Picking Electric vs. Gas Lawn Edgers

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 13: Picking Electric vs. Gas-powered Lawn Edgers

While traditional lawn edgers have typically been gas powered, traditional wisdom has quickly changed in this area, and the best-rated lawn edger is actually electric. Because edgers generally require more power, there is no significant cordless competition at this time - although we may see some in the future, as batteries shrink in size and increase power density. Today, competition is between gas and corded electric models.

The overhead associated with gas engines is high. Gas engines, compared to electric motors, are complex machines, that require ongoing and seasonal maintenance,  need periodic tuning, and can be hard to start. They are heavy machines and lead to heavy products. Gas edgers are noisy, smelly, and significantly contribute to global warming: in that respect that are comparable to lawn mowers, whose contributions to global warming were evaluated here as equivalent to 11 modern cars per gas mower engine. The big advantages of gas edgers are that they provide very compact power, and that they are self contained, taking their fuel along with them.

On the other hand, electric lawn edgers are lighter, comparatively less complex (outside of damage to the power cord or connector, a motor will work or be dead - there are few states in between these two extremes), significantly quieter, with no unpleasant odor, and much less contributions to global warming. Their major drawbacks are that existing models do not carry as much power as larger gas models, and that, mostly, they are constantly tethered to an outlet. ..  Edgers for home use do not carry the power requirements of professional tools, which need to be used all day every day in circumstances that include trenching. For all practical purposes, existing power in electric edgers is sufficient for all home uses unless you have very specific requirements, in particular if they include trenching. However, being tethered to an outlet is somewhat limiting. A good quality 100-foot outdoor extension cord, or two of them together for 200 feet, give the average homeowner a good roaming range. If this range is not sufficient to you, then you need a gas mower. Otherwise, in our opinion you should consider an electric edger as your first choice.

There are very few cordless trimmer edgers with an accessory guiding wheel, which are the closest to a real cordless edger that you can find at this time. These trimmers lag the two back wheels of a traditional edger, and do not make it truly possible to give a vertical edge for more than a few feet at a time. Trimmer edgers without a guiding wheel cannot really be used as true edgers.

Next we research and compare electric lawn edgers... So come back soon!

What Makes a Good Electric Lawn Edger

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 12: What Makes a Good Electric Lawn Edger

Specialized lawn edgers cut vertically, along the limit of where a lawn stops, be it alongside a sidewalk, a mulch bed, or a flower bed. They normally have two heavy rear wheels, to support the weight of the edger, and one narrow guiding front wheel. The ability to precisely guide the cut path, and to drive a stable, steady line, is critical to the success of an edger, which is why hybrid trimmer/ edgers cannot rival regular edgers.  Because lawn edgers are supported by the ground through a set of wheels, their attributes are radically different from those of lawn trimmers. Lawn edgers are also more specialized and focus on lawns, where trimmers may have more of a mixed use with weeds and brush as well.


Reliability and longevity. Lawn edgers, as a whole, seem to show more reliability than the dismal string trimmers. Nonetheless, like most home gardening power tools they are less than stellar, and, if you wish to use your lawn edger more than one season, you should pay careful attention to reliability as a criterion, and to the user reviews which allow you to gauge the models' record.

Safety. An edger's fast blade can be extremely dangerous to its user - significantly more than the string of a trimmer.  The mechanical protection from the blade is critical. So is the way the cord is protected from injury by the tool, when we deal with a corded tool.  At the same time, because the blade mounts vertically, and because the tool is wheeled and constrained to a horizontal plane (the ground:-), there is less potential danger, overall, than a lawn trimmer with no contact to the ground and the capability to quickly inflict injury in a wide volume of spaced.

Precision. Edging is aesthetically pleasing because of its precision - so precision is central to the mission of the lawn trimmer. It is a compound attribute, which depends upon weight and weight distribution, global design, and handle shape. Being able to precisely follow an edge through its straight lines and its tight curves is what the tool needs to be able to achieve. Straight line stability is somewhat dependent upon wheel design and placement - a larger set of rear wheel is slightly better. Following tight curves is helped by having a small steering wheel and having it positioned more forward, and having more of the weight over the front wheel. As usual, line stability and curve handling are somewhat antithetical. 

Usability. As always, the usability of the tool makes a huge difference to the user's comfort and the eventual product's use. A very usable product ends up being used more. There is some trade-off being lawn edgers and trimmers, and, in some cases, it is possible to trade one for the other - typically the more usable one gets the nod...

Fit and finish.  Lawn edgers are more complex than string trimmers, and cost more. Probably because there is more margin, lawn edgers, as a class, appear to see relatively better fit and finish than the terrible trimmers.

Trenching. Some edgers are able to also trench to a fairly shallow depth. A trenching edger will have at least one cutting position, and often two to four, where the blade actually makes contact with the ground.

Power. As lawn edgers are really there to cut lawn and the soil underneath it, power does make a difference, primarily in the speed that you can have when following an edge. Overall, we have seen very few negative comments about lack of power for lawn edgers, even in the low end models. We have occasionally seen comments about some high end, powerful edgers that users feel allow them to finish the job faster. However, in general, power affects primarily the trenching ability of an edger. Overall, we feel that power is an important attribute for professional lawn edgers that get used all day, day in, day out, but that it is a secondary attribute for home use. The power of a gas edger is largely proportional to the gas engine horsepower rating, to the electric motor Amp rating, or, for a cordless edger, to the DC voltage of the edger battery.

Blade. Edgers use a metal or composite blade, which needs to be changed periodically, typically once a year. A spare blade can sometimes be hard to find, depending about the edger brand. The length of a blade has some impact on the trenching ability of an edger.

Weight. Because edgers are fully supported, weight is a secondary attribute, unless the edger is truly extraordinarily light or heavy.

Next we discuss when to use gas vs. electric lawn edgers... So come back soon!

String Trimmer Blade Replacements

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 11: String Trimmer Blade Replacements

Fighting Auto Feed Frustration

The new auto feed systems that we have seen in recent model introductions in the past several years have  generated tremendous frustration among users. They are nefarious at two levels. First, they simply do not function well, and often compel the user to painfully deal with manually feeding the spool. Second, by design they consume tremendous quantities of line, and require frequent changes of spools and new spool purchases. It appear clear that many manufacturers are attempting to switch their margins to line and spool purchase, turning their trimmers into poor quality consumables. None are worse at this game than Black and Decker, whose new GH line has absolutely abysmal ratings, in great part due to their abominable AFS auto feed system.

There is an interesting product now available, which can give users a weapon against this anti-consumer development.  The $20 Sun Joe Sharperblade is a flexible polymer blade, called self-sharpening, which may be mounted on multiple models of string trimmers, and replaces the feed spool. It carries very few reviews, and has contradictory user evaluations. While two users talk about one to two years life cycle for the blade, another mentions running out of blade over a couple of sessions: "I originally bought one of these replacement blades over 2 years ago. I am now ordering a replacement due to the original wearing out. I would definitely prefer to go through one of these blades every couple of years as opposed to dealing with string related issues.", "I only got to use it twice before it wore down to an unusable nub", "this is the 3rd year I've ordered these blades for my weedeater. They are great and do a wonderful job as my choice of string replacement."These blades are very broadly distributed through most large online retailers, including Sears, Walmart, Kmart, or Sam's Club: it appears to us that major distributors are aware of a strong sense of frustration on the part of string trimmer users, given this very wide distribution for a new and fairly obscure part.

Sun Joe just started marketing an SB600E stringless trimmer equipped with these blades. We found 5 reviews at Walmart and QVC, all of them positive and in general focused on the blades: "above average product, the trimmer works well, I don't have to change string", "very pleased with the blade instead of string", "just what I needed, I was too frustrated using the string trimmer", "I love that this has a blade that does not break and is bendable", "best trimmer I ever used." 


We cannot yet recommend the Sun Joe trimmers with so few reviews - and we are not sure that the trimmers themselves will be such good quality. But these blades certainly represent an interesting promise, and we l;oof froward to seeing more reviews on the subject. Let us know how you find them and which models they seem to work well with!

Incidentally, Stihl and a few other manufacturers also make blade replacements, but it seems that each one of them is focused on a single product line.


Next we discuss what makes a good lawn edger... So come back soon!

Best 12 String Trimmer Lines Review

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 10: The 12 Best String Trimmer Lines

The line you use on your string/ line trimmer makes a huge difference to how effective your cut is, and how frequently you reload your spool. Most of the trimmer lines  you find in retail stores are low end, and is is important to pick good quality line - you will save money in the long run.

What you need to know about trimmer line

Shape: round, square, star, polygonal, twisted. The line profile  itself can assume multiple shapes. The most common is round, which is generally believes to be easier on materials such as siding, pipe, stucco or fencing. Pentagon is similar to round. Square and star shaped lines are often believed to be harder cutting, although many professionals believe this to be an urban legend, as the bulk of the cut is accomplished by the end, which gets quickly damaged. Some pros consider that square or star shaped lines whoosh grass out of place, and make it harder to cut, while being more effective on heavy weeds. Twisted (spiral) line has less drag, does not blow grass down, and makes for more efficient trimmer head rotation, although resistance to abrasion may not be as good.

