Cordless Lawn and Garden Tools

[Dave Fritz]

We've switched to mostly cordless outdoor tools as we get older. Pulling starting ropes is out of the question. To be efficent we try to stay with the same brand and battery power so they're interchangeable. To date we've had a Stihl string trimmer and chainsaw. The trimmer gears went out and fixing it was more than a new one. The Stihl saw works great. We then got a Greenworks hedge trimmer, string trimmer, and pole saw. The battery is really hard to get out of the charger and the tools, needing a tap with a rubber hammer. The hedge trimmer is growling so it won't be long. No response from Greenworks customer service after two trys. My question is, is there a battery operated tool company you use and have a good experience with?

[David Lageman]

Because my garage is filled with DeWalt tools, I ended up switching to their line of cordless lawn equipment. Thus far, I have the large leaf blower, the string trimmer and the chain saw. I actually like all of them a lot and will end up picking up the edger once it becomes available on a regular basis. In the spirit of full disclosure, the only reason I went with DeWalt is because that is the battery platform I already had, so there may be better options out there, maybe just not yellow in color.

[Bert McMahan]

I'm a big fan of my Milwaukee weedeater (with hedge trimmer attachment) and leaf blower. The electric chainsaw seems to work great so far too but I don't need a chainsaw too often. I don't have a giant lawn, but I can usually trim the whole thing and trim all of my hedges on a single charge with enough left over to blow off the driveway. I've never felt it to be underpowered. I don't live on a farm or anything though.

[George Yetka]

I bought milwaukees line. Have chainsaw, string trimmer(this is interchangeable with a pole saw, pole hedge trimmer) I got both of those as well as their blower.

The chainsaw is crazy fast. Faster than the stihl 251 I had. Its fast because the bar and chain are narrow and turn a bit faster then the gas saws. I had a 28" tree fall at the back of my property and with 1 8ah battery I got though it 9 times with battery to spare. with the smaller stuff I would go out with 1 battery and by the time it was dead I was too.

The blower is a bit underpowered but most cordless give you about the same.

The trimmer is great as well as the attachments

I dont know my own lawn I have a service, but they are more there for the 3 acres. They do a quick wacking and blowing but wont go near beds or walkways so I have my own stuff for that.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I picked up a Makita 18V string trimmer because I've transitioned to all Makita because of the batteries.
It's only so-so.
The 36V (takes two 18V) would have been a better choice, but, really, really expensive.

[Edward Weber]

I've been using the Ryobi 40v for several years. String trimmer mostly, occasional hedge trimmer. Both work well, not quite as much power as gas but pretty good. For me, the ease and noise level outweigh any lack of power there may be.The string trimmer power head works with all the quick link type attachments so when I changed over I was able to use most of my attachments. There's also a home Depot around every corner if you need something, that might be a selling point for some.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Ego. Clearly a more refined, premium product than the other options.

[Jim Becker]

I'm using more and more battery powered outdoor tools. Believe it or not, I opted for Baur from HFT because I already had batteries for my impact driver, so the blower, weed wacker, small trim chain saw, etc., were purchased for convenience. They work surprisingly well. But my needs are not "heavy duty", especially with the new property. The same battery is used for the little circular saw I recently bought to use for convenience at my storage unit and elsewhere for breaking down material.

If I were a heavy user, I certainly would have opted for a heavier duty, brand-name tool family, however.

[Lee Schierer]

I have two Ryobi L&G tools, a hedge trimmer and a string trimmer, both 40 volt. I've had the string trimmer for a couple of years and I am pleased with it. I just purchased the hedge trimmer, which is a brushless tool and it is impressive. The battery lasts a long time and the trimmer will cut anything up to 1", though it tends to gnaw through bigger pieces since the teeth move too rapidly for the larger pieces to get into the openings. The string trimmer can vibration weld the string together if you operate it at full speed. spraying silicone on the string helps. Mine converts to an edge trimmer and it does a good job of light lawn edging. I've found that after market string lasts much longer than the string that Ryobi sells. I now have two 40 volt tools and two interchangeable batteries.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I made this switch about 6 weeks ago, bought the EGO self propelled walk behind lawn mower, weed whacker, lawn edger, chain saw, pole saw.

