I have the M18 string trimmer, and recently added the hedge trimmer attachment. It is game changing for trimming the trellis roses that would normally require a ladder.

My M18 trimmer would normally go all day on a 8ah battery without going below half. I don't know where the 10 min of use report is coming from. Perhaps somebody was using a 2ah battery?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I need to buy a weed wacker. I'd like to buy a battery powered one - corded is a hassle probably won't reach all areas, gas is kind of a pain for maintenance (had one before).

Any thoughts on this one? I have 2 small drill size M18 batteries. Do I need a big one (they are expensive)? I could probably only do about 30-60 min at a time before getting tired....

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/...ing-Trimmers/2725-20

Dewalt has something similar. Thinking of sticking w/ M18 unless Dewalt for some reason is better.

Other recommendations?

Don't know how much area you have to take care of, but I would go with a 4 cycle gasoline powered trimmer. 4 cycle means no mixing of fuel, gasoline powered means no weak/discharged batteries.

Rather than depend on battery powered units, I would go with a 4 cycle engine driven one. 4 cycle means using regular gasoline rather than mixing oil and gasoline, etc.
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SENIX SENIX 4QL 26.5-cc 4-Cycle 17-in Straight Shaft Gas String Trimmer with Attachment Capable and Edger Capable
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Looks like a good one. We already have an older unit that requires the 2 cycle routine so not likely I will get one. If We need a new one, it will be the 4 cycle version.

Thanks. I used to have a good 4 cycle. No mixing was good. But it still required extra stuff - clearing out the engine for storage, storage of gas, blah blah blah. It was kind of a hassle, not huge but enough, for us to want to avoid 4 cycle.

I have the dewalt version. I am very happy with it after one season. I imagine the milwaukee one is as good or better. I was apprehensive at first, but it's so much easier.

Yea, the battery powered units seem like the way to go. Like the battery vacuum cleaner. Very convenient not to have to hassle with cords and such.

I'm still very concerned with battery life given how expensive they are (battery seems 75% of the cost). Especially PRC crap. We'll see....

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
Have both the Ego push mower and the Ego string trimmer and love them both ... Another plus I like is that all the Ego batteries, no matter the size, will swap back and forth between all the Ego tools.

Ditto here, except I have the powered mower and I’ll add I have the back pack blower as well.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Yea, the battery powered units seem like the way to go. Like the battery vacuum cleaner. Very convenient not to have to hassle with cords and such.

I'm still very concerned with battery life given how expensive they are (battery seems 75% of the cost). Especially PRC crap. We'll see....

You'll be fine. 2x 2.5Ah is a lot more trimming than you'll want to do. 1x 2.5hr is more than I want to do. My first battery has lasted 4yrs & works like new. We blow the garage out often, 4-5 minutes of runtime on full/turbo & it lasts at least 3 times before it starts flashing red on turbo (still runs, just telling you to back off)

I sacrificed a charger to make a 12V/5vUSB power bank & I have a 75W inverter that I can put in the cig plug. Handy for power outages.

Good timing.

Initial impressions - the 2.5 battery still had charge (not sure how much - still green when I push the button) by the time I got tired. Granted, I'm old, and I was doing a slope (walking up and down) but the battery was enough for what I did.

Good to hear the battery lasts multiple years. I was reading a lot of reports of batteries DOA and/or lasting less than 1 year.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

Ego uses 56 volt batteries.

56 V * 2.5 Ah = 140 watt-hours

18 V * 9 Ah = 162 watt-hours

The actual power capacities of the two batteries are pretty similar.

The Milwaukee M18 9 Ah batteries have fifteen 3.6V, 3Ah cells in them.

The Ego 56V 2.5 Ah batteries have fifteen 3.6V, 2.5Ah cells in them.

I’ve read this a few times now. So power capacities are similar but is one better than the other? Or really doesn’t matter?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Good timing.

Initial impressions - the 2.5 battery still had charge (not sure how much - still green when I push the button) by the time I got tired. Granted, I'm old, and I was doing a slope (walking up and down) but the battery was enough for what I did.

Good to hear the battery lasts multiple years. I was reading a lot of reports of batteries DOA and/or lasting less than 1 year.

I guess it depends on ones age and physical condition to determine if the battery outlasting you is good or bad LOL.

The only place my battery trimmer isn't sufficient is for really deep weeds. The Echo with a blade is the way to go. But for just trimming around the house after mowing, the electric M18 is awesome.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:

I sacrificed a charger to make a 12V/5vUSB power bank & I have a 75W inverter that I can put in the cig plug. Handy for power outages.

Have the details on how you did this? Would like to do that myself.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Another vote for the Ego stuff. I have the trimmer and blower. Great products and power.
Will be purchasing the chainsaw this year.

We have the chainsaw, hedge trimmer and blower. Very happy with them.

And it's broken already....

At least I can't get it to reload a new line. The line stopped feeding so I thought it was used up. I took off the lower cover and removed the remaining line - seems still long enough to use, about 7 feet.

I put the lower cover back on, feed the line through the eyelets and pushed the power load button.

The unit makes some ratcheting noises and the body seems to spin a little. But the line isn't being pulled into the unit as expected.

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong (seems pretty straightforward in the manual), there is some undocumented trick, or the thing is broken already.

Any help?

Check that the cover is on correctly. With mine the cover has to be placed correctly or it can press on the reel, preventing it from turning.

Fixed.

https://youtu.be/Kx1GACcEj3M

Quit fuckin' around and get a Stihl!

Stihl apparently is under the same prc umbrella corp as Ego. Both under Chervon.

We bought a 20V Craftsman last summer. It was surprisingly perfect for our needs, lots of borders & weedy sections. The one battery outlasts what either of us care to push our own 'internal charge'. It refills rapidly from 1 to 3 dots in barely over 90 minutes max.

Our 50x50' hillside patch of St. Johns Wort needs seasonal trimming. This year with 'the Beast' it was rapidly in order despite tight array of larger tougher stems.

It appears IIRC the B&D line uses the same charger/batteries. I was going to buy a 2nd higher capacity battery but that doesn't look necessary yet.