Two-layer line. In the last few years, several brands have started commercializing two-layer lines, where the outer layer is more resistant to abrasion and slicker (for air friction), while the inner core is less brittle, to avoid line breakage.

Line size. It ranges from 0.065, smallest, home-owner only, diameter, through 0.080", home-owner heavy duty or precision work for commercial crew, 0.095", which is the standard size for commercial crew, 0.105" and 0.115", heavy duty commercial, to 0.130" and 0.155", extra-strength commercial. As you go up in size, you also increase the risk of damage to structures such as siding, pipes, or sprinklers. Many commercial operators who do residential work believe that 0.095" is the largest diameter that may be used without risking damage to property, while crews operating in different environments, such as cemeteries, are readier to use larger diameter. Be aware that your spool and trimmer may not allow you to use larger size line, but that it is often worth it to try and make it work (although you might void your warranty). Obviously, larger line is more durable, and may cut better if your trimmer can whip around a heavy head+line combination, and if the line can still feed through the eyelets and be cut by the line cutter.

Tasks and line diameter. If you can pick your line size (which is rarely true, as your trimmer will carry guidelines), it is probably best to use 0.080" around fragile structures, landscape beds, irrigation equipment and sidewalk,  0.095"around fencing, brush or very thick weeds, and 0.105" around thick brush, or when doing a one-time trim where there is no regular maintenance.  The cleanest and neatest cut for edging is probably accomplished with 0.080" line. Remember to cut with the tip, or you will damage your structures and run out of line quickly.

Line color. While it is not always possible to pick, transparent, gray, green or brown line will be less visible when broken and spread in your lawn than orange, red or bright yellow.

Line welding. A common problem that occurs with cheap line is line welding, where a low temperature polymer melts upon itself in the spool and compels the user to unwind it by hand. The remedy is to get better quality line, although some recommend using silicon spray or motor oil on your spool.

Buying by weight. The most expensive way to buy line is to purchase replacement pre-wound spools. It is approximately 5-10 times cheaper to buy large replacement bundles of line by the pound (0.5, 1, 3, 5 lbs) and wind the line yourself around a set of 3-4 trimmer head spools. When buying very thin (0.065") cheap line, it is sometimes necessary to leave the newly wound spools in the sun for a couple of days prior to using them, so that they will feed better.

Line breakage. Lines break right around the eyelets where they come out, break when they are whipped back and forth on starts and stops, and abrade away from contact with rough materials. A good quality line will break less and abrade less.

Leaving line in water. Trimmer line is made of nylon., When nylon is spun, it is made from nylon pellets, which are dried before being processed. The outcome is that, in the general case (unless the manufacturer has reintroduced water in the product), line coming from the manufacturer is totally dry and somewhat brittle, or may have dried out since it was produced. It is best to leave replacement line in a water bucket to make it less brittle and give it more resistance to breakage. Wetting the line for a few hours to a couple of days is typically good enough, although many crews simply store the replacement line in water buckets. This is what Oregon, a manufacturer of trimmer line, writes on its site: "Important trimmer line information - Any monofilament trimmer line can lose moisture over time or become brittle, especially if subjected to heat and sunlight. To reduce brittleness, Oregon® strongly recommends that line be submerged in water for 24 hours."

Where to buy trimmer line. Unfortunately, there is no single online store with a large percentage of the better trimmer lines. Some may be found on Amazon, others on Home Depot, others again are in-store  only at Lowe's, while a online mower parts stores such as Hyperparts, Jack's Small Engines, LawnMowerPros, M&D, MowMore, or MowPart carry specific brands. Some brands only seem to be available in brick and mortar stores. Depending upon your brand choices, you may have to dig specifically for the product you are looking for.


The best trimmer lines

In order to find out what the best trimmer lines are, we went through forums for professional landscapers, or general lawn forums where professional landscapers participate, and selected all the threads about trimmer lines since 2008. The most significant such forum is the Commercial and Residential Lawn Mowing Forum on the LawnSite, although we also used the Lawn & Garden section of TractorbyNet and other forums on the Lawn Site as well as the gardenweb forums and a smattering of other sites. We counted all the picks for and against by professional participants, and added these picks to come up with a score card. We only counted people who represented themselves as landscaping professionals. We tried to count a forum participant only once (although we accepted several picks), but we may have accidentally counted somebody twice in multiple threads. Some participants may have been members of different forums with different forum names, and would then have been counted twice (or more) if they participated in the threads that we sampled. We got 154 positive votes, with some participants voting for more than one line, and 24 negative votes, where somebody specifically mentions not liking a product.

There were quite a few picks dispersed across the field. The Grass Gator got one pan with no picks. The Shakespeare Weed Warrior got one pick. Weedeater regular round line got 2 picks because it was so cheap that, even spending twice as much, you could still come out ahead. Shakespeare Extreme also got 2 picks, although it does not appear to be marketed any more.  Oregon Nylium Starline got one pick and one pan. Several picks went after Sufix manufactured line which could njot be found either. Firecracker Titanium got two picks and one pan. Shindaiwa Silent Twist got 4 picks and 4 pans, although some of the pans were for unusual reasons, such as - so silent that you don't know if it needs to be bumped... John Deer Pro Cut/ I Beam (made by Kawasaki) and Kawasaki pro Cut, together, got 7 picks, but we could not find them. Could they be the same as the Ktech line  from Kawasaki? Finally, the Stihl X-Cut line got 4 picks and 2 pans.


Good lines

#12 Arnold Extreme with 4 picks. Arnold Extreme line starts at 0.080", Pros like how long the line lasts.

#11  Rino Tuff with 5 picks. Rino Tuff by Jarden can be found at Home Depot, and starts at 0.065". Pros like the long lasting line which can withstand tough mixed brush. 

#10  Shakespeare Pulverizer with 6 picks. The Shakespeare Pulverizer is triangle shaped, starts at 0.080", and can be found at Home Depot. Pros say the cut is clean and the line does not fray.

#9 Oregon Gatorline Super-Twist Magnum with 6 picks. Pros say the Oregon Gatorline Super-Twist Magnum  cut smoothly and lasts long. It starts at 0.095". 

#8  Desert Vortex with 7 picks. The Desert Vortex , made by Desert Extrusion, is a spiral/ twisted line. Pros say that it cuts very well and cleanly without blowing grass down, and think it could last longer. Desert Vortex is not easy to find, but is widely brand labeled. Some pros compare it to the Rotary Vortex and the Arnold Supreme.

#7 Oregon Magnum Gatorline with 10 picks and 2 pans. The Oregon Magnum Gatorline is a 2-layer line which starts at 0.080". Many pros find it tough and resistant to cutting, but two users feel it is consumed too fast. Some say the square version cuts heavy brush better but does not cut grass as cleanly and abrades more compared to the round line.

#6 The Redmax Cable Twist with 9 picks.   The Redmax Cable Twist  (model # starting with CT) appears to be the same as the Rotary Black Vortex  and the brand-less Landscaper Pro black spiral. Pros pick it for longevity, resistance to abrasion, and lack of air resistance. Some feel it is best not to use it in a delicate environment.

#5  Oregon Gatorline with 16 picks and 5 pans. The Oregon Gatorline is praised by many pros who see it as long lasting, although an aggressive cutting line with some danger to damage. Others, on the other hand, see is running too fast (no longevity). The line starts at .065".

#4 Shakespeare Ultra-Twist with 11 picks. The Shakespeare Ultra-Twist gets excellent feedback from pros who say that it cuts great and reduces drag. But - we were not able to find it anywhere (it used to be found at MowMore and Walmart): it might not be marketed any more...


 Recommended lines

#3 Stihl Premium round, with 13 picks and 2 pans. The Stihl Premium ranges from .065", while the Commercial starts at .095". Stihl also makes a Quiet Line (.080" and .095") which gets two pro votes, but which may get more votes from homeowners who value silence. The Stihl round line gets kudos for being a fairly long lasting line which is good to use in delicate environments where damage should be avoided.This is a precious quality for home owners.

#2 Husqvarna Titanium Force with 23 picks and 4 pans. The Husqvarna Titanium Force, which can be found at Amazon, starts at 0.080".  Pros find it is tough, precise, and does not abrade much, although pans complain that it goes out too fast. A new line by Husqvarna, the Husqvarna XP Force , is a 2-layer line with slick skin and bendable core - it starts at 0.095".  

#1. Echo CrossFire with 32 picks and 3 pans. The  Echo CrossFire, which can be found at Home Depot, starts at 0.080", and gets an amazing 32 picks. Pros find it all around tough and long lasting, with a good, clean cut. The few pans complain that it breaks too often.

Next we discuss replacing trimmer line with a blade... So come back soon!

Safety Bike Helmet Lights: Cool Gear

Safety lights for bike riding - rear lights and headlights: what do you do when you have to unexpectedly bike back home late at night, if you do not have permanent bike lights front and back? We found the perfect safety light kit for night riding.

