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Best battery string trimmer to replace my Stihl KM90

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#21 ·
DA Quality Lawn & YS said:
Got to an Echo dealer today. Home Depot not carrying battery Echo trimmers anymore....anyway he STRONGLY steered me away from attempting to use either Echo battery unit as daily user on a lawn trailer. Battery life aside, he said they just wont last. Said he had a couple municipalities try to go battery because they were directed to 'go green', and they burned up the electric motors pretty quick.

I did like the feel of both units, with the motor-on-head unit a little head heavy with the 2amp/hr battery (maybe would be balanced very nicely with the 4 amp/hr battery IDK.

I really wanted to get a battery unit on the trailer this year, paired with a gas, but maybe still a year or two too early? I don't want to be a guinea pig....
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Really not a guinea pig.....more like late to the party :). 3 years nearly full time on Ego handhelds.....zero tool failures (as long as you don't count the stupid mod I did too not one but two powerhead units). I did have some issues with a run of batteries. I run guard off, .095 vortex line with a couple inches or so extra stick out and no burned up motors.

Jeremy
 
#25 ·
Bought a Milwaukee last spring. Has it's uses and downfalls. It's light and quick for general to light trimming. Maybe 45 minutes with the 9 amp battery. Where it really shines is large yards where we throw the trimmer on our lap and jump off to trim around piles, signs, anything father away to avoid a lot of walking. Jump off and hit the button and you're trimming. No pull starting so it saves that time. I've already trimmed small sign posts from the seat of the mower. Don't plan to trim a long chain link fences. It'll do it but burn your batteries quick. They have a 12 and battery now. No experience with other brands. Wanted to try one out and we already had a bunch of Milwaukee stuff so we didn't have to invest in batteries and chargers just to find out it didn't work for us. I would buy again. It's nice to have one on the truck but I wouldn't run a truck without a gas unit at this time.
 
#26 ·
I have a few of the Kobalt 40v's from Lowe's. Run-time is pretty good. Could get through 3-4 yards for sure on the 4 ah battery. The 4 or 5 ah batteries don't weigh any more than the 2.5 ah batteries, must just be better cells in them.

Downside is that it doesn't accomodate a speed feed head, and the one that Kobalt puts on it sucks. Great little chainsaw though. Seriously thinking about getting one of the 40v push mowers to go with it.
 
#29 ·
Frankly, I often wondered what the advantage of a battery trimmer is. They are not lighter than the lightweight commercial gas models. They are not more powerful than the higher-power commercial gas models. They cannot run for extended periods. They require purchasing extra batteries. Eventually, those batteries cannot hold a charge as well and must be replaced. For me, I'll stick with gas.
 
#30 ·
Possible advantages:
Quieter, cheaper to run over time, perhaps/probably less maintenance issues.

I'm not ready to even try a rechargeable trimmer yet, but getting more interested as the tech level increases.
 
#31 ·
DA Quality Lawn & YS said:
Looked at two Ego models today. One had a carbon fiber shaft, the other a regular aluminum shaft. Thoughts on durability?
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I've been riding carbon mountain bikes for about 7-8 years and never had a problem it (carbon) was a little nerve wracking at first but if properly done it should be a lot stronger and dampen a lot of the vibrations.

I'd say go for the carbon!

Best,

~TW
 
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#32 ·
Valk said:
Possible advantages:
Quieter, cheaper to run over time, perhaps/probably less maintenance issues.

I'm not ready to even try a rechargeable trimmer yet, but getting more interested as the tech level increases.
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Quieter...maybe. Just doing normal trimming, a use a 4-stroke Honda not too much above idle. Its pretty darn quiet. I always wear ear protection with the built in radio, so its not an issue. Might be for some. I'm not sure about cheaper to run over time...those batteries are often $200 each. Two of those batteries is $400. I could fuel my trimmer for a very long time with $400. As for maintenance, I don't do much. On the Honda trimmers, I change the oil once a season. No filter, just a tiny amount of oil.
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
I looked seriously into battery models, with the Ego and Echo lines being top choices. Ultimately, going to just buy an Echo gasser this season and maybe revisit again next year.
 
#34 ·
troverman said:
Quieter...maybe. Just doing normal trimming, a use a 4-stroke Honda not too much above idle. Its pretty darn quiet. I always wear ear protection with the built in radio, so its not an issue. Might be for some. I'm not sure about cheaper to run over time...those batteries are often $200 each. Two of those batteries is $400. I could fuel my trimmer for a very long time with $400. As for maintenance, I don't do much. On the Honda trimmers, I change the oil once a season. No filter, just a tiny amount of oil.
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Electric has near zero starting issues, which is the most irritating problem w/ gas when it occurs.
Noise: I was thinking more along the lines of what customers and folks nearby may perceive. Obviously no stanky emissions, unlike a 2-stroke.
I, too, have a Honda trimmer (35cc). It is FAR quieter and smoother than 2-strokes. But, it's a heavy beast at ~15 lbs.

I'll consider a rechargeable trimmer when it can more closely match my latest Maruyama B30L's 30cc power. This thing is nearly as potent as the above Honda, but under 12 lbs.
 
