Line trimmers (again)

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rb99

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#295736 19-Apr-2022 14:49

Had a browse round here, but threads seem to be locked and old(ish), so -

Whats the latest when it comes to line trimmers (and the basics) please.

Higher voltage is better ? Brushless is better ? Is say 18V brushless better than say 36V 'brushful'

And does anyone make a trimmer with a trigger you pull to release more line (we had one with that decades ago and it was great).

A trimmer has been on the too buy list for years, so thought I'd ask. Just for normal trimming, mostly next to some new wooden retaining we got.

Also, is there an alternative to line that is recommended ? Think I've seems packs of plastic blades - good, useless, etc.

Thanks again.

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rb99

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#2903912 19-Apr-2022 15:02

After having a Ryobi 18v lawnmower that was underpowered for my needs, I upgraded to a GreenWorks mower kit with a 4ah 40v battery from Trade Tested around 6 months ago. The increased horsepower of the mower was a big improvement, and it's rare to stall this one as long as the lawn length is reasonable.

A couple of weeks ago I bought the matching line trimmer and am very happy with the result, though I wish it had a neck/shoulder strap for longer duration use. (I'll probably make one.) I was a little surprised to read that this trimmer auto-feeds the line a little at each trigger pull. I bought a refill pack of line on a new spool, mainly so when one is exhausted I can keep going and refill the empty one myself at a later time.

If you happen to be in the market for a new mower and this series interests you, a couple of times a year they do a 'buy the mower and get the trimmer free' so consider signing up to their promotional emails. That bundle would not give you a second battery, which is often useful.

Note I have purchased a couple of items from these guys over the last 4 years. A generator gave some trouble at 22 months into its 24 month warranty and they were very easy to deal with about a repair.

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rb99

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#2903927 19-Apr-2022 15:19

Thanks. Interesting option. Not sure about the auto line feed though. Also I bought a petrol lawnmower recently and that line trimmer adds up a bit with battery and charger and line (though I suppose they all do that...)

I probably don't need something too fancy, but I keep on looking at a make and thinking, maybe the brushless variety is better, maybe the higher voltage is better, and up goes the price each time.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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scuwp

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#2903928 19-Apr-2022 15:20

Traded my old petrol trimmer for a Ryobi one+ battery one. Love it. Great for normal domestic use. Particularly like the swivel head that can flip over to be vertical for edging. Line auto-feeds (mostly). Slowly buying more of the one+ range.

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richms

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#2903931 19-Apr-2022 15:31

I have decided that I will get the milwaukee mower once its available here to replace my tired old masport because it looks to have a great self propelled speed control. Once I have that I may upgrade the trimmer to something from their range but really I am happy with the ryobi line trimmer I got.

Its the brushless expandit capable ryobi because I have the ends from the petrol one for a tree chainsaw and hedge trimmers. I have not tried them on the one+ end yet, but they worked ok on the plug in one that I got when the petrol one wouldnt start and I was to P'd off at it to look into cleaning the carb. But the plug on one will start to make nasty hot smells after about 20 mins of heavy weed whacking. The one+ lasts about 10 mins on a 4 or 5Ah battery (cant recall which)

Huge upgrade over the non expand it brushed ryobi one that I had tried before with its hopeless dump line out everytime you stop spinning mechanism, which combined with its constant bogging down and stalling meant it used a lot of line and left pieces everywhere.

Richard rich.ms

elpenguino

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#2903933 19-Apr-2022 15:36

scuwp:

Traded my old petrol trimmer for a Ryobi one+ battery one. Love it. Great for normal domestic use. Particularly like the swivel head that can flip over to be vertical for edging. Line auto-feeds (mostly). Slowly buying more of the one+ range.

I also have a similar one of these (for 1-2 years now).

Salient points:

Runs for about 20 minutes on a fully charged 4 (or is it 5)? A/Hr battery. Enough for my needs, and you can always swap batteries.

Not powerful enough to cut twigs etc, bogged down on reeds and really thick grass I tried to cut off site. Fine for lawn edges etc.

Was about $250 without battery which I had from a hedge trimmer (also pretty happy with that).

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Jase2985

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#2903935 19-Apr-2022 15:41

rb99:

Had a browse round here, but threads seem to be locked and old(ish), so -

You can request they be unlocked as the info/questions are still relevant

Jase2985

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#2903938 19-Apr-2022 15:45

i have the 36V ryobi expand-it curved shaft line trimmer, with the edger attachment, Blower attachment (the older one), and the Cultivator/ Tiller Attachment. goes great with the 36V brushless lawnmower, and 2x 4Ah batteries and 1x 2.5Ah.

