Opinion on cordless/electric yard tools

[jps4jeep]

Long story short, my (probably) 20+ year old, echo 4 stroke string trimmer has finally gave up the ghost.  In reality it needs the carb rebuilt (as it does every other year) and either new bearings or re-ring, but the oil is nice and shiney with metallic sheen.  I am probably going to fix it, the carb kit is usually around $12-15 after shipping and no idea what rings or rearing will cost, but can't be much.  But I was thinking of just selling it after fixing and getting a Ryobi 18volt cordless string trimmer.

Anyone have any feed back on these things?

Home depot has it for $149 with extra batteries and charger.  I already have a bunch of ryobi 18 volt drills, impacts and saws.  For a "random use" small project homeowner type tool, they have out lived my 12 and 18 volt dewalt drills.

Honestly the big string trimmer is way overkill for what I need.  My total time edging my lawn is maybe 10 minutes.  Might also get the hedge trimmers as mine are plug-in electric and you have to pull out 200 feet of cord to use on the side yard.

Thanks.

[Bluerocket]

My parents love their electric blower trimmer etc.   They also have a gas blower for heavier jobs.    They find it much easier to just slam a battery in and run around the edge then dealing with pull start, etc.   

Maybe you can have the kids start trimming with electric over you having to do it with gas?

For heavy jobs it wont be able to keep up with gas, but for ease of use i think you'd like it. 

[Blacky]

My parents like their black and decker trimmer, it's not going to outdo a gas trimmer but it works well for smaller stuff. I like the gas trimmers better personally, but the ease of use of electric is hard to beat

[jps4jeep]

Thanks for the input. I thin I know what I am going to do.

[Tooch]

I have had the below trimmer for 2-3 years now and couldn't be happier.  I use it for about 10-15 minutes every other week and i only have to charge the battery every 2-3 months.  It even held a full charge over the winter and when i pulled it out of storage this year, it worked like it had been used every day. 

the one thing you will notice is that it does have  a little less power than a gas trimmer and they are slightly heavier (even with a full tank of gas in a traditional one), but this one balances really well on my arm becuase the battery rests directly under my forearm.  I highly recommend it for yards your/my size.  you absolutely won't regret it.

https://www.ryobitools.com/outdoor/products/details/40v-string-trimmer-edger

[Tooch]

I have had the below trimmer for 2-3 years now and couldn't be happier.  I use it for about 10-15 minutes every other week and i only have to charge the battery every 2-3 months.  It even held a full charge over the winter and when i pulled it out of storage this year, it worked like it had been used every day. 

the one thing you will notice is that it does have  a little less power than a gas trimmer and they are slightly heavier (even with a full tank of gas in a traditional one), but this one balances really well on my arm becuase the battery rests directly under my forearm.  I highly recommend it for yards your/my size.  you absolutely won't regret it.

https://www.ryobitools.com/outdoor/products/details/40v-string-trimmer-edger

Also note that i recommend disconnecting the battery from teh trimmer and leaving it free when not in use.  Also, only charge it when you are at 1 bar or less and you'll get amazing life out of it.

[jps4jeep]

Thanks.  Looking at the pictures in your link, it appears it uses a different battery than all the 18 volt ryobi stuff I already have.  Regardless, thanks for the advice.

[Twisty]

I have the lithium 18v ryobi batteries that I use in a 1/2 drill and various flashlights.  Overall, for the price I'm very pleased with the performance.  The batteries are relatively low in their amp hour capacity and do wear out a little quickly, but they are probably pushing 5+ years of use.  My only complaint with the drill is when it's cold out I get some bearing noise.  I have the Milwaukee 1/2 brushless impact and am really impressed with the system.  Not so sure that they have as many home owner attachments as ryobi, and they are significantly more expensive.

[Tooch]

Thanks.  Looking at the pictures in your link, it appears it uses a different battery than all the 18 volt ryobi stuff I already have.  Regardless, thanks for the advice.

It uses a 40V because i wanted the extra power.  I tested both the 18v and 40v before i bought them at a demo day a couple years ago and the 18v didn't feel right.  I don't have any ryobi equipment so it didn't matter to me for compatibility, but i'm very glad i went 40v. 

[jps4jeep]

SO I bought the brushless Ryobi string trimmer on Friday, charged it over night as the direction instructed to and trimmed out the entire yard Saturday morning.  It got it done, weighs less than my old gas job but clearly doesn't have the power.  But that lack of power didn't cause me to take any longer to get the work finished and that's a win in my book.

This particular modle uses the same batteries and charger as all my other ryobi cordless lithium junk so that was a positive.

[jps4jeep]

Still loving this thing.  Unlike my last trimmer, have not had to touch the carb in three weeks!