cordless hedge trimmers

creedp

I have 600 odd 5 year old beech hedge plants and up to now I have trimmed with a manual clippers. Last year it took me hours each time and I was thinking of buying a Bosch 18v 2.5amp hedge trimmer with spare battery. I was wondering how long approx would I get out of a 2.5amp battery with relatively light hedge growth?



I was also looking at a Bosch grass trimmer to edge a number of flower beds and kerbing. Anyone use this item? Are they a good job?

Darwin

You should get around 40 minutes per battery with that setup. I have an Ego Powertools cordless hedgecutter (56V, 2.0A battery) and I get about 30 minutes runtime. Just make sure the hedgecutter is up to the job, I went through 2 Greenworks hedge trimmers before cutting my losses and buying the Ego.

creedp

Darwin wrote: »

You should get around 40 minutes per battery with that setup. I have an Ego Powertools cordless hedgecutter (56V, 2.0A battery) and I get about 30 minutes runtime. Just make sure the hedgecutter is up to the job, I went through 2 Greenworks hedge trimmers before cutting my losses and buying the Ego.

That wouldn't be too bad I would get a lot of work done with 2 batteries. Never heard of either of those brands but would I be correct in thinking that the Greenworks brand would be a Lidl / Aldi level brand? Will have a look at Ego's to see how they compare to the Bosch. By the way is a higher voltage automatically better and so is a 56v machine far superior to an 18v one?

Holy Diver

Darwin wrote: »

You should get around 40 minutes per battery with that setup. I have an Ego Powertools cordless hedgecutter (56V, 2.0A battery) and I get about 30 minutes runtime. Just make sure the hedgecutter is up to the job, I went through 2 Greenworks hedge trimmers before cutting my losses and buying the Ego.

I would second the recommendation on the Ego. Mighty bit if kit and extremely convenient to use.

Kaybaykwah

Holy Diver wrote: »

I would second the recommendation on the Ego. Mighty bit if kit and extremely convenient to use.

Triple that. I have an Ego lawnmower since last year. Works fine. No noise, no smell, enough power to do my three lawn sections in an hour on full charge.

I didn't get the Ego grass trimmer but rather the DeWalt since I have a bunch of batteries at the ready with my existing toolset.

Darwin

creedp wrote: »

That wouldn't be too bad I would get a lot of work done with 2 batteries. Never heard of either of those brands but would I be correct in thinking that the Greenworks brand would be a Lidl / Aldi level brand? Will have a look at Ego's to see how they compare to the Bosch. By the way is a higher voltage automatically better and so is a 56v machine far superior to an 18v one?

No Greenworks are not an Aldi/Lidi brand, they are owned by Globe Group with HQ in China. As the other guys have said, Ego would compare very favourably to other well known brands including Bosch, but their stuff is expensive.
I bought my Ego mower from AMJ Rentals up north and the rest of my kit from keengardener.co.uk as it worked out cheaper that way.

More voltage generally means more power, the electric motor in both my greenworks cutters burned out because they couldn't handle thicker branches.
I've used my Ego cutter to trim well established Copper Beech, Laurel and Golden Leylandi. I did have one problem, my fast battery charger packed up after 18 months, but it was still under warranty.

Conway635

I have the same Bosch hedge trimmer you are thinking of, and very satisfied.

I get about 45 mins of heavy edge cutting on one charge, but that's academic, as about 30 mins is my limit before having a break, so it lasts longer than I do :-)

My strategy is actually to 10-20 minutes an evening about 4 days a week, in a few weeks everything is done, and from then on only light timing needed to keep maintained.

C635

zac8

Agree with other posters, Ego is excellent but expensive.

If you’re tempted then take a look at their multi-tool - https://egopowerplus.ie/products/multi-tool.

For the multi-tool you can get a hedge trimmer attachment with adjustable angle so no need for ladders to trim the hedge tops. You can also get a grass strimmer attachment. It works out cheaper than buying each machine separately.

Harry Palmr

I've always feared buying one of these Swiss knife type cutting machines. I tend to assume if they do everything they don't do it as well as a single piece of dedicated equipment.

zac8

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I've always feared buying one of these Swiss knife type cutting machines. I tend to assume if they do everything they don't do it as well as a single piece of dedicated equipment.

No such fear with this.

creedp

zac8 wrote: »

Agree with other posters, Ego is excellent but expensive.

If you’re tempted then take a look at their multi-tool - https://egopowerplus.ie/products/multi-tool.