Bike safety lights have a few needs. They have to be compact and easy to carry around. Flashers are best as they get noticed much better and do not run the battery down as much. The battery run time should be long enough to allow for long rides if necessary. The headlight should be able to project a strong beam, wide and strong enough for the biker to see far enough ahead that she can bike safely at a reasonable speed. High visibility is important - otherwise you might as well not wear them... Safety lights need a solid mount, that can mount quickly and release quickly - unless it is a helmet mount, which is preferable if it is good and easy, as you do not need to actually mount the light on the bike:-) Finally, a back-up passive reflector is necessary in case you run out of batteries.

The $18 Planet Bike Blinky 3H Rear Bicycle Light with helmet mount is the anchor of the kit. The light is self-leveling on your helmet. It flashes high and hard. It has a passive reflector. It can remain permanently mounted on your helmet. If you only get one light out of this kit, get this one. It gets an excellent 91% approval rating with a likely error below 12% (high due to the small number of reviews).

The $110 CygoLite Million 200 is an extremely bright 200 lumen bike front light with a handlebar mount and a helmet mount.  It is very compact, with a rechargeable Li-Ion battery that can be charged on a USB cable or on a wall plug. The Million 200 comes with three modes: high, low, and flash. A few reviewers mentioned that the light can fall from the quick release mount - to make sure it does not, do not forget to put a few drops of blue Locktite on the threads on the screw with hold bracket and light together before tightening. Mounting on the helmet is definitely possible but can be a bit tricky, and you would be better off testing it carefully at home before actually using it for the first time. The flasher is particularly bright. The Cygolite gets 88% approval rating with  likely error under 14% (due to few ratings). If the Cygolite is too expensive, the $30 Planet Bike Sport Spot Headlight will do the job for a lot less, but also with much less brightness.

As a backup or an extra precaution, the $12 Planet Bike BRT Strap is a handy yellow passive reflector, but can also go active with a red LED (flashing or steady) for 100 hours on the included CR2032 batteries (they can be bought on Amazon). Small and compact, the BRT Strap can fit anywhere, in your pocket or around the saddle mount. It works very well as a leg light, and completes very nicely our safety bike night riding kit. The BRT Strap gets 86% positive ratings with a likely error under 15% (high due to few reviews).


Do you like your picks better? Let us know what you think!

Best Heavy Duty Cordless Trimmers

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 9: Heavy Duty Cordless Trimmers

Most cordless trimmers are optimized for what constitutes their sweet spot: mid-size yards that are regularly maintained, and where typical work involves grass and light to medium weed trimming and edging. But, if you need to deal with serious brush cleaning that requires a high torque, what choices do you have among cordless trimmers?

In the process of reviewing the cordless trimmer market, we uncovered two models which were able to deal with significant heavy duty work. The first one has a long and distinguished track record, while the other one is the highest end in the Black and Decker product line.

#2 American Gardener YS24 Yardstick. The $100 American Gardener YS24 Yardstick is a 10", 24V, 10.5 lb, single 0.080" line trimmer with an unusually long battery run time. This cordless trimmer runs rare 24V lead acid batteries which give approximately 30 to 45 minutes minutes of continuous run time (although, of course, interrupted operations will give you better run time). In this world of quickly changing model numbers, the Yardstick has been around for almost a decade, and still does well.

The Yardstick is a rather heavy trimmer, whose operation is helped by a harness  if you are not a strapping broad-shouldered outdoorsman: "it's a little heavy", "not light by any stretch but its no heavier than a gas unit", "product is also extremely heavy - best suited for a young, strong person","tad bit heavier than I would like", "weighs about the same as a small gas trimmer", "only drawback I've have found is the weight of the trimmer. My arm gets really tired after trimming for 45 min", "wish it had a strap."

The long lasting battery actually lasts long and the DC motor provides good torque: "battery last a long time", "charge lasts approximately 45 min. which is usually sufficient for a half-acre yard", "plenty of power and run-time", "every bit as effective as any gas trimmer I have owned without the noise and the complications of a gas engine", "gets though heavier stuff than I would have imagined", "the charge lasts way longer than I need." The battery is internal, so, to recharge the unit, you need to leave it right by the charger, which is fairly slow: "takes about 16 hours to charge."

The trimmer easily converts into an edger: "really trims & cuts GREAT." The line is a heavy duty 0.080" line, which allows the user to replace it eventually with heavy duty commercial square section line. While some would prefer dual line spools, we like the precision of single line trimmers. A few users complain about the line not feeding very well: "you need to take your time reloading the string", "line would break continuously [ ] I learned that you need to wind several empty spools, then let them rest for a couple of days int he sun to let the plastic string "set" or curl to the spool."

Several users complained of breakage of small parts including the cutter - it appears that starting 18 months ago, the box includes replacements for these parts as well: "replacement cutter, springs and other parts included with the product [ ] the parts that were described as being of poor quality in earlier reviews were included in case replacement was needed." Some users mention other mechanical parts failures, but in limited numbers altogether.

As for other cordless models, the batteries end up eventually not taking a charge, although the Yardstick seems to have good battery longevity, probably due to lead-acid technology: "I've had it for about six years, and the battery has held up well since then." Others mention their battery running out after a more typical three years. This, however, is when many users run into trouble, as it appears that the American Gardener parts department is quite unreliable, and it takes a long time to get anything from them: " "I ordered a new battery and charger. I have currently been waiting seven weeks for the replacement." Worse, many users mention having battery trouble right at the outset, and not being able to get replacements for free: "when I called about warranty, told me sounded like problem was battery and batteries have no warranty", "battery would not hold a charge. When I talked to customer service they said it has a two year warranty but does not cover the battery."

We find it incredible that, if batteries turn out to be faulty after a small number of months, they do not get replaced under warranty: this is a major issue in American Gardener customer support policy, one which is so significant that it impacts our recommendation as a whole.The Yardstick gets 68% positive ratings with a likely error under 7% (122/179 on Amazon).

The American Gardener Yardstick has shown good quality and functionality and has a long track record, along with reasonably good user reviews. It has excellent battery run time, the Achilles' heel of cordless trimmers. Its nonexistent battery warranty, however, only allows us to recommend it with reservations.

#1 Black and Decker NST2036. The $170 Black and Decker NST2036 is a seriously heavy (11.9 lb) but powerful (36V) 14" trimmer. It uses a straight telescopic shaft with most of the weight concentrated in the handle, making it easier to hold and move. The bump and feed spool (we like that compared to the awful Black and Decker AFS) uses heavy duty 0.080" dual line.

The NST2036 as a whole is a heavy duty machine, only usable by those with a strong back and with serious trimming needs - although weight is relative, and  this cordless trimmer is actually lighter than many gas trimmers: "near gas trimmer power without the noise and without the pollution", "heavy duty trimmer, it has some weight to it", "lots of power, be sure to wear proper [ ] safety glasses and shoes","as powerful as any gas powered trimmer I've used" . It comes with a harness, which is necessary to handle its bulk - although the harness itself could be better: "unit is a bit heavy and a better harness for use would be good, I am using the one from a Husky brush saw","adjustable shoulder strap [is] not very comfortable but a must for older people like me who can't handle the whole weight of it for a long period of time." The trimmer does not convert into an edger.

The NST2036 uses a traditional NiCad 36V battery with 2.4Ah capacity, more than other Black and Decker models, but less than what a serious trimming job typically needs, approximately 15 minutes, more if you run at lower speed. You really need two batteries (an extra battery costs $100) if you have the needs that justify buying this model : "2 batteries are needed","battery life is questionable", "Don't buy this trimmer without purchasing the second (expensive!) battery", "I had to buy another battery [ ] to finish trimming around my four acres."

The trigger is a variable speed trigger, and keeping the power down very significantly boosts battery run time: "learning to control the variable-speed trigger was the trickiest part. I've found that keeping the speed down doubles the time a battery charge lasts. I ordered an extra battery so I can usually work for almost an hour and a half", "You don't need full power all the time and it makes the battery last longer, when your not trimming don't hold the trimmer on like a gas trimmer","battery seems to lasts longer if the trigger is not pulled full on while trimming." The dual charger is very slow, needing 12 hours to finish the job, although, on the other hand, it also seems to be quite safe for the batteries themselves, since we saw few complaints about defective batteries - a very common problem with the 30 minute fast charger of the WorxWG151.

The bulk of the complaints go to the short battery run time, with people complaining of only getting 15 to 20 minutes (which is what the spec calls for). Customer support is good, as tested by ConsumerPla.net. The NST2036 gets the best cordless trimmer ratings from Consumer Reports, albeit still lower than many gas trimmers, although we are not convinced that Consumer Reports properly rates trimmers. The model gathers 66% positive ratings with a likely error under 10% (59/90 from Amazon and Consumer Reports).

The NST2036 is a solid cordless model, probably the closest there is to a gas trimmer, with good engineering and no obvious quality problems. It battery life runs to specs (15 minutes) but probably requires the use of two batteries in most cases, increasing the price to $270 total. The trimmer is heavy for an electric trimmer, and will only work for people with a solid back. It should only by used who actually have a need for all of its power, along with the ability to carry it. We believe that Black and Decker is updating its cordless trimmer line to Li-Ion, and will probably come out with a lower weight version of the NST2036 in the next year. Within these limitations, we heartily recommend the NST2036.


