I know this topic has been discussed before, but the search function is useless here and admittedly I'm far too lazy to go back and find an old thread as it is. So, that being said, I'm in the market for a new weed eater/trimmer.

Right now I'm leaning towards a Sthil or Echo gas, but the battery powered trimmers are intriguing. Any experience with these from the group? I have a decent amount that I need to trim - house is normal sized house, but driveway is long and fenceline is something like 330 feet when you add it up, so my concerns are battery life and reliability of the equipment. Any brands better than the other (Worx, Echo, Milwaukee, DeWalt, etc.)?

I hate trimming, so the faster I can do it with lighter equipment, the better.

What about EGO electric?

Love my Stihl

I love my husqvarna thus far.

Have a 20V DeWalt and if VERY thick, it will bog down some. No different than a small gas-powered one. I get about 30m of operating time on a 5ah battery

STIHL makes good battery powered ones but they are very expensive

My Poulan battery chainsaw and polesaw work really well (40V). May be worth trying them

I've had a Greenworks 40V string trimmer for about 3 years. I am out in the country and maintain about a half acre. I've never had a problem with running out of battery. I'll never go back to a gas trimmer.

I have a Makita 36v trimmer that I really like. Not as powerful as the commercial sthil but I never have any trouble getting it started.

(I mostly went with Makita because I have a ton of batteries.)

I bought a gas powered Echo a couple of years ago, I then bought a Greenworks battery powered pole saw. The pole saw is awesome.

I have had no problems with the Echo, but if the battery powered trimmers are as good as the saw, they would be great for most.

I have the greenworks 60v trimmer. I bought it at lowes and they had a deal where I got a second battery through a mail in rebate.

Really like it. My neighbors probably think I'm some save the earth dbag, but that's why I weedeat early before they can see me. It's fairly quiet.

I've got the Milwaukee battery trimmer. I had plenty Home Depot gift cards and picked it up in March 2017. I've used it around the house (suburbs of Cypress) on a regular basis and have trimmed the area under a couple deer feeders. Never had an issue around the house and the only thing I couldn't cut under the feeder was goatweed that was about half an inch thick. The smaller ones and thick areas of weeds/grass were no problem.

Battery life isn't something I've had to test, but I can mow several times without charging. Never had it die but I usually charge once the battery is about two out of four on the light indicator. Overall, would highly recommend. It's SUPER nice to never worry about dealing with the gas engine that won't start. Especially since it takes the same 18v batteries as my drill does.

I used to have a battery powered trimmer. I had to trim at a very fast pace due to the limited life (30 mins) on one charge. It was the Weedeater brand, and the battery was not removable. So when it died I had to wait several hours for it to charge. It also didn't have the torque to cut through thicker weeds. Other brands may be better.

I now have an Echo after an unsuccessful two year run with a Troy-bilt POS.

Buy the Echo and don't look back.

Buy a cheap Walmart trimmer. Put ethanol free gasoline in it. It will last a couple of years. Then buy a new one.

Stihl. I had one twenty years ago that I used for 5 years until I started paying someone to do it. 15 years old pulled it off the wall put new filters and gas line on it $15 and 1 hour of YouTube. Sold them within $75 of what I paid new.

Moved to new place bigger yard and do my own yard. Went back to stihl they are terrific.

Battery packs are for drills. Why hug a tree when you could cut one down with a stihl.

The right answer is Echo or Stihl.

I bought what was represented as a high end Dewalt cordless trimmer. Very dissatisfied with it... just doesn't have the power to trim typical bermuda around a decent-sized home and long driveway. It's not that the battery doesn't last -- it just doesn't cut the damn grass unless you stand there all day and let it finally beat the grass into submission.

Made the jump to gas-powered with a Stihl and love the power.

If the Stihl disappeared, I would go back to an electric model with pesky extension cords (but adequate power) before I would fire up the cordless trimmer.

I love cordless tools and believe they're one of the best inventions ever (drills, drivers, saws), but haven't yet found a cordless weedeater that does the trick.

Love my Stihl.

Like changing from string to the metal blades and cutting brush down where needed. If you are in the city, the battery ones sound good. My dad uses one and loves it.

If you're in the Houston area, I'm in the Cypress area and could let you give my Milwaukee a try.

We got our Shindaiwa straight shaft as a wedding gift. That was 23 years ago. It was in the shop once thanks to ****ing ethanol. I've since converted to the red can mix. Still works like a champ.

I was in the same predicament and ended up getting the Ego 56v trimmer. I've been very happy with it. Battery lasts about an hour which gets me two times around the yard. I also bought the blower and hedge trimmer and have been happy with both.

No more mixing gas for this guy.

Just picked up the greenworks 80v and used it to "mow" my yard (had to test it out). Didn't bog down or have any issues. Full charge takes about 30 minutes from empty.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/multi-task-tools/yard-boss-attachments/

Get something like this. I had a job back in college where part of my regular duties were to keep 20 acres of a fenced in storage yard for an electric utility company mowed and weeds trimmed along the entire fence line. I wouldn't have made it without the walk behind weed eater. The walk behind weed eater is awesome to use, and easy on your back and shoulders.

Still happy with my 80V Kobalt.... same manufacturer as Greenworks.

The main thing, which you covered in your OP, is how much you want to weedeat at one time.

I am very happy with the 30 or 40 minutes I get out of one charge.... it is time for a rest and a drink anyway.

tlh3842 said:

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If you're in the Houston area, I'm in the Cypress area and could let you give my Milwaukee a try.

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I appreciate it. But Cypress is a PITA to get to from south of town.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Husqvarna 536 LiLX. Seems to get some solid reviews. Not the cheapest, but I figure I will buy once and hopefully it will last a long time.

My last weed eater was a Craftsman, it lasted 7 years. Would have had it repaired, but it was a 4 stroke and apparently it would have cost more to fix than buying a new one. Most of my yard is either bermuda or bahia, and I'm working on slowly killing the bahia and letting bermuda take over, so not super tough on weed eating. And I don't mind taking it in sections if a battery won't last.

Those of you with battery powered trimmers, how do you feel about replacing the battery once it degrades?

That is my major stumbling point, the replacement battery is almost as much as a new trimmer (with battery included).

My gas Echo is the best I've ever owned.

I can restring it in 15 seconds.

I have a Milwaukee. Absolutely love it. I'll never have to mix gas again, I'll never worry about ethanol messing with the fuel lines, and I'll never have to winterize it. It's lighter than a gas and I've never run out of charge. As far as replacing batteries, I figure the time and headache saved will be worth it. Plus you can get batteries rebuilt cheaper than new, so that's always an option.

Have this one: Husqvarna-25-cu-cm-4-cycle

Love it. 4 cycle so no oil/gas mixing. A lot quieter. Thought I would miss the attachments but edging with it is just not a big deal. Powers through anything. I got 2 year warranty but I am guessing I wont need it. Son does yards so we burned through 2 of the higher end troy bilt...don't even bother with those.

schmellba99 said:

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tlh3842 said:

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If you're in the Houston area, I'm in the Cypress area and could let you give my Milwaukee a try.

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I appreciate it. But Cypress is a PITA to get to from south of town.

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Trust me I realize it every time I try to go fish.

To address the battery concern; the large Milwaukee battery is $169 from Home Depot. That's worst case scenario; if you shop around or buy rebuilt, etc you're looking at about $100. Since I'm assuming the battery can last awhile, I'm more than happy to spend $100 every few years to avoid the pain in the ass every other week to get my trimmer started.