[Turf Tracer]

Great. We work 6-8hr days. Probably 60-70 min or more on string on one trimmer. So the batt at WOT lasts 12 min.

fine in July Aug when you don’t need WOT but that’s it.

sure I will just plug it into my car, have a snack and away I go. Lol.

 

[Hurryupelectric]

When using only my Greenworks powerhead I string trim and stick edge 9-5 on a closed charging system. This is with one 2.5ah battery. One 100ah 12v and 1kw inverter does the job. I’m very close to installing a mppt solar/alternator charge controller which would possibly allow the 100ah slave to rarely need to get charged in the garage. I’m never stalled because of charging needs.

The summer rainy season is our tough growth period.

 

[Turf Tracer]

Part of the reason you kids think batt trimmers have decent enough runtimes is that you are running 5ah plus batts on them. Only the 2ah or 2.5ah batts on these units come close to the power to weight ratio of gas. I am not prepared to lug extra weight for the environment.

I carry 2x 2ah batts per trimmer but use them only for light duty mow/blows.in July/Aug

 

[EricC]

I have a polesaw and extension I can sell you, cheap. Ego brand.
It’s a little bent lol

 

[Hurryupelectric]

I only run battery because it’s nicer not using noisy 2cyl equipment. Just to clarify, the Ryobi with 4ah and Greenworks with 2.5 ah are pretty darn light and both plenty strong for most of the rainy summer growth here. It’s a shame the Ryobi overheats, still my favorite for it’s weight to power ratio. Neither would last one account in an employee’s hands though, but they are super light.

The ego powerhead only comes out/will come out for very particular situations requiring as much strength as I can find in my collection. I don’t find myself reaching for the ego often. It’s friggin heavy for sure but I already own it and it does what’s asked of it and doesn’t complain, with a 5ah that is. I like using the ego by far the least. It’s heavy, the trigger and response is like a bull in a China shop, stupid safety, and I hate it’s edger attachment.

There’s two months here where I need a brutish string trimmer, on a small number of accounts. It’s either the Greenworks 80v for 80% or ego for the rest. I very well might go back to the Ryobi once it’s regularly below the 90’s here and the rain starts to chill out.

This thread and more specifically my recent amendment is about what battery trimmers can do and my opinion/experience on a few residential models in tougher conditions. Top cc commercial gas unit is very very likely the best choice for an aggressive growing season. I just happen to be heavily invested financially and mentally in an effective battery infrastructure. To buy a gas unit for 2 months because it’s a little bit lighter in my hands doesn’t make sense to me at this point.

 

[Hurryupelectric]

Part of the reason you kids think batt trimmers have decent enough runtimes is that you are running 5ah plus batts on them.

If you’re under 60 I don’t believe my 40 year old arse is much of a kid turf. Although I must admit that I’m flattered that you find my appearance so youthful and vibrant 😘

 

[Turf Tracer]

Nothing wrong with playing with the batt units but every legit LCO should have at least one gas trimmer.

 

[Scott87]

I only run battery because it’s nicer not using noisy 2cyl equipment. Just to clarify, the Ryobi with 4ah and Greenworks with 2.5 ah are pretty darn light and both plenty strong for most of the rainy summer growth here. It’s a shame the Ryobi overheats, still my favorite for it’s weight to power ratio. Neither would last one account in an employee’s hands though, but they are super light.

The ego powerhead only comes out/will come out for very particular situations requiring as much strength as I can find in my collection. I don’t find myself reaching for the ego often. It’s friggin heavy for sure but I already own it and it does what’s asked of it and doesn’t complain, with a 5ah that is. I like using the ego by far the least. It’s heavy, the trigger and response is like a bull in a China shop, stupid safety, and I hate it’s edger attachment.

There’s two months here where I need a brutish string trimmer, on a small number of accounts. It’s either the Greenworks 80v for 80% or ego for the rest. I very well might go back to the Ryobi once it’s regularly below the 90’s here and the rain starts to chill out.

This thread and more specifically my recent amendment is about what battery trimmers can do and my opinion/experience on a few residential models in tougher conditions. Top cc commercial gas unit is very very likely the best choice for an aggressive growing season. I just happen to be heavily invested financially and mentally in an effective battery infrastructure. To buy a gas unit for 2 months because it’s a little bit lighter in my hands doesn’t make sense to me at this point.

Man that Ryobi trimmer has to be worn out by now. Get a new one and hang the old one on the wall with pride.

 

[HenryN]

I just picked up a new toy earlier this evening from Facebook marketplace. I bought a 40V Ryobi string trimmer (the better brushless unit), like new in the original box with battery and charger. Turns out the guy had a 2nd unit, same condition, but the cheaper model with brushes. And a third battery. Total out the door was $215. This gives me 3 batteries (4 Ah), 2 chargers, 1 brushless string trimmer, and another for spare parts. The guy buys pallet loads of unclaimed freight, and he recently came into a bunch of Ryobi equipment.

