool the line all the time.

[PantsTent 2002]

Hmm, I've had the Ego weed wacker for a year and a half now and no issues at all.  The auto line load works great.

[tokamak 6443]

I've had my Ego trimmer for probably 5 years or so with no big issues with the head. It's not an auto-feed model. I have a couple extra spools and wrap the cord myself.

[Revolution512 1495]

On 8/31/2021 at 9:12 AM, PantsTent said:

Hmm, I've had the Ego weed wacker for a year and a half now and no issues at all.  The auto line load works great.

Same, no issues. Auto line load is magic

[NeverMarryAStripper 21959]

When Isaac Asimov said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” I'm not sure that he had auto loading weed wackers in mind.

[TeeDubya 3362]

On 8/10/2021 at 10:01 AM, 1978horn said:

Bought the 40v(4Ah) Ryobi weed eater last year and the 40v(6Ah) mower in June.  Love both and haven't had any issues with power or finishing the lawn(mostly St. Augustine) with the battery that came with the mower.  I was really tired of dealing with gas so this has been great for me.  

I just picked up the Ryobi "whisper" quiet 40v blower last week, when my 10 year old Stihl blower quit.  It's clears up sidewalks and driveways after lawn mowing/edging noticeably better (not a lot, but noticeably) than the Stihl.  It is significantly quieter (judging by needed volume on Airpods listening to The Ticket.

I have only one GP thing left:  my Echo Edger.  It's 10 years old and shows no sign of quitting.  Keeping a gas can around for it.

[GottaB 595]

I have had Ryobi blower for a couple years, not the base model. Probably not the highest but it’s plenty good. Hell, my 18v ridgid shop blower works pretty well but the ryobi works like a champ.

The weed eater works great. No issues. 1 charge I can do the whole yard.

The edger? Fuck that thing. I can’t get 10 feet without it over heating or stopping. I’ve tried for two seasons and it is edge a few feet. Stop. Wait. Try again. And again. Edge a few feet. Stop. Go back to the weed eater and turn it sideways and enjoy crooked edging for two weeks.

I’m going back to corded version.

[DougO 5256]

I got an EGO power weeder from Ace Hardware a couple of months ago for the yard and easier stuff. It works great, the low setting is fine for most things and lasts a lot longer, probably longer than I last because I hate weed eating. I haven't had to load new line yet but it's supposed to be a pretty cool easy system. My only knock on it so far is that the charger is pretty loud, so plug it in somewhere that won't be annoying.

For anything thicker I have my Stihl Kombi system with a weeder attachment, but I always have the pruner on it, which I use a lot for clearing brush and stuff, much easier on the back.

I was looking at the Dewalt battery weeders because I already have 20v Max batteries, but they really didn't feel well balanced and doesn't have as much power.

Edited September 16, 2021 by DougO

[Bookman 4642]

In the last year or so I've replaced all my outdoor power equipment with DeWalt products, and I couldn't be happier.

[Irish Wrist Watch 1398]

Whoever patented the easy loading trimmer cord system should be made President for life.

[fattyflattie 4638]

Looking for battery blower.  Have read thread and seems like can’t go wrong?   I’ll still have my gas blower for yard work, but it appears in fall I’ll have to blow off pool decking daily.  Figure an electric might be easier as it’s literally 90 seconds a day work. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13528]

5 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Looking for battery blower.  Have read thread and seems like can’t go wrong?   I’ll still have my gas blower for yard work, but it appears in fall I’ll have to blow off pool decking daily.  Figure an electric might be easier as it’s literally 90 seconds a day work. 

Ryobi battery leaf blower. Get the basic one.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Team Red here (Milwaukee).  I use the smaller leaf blower for quick things (has a narrower tip... like Hank's urethra) & to ramp up my coals if needed.  160 MPH and 100 CFM.  The nozzle setup on this is rubber, won't suffer damage like the plastic ones.

 

The larger one definitely is good for blasting stuff with a lot more force.  450 CFM and 120 MPH output

Both of these will smoke a battery fairly quick.  They need the M18 batteries.  The smaller tip on the 1st one is good for getting down into gutters for a clean blowout, but of course then you have dirty leaf stuff to contend with if it lands on the walls of the structure or a sidewalk, etc.

[tx 3 putt 77554]

On 11/10/2021 at 11:41 PM, fattyflattie said:

Looking for battery blower.  Have read thread and seems like can’t go wrong?   I’ll still have my gas blower for yard work, but it appears in fall I’ll have to blow off pool decking daily.  Figure an electric might be easier as it’s literally 90 seconds a day work. 

i picked up the lowes brand on Black Friday sale, flawless the past two years 

 

[fattyflattie 4638]

Ended up with a Ryobi because the tool with 2 batts and charger was $68.  Since this is single purpose deal I figured that was fine.  Impacts and whatnot are going to be Milwaukee when I jump off my wallet. 

[Francisco 2.0 32432]

I took the leap with a cordless trimmer after my Echo had an issue, and the small engine repair shop I took it for repair to had it for over 2 months.  Getting tired of grass being a foot tall around things that I could not get to with the mower, I picked up one of these without battery:

 

 

Now, I should say I'm fully vested in Dewalt.  I have a bunch of tools, and even one of their mowers.  I only use the mower for the ditch in front of the house, since my John Deere can never get it quite right.  Aside from all that I still have my Echo backpack blower and edger, and I'll use them for as long as I can. The convenience of the trimmer is so nice, however.  Plus, with what I'm trimming it does just as well as the Echo did.

 

 

[Jkwellborn 6749]

Ended up with a Ryobi because the tool with 2 batts and charger was $68.  Since this is single purpose deal I figured that was fine.  Impacts and whatnot are going to be Milwaukee when I jump off my wallet. 

I would have gotten the Milwaukee then. Keep all of the batteries the same. Also, Home Depot has some great deals on Milwaukee kits right now. Most may be non fuel, but that’s gonna be more than enough for a homeowner.

[TeeDubya 3362]

3 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 I picked up one of these without battery:

 

 

 

 

 

Works better with a battery.

[fattyflattie 4638]

9 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

I would have gotten the Milwaukee then. Keep all of the batteries the same. Also, Home Depot has some great deals on Milwaukee kits right now. Most may be non fuel, but that’s gonna be more than enough for a homeowner.

Fuck that. I don’t want this blower (wife’s) mixing up with my stuff.  This was a convenience purchase so I don’t have to start the blower for her every morning, that’s all.  

[TXSG8R 3362]

I have the Dewalt flex volt trimmer, cuts everything my gas powered did before. I cut 3 1/2 acres and a 9Ah just makes it as long as I don’t go more than a couple of weeks between cuts. The only thing that’s annoying about it is it doesn’t easily flip to edge like a lot of other trimmers. 

[ChickenSandwich 9855]

Added the Dewalt 16inch chainsaw 60v/max to the clan. It’s a beast. Went through a huge downed set of branches from an oak and didn’t even heat the battery up. It’s light and easy to use. Beats the hell out of the sawzall (Milwaukee corded)

Edited December 9, 2021 by ChickenSandwich

[tx 3 putt 77554]

Bad ass