For the edger and pole saw, I bought the multi head unit. Should have done this initially when I bought the weed whacker.

Although the lawn mower is self propelled, my lot is mostly flat and the lawn mower is so light, I mostly just push it and I'm a 160lb weakling.

The weed whacker has a self loading head, which so far, I've found the easiest to load and also the best at feeding new line out. Although the staple spoil if line is pretty weak compared to the commercial line I normally use.

Bought everything from local Ace hardware, but Lowes has a pretty good selection as well.

Very happy with the quality and ease of use.

[Doug Dawson]

We've switched to mostly cordless outdoor tools as we get older. Pulling starting ropes is out of the question. To be efficent we try to stay with the same brand and battery power so they're interchangeable. To date we've had a Stihl string trimmer and chainsaw. The trimmer gears went out and fixing it was more than a new one. The Stihl saw works great. We then got a Greenworks hedge trimmer, string trimmer, and pole saw. The battery is really hard to get out of the charger and the tools, needing a tap with a rubber hammer. The hedge trimmer is growling so it won't be long. No response from Greenworks customer service after two trys. My question is, is there a battery operated tool company you use and have a good experience with?I remain to be convinced that any battery-operated mower can mulch as well as my Toro Super Recycler. If somebody can demonstrate otherwise, be my guest.

The same goes with blowers, gas is the rule, battery is lame in comparison.

I do have a good complement of battery-operated (outdoor) tools, the various Milwaukee chain saws are sweet (torque rules.) My wife claims that their other outdoor implements are heavy and overpowered. I somewhat disagree. A bit heavier than the gas equivalents, I’ll grant that.

FWIW, if pulling a cord is an issue, that might only be the start of some difficulties, depending on other aspects of how the tool behaves, no matter what direction you go in.

[Dave Fritz]

It looks like the shortage of lithium has impacted the market. Seems the tool is available without the battery.

[Doug Dawson]

It looks like the shortage of lithium has impacted the market. Seems the tool is available without the battery.
In particular with Milwaukee, the batteries are so spendy, that if you catch them at the right time, the tool is effectively free. And so it goes.

[Tom M King]

Really liking the Ryobi 18v pole saw. It breaks down into three pieces, so it can stay in the toolbox on the truck. Last night, I shopped at the Home Depot site for another battery. One battery was $89, but they had several other combinations. I went with two 4 ah batteries, and a "free" leaf blower for $99.

I have the Stihl homeowner version of hedge trimmers, with the built in battery. I has three different safety switches that were pretty tiring, and aggravating to all operate at the same time, so I disabled all of them with metal duct tape, so it will operate when I pull the trigger. I have a long handled 2-stroke Stihl one, but this little one does fine on Boxwood, and Azalea bushes that can be easily reached. I doubt the built in battery lasts anything like as long as the heavy ones, but even this can do all the work I need to do on one charge.

[Alan Rutherford]

Ryobi 40v chainsaw, weedeater (string + blade), hedge trimmer and leaf blower. The chainsaw uses too much oil and is a little wimpy compared to a Stihl MS180, which is a small gas chainsaw. I usually use it anyway because for most of the things I do it's good enough and more convenient. The others are excellent.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I remain to be convinced that any battery-operated mower can mulch as well as my Toro Super Recycler. If somebody can demonstrate otherwise, be my guest.

The same goes with blowers, gas is the rule, battery is lame in comparison..

The newer brushless battery blowers are pretty impressive. As a comparison, the highest-end Stihl "professional" non-backpack blower claims 444 CFM. All the battery models by Ego do significantly more CFM (one does 650CFM). I suppose if you were a professional landscaper, the battery runtime would be an issue, though. But for a homeowner, it wouldn't.