So far we have discussed electric and cordless trimmers in depth - but what should you be putting in them? Next we review the best trimmer lines... So come back soon!

Cordless Trimmers With Long Run Time

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 8: Cordless Trimmers With Longest Run Time

Cordless trimmers face two primary user objection: battery run time, and power. While they allow their owners independence from the tethering of a corded electric trimmer, they are not able to approach the run time of a gas trimmer, which can be replenished at a moment's notice with an extra quart of gasoline. In fact, because batteries are so heavy, most cordless trimmers end up with short run time so as to allow for a lighter, handier trimmer. The result: most cordless trimmers have 15 to 20 minutes of autonomy before needing to plug in another battery. Are there options for the home owner who needs 30 to 45 minutes of run time?

In our exhaustive review of the cordless trimmer market, we encountered three trimmers with unusually long run time. Two of them are very new models with a Li-Ion power plant, while the third one has a very long track record and a lead acid battery.

Cordless trimmers with longest run time

#3 Troy Bilt TB57. The $170 Troy Bilt TB57 is a trimmer with killer specs: 12" cut path, 20V Li-Ion fast charge (4 hour) 6Ah (!!!) battery, heavy duty 0.080" diameter line - with only one troubling side, its high 10 lb weight, probably due to the heavy, long lived battery.  Troy Bilt has a reputation for building tough equipment, and a previous corded electric trimmer, the TB50, picked up a high reputation for long lasting quality - why did they ever discontinue it? Their site is one of the few manufacturer sites with user ratings, an outstanding feature which is very customer oriented. It is all the more disappointing to find a problem with this model. The battery is the best part of the trimmer: it lasts a long time, and allows for solid trimming for most lawn jobs, including decent size weeds. The string itself is solid, although the dispensing is not perfect, and one customer suggests replacing it with the titanium professional trimmer line.

Going through the reviews, it is apparent that usability is a significant issue. The 42"-56" telescopic shaft appears to short for many users: "I found the straight shaft awkward and too short", "arm is too short", "I'm 5' 8" and I find myself crouching down","handling is horrible." The trigger is stiff and hard to keep on while you trim: "after about 15 mins it became painfully apparent that the trigger is way too stiff. My fingers were cramping up." The unfortunate auto feed feature gathers its shares of usual complaints.

What is more worrisome of all is quality and support issues. The switch appears to have a common failure mode, and it is not easy for users to get it taken care of: "I called the manufacturer, and they gave me the name of the closest authorized repair shop, who never called me back", "never heard back from Troy Bilt when I told them about this problem." At this time, the TB57 gathers 56% positive reviews (15/27 at Amazon and Troy Bilt), with a high likely error of  19% due to the low number of reviews. The TB57 is a high price model (due to the excellent battery). The price would be totally justified by a reliable, highly usable machine. If you are able to look beyond the usability issues, it may be best to wait another few months before pushing the trigger on this model, until early manufacturing and support issues are taken care of.

#2 American Gardener YS24 Yardstick. The $100 American Gardener YS24 Yardstick is a 10", 24V, 10.5 lb, single 0.080" line trimmer with an unusually long battery run time. This cordless trimmer runs rare 24V lead acid batteries which give approximately 30 to 45 minutes minutes of continuous run time (although, of course, interrupted operations will give you better run time). In this world of quickly changing model numbers, the Yardstick has been around for almost a decade, and still does well.

The Yardstick is a rather heavy trimmer, whose operation is helped by a harness  if you are not a strapping broad-shouldered outdoorsman: "it's a little heavy", "not light by any stretch but its no heavier than a gas unit", "product is also extremely heavy - best suited for a young, strong person","tad bit heavier than I would like", "weighs about the same as a small gas trimmer", "only drawback I've have found is the weight of the trimmer. My arm gets really tired after trimming for 45 min", "wish it had a strap."

The long lasting battery actually lasts long and the DC motor provides good torque: "battery last a long time", "charge lasts approximately 45 min. which is usually sufficient for a half-acre yard", "plenty of power and run-time", "every bit as effective as any gas trimmer I have owned without the noise and the complications of a gas engine", "gets though heavier stuff than I would have imagined", "the charge lasts way longer than I need." The battery is internal, so, to recharge the unit, you need to leave it right by the charger, which is fairly slow: "takes about 16 hours to charge."

The trimmer easily converts into an edger: "really trims & cuts GREAT." The line is a heavy duty 0.080" line, which allows the user to replace it eventually with heavy duty commercial square section line. While some would prefer dual line spools, we like the precision of single line trimmers. A few users complain about the line not feeding very well: "you need to take your time reloading the string", "line would break continuously [ ] I learned that you need to wind several empty spools, then let them rest for a couple of days int he sun to let the plastic string "set" or curl to the spool."

Several users complained of breakage of small parts including the cutter - it appears that starting 18 months ago, the box includes replacements for these parts as well: "replacement cutter, springs and other parts included with the product [ ] the parts that were described as being of poor quality in earlier reviews were included in case replacement was needed." Some users mention other mechanical parts failures, but in limited numbers altogether.

As for other cordless models, the batteries end up eventually not taking a charge, although the Yardstick seems to have good battery longevity, probably due to lead-acid technology: "I've had it for about six years, and the battery has held up well since then." Others mention their battery running out after a more typical three years. This, however, is when many users run into trouble, as it appears that the American Gardener parts department is quite unreliable, and it takes a long time to get anything from them: " "I ordered a new battery and charger. I have currently been waiting seven weeks for the replacement." Worse, many users mention having battery trouble right at the outset, and not being able to get replacements for free: "when I called about warranty, told me sounded like problem was battery and batteries have no warranty", "battery would not hold a charge. When I talked to customer service they said it has a two year warranty but does not cover the battery."

We find it incredible that, if batteries turn out to be faulty after a small number of months, they do not get replaced under warranty: this is a major issue in American Gardener customer support policy, one which is so significant that it impacts our recommendation as a whole.The Yardstick gets 68% positive ratings with a likely error under 7% (122/179 on Amazon).

The American Gardener Yardstick has shown good quality and functionality and has a long track record, along with reasonably good user reviews. It has excellent battery run time, the Achilles' heel of cordless trimmers. Its nonexistent battery warranty, however, only allows us to recommend it with reservations.

#1 Greenworks 21602. The $180 Greenworks 21602 is a 12", 20V, 7.5 lb curved shaft trimmer powered by a Li-Ion battery with an unusually long run time.

The unusual and remarkable feature of the Greenworks 21602 is definitely its long lasting Li-Ion battery, with a solid 6Ah capacity, a feature only equaled by the Troy Bilt TB57: "Battery lasted over an hour", "long run time of this battery is a real plus (I'd say it is easily the 45 min as advertised)", "I live on a small farm so it gets heavy use. The battery lasts longer than I do", "after trimming just about everything on our 4-acre lot [ ] the battery was still 3/4 charged. Total time out in the field was probably 30 minutes, and roughly 20 minutes of that was actual running time", "20 volt lithium-ion battery is a real performer [ ] I've used this 3 times now and I still haven't re-charged the battery", "trimmed my yard multiple times on the first charge and still have 3/4 battery power remaining." The battery recharges in 4.5 hours on the included charger.

The 20V battery produces enough torque to satisfy the large majority of its users: "plenty of power for my needs ", "if the gas-powered trimmer's "power" was rated a 10, then I'd give this an 8 or 9", "plenty of power for trimming long grass, and my husband has used it a number of times to cut back the weeds in the woods behind us as well", " It has a hard time with some types of tall grass (I'm talking 2.5 to 3 ft "barn grass") [ ] Other types of tall grass (fescue) it handles much better, you just have to go slow. It's dynamite with reasonably length grass and easily handles thick grass up to about 2 feet tall."

The 7.5 lb curved shaft trimmer is comfortable to handle: "light and well balanced", "I was concerned that the battery would feel unbalanced or heavy as I am 5'1", but that is not the case at all. Both my husband (5'10") and I can use it very comfortably", "device is easily balanced and much lighter than my John Deere", "lightweight, powerful." The shaft is not telescopic but the handle can be adjusted up and down. The device converts easily into an edger with a guide wheel: " really like using this as an edger as well. The wheel rolls easily and keeps it at a consistent height so the trimming is even and I don't use up a lot of extra string like I used to trying to hand-hold the old trimmer at an angle", "The start/stop is instant, its so light that I just cruise around trimming and flip the head to the side to do edging", "what surprised me was how good of an edger this trimmer is. A simple button-push and rotation of the trim head and you're in edger function", "so easy to handle and get just the edge and trim you desire." While handling as a whole appears very good, the safety trigger seems to be a bit of a problem to some: "trigger to run it does fatigue my trigger-finger/hand."

The 21602 has a form of auto feed, where it feeds 1/4" of single 0.065" line every time you start it - resulting in significant line consumption when you try to conserve power: "have not had problems using up the string too fast. Since it auto advances each time you start it, the frequency of start/stops could make a big difference", "the auto feed worked great, but if you start and stop a lot, you'll probably burn thru some serious string."

