Anyone regret their cordless electric OPE?

[dlundblad]

I am sure the majority of BITOG will want to tar and feather me for asking such a question (and rightfully so), but how does the people with experience feel about their electric OPE?

I did a brief search on Stihl products and the cost of gas vs. electric appear to be the close, but without test driving each model, I have no idea how they'd compare. Run times can be anywhere from 30-45 mins.

I'm looking at mid tiered weed eaters and leaf blowers. Thanks.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

I live in Suburbs.

I have:
Battery Lawn Trimmer & Hedge Trimmer: …… Ryobi 40 Volt Batteries
It's GREAT not getting out the 100 foot Extension Cord every time.
I can keep the yard looking a lot nicer with less effort.

Electric Leaf Blower
Will be used near the Garage Door to blow off Riding & Push Mowers.
I just ordered a 40 foot Retractable Extension Cord

As I get older, and smarter, I'll do anything to make life easier.

 

[E150GT]

I have an electric leaf blower. After using it once I decided I will buy all gas from now on. No way I'm hauling out the extension cord again

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted by E150GT
I have an electric leaf blower. After using it once I decided I will buy all gas from now on. No way I'm hauling out the extension cord again


Darn, I knew I was missing something. I forgot to mention CORDLESS!

 

[czbrian]

If you go battery powered, go with the upper end models. I have a Worx 32 volt trimmer which is plenty for my yard in the suburbs but I could see others not being satisfied if they are trying to cut areas with thicker weeds. I've had it about 3 years without any issues. I also have Kobalt 40 volt blower (about 4 years old) which is fine for blowing grass and leaves off my sidewalk and porch but if I had a bunch of leaves to blow around the yard it would be a hassle. The new 80v Kobalt blowers are way better than mine. We bought my father in law one for Christmas and he is happy with it.

 

[Oildudeny]

Love my ryobi string trimmer/edger

 

[walterjay]

I recently bought a battery powered string trimmer replacing my two cycle gas unit. I love the new trimmer and wish I had switched over earlier. Certainly easier to use and maintain.

 

[EdwardC]

I have an EGO 56V push mower and string trimmer, and a Sun Joe 40V blower/vac. It's only been about a year and a half, but I don't regret the decision to go cordless one bit. I have a very small yard so I'm nowhere near running out of juice when I'm done with the job, works out perfectly for me.

 

[Eddie]

EGO 56 VOLT 2.5 A. STRING TRIMMER is great. I will get their edger next. Ed

 

[RyanY]

When I moved to a double corner lot, I bought an 18V hedge trimmer, 18V blower, and corded weed whip.

The cordless blower barely held a charge long enough to my short driveway and garage, let alone the sidewalks. I then replaced it with a gas Hitachi, and am quite satisfied.

The hedge trimmer did fine for the 20 ft of hedges, but I recently replaced it with a 20v max B&D; a lot more power and longer life, and sufficient for my needs.

The corded weed whip was a PITA to drag a 100 ft cord around but otherwise was fine. I replaced it with a gas Hitachi and it is much better, albeit a little slow to respond to the throttle.

Keep in mind that my initial purchase of cordless units occurred 8 years ago and technology has improved a lot since then. My brother has the cordless dewalt weed whip, chain saw, and lawn mower, and loves them. I like gas equipment for things that take more than about 20 min to complete.

 

[2heeldrive]

I just made the jump to Makita 36 volt outdoor tools. I have the blower and power head style trimmer. I am a convert. I can do everything with these that I could with my Stihl gassers.

The downside, they are expensive and you will need at least two sets of batteries (four total). If you have a big property, better have four sets. The blower goes through batteries faster than the trimmer.

Likes:
Low noise
No fumes
No yanking the starter cord
Can put them inside the car/cab
Light weight
I use the blower for lots of other things now... like drying off the car. And quick little "blows" around the house.

Dislikes:
Cost.
Carrying around extra batteries.

The long term reliability of the machines and batteries is unknown. They have a three year warranty... if they last that long I will be happy. i don't expect they will come close to lasting as long as the Stihl gassers which are still going strong after 18 years.

 

[E150GT]

The problem I have with batteries is they go bad no matter what.im sure batteries are expensive. Yes gas engines wear but since I started using true fuel I have had no problems starting my close to 7 year old weed whacker.

 

[Linctex]

Stihl gas string trimmer, 14 years old, still runs great.
Echo gas leaf blower, 12 years old, runs flawless.

I do not own *ANY* battery powered anything that has batteries that lasted longer than 3-4 years.

That right there makes it worth the difference.

 

[Imp4]

DeWalt cordless string trimmer. Love it for my suburban lot.
Same 20V battery as the drill/driver etc......
I only question why I didn't buy it sooner.

 

[edwardh1]

love mine, starts every time.no stupid different size fuel lines to replace, no torn primer bulbs etc etc

 

[buck91]

But how long is the battery service life and how much will they cost to replace (assuming availability at that time)?

 

[Ducked]

Saw a robot grass cutter wandering around Princess Street Gardens, Edinburgh, when I was back in The Yook this summer.

Perhaps whoever used to cut the grass for a living is regretting that one?

 

[spackard]

I'm not buying them unless I can get a deal.

1) Snapper 82V leaf blower, 2Ah battery, and charger, in Oct., off-season refurb for $150.

2) Got spare 4Ah battery for $190. Turns out this is too heavy and awkward for the leaf blower. Regret.

3) Got Kobalt 80V hedge trimmer, 2Ah battery, and charger for about $16 OOP. Same mfgr. as Snapper (and Greenworks), but pack and charger are keyed so aren't interchangeable. Ridiculous vendor lock-in. The torque of the motor is a good match
for hedge trimming - can run it at a low speed and it'll cut through things rather than stalling.

- Last week leaf blower bucked when I pulled trigger, and died. I thought that was it, but 15 minutes later it worked again.
I can't find a service manual nor schematic online for it. Gives me feeling it'll die earlier rather than later.

Charger does soft-start charging of battery, and blower soft-starts its motor, so I like their treatment of surge current.
The 2Ah pack (I guess) is 18 18650 Li-Ion in series (18S1P). Over time they have to charge and discharge at different rates,
so the pack will become unbalanced. Not sure what I'll do when that becomes a problem.

 

[RyanY]

Originally Posted by Linctex
Stihl gas string trimmer, 14 years old, still runs great.
Echo gas leaf blower, 12 years old, runs flawless.

I do not own *ANY* battery powered anything that has batteries that lasted longer than 3-4 years.

That right there makes it worth the difference.



The only downside of using gas equipment is that you will have no valid reason, as far as the wife is concerned, to buy new toys every few years.

 

[Ifixyawata]

I wouldn't say I regret my electric OPE, I currently have an entry-level craftsman string trimmer/edger and a HF electric blower/vac.

I had 2-cycle gasoline versions of each of these and while both were more powerful, 2-cycles and I don't seem to get along, I can't keep them running more than a year and a half. I blame ethanol.

D'oh! Didn't read.. these are both 110v, not battery. I'd opt for 2-cycle again over battery powered.