[Doug Dawson]

The newer brushless battery blowers are pretty impressive. As a comparison, the highest-end Stihl "professional" non-backpack blower claims 444 CFM. All the battery models by Ego do significantly more CFM (one does 650CFM). I suppose if you were a professional landscaper, the battery runtime would be an issue, though. But for a homeowner, it wouldn't.
Some of them may be. I’ve tried a few and they haven’t been. You have both CFM and MPH and they both matter, and there’s something else about gas blowers that just seems more ballsy, somehow. I have Hitachi and Echo gas blowers and they both perform great and start every time, so I don’t feel like carrying around a heavy Lithium ion battery for a problem that doesn’t exist. They’ve already perfected lightweight gas motors.

[Scott Clausen]

I went with Ryobi 40V for no particular reason. So happy I won't cut the cord on the hedge trimmer anymore. Added a weed eater after the old shaft broke. It's nice not having the noise to deal with. I chain saw is soon to join them.

[Brian Elfert]

I use Ego. I haven't paid full price for any of it. There is a store locally that sell Home Depot returns. I managed to buy the stuff with batteries and chargers really cheap. Some of it had obviously never been used. Unfortunately, they had so much volume of Ego stuff that they started sending the Ego stuff to auction. The little bit of Ego stuff they get now they remove the batteries and sell them separately.

I can't stand the Ego straight shaft string trimmers. I am 6'-2" tall and the shaft just isn't long enough. I still use my Stihl curved shaft string trimmer.

[Alex Zeller]

I was in the Makita camp until I started having problems with their drills. So I switched to Milwaukee. Over all I'm happy. My neighbor got both their chainsaw and trimmer. The chainsaw is nice but it would be just a saw for limbing as the stuff I have around the house requires a good size saw. The trimmer worked ok. I borrowed it so the wife could try it. But I have a Honda that even a small child could start and it's not much noisier so I couldn't see spending the money. Their blower is at the top of the list to buy. If Milwaukee comes out with a pole saw I probably would get it.

[Doug Dawson]

I was in the Makita camp until I started having problems with their drills. So I switched to Milwaukee. Over all I'm happy. My neighbor got both their chainsaw and trimmer. The chainsaw is nice but it would be just a saw for limbing as the stuff I have around the house requires a good size saw. The trimmer worked ok. I borrowed it so the wife could try it. But I have a Honda that even a small child could start and it's not much noisier so I couldn't see spending the money. Their blower is at the top of the list to buy. If Milwaukee comes out with a pole saw I probably would get it.Milwaukee has a pole saw, it’s part of their QuikLok system (I have one and it works well.)

BTW, the Milwaukee 16” chainsaw is sensitive to what battery you use in it. Some people might think they can get the bare tool and use their existing M18 batteries in it. The _kit_ OTOH comes with a 12ah HO battery, which the saw really needs to perform well (and it does,) and is a much better deal. Until recently, you could get a package deal with the kit where they would throw in an 8ah HO battery for free (presumably as a backup.)

[Brian Elfert]

BTW, the Milwaukee 16” chainsaw is sensitive to what battery you use in it. Some people might think they can get the bare tool and use their existing M18 batteries in it. The _kit_ OTOH comes with a 12ah HO battery, which the saw really needs to perform well (and it does,) and is a much better deal. Until recently, you could get a package deal with the kit where they would throw in an 8ah HO battery for free (presumably as a backup.)

I have an EGO chainsaw and the unit was shutting down due to overload. I was only using a 2.0 or 2.5 amp battery and it was supposed to use a larger battery. The issues have been less since I got the bigger battery.

[Doug Dawson]

Milwaukee has a pole saw, it’s part of their QuikLok system (I have one and it works well.)

PS: If you get their pole saw, you’ll want to get the extension with it. The _strap_, which IMO the whole system needs, is included with the extension, which you might otherwise be tempted to buy separately, at some expense. Good to know (it is not documented.)

[Rod Sheridan]

All my garden tools are cordless except for the trimmer, it plugs I’m.

My lawnmower is a push reel mower, does a great job, is quiet, no cords or batteries.