And there’s a woman on Facebook marketplace advertising a new (as in brand new, unused) 525L for $200. I may pick that up tomorrow as well. That is, if the cops don’t pick her up first! (smile)

 

[Hurryupelectric]

Let us know your thoughts on it’s abilities. I recommended it on an electric operator Facebook page and the dude said it was definitely surprisingly strong.

 

[HenryN]

I just opened up the boxes and checked on what I have here. (Ryobi 40V string trimmer, see post #69, 2 up from here.) The brushless model was missing the guard (which I do use), but there was one in the box with the non-brushless, so that’s okay. The better model comes with a rapid charger, complete with fan, much like my Ego. The cheaper model has a really light weight rinky-dink charger, no fan, and will probably take much longer to charge. Same battery though.

The included manual says to store the battery at 30 to 50% charge (Ego recommends 30% for their batteries). The manual for the Ego battery / charger says that it will automatically discharge the battery to 30% after 30 days of non-use. To bring back to full capacity, simply disconnect and reconnect. Which seems to be true, as I have gone into the garage after a power failure and the Ego chargers were all running. The Ryobi charger does not seem to have that ability, so for longer term storage (over the winter), you will need to partially discharge the battery before storing.

Initial impressions of the trimmer head are good, this is a speed-feed type of head. The instructions say max of 10 feet, max of 0.80 trimmer line. The Ego, by comparison, says 18 feet and 0.95 trimmer line. I have run Black Diamond 1.05 trimmer line in the Ego, but normally just load it with 15 feet of the BD 0.95 line. I will try the Ryobi with BD 0.95 and post later with my impressions.

 

[Hurryupelectric]

The brushless Ryobi will run a good bit of .105 line. I’ve been running 20” of 95 at times with the brushless Ryobi and it’s pretty strong with it. This is with the motor reversed so you might get a little better performance normal if the motor has optimized timing. Yes it’ll pull more juice but for me it’s not a problem. Glad someone is trying this to give a opinion besides me. 👍🏼

 

[Hurryupelectric]

complete with fan, much like my Ego

Depending on the ego charger it probably pulls air through the battery. I wish Ryobi did this because once a battery is hot there’s no way to cool it. Running a bunch of line out for a long time, the battery will heat up if already hot from summer temperatures.

 

[HenryN]

I know for a fact the Ego charger pulls air through the battery, there is a video on Youtube showing a disassembly of an Ego battery. I suspect the bigger Ryobi charger does the same, it is definitely running a fan, sounds just like the Ego. I tried the Ryobi, first with the .80 line that it came with. Trimmed San Augustine just fine. Tall weeds, not so good. Reloaded with .95 BD line, and it seemed to cut the tall weeds very similar to what the Ego does. Two differences:

1) Those tall weeds kept getting wrapped around the head, in between the head and the base of the shaft, if that makes sense. I had to stop several times and cut out the weeds from around / underneath / behind the head. The Ego doesn't do that, or at least not nearly as much.

2) the trimmer was "grabbing" onto the weeds and jerking to the right. I've never really noticed that on the Ego.

Overall, the strength or cutting ability in tall weeds seemed pretty much the same. On cutting normal San Augustine, no difference at all. If anything, the Ryobi felt a little more balanced in my hands. I'm not used to the trigger, but I suspect I will get used to that quickly.

 

[Hurryupelectric]

1) Those tall weeds kept getting wrapped around the head, in between the head and the base of the shaft, if that makes sense. I had to stop several times and cut out the weeds from around / underneath / behind the head. The Ego doesn't do that, or at least not nearly as much

I actually swapped the ego trimmer head on my generic long shaft.

 

[Hurryupelectric]

I’ll add that I haven’t had any problems wrapping tall stuff around the Ryobi head, I just like the ego head much better and it screws right on.

 

[HenryN]

I mentioned (up above) that I had spotted on Facebook marketplace a new Husqvarna 525L for $200. That one was 45 minutes away, and this afternoon I spotted yet another new 525L, for $240, and only 20 minutes away. I reached out and offered $200, and my offer was immediately accepted. The unit was not in the box but obviously brand new, never been fueled or started. I spent a few minutes playing with that this afternoon, and I am impressed. A lot of power in a very light package.

But back to the subject at hand. The Ego 56V string trimmer and the Ryobi 40V brushless string trimmer both retail locally for $199. And I really don't see a whole lot to chose between. The Ego is 56V at 2.5 Ah, 140 whatever that is (watt hours?). The Ryobi is 40V at 4.0 Ah, 160 watt hours. The Ryobi will take attachments, the Ego won't. They both have a lot of different tools that will use the same batteries, chain saws, leaf blowers, etc. On straight grass trimming, the Ryobi feels slightly more balanced. In tall weeds, the Ryobi was getting jammed up with the tall weeds wrapped around the head. They both had plenty of power to tackle the tall weeds.

Both manufacturers have very high list prices on their batteries. But right now, there is a whole bunch of Ryobi equipment (including batteries and chargers) on sale locally at very reduced prices. Not in the box stores, on Facebook and Craigslist. Ego batteries are not easily found, and not cheap when you do find them.