Greenworks provides the best warranty in the industry: 4 years on the trimmer, 1 year on the battery. However, there is a big hic, as customer service has been very poor in terms of quick exchanges: "It won't start (less than a month later) [ ] We called the company [ ] who ultimately said we had to return it to amazon and they'd send a replacement. [ ] When I asked directly, she gave me the phone number of their nearest distributor (more than 1000 miles away), who said they've had the Greenworks account for about a month, and there is nobody anywhere near me who could repair or replace it [ ] The Greenworks website says their goal is customer satisfaction, and we're not very satisfied with their service", "I called the Greenworks warranty number this morning, and the customer service rep was just awful. I got the distinct impression that they didn't want to stand by their warranty. [ ] Then she told me I should take it to a service center and gave me the telephone number of the closest one. When I pointed out that the warranty specifically states that Greenworks will replace the battery at no cost, she reluctantly agreed to send a new battery", "I called the Greenworks number [ ] I was told that someone would call me within an hour for a "resolution." After two days without a call from Greenworks, I called again. This time I was on hold for 15 minutes when I gave up. I never heard from Greenworks after my first call. [ ] My conclusion is that the warranty by Greenworks is worthless." These are very poor evaluations of customer support. At the same time, this product has only been for sale for a few months, Greenworks itself is only a couple of years old, and we can understand that there may be some early ramp-up problems. The Greenworks 21602 has 78% positive ratings with a high likely error of 19% due to low number of reviews (14/18 on Amazon).

The Greenworks 21602 has truly excellent specs, and does very well in the field. The Greenworks warranty is significantly better than that found with the rest of the industry.  It fills the sweet spot for most home owners in a way that has not been met in cordless trimmers so far - we are quite impressed by this product, which appears head and shoulders above other Greenworks products in related fields. Despite the limited number of reviews, the lack of company track record, and the several very poor reports on customer support, we are recommending the product at this time, conditional upon a lengthy discussion that we are planning to have with the company over its customer support practices in the next 2 weeks, after which we will update this review.

Next we rank heavy duty cordless trimmers... So come back soon!

The 5 Best Cordless String Trimmers

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 7: Best cordless trimmers

#5 American Gardener YS24 Yardstick. The $100 American Gardener YS24 Yardstick is a 10", 24V, 10.5 lb, single 0.080" line trimmer with an unusually long battery run time. This cordless trimmer runs rare 24V lead acid batteries which give approximately 30 to 45 minutes minutes of continuous run time (although, of course, interrupted operations will give you better run time). In this world of quickly changing model numbers, the Yardstick has been around for almost a decade, and still does well.

The Yardstick is a rather heavy trimmer, whose operation is helped by a harness  if you are not a strapping broad-shouldered outdoorsman: "it's a little heavy", "not light by any stretch but its no heavier than a gas unit", "product is also extremely heavy - best suited for a young, strong person","tad bit heavier than I would like", "weighs about the same as a small gas trimmer", "only drawback I've have found is the weight of the trimmer. My arm gets really tired after trimming for 45 min", "wish it had a strap."

The long lasting battery actually lasts long and the DC motor provides good torque: "battery last a long time", "charge lasts approximately 45 min. which is usually sufficient for a half-acre yard", "plenty of power and run-time", "every bit as effective as any gas trimmer I have owned without the noise and the complications of a gas engine", "gets though heavier stuff than I would have imagined", "the charge lasts way longer than I need." The battery is internal, so, to recharge the unit, you need to leave it right by the charger, which is fairly slow: "takes about 16 hours to charge."

The trimmer easily converts into an edger: "really trims & cuts GREAT." The line is a heavy duty 0.080" line, which allows the user to replace it eventually with heavy duty commercial square section line. While some would prefer dual line spools, we like the precision of single line trimmers. A few users complain about the line not feeding very well: "you need to take your time reloading the string", "line would break continuously [ ] I learned that you need to wind several empty spools, then let them rest for a couple of days int he sun to let the plastic string "set" or curl to the spool."

Several users complained of breakage of small parts including the cutter - it appears that starting 18 months ago, the box includes replacements for these parts as well: "replacement cutter, springs and other parts included with the product [ ] the parts that were described as being of poor quality in earlier reviews were included in case replacement was needed." Some users mention other mechanical parts failures, but in limited numbers altogether.

As for other cordless models, the batteries end up eventually not taking a charge, although the Yardstick seems to have good battery longevity, probably due to lead-acid technology: "I've had it for about six years, and the battery has held up well since then." Others mention their battery running out after a more typical three years. This, however, is when many users run into trouble, as it appears that the American Gardener parts department is quite unreliable, and it takes a long time to get anything from them: " "I ordered a new battery and charger. I have currently been waiting seven weeks for the replacement." Worse, many users mention having battery trouble right at the outset, and not being able to get replacements for free: "when I called about warranty, told me sounded like problem was battery and batteries have no warranty", "battery would not hold a charge. When I talked to customer service they said it has a two year warranty but does not cover the battery."

We find it incredible that, if batteries turn out to be faulty after a small number of months, they do not get replaced under warranty: this is a major issue in American Gardener customer support policy, one which is so significant that it impacts our recommendation as a whole.The Yardstick gets 68% positive ratings with a likely error under 7% (122/179 on Amazon).

The American Gardener Yardstick has shown good quality and functionality and has a long track record, along with reasonably good user reviews. It has excellent battery run time, the Achilles' heel of cordless trimmers. Its nonexistent battery warranty, however, only allows us to recommend it with reservations.

#4 Ryobi P2002. The $120 Ryobi P2002 is a real disappointment, because we had very high expectations of the brand. The Ryobi brand has traditionally been associated with high quality, no compromise, compact yet powerful Japanese-designed and manufactured outdoor tools.

It turns out that Hong Kong-based company Techtronic (which also purchased in the same decade Milwaukee and AEG tool lines from Atlas, Royal and Dirt Devil from Geier, and Homelite from John Deere) purchased the the Ryobi's US subsidiary in 2004. Almost all of Techtronic manufacturing is centralized in mainland China and Indonesia. We were expecting a top quality product with outstanding support. We found a solid product, but abysmal product support: practically no product information on the site, missing product manuals, part cross references, and a phone number...

After spending several hours obtaining phone numbers from their distributors (1.800.525.2579, #2 option, then #5 option to get an operator), we then spent an hour on the phone with good-natured call support operators who unfortunately had practically no access to data, and could not even find out for us battery weight or Ah, because they had no documentation available. Their primary distributor, Home Depot, is also totally lacking literature/ document information. As a result, we are not in possession of some important information on this product: it is remarkable not to be able to get a hold of critical product information after several hours of interactions with a company.

The P2002 is a solid 12", 7.5 lb, 18V Li-Ion cordless trimmer, convertible to an edger by rotating the head/ handle. Unfortunately it includes a hateful auto feed spool design, cordially disliked by most users.  Unusually, Amazon only sells a battery-less, charger-less version, which makes it uneconomical. The P2002 is part of the One+ Ryobi line, which works interchangeably on the same battery and charger format. The Home Depot package includes a compact battery (#P103), probably to minimize weight, but the outcome is that the string trimmer comes with 1.2 Ah only, and a very short autonomy - too bad, as the #P104 battery, for about an extra pound, would have doubled the autonomy of the battery (be careful not to order the P100, an older NiCad battery for the One+ line).

The straight shaft is telescopic, and the handle adjustable, although some users were not able to tighten it enough for it to remain solidly anchored. The trimmer uses single line spools, which we see as a positive in terms of precision and battery power, although it does not cut quite as fast. Users consider the P2002 good for the average size lawn: "It's not going to be ultra-powerful, but for your average lawn, it will get the job done", "run time is only 20-25 minutes",  "my one wish is it had a little more power. It makes it through patches of tall weeds, but only barely."

As usual, users dislike the auto-feed feature: "auto feed [...]now feels more like a gimmick to get me to spend another $20 every few months", "string nightmare." The safety switch has to be held down with some force while trimming, and makes the handling experience a bit unpleasant: " safety switch is an annoyance too in that it has to be held down." The trigger does not make it easy to start, and is difficult to use by people with arthritis: "It is very difficult to push in the white handle, unless you are a good strong man, with long fingers." Several users compared this model with an 18V Black and Decker cordless trimmer, finding it superior in battery run time. The P2002 collects 77% positive ratings (65/84 on Home Depot and Amazon) with a likely error under 9%, and gets a good review from Consumer Guide.

The P2002 is a solid model with good performance and reasonable quality. But, in the end, while the unit gets good reviews, product data and consumer support for Ryobi US is so poor that we can only recommend this model with great reservations. What a pity!

#3 Black and Decker NST2036. The $170 Black and Decker NST2036 is a seriously heavy (11.9 lb) but powerful (36V) 14" trimmer. It uses a straight telescopic shaft with most of the weight concentrated in the handle, making it easier to hold and move. The bump and feed spool (we like that compared to the awful Black and Decker AFS) uses heavy duty 0.080" dual line.