Regards, Rod.

[Tom M King]

Not cordless, but this thing is POWERFUL. I think something like 725cfm, at 140 mph. I keep a 14ga., 100 foot long cord zip tied to it, so it can't separate. That cord is not that hard to flip around, and it can be run for half a day without worrying about charging a battery.

Between the 13hp Billy Goat blower on wheels, and this, that's all we need. I've stopped using the backpack blowers because this thing does just as good.

You do have to be fairly strong to keep it going wide open for a while. For someone with a half acre lot, this would probably be all you need, and at less than the cost of a big battery.

https://www.amazon.com/TORO-PowerJet-Electric-Handheld-Blower/dp/B07VVDYYBF/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=toro+blower&qid=1626383314&sr=8-15

[Roger Feeley]

I remain to be convinced that any battery-operated mower can mulch as well as my Toro Super Recycler. If somebody can demonstrate otherwise, be my guest.

The same goes with blowers, gas is the rule, battery is lame in comparison.

I do have a good complement of battery-operated (outdoor) tools, the various Milwaukee chain saws are sweet (torque rules.) My wife claims that their other outdoor implements are heavy and overpowered. I somewhat disagree. A bit heavier than the gas equivalents, I’ll grant that.

FWIW, if pulling a cord is an issue, that might only be the start of some difficulties, depending on other aspects of how the tool behaves, no matter what direction you go in.

I mostly detest gas engines. I just don’t use them often enough. The gas’s goes bad and…. I have a car and a lawn tractor that doubles as a snow blower. Everything else is Ryobi One for lawn stuff and Dewalt for tools. I freely admit that I’m trading away power but I love not having to deal with a bunch of motors that don’t work (had a 2-stroke snow blower that only worked in warm weather).

if I used things every day, I would have gas. But I’m just an occasional user.

[Jim Becker]

I mostly detest gas engines. I just don’t use them often enough. The gas’s goes bad and…. I have a car and a lawn tractor that doubles as a snow blower. Everything else is Ryobi One for lawn stuff and Dewalt for tools. I freely admit that I’m trading away power but I love not having to deal with a bunch of motors that don’t work (had a 2-stroke snow blower that only worked in warm weather).

if I used things every day, I would have gas. But I’m just an occasional user.

I can relate to this...and it's been a major reason that I've been grabbing some battery powered outdoor tools to use here at our new property. They are convenient, relatively inexpensive, never have a bad fuel issue (although one obviously must have a charged battery or two available), are quiet to operate and not tethered to an outlet which is hard to find at this property. I have a gas weed-wacker that I have not used in nearly 6 years I think and the previous owner left behind a gas pole saw. Those are going to be liquidated. The only gas powered outdoor tool I will keep for sure is my Stihl chainsaw. I'll also keep the electric "tethered" blower for those times when the extra power is needed and because it can also be used to collect leaves in it's "suck" mode. Otherwise...batteries.

[Doug Dawson]

I can relate to this...and it's been a major reason that I've been grabbing some battery powered outdoor tools to use here at our new property. They are convenient, relatively inexpensive, never have a bad fuel issue (although one obviously must have a charged battery or two available), are quiet to operate and not tethered to an outlet which is hard to find at this property. I have a gas weed-wacker that I have not used in nearly 6 years I think and the previous owner left behind a gas pole saw. Those are going to be liquidated. The only gas powered outdoor tool I will keep for sure is my Stihl chainsaw. I'll also keep the electric "tethered" blower for those times when the extra power is needed and because it can also be used to collect leaves in it's "suck" mode. Otherwise...batteries.

My rule of thumb is, if you have to use something at least once a week, such as the mower and trimmers, etc, gas is good. But if you have to use something only sporadically (or for self-defense,) such as chainsaws etc, an electric equivalent is handy to have. You don’t want to be caught short when the time comes.

My Krenov (Remington) chainsaw finally gave up the ghost a few months ago, and the Milwaukee turns out to be a worthy successor.