I'm gonna be in the market for a weed whacker soon, probably rechargable. If you've had one that made you want to murder whoever made it, I'd like to know details, please, as well as whatever you bought that you ended up liking.
Thanks.
JSB,
I had a Troybuilt rechargeable that I used on a front yard with 80' of trimming perimeter. It worked fine until the battery died just after the warranty was out. I suspect the battery would be around $40.00 to replace on a $65.00 trimmer. I gave it to my nephew to use on his townhouse. We now live on an acre so I went with a Echo gas model.
cm
JoeSpareBedroom wrote: ...
All of 'em... :)
Can't really think it's an application for rechargeables unless you have very small area, however.
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Depending on inclination and the application, a scythe is actual fun. I cut the entire lawn with one, about an acre. It has to be a hobby, though.
Also, corners are next to impossible with one, though they can cut right up to a building just fine.
A pic. from Saturday
I've got too many spots where it would be impossible to swing a scythe enough to make it effective. I like the idea, though.
That's about what I've got. I need maybe 15 minutes to do the job.
I have a gasoline "Weed Eater" I bought from WalMart about 20 years ago. It still runs well, lots of power, and I think I paid about $50 for it. Electric units are quiet, but don't have the power.
Rechargeable units lack power, plug in ones are ok other than having to drag a power cord around. Gas powered are of course best if you have more than a small area to do.
I have an Echo SRM-2200 that I bought about 20 years ago and it still works great. I think the equivalent new model number is SRM-230S.
Bob
I wouldn't buy any electric model. Low power, and they use a smaller diameter line that gets eaten up rapidly. I've got a 10 year old Ryobi - don't know the model - that uses .095 line. The only time it uses a lot of line is when I use it as an edger.
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i hate em all.
Me too, and I'm getting the feeling they're like that stuff you have to drink before certain radiology exams: There is no good version. But, I need a trimmer because I've just installed some new structure where I used to be able to mow.
I would avoid rechargeable. I threw out a Homelite combo weed wacker hedge trimer set that only cost $100 but both batteries went and only source on internet wanted $50 each.
Looks like I'm heading toward gas-powered......let's see who else chimes in over the next day or three, though.
If you really do have a small area to deal with, the corded electric trimmers are viable. It's the cordless electrics with all the expensive battery issues you need to avoid. No need to spend $200 on a gas trimmer to do 50' of trimming, a $50 electric will do fine. Also check Ryobi, their stuff isn't that bad.
anything with the word Ryobi in its name.
dickm
If the area is that small try a corded one
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I agree- if all your yard is within 50 feet of an outlet, rechargables are pointless. 3 years later when batteries crap out, replacements are expensive or impossible to find, and for that little use, the PITA of a gas unit outweighs the increased power. My corded Toro cost ten bucks at a garage sale, is probably ten years old, and will likely last another ten. I only need to edge with maybe every 3rd mowing, so call it 10-12 times a year. I can deal with a cord for that. My leaf/snow/gutter blower is electric corded, too, for the same reasons.
Having said all that, if I was making a living with such tools, I'd go with gas. Power and time pay for themselves, there.
aem sends....
on 8/27/2007 8:59 AM JoeSpareBedroom said the following:
Any whacker with an auto-feed head that has to be bumped to advance the string. If it gets stuck, it may take up to a half hour to take the head apart, unstick the line, and put it back together. I replaced my auto-feed head with one that takes 6" pieces of strings. The pieces get pushed into the the holes in the outside of the head and are locked in by a one-way clip. To change, pull the ends of the old strings out from the center of the head, and push new strings in from the outside of the head. It only takes seconds to change. Of course, you have to shut off the whacker to do this. I have a reel of string meant for the auto-feed head that I cut pieces off, rather than buy pre-cut string. When I go to weedwhack, I take some extra pieces in my pocket.
OK - I remember inventing some new obscenities while dealing with one of those auto-feed things years ago. I think they were meant to be used in a grass-free location where the mechanism would never get debris inside. :)
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