#35 ·
Valk said:
Electric has near zero starting issues, which is the most irritating problem w/ gas when it occurs.
Noise: I was thinking more along the lines of what customers and folks nearby may perceive. Obviously no stanky emissions, unlike a 2-stroke.
I, too, have a Honda trimmer (35cc). It is FAR quieter and smoother than 2-strokes. But, it's a heavy beast at ~15 lbs.

I'll consider a rechargeable trimmer when it can more closely match my latest Maruyama B30L's 30cc power. This thing is nearly as potent as the above Honda, but under 12 lbs.
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Maybe I'm fortunate...no big starting issues for my trimmers. The downside of the Honda trimmers are their weight and low power output. On the upside, they start well, idle extremely smoothly and quietly, produce less emissions, and use considerably less fuel.

I have a variety of trimming needs...reservoir edges with long distances and thick growth...right down to normal residential or commercial trimming. My current fleet:

Husqvarna 535 (2x)
Husqvarna 525 (2x)
Husqvarna 324LDx split shaft with 25cc 4-stoke Honda engine
Honda 25cc trimmer
Honda 35cc trimmer
Stihl KM-131R split shaft

This gives me all the options my crew and I need.
 
#36 ·
DA Quality Lawn & YS said:
I looked seriously into battery models, with the Ego and Echo lines being top choices. Ultimately, going to just buy an Echo gasser this season and maybe revisit again next year.
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DA have you been over to Miner's in Blooming Prairie? He carries Husqvarna and Stihl. Take a gander on over and he'll let you throw batteries in each brand and let you run them. Just a FYI if you want to test drive them.

Also if your older handheld machines need parts, bring them with you. He has an extremely large "graveyard" of handheld and other machines sitting around in a warehouse. He'll let you rummage through them and find what you need. Bring your own tool kit and goto town. He is a fabulous dealer.
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
sagesove said:
DA have you been over to Miner's in Blooming Prairie? He carries Husqvarna and Stihl. Take a gander on over and he'll let you throw batteries in each brand and let you run them. Just a FYI if you want to test drive them.

Also if your older handheld machines need parts, bring them with you. He has an extremely large "graveyard" of handheld and other machines sitting around in a warehouse. He'll let you rummage through them and find what you need. Bring your own tool kit and goto town. He is a fabulous dealer.
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I get the Miners ads...sounds like a great dealer. I will check him out someday. I do have a Husky dealer 1 mile away as well as Stihl.....but the Sthil guy gives no emphasis on getting the commercial guy in out and gone, and they never have parts on hand.
 
#38 ·
Coming from Stewyville, just take a left before you get to your dealer on the hill, and take a nice backwoods drive down to Miner's.:dancing: I like the dealer up on the hill next to the airport. But, we really like the Ferris machines now. The dealer In Hastings is pheneominal as well to us and a much larger outfit. We went away from Scag to Ferris, although we kept our 2 walk behind Pro-v's as permanent backups.
 
Discussion starter · #39 ·
sagesove said:
Coming from Stewyville, just take a left before you get to your dealer on the hill, and take a nice backwoods drive down to Miner's.:dancing: I like the dealer up on the hill next to the airport. But, we really like the Ferris machines now. The dealer In Hastings is pheneominal as well to us and a much larger outfit. We went away from Scag to Ferris, although we kept our 2 walk behind Pro-v's as permanent backups.
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Ya Blooming is a bit far to go but if I pass through the area ill take a gander. Billy is decent at Hilltop, I have a Scag stand on but went Deere Z and couldn't be happier. Surprised you prefer Ferris to Scag Z's. Ferris's deck cant compare to Scags (or Deeres), but if you are in for the comfort then wise choice.
 
#40 ·
troverman said:
Frankly, I often wondered what the advantage of a battery trimmer is. They are not lighter than the lightweight commercial gas models. They are not more powerful than the higher-power commercial gas models. They cannot run for extended periods. They require purchasing extra batteries. Eventually, those batteries cannot hold a charge as well and must be replaced. For me, I'll stick with gas.
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Gas won't be around for too many years to come in the future. The advantages of battery to gas are; less maintenance, quieter for your customers, no fumes to breath in for the user, no fumes for your customers around their house, and the batteries for each company are generally compatible with that companies other battery powered tools. I personally have the Dewalt 60v Flexvolt string trimmer. I bought it as a start up tool for my all electric company. It's not too bad, but I'd prefer to go more commercial when I upgrade. I'm looking toward the Stihl KMS 130 with the AR 3000 backpack battery. That's the Kombi system, but with a battery powered head. Run times on the string trimmer are varied due to which output level that you have it set to. The lowest setting will get you 180 mins of runtime, medium setting will get you 110 mins of runtime, and the highest setting will get you 90 mins of runtime. That high setting has a max rpm of about 8,500rpm, that's gas power. This is also only really the beginning of commercial grade battery equipment. Might as well make the switch before they're all banned. Backpack blowers are already in the process of being banned throughout the US. Stihl also has a blower that hooks up to that battery backpack that blows 188mph, gas power, and a whole lot lighter.
 
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