The NST2036 as a whole is a heavy duty machine, only usable by those with a strong back and with serious trimming needs - although weight is relative, and  this cordless trimmer is actually lighter than many gas trimmers: "near gas trimmer power without the noise and without the pollution", "heavy duty trimmer, it has some weight to it", "lots of power, be sure to wear proper [ ] safety glasses and shoes","as powerful as any gas powered trimmer I've used" . It comes with a harness, which is necessary to handle its bulk - although the harness itself could be better: "unit is a bit heavy and a better harness for use would be good, I am using the one from a Husky brush saw","adjustable shoulder strap [is] not very comfortable but a must for older people like me who can't handle the whole weight of it for a long period of time." The trimmer does not convert into an edger.

The NST2036 uses a traditional NiCad 36V battery with 2.4Ah capacity, more than other Black and Decker models, but less than what a serious trimming job typically needs, approximately 15 minutes, more if you run at lower speed. You really need two batteries (an extra battery costs $100) if you have the needs that justify buying this model : "2 batteries are needed","battery life is questionable", "Don't buy this trimmer without purchasing the second (expensive!) battery", "I had to buy another battery [ ] to finish trimming around my four acres."

The trigger is a variable speed trigger, and keeping the power down very significantly boosts battery run time: "learning to control the variable-speed trigger was the trickiest part. I've found that keeping the speed down doubles the time a battery charge lasts. I ordered an extra battery so I can usually work for almost an hour and a half", "You don't need full power all the time and it makes the battery last longer, when your not trimming don't hold the trimmer on like a gas trimmer","battery seems to lasts longer if the trigger is not pulled full on while trimming." The dual charger is very slow, needing 12 hours to finish the job, although, on the other hand, it also seems to be quite safe for the batteries themselves, since we saw few complaints about defective batteries - a very common problem with the 30 minute fast charger of the WorxWG151.

The bulk of the complaints go to the short battery run time, with people complaining of only getting 15 to 20 minutes (which is what the spec calls for). Customer support is good, as tested by ConsumerPla.net. The NST2036 gets the best cordless trimmer ratings from Consumer Reports, albeit still lower than many gas trimmers, although we are not convinced that Consumer Reports properly rates trimmers. The model gathers 66% positive ratings with a likely error under 10% (59/90 from Amazon and Consumer Reports).

The NST2036 is a solid cordless model, probably the closest there is to a gas trimmer, with good engineering and no obvious quality problems. It battery life runs to specs (15 minutes) but probably requires the use of two batteries in most cases, increasing the price to $270 total. The trimmer is heavy for an electric trimmer, and will only work for people with a solid back. It should only by used who actually have a need for all of its power, along with the ability to carry it. We believe that Black and Decker is updating its cordless trimmer line to Li-Ion, and will probably come out with a lower weight version of the NST2036 in the next year. Within these limitations, we heartily recommend the NST2036. 
 

#2 Greenworks 21602. The $180 Greenworks 21602 is a 12", 20V, 7.5 lb curved shaft trimmer powered by a Li-Ion battery with an unusually long run time.

The unusual and remarkable feature of the Greenworks 21602 is definitely its long lasting Li-Ion battery, with a solid 6Ah capacity, a feature only equaled by the Troy Bilt TB57: "Battery lasted over an hour", "long run time of this battery is a real plus (I'd say it is easily the 45 min as advertised)", "I live on a small farm so it gets heavy use. The battery lasts longer than I do", "after trimming just about everything on our 4-acre lot [ ] the battery was still 3/4 charged. Total time out in the field was probably 30 minutes, and roughly 20 minutes of that was actual running time", "20 volt lithium-ion battery is a real performer [ ] I've used this 3 times now and I still haven't re-charged the battery", "trimmed my yard multiple times on the first charge and still have 3/4 battery power remaining." The battery recharges in 4.5 hours on the included charger.

The 20V battery produces enough torque to satisfy the large majority of its users: "plenty of power for my needs ", "if the gas-powered trimmer's "power" was rated a 10, then I'd give this an 8 or 9", "plenty of power for trimming long grass, and my husband has used it a number of times to cut back the weeds in the woods behind us as well", " It has a hard time with some types of tall grass (I'm talking 2.5 to 3 ft "barn grass") [ ] Other types of tall grass (fescue) it handles much better, you just have to go slow. It's dynamite with reasonably length grass and easily handles thick grass up to about 2 feet tall."

The 7.5 lb curved shaft trimmer is comfortable to handle: "light and well balanced", "I was concerned that the battery would feel unbalanced or heavy as I am 5'1", but that is not the case at all. Both my husband (5'10") and I can use it very comfortably", "device is easily balanced and much lighter than my John Deere", "lightweight, powerful." The shaft is not telescopic but the handle can be adjusted up and down. The device converts easily into an edger with a guide wheel: " really like using this as an edger as well. The wheel rolls easily and keeps it at a consistent height so the trimming is even and I don't use up a lot of extra string like I used to trying to hand-hold the old trimmer at an angle", "The start/stop is instant, its so light that I just cruise around trimming and flip the head to the side to do edging", "what surprised me was how good of an edger this trimmer is. A simple button-push and rotation of the trim head and you're in edger function", "so easy to handle and get just the edge and trim you desire." While handling as a whole appears very good, the safety trigger seems to be a bit of a problem to some: "trigger to run it does fatigue my trigger-finger/hand."

The 21602 has a form of auto feed, where it feeds 1/4" of single 0.065" line every time you start it - resulting in significant line consumption when you try to conserve power: "have not had problems using up the string too fast. Since it auto advances each time you start it, the frequency of start/stops could make a big difference", "the auto feed worked great, but if you start and stop a lot, you'll probably burn thru some serious string."

Greenworks provides the best warranty in the industry: 4 years on the trimmer, 1 year on the battery. However, there is a big hic, as customer service has been very poor in terms of quick exchanges: "It won't start (less than a month later) [ ] We called the company [ ] who ultimately said we had to return it to amazon and they'd send a replacement. [ ] When I asked directly, she gave me the phone number of their nearest distributor (more than 1000 miles away), who said they've had the Greenworks account for about a month, and there is nobody anywhere near me who could repair or replace it [ ] The Greenworks website says their goal is customer satisfaction, and we're not very satisfied with their service", "I called the Greenworks warranty number this morning, and the customer service rep was just awful. I got the distinct impression that they didn't want to stand by their warranty. [ ] Then she told me I should take it to a service center and gave me the telephone number of the closest one. When I pointed out that the warranty specifically states that Greenworks will replace the battery at no cost, she reluctantly agreed to send a new battery", "I called the Greenworks number [ ] I was told that someone would call me within an hour for a "resolution." After two days without a call from Greenworks, I called again. This time I was on hold for 15 minutes when I gave up. I never heard from Greenworks after my first call. [ ] My conclusion is that the warranty by Greenworks is worthless." These are very poor evaluations of customer support. At the same time, this product has only been for sale for a few months, Greenworks itself is only a couple of years old, and we can understand that there may be some early ramp-up problems. The Greenworks 21602 has 78% positive ratings with a high likely error of 19% due to low number of reviews (14/18 on Amazon).

The Greenworks 21602 has truly excellent specs, and does very well in the field. The Greenworks warranty is significantly better than that found with the rest of the industry.  It fills the sweet spot for most home owners in a way that has not been met in cordless trimmers so far - we are quite impressed by this product, which appears head and shoulders above other Greenworks products in related fields. Despite the limited number of reviews, the lack of company track record, and the several very poor reports on customer support, we are recommending the product at this time, conditional upon a lengthy discussion that we are planning to have with the company over its customer support practices in the next 2 weeks, after which we will update this review.

#1 Black and Decker LST1018. The $120 Black and Decker LST1018 is a  12", 18V, 6 lb, single 0.065" line trimmer. Its Li-Ion battery charges in 45 minutes to one hour, vs. 8 to 12 hours for traditional cordless NiCad Black and Decker trimmers.

 The LST1018 is destined to eventually replace the best selling NST2018, which it is equivalent to, with the significant exception of the battery: the LST1018's 18V battery is Li-Ion, lowering the device weight to 6 lbs (from 6.8 lbs), with better ability to hold a charge, and a higher number of recharges in the battery's life cycle. What is not changed, however, is the capacity of the battery, which remains at 1.5Ah. What this means is that the LST1018 run time is the same as the NST1018, 24 minutes on the specs, but, in practice (as we saw in our review of the NST1018) more like 15 minutes. The conclusion - you need two of these batteries, rather than one: "battery charge lasts only about 15 minutes cutting time which goes by very quickly", "lucky to get 20-25 minutes before recharge", "Lithium battery does not last any longer than the NiCad battery trimmer [NST1018] that I own from Black & Decker", "battery runs for about 20 minutes", "only negative is that the battery does not last as long as advertised", "big problem is the short battery life. We have an average size yard and I have to stop and recharge the battery at least 4 times to finish the job", "You are lucky to get 20-25 minutes before recharg[ing] it, [you] need [to] buy an extra battery (which is not cheap)", "downside is that the battery charge lasts only about half an hour, but then by that time I need to take a rest anyway", "the first charge only lasted 15 minutes but that's pretty good considering what I had to trim." The need for a second battery ups the price of the LST1018 to about $200, a significant jump. Don't forget to leave your Lithium batteries topped up!