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rb99

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#2903939 19-Apr-2022 15:45

Has anyone used something like this on Ryobi (or similar on other make). Any thoughts ?

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-dual-bladed-line-trimmer-heads-2-pack_p0291996

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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mdf

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#2903940 19-Apr-2022 15:46

Are you already on a battery tool platform? Odds are you will be better sticking with that.

FWIW, I have an AEG 18V brushless line trimmer. Really happy with it. Pros:

18V is plenty powerful enough to deal with any common line trimming tasks, even long wet grass and assorted weeds and climbing rubbish. I can see why higher voltage would be good for circular saws, chainsaws and mowers, but 18V seems fine for a line trimmer. You don't really get much resistance that you need to power through
5Ah battery does 30 minutes easy (which is enough for me to do everything at our place)
In theory at least, both the above points are helped by the brushless motor
Straight shaft design with motor and battery at the top is very well balanced, much less stress on my back than a previous trimmer with a bent shaft design with the motor at the cutting end that you're fighting against gravity
Bump feed works well
Thick line that hardly ever breaks; line it came with has lasted what seems like forever

Cons: none really. I did have flax fronds wrap around the head once. You're supposed to be able to take the head off but I couldn't figure out how to do it. That's kind of grasping at straws though.

networkn

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#2903951 19-Apr-2022 16:07

I have a Ryobi line trimmer. Whilst undoubtedly not as powerful as some of the petrol ones and struggling a little with longer thicker grass, it does eventually get the job done. For the relatively minor amount of trimming we do, it's good enough and much better than the Ozito one I had before.

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#2903955 19-Apr-2022 16:29

I have a fairly old mains powered Ryobi ELT1100A. I fitted the Alex Brushcutter Head to it a few years back. With their heavy line I could just about use it to cut down a tree. It works well to trim bushes, trees, long grass, etc, but you have to wear full length clothes and safety glasses because stuff flies everywhere.

rb99

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#2903956 19-Apr-2022 16:32

I don't have any battery powered anything at the moment (garden / powertool wise). I cut the edges with hand shears. The novelty of that is wearing off. OTOH I had a petrol trimmer once - an hour of swearing to get it started and all the line used in half an hour followed by another hour of trying to add new line. The electric (mains) one we had was good and had (as mentioned) a trigger you pulled to release new line, but thats long gone.

So anyway, maybe this -

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-18v-one-hp-4-0ah-brushless-line-trimmer-kit_p0292179

or similar ?

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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richms

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#2903966 19-Apr-2022 17:01

rb99:

I don't have any battery powered anything at the moment (garden / powertool wise). I cut the edges with hand shears. The novelty of that is wearing off. OTOH I had a petrol trimmer once - an hour of swearing to get it started and all the line used in half an hour followed by another hour of trying to add new line. The electric (mains) one we had was good and had (as mentioned) a trigger you pulled to release new line, but thats long gone.

So anyway, maybe this -

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-18v-one-hp-4-0ah-brushless-line-trimmer-kit_p0292179

or similar ?

I got the tool only one of that, great. But 1 battery will not be enough if you have more than a small area to do. Well it gives you lots of excuse to have breaks but the battery is normally too hot to charge after its done so it has to cool before charging anyway.

Richard rich.ms

martyyn

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#2903978 19-Apr-2022 17:35

Don't make the same mistake I made and buy the cheapest you can, or underestimate the power needed for your situation.

I bought the least powerful Makita because I have all their tools and batteries anyway. It came with a single line feed and struggled with the thick grass we have at the beach.

After a few years of getting my son to do the work I decided to replace it with a much more powerful Makita and dual line feed. It rips through everything now and is what I should've bought in the first place.

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#2904026 19-Apr-2022 17:57

martyyn:

... I decided to replace it with a much more powerful Makita and dual line feed. It rips through everything now and is what I should've bought in the first place.

I'd be interested in what model it is, how powerful, and what runtime you get. My Stihl (petrol) is near the end of its life, so I'm browsing the market. Typically when I bash the weeds I'll be doing 2-4 hours at a time and the going is pretty heavy. Often I don't just cut, I clear them right down to bare soil.

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