For the multi-tool you can get a hedge trimmer attachment with adjustable angle so no need for ladders to trim the hedge tops. You can also get a grass strimmer attachment. It works out cheaper than buying each machine separately.

That's a fine bit of kit but I would be shelling out nearly €600 for the motor, the hedge trimmer, line trimmer, brush clearer and lawn edger and still need to fork out for a spare battery. I was hoping to get all that in a decent brand for around €300 but maybe I am kidding myself

Darwin

The Bosch would probably do you ok as I would imagine your hedge just needs light pruning - our copper beech is in the ground 20 years at this stage. If you are still considering the Ego (I sound like bit of a fan boy at this stage), you can get their entry level trimmer with battery and charger for £200 (€225 ish)

https://www.keengardener.co.uk/ego-ht24001e-61cm-cordless-hedge-trimmer-with-2-5ah-battery-standard-charger.html

About €240-€250 all in when shipping is added. I bought this one which has higher rpm's, a longer blade and a 33cm cut capacity:

https://www.keengardener.co.uk/ego-ht6500e-56v-cordless-hedgetrimmer-65cm-no-battery-or-charger.html

I also own the multi-tool and with the extension pole and chainsaw attachment I have been able to prune our trees which were getting out of hand.

creedp

Darwin wrote: »

The Bosch would probably do you ok as I would imagine your hedge just needs light pruning - our copper beech is in the ground 20 years at this stage. If you are still considering the Ego (I sound like bit of a fan boy at this stage), you can get their entry level trimmer with battery and charger for £200 (€225 ish)

https://www.keengardener.co.uk/ego-ht24001e-61cm-cordless-hedge-trimmer-with-2-5ah-battery-standard-charger.html

About €240-€250 all in when shipping is added. I bought this one which has higher rpm's, a longer blade and a 33cm cut capacity:

https://www.keengardener.co.uk/ego-ht6500e-56v-cordless-hedgetrimmer-65cm-no-battery-or-charger.html

I also own the multi-tool and with the extension pole and chainsaw attachment I have been able to prune our trees which were getting out of hand.

You've driven me off my more budget track with the above links!! I've been looking at the multi-tool option as I have quite a lot of relatively high whitethorn trees along boundry which are difficult to keep in trim without the extended reach of a multi-tool. I was wondering if you could advise how long a 5amp battery would last with relatively heavy hedge trimming / brush cutting as I am considering not buying a spare battery as even a 2.5amp is north of €100. Would this be a penny pinching decision given the cost of the tool itself?

jashar99

I have this ryobi hedgetrimmer, i got it on an amazon warehouse offer 2 years ago for alot less that its current price. This is bare unit and it needs charger and battery. I have a huge amount of hedging and between this and a long reach battery hedgetrimmer i got in Lidl, i almost never reach for my tanaka petrol hedgetrimmer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ryobi-RHT36B61R-5133004318-Capacity-Ergonomic/dp/B07NMNP7ZT/ref=sr_1_13?crid=2GCIF89QQV1LS&dchild=1&keywords=ryobi+hedge+trimmer&qid=1591113406&sprefix=ryobi+hedg%2Cwarehouse-deals%2C139&sr=8-13


https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07NMNP7ZT

Darwin

creedp wrote: »

You've driven me off my more budget track with the above links!! I've been looking at the multi-tool option as I have quite a lot of relatively high whitethorn trees along boundry which are difficult to keep in trim without the extended reach of a multi-tool. I was wondering if you could advise how long a 5amp battery would last with relatively heavy hedge trimming / brush cutting as I am considering not buying a spare battery as even a 2.5amp is north of €100. Would this be a penny pinching decision given the cost of the tool itself?

I have the 5A battery in my mower and it lasts about 50 minutes. I would imagine the runtime would be better in the multi-tool as the motor would draw less current than the mower, but can't give you an estimate I'm afraid. I know the 2.5A battery lasts about 45 minutes in the Ego string trimmer, so in that ballpark for the multi-tool. One thing I can say is the 5A battery is quite heavy (2.2Kg or so) and you might get tired before it runs out of juice, at least I do anyway! You could always make do with some more affordable kit for now as others have posted and upgrade to something better down the road if you find you have the need.

creedp

jashar99 wrote: »

I have this ryobi hedgetrimmer, i got it on an amazon warehouse offer 2 years ago for alot less that its current price. This is bare unit and it needs charger and battery. I have a huge amount of hedging and between this and a long reach battery hedgetrimmer i got in