With the 20V battery, the DC motor gives out enough torque for most light duty backyard needs: "It chops right through weeds and even trims shrubs as (if not more)effectively than the gasoline Weed Eater it replaced", "plenty of power for typical suburban yard work. If your looking for heavy duty this is not for you. But, if you are looking for a good trimmer for typical yard work this is a great product", "truly [ ] lightweight but very powerful tool", "handles easily and eats everything in its path, from thin weeds to thick brush." Thanks to Li-Ion technology, there is little or no time on low power, and the battery mostly goes from On to Off when depleted: "shuts down when the battery runs low." It is not quite enough for some users with higher needs: "very weak power as a trimmer and no power as an edger."

The charger is lightning fast, possibly at the cost of future battery health: "battery recharge time is the fastest I have seen", "the battery recharge time is fast. Trim some at the beginning of your yard mowing session until the battery is low, plug the battery into the charger, mow the lawn, come back 45 minute to a hour later and your string trimmer battery is ready to go again. Finish the trimming", "quick charge", "battery charger is also an improvement with a relatively quick recharge", "battery charged fully in 20 or 30 minutes."

Thanks to the optimized design and low weight Li-Ion battery, and with an adjustable handle, the trimmer is really lightweight and maneuverable: "lightweight, cordless, recharges quickly and easy to use", "this weed eater is the lightest", "the fact that it is lightweight and so easy to use is enough for me to make up for the fact I might need to recharge it midway through", "The trimmer is much lighter, easy to maneuver, and has sufficient speed to do a good trim job", "it's a good weight for me, and the adjustable handle allowed me to find a comfortable height. (I'm petite.)", "this thing is light weight. My mother has a pinched nerve in her neck, but I've bought her one of these trimmers because it's so light I'm confident she can use it without straining anything ", "perfect for someone of small stature or who has physical limitations on how heavy a piece of equipment they can handle. Easy, easy, easy to use." The trimmer converts very easily into an edger: "edging feature works great", "quick change head."

As usual, users complain about Black and Decker's awful AFS auto feed technology, but, in the case of the LST1018, quite a few users are actually pleased with it - did the technology change? "Trimmer line feeds out improperly", "never have the string release hassles", "love the automatic cord feeder", "line forwards on its own, no need to bump it." Of course, the model has only been on the market for a few months, and pesky maintenance and operations cost issues might crop up later.

Because the model is recent, we have not seen many complaints about mechanical issues.  The most common complaint, however, is the standard one about cordless outdoor tools, i.e. batteries that do not charge or that do not charge enough: "the bad news is that after 10 minutes of weed-eating, the battery is completely dead. I used it three times with the exact same results. I didn't even get 15 minutes", "Within 10 to 15 minutes, the battery goes completely dead." Normal expectations fort NiCad batteries used on outdoor equipment are two to three years. Lithium batteries can go through more recharge cycles, so we would expect the LST1018 batteries to last more than a couple of seasons - of course, only time will tell. The LST2018 gathers 73% positive ratings, a good number for the category, with a likely error below 13% (35/48 from Amazon, Lowe's, Home Depot).

The NST2018 got excellent reviews if we disregarded AFS issues. The LST1018 improves on it with lower weight, better battery, and more longevity -did the AFS get revved up too? Along with the Greenworks 21602, the Ryobi P2002, the Worx WG151.5 and the Troy Bilt TB57, The LST1018 is one of the first trimmers in the Li-Ion wave to take over the place of old NiCad trimmers in the cordless market. We should see many more coming up  in the next two years. Right now, thanks to its combination of low weight and good usability, the LST1018 is king of the hill:-)

Next we rate cordless trimmers with long run time... So come back soon!

Screening Cordless String Trimmers

Best Electric String Trimmers and Lawn Edgers Review Part 6: Screening cordless string/ line trimmers


As a whole, cordless line trimmers give us reasonable choices to pick from, and the heaviest of them compare well in performance with good quality gas trimmers. The category has improved every year, and keeps on improving. The biggest changes in process are the switch under way from NiCad to Li-Ion batteries, promising longer runtime and lighter weight, and the unfortunate appearance of auto feed features, uniformly disliked by customers, but possibly generating a new profit center for manufacturers.


These models did not make the cut

The Black & Decker CST cordless series includes the CST800, an 8", 6.5 lb trimmer, the  CST1100, a 9", 7 lb trimmer, and the CST1200, a 12", 7 lb trimmer. They are all 12V NiCad, bump and feed (we like that) trimmers. They are somewhat heavy for what they provide. As a whole, the line picks up only 53% positive reviews (29/ 55 across Amazon, Sears, Target).

The Black and Decker  Black and Decker NST1024  is a 13", 8.8 lb trimmer with 24V NiCad power and a 1.7 Ah battery. Black and decker is in the process of swtiching its NST cordless line, which is now NiCad based, to Lithium. The NST1024 is still NiCad powered, and its reviews are middling, picking up 56% positive reviews ( 34/61 from Amazon, Sears, Lowe's) with a likely error below 11%.  

The Craftsman 74815 is a 12", 18V trimmer, seemingly manufactured by Black and Decker as a derivative of their CST cordless line. The 74815 was reviewed by Consumer Reports, and gets mid-range ratings, getting panned for it operation against tall grass and weeds. The 74815 picks up a low 56% positive reviews (30/54 on Consumer Reports and Sears) with a likely error under 13%. 

Sunlawn went into bankruptcy, and left the Sunlawn 9" trimmer, a 12V, 7.1 lb NiCad model, orphaned and without company support. The model has few, mediocre reviews.

The Earthwise OPP00110  is a 10", 12V, 6 lb trimmer. It does not appear to be widely distributed, and has no reviews on line.

The Greenworks 21062 is a lightly distributed NiCad trimmer, in a product line which includes a better distributed and well reviewed Li-Ion model.

The Sun Joe TRJ600C is a 10", 20V trimmer with a straight telescopic shaft. The Li-Ion battery charges on a one-hour quick charger to 1.3Ah - a fairly low amount, but also, unfortunately, typical (that's what most of the Black and Decker models do). The 8.6 lb weight is heavy for the specs of this model. The model converts easily to an edger, and has a handy edging wheel. The instructions for the model are abominably poor, which is often the case. Several users have had bad problems starting up the trimmer after receiving up, possibly due to poor assembly instructions, or to a bad batch of batteries (as discussed by the  support rep). Many units have electrical problems and batteries which do not charge. When the trimmer works, it does a good job for a small yard with average trimming needs - the 20V Li-Ion battery is a good choice, although 1.3Ah is just a bit low to last as long as some larger yards will need. The trimmer gets 58% positive reviews (19/39 at Amazon, Walmart, Sears) with a likely error of 15% or less. We cannot recommend the product at this time due to the high number of electrical issues, but, once the problems due to bad batteries are dealt with, we feel that the product may be worth it - we will adjust our review later if user reviews warrant it.

The Toro 51467 is a small, 8", 12V, 6.4 lb NiCad trimmer  using a 0.065" line, bump and feed spool technology (we like that). Many users complain about significant mechanical and electrical quality issues: "shield will not stay on and the two-piece arms become disconnected", "electrical connection between the two pieces is HORRIBLE"," guard around the trim line will not stay on",  "assume there was a defect in the wiring somewhere but was unable to disassemble it to look." The battery often appears to be having difficulty holding a charge: " [in] a [...] little over one year [...] it already stopped holding its charge", "ran fine as long as it was plugged in. battery doesn't hold a charge", "The battery stopped holding a charge even before I'd used up the string that came with the trimmer. I guess they could advertise that the line never needs replacing", "runs out of power within about 10 minutes." Some users complain that it is not easy to hold despite its small  size: "when it did work, it was a huge strain on your arms for such a small trimmer. I have had gas trimmers that were easier to hold", "cannot be tipped to trim borders while holding all these buttons."  The previous model, 51464, got very poor functional ratings from Consumer Reports. The 51467 carries a 2 year warranty, and gets 67% positive reviews (66/99 from Amazon, Sears  and Home Depot) with a likely error below 10%.

The Troy Built TB55, still for sale, was obsoleted by the TB57.

The Worx GT150, an 18V NiCad trimmer, was superseded by the GT151 Li-ion powered models. The model gets very low ratings from Consumer Reports. It gets 51% positive ratings (132/228 from Amazon, Lowe's, Home Depot, Consumer Reports, Mowers Direct).


Better than most, but still wanting

The $100 Black and Decker NST2018 is the best selling cordless trimmer online.  It is a 12", 6.8 lb model, and comes with two 18V NiCad batteries, each of which worth 1.5Ah, worth 15 to 20 minutes of run time. The trimmer is lightweight and easy to handle, including for women and seniors: "I purchased this to use because I am a recent widow. My husband had a very nice, big gas trimmer that I couldn't pull to start.[ ]  I live on a farm so I have a lot of trimming to do. This trimmer is so nice. [ ] it is self feeding and it is very lightweight. I highly recommend this for any woman who needs to do the yard trimming", "lightweight and easy to maneuver", "lightweight and easy to use. My 10-year old son even feels important in helping with chores thanks to this nice trimmer", "It was too hard for [my wife] to start our gas trimmer and too heavy. This trimmer is lightweight, battery life is great, and it does a great job", "this is a lightweight machine (in weight) and work capability but fits my wife's needs to trim around her flower beds." The trimmer converts easily into an edger, although there are a few complaints about the plastic parts which allow the conversion.

The battery charger takes 8 hours per specs, although some users report higher numbers. The second battery is a must: "you will need to keep multiple batteries on hand", "I've got over 2 acres with planted beds and a meadow. One battery just about makes it through an edging run. So, having two is a must","both batteries are capable of handling my entire yard", "wear one down, plug it in to charge, install the second batter and keep going."

As usual, customers complain about auto feed: "Auto-Feed System (AFS) string feeder uses WAY more line than a bump-feed trimmer. Again, without even having completed my yard ONCE, it has already chewed through a whole 30-foot spool of line", "it feeds too much string at once, and then throws high velocity projectiles (string bits) at the user's legs, if you're lucky", "the twine [ ] vanishes REALLY fast, isn't very cheap--or efficient either."

The worst complaints, however, go to the low run time for the batteries, which often appears to be significantly less than the expected 15 minutes: "I have a very small back yard, just over 1000 SF, and I am not kidding 3 dead batteries and one empty spool of string later, my yard was only half done", "burned through both batteries in about 20 minutes", "it takes about 18 hours for maximum charge, after which, u only get ten minutes of power. Exactly 10 and no more", " each battery lasted around 10 minutes before the power output was so weak it could no longer cut through the weeds", "batteries last about 10 minutes, so if this is an issue stay away from this item." It is clear that the specs call for 15 minutes per battery. Some battery problems, when they occur right after reception of the trimmer, may be explained by some poor battery quality control. It is probable, however, that a good bit of the dissatisfaction comes from the fact that NiCad batteries only have a limited number of recharges in them, and progressively decrease maximum capacity as time the number of recharges go up: "batteries do not hold a charge after repeated use","By the second year I was getting (and this is NO exaggeration) LESS than 3 to 5 minutes from each recharged battery", "so we have now owned it over three years and it can not hold a charge to save its life." In fact, we read numerous reviews of other cordless trimmers where the users referenced the short life of the NST1018's batteries as compared to their newer trimmer.

Customer support is good as tested by ConsumerPla.net. The NST2018 gets middling ratings from Consumer Reports, and 74% positive ratings with a likely error below 4% (459/594 from Amazon, Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot, and Consumer Reports).

The NST1018 is a good lightweight machine, with solid functionality, and good customer support. The fact that it comes with two batteries is excellent. Auto feed, as usual, is a problem. We are concerned about the life expectancy of the batteries, and feel that the newer, Li-Ion powered Black and Decker LST1018 is a better bet for the consumer.

The $75 Earthwise CST00012 is made by American/ Great Lakes, a family-owned company in Indiana which manufactures 50% of the manual reel mowers in the US - the Earthwise product line, however, is manufactured in China. It is a 12", 18V NiCad trimmer with a straight, telescopic shaft. The 8.2 lb weight is high, but not unduly so for a NiCad model (it would be lower for Li-Ion). The trimmer easily converts to an edger by rotating the handle.

Users like the CST00012 for small yards and average trimming needs: "Great for light duty work"," Lightweight, easy to use, good battery life, good general trimmer but not as powerful for heavy stem weeds", "great trimmer. The charge lasts about 30 minutes. It is lightweight and works great." It is not quite powerful enough to deal with heavy Southern grasses: "doesn't have enough power (even when the batteries are fully charged right off the charger) to cut through all the runners that most southern lawns spread by. Although it cuts through the grass blades and some of the smaller runners, I have to go back through and trim at least 1/2 of the runners off with a pruner because the cord doesn't cut through them", "not strong enough to go through tough crabgrass."

The semi-auto feed does not appear to encounter as many objections as Black and Decker's malfunctioning AFS: "semi-auto feed line was a little difficult to operate whereas I had to manually pull string out several times." 

We found phone support to be very good, although the Earthwise site is not yet ready. The model gets  73% positive reviews (24/33 at Amazon, target and Ecomowers) with a high 15% likely error (due to the low number of reviews). We are not ready to recommend this trimmer yet because the product line is new and, to a degree, unproven, because the manufacturer's site is not yet available, and because we feel that a newly introduced model should be using Li-Ion technology. We will monitor user reviews and update our recommendation as needed. 

The $170 Troy Bilt TB57 is a trimmer with killer specs: 12" cut path, 20V Li-Ion fast charge (4 hour) 6Ah (!!!) battery, heavy duty 0.080" diameter line - with only one troubling side, its high 10 lb weight, probably due to the heavy, long lived battery.  Troy Bilt has a reputation for building tough equipment, and a previous corded electric trimmer, the TB50, picked up a high reputation for long lasting quality - why did they ever discontinue it? Their site is one of the few manufacturer sites with user ratings, an outstanding feature which is very customer oriented. It is all the more disappointing to find a problem with this model. The battery is the best part of the trimmer: it lasts a long time, and allows for solid trimming for most lawn jobs, including decent size weeds. The string itself is solid, although the dispensing is not perfect, and one customer suggests replacing it with the titanium professional trimmer line. 

Going through the reviews, it is apparent that usability is a significant issue. The 42"-56" telescopic shaft appears to short for many users: "I found the straight shaft awkward and too short", "arm is too short", "I'm 5' 8" and I find myself crouching down","handling is horrible." The trigger is stiff and hard to keep on while you trim: "after about 15 mins it became painfully apparent that the trigger is way too stiff. My fingers were cramping up." The unfortunate auto feed feature gathers its shares of usual complaints.

What is more worrisome of all is quality and support issues. The switch appears to have a common failure mode, and it is not easy for users to get it taken care of: "I called the manufacturer, and they gave me the name of the closest authorized repair shop, who never called me back", "never heard back from Troy Bilt when I told them about this problem." At this time, the TB57 gathers 56% positive reviews (15/27 at Amazon and Troy Bilt), with a high likely error of  19% due to the low number of reviews. The TB57 is a high price model (due to the excellent battery). The price would be totally justified by a reliable, highly usable machine, but we have a hard time recommending it at this time until the problems with this new model are taken care of.

The $150 Worx GT WG151.5  (the WG151 is a slightly older version) is a lightweight 10", 18V, 5.3 lb trimmer. Its battery system is Li-Ion powered, holds a meager 1.3Ah, and has a blinding fast 30 minute quick charger. The WG1151 is a Li-Ion version of the NiCad powered WG150. Worx also offers two interesting variants of this model, the WG165, a 24V, 10", 5.6 lb version, and the WG166, a 24V, 12", 5.8 lb version: of the three, we would prefer the WG165 (all three models carry the same battery Ah rating). Worx heavily markets its trimmers using well known infomercials. Engineering appears to be in Italy while manufacturing is in China.

The WG151 is lightweight for a cordless trimmer and easy to handle. Many users are quite satisfied with it as a light duty trimmer: "great small house trimmer", "easy to handle and cuts great", "light weight makes the job less taxing", "amazed at how easily this trimmer does my regular trimming." Users also warn that we should not expect heavy duty trimming from it - but no light cordless model should be expected to provide that. Many users report the battery to last 30 minutes, which is a good amount of time for a cordless trimmer, and compare battery runtime favorably to the Black and Decker NST2018. The trimmer easily converts into an edger: "works great as an edger as well", "edges great and easily switches back to the trimmer."

As usual, people dislike the unfortunate auto feed feature, which uses small spools of single end 0.065" line: "goes thru line like mad, will sometimes use a whole roll of line in one day", "feed is difficult", "my fourth reel in less than two months." Customers reports significant numbers of mechanical breakdowns, but the most frequent issue is a battery that stops charging, probably due to the fast charger: "after a little more than a month and a half the unit quit [...] defective battery", "with a fully charged battery, it lasted all of 15 seconds", "battery failed after one month's use", "the battery is shot", "got two batteries and one of them has already stopped charging." 

The darkest stain on this model, however, is the quality of the company's customer service: "don't ever get involved with their customer service", "I've been struggling for nearly two weeks getting the warranty honored", "I have tried to contact Customer Service to have them replace the battery, but so far have not been able to make contact with anyone", " if for any reason you have a need to invoke a warranty claim on the trimmer, charger, or battery, plan on having at least a free half hour to wait on the phone for a customer service representative. Customer service is only available during a traditional work-hour week. This means if something goes wrong you better be mindful of the anniversary date of your purchase and give calling the Worx customer service your highest priority in your schedule. The email access is unreliable because it seems Worx has only one person responding. If she is out of the office, you will get an automated reply email instructing you to use the phone system." To add insult to injury, it appears that some customer support people at Worx are quite abusive: "if you submit a comment online some nasty person berates you instead of offering help." The WG151 gathers 67% positive reviews (161/239 from Amazon, Lowe, Consumer Reports and Mowers Direct), with a likely error under 6%.

Altogether, the WG151 is a light and handy cordless trimmer, with some quality problems, and very poor customer support. The quality problems experienced by this trimmer do not appear to be totally out of line with respect to its competition, but the relative high price does not make the WG151 a one season throw-away candidate. We cannot recommend this model due to the very poor customer support evidenced by the many complaints.

Next we rank the best cordless string trimmers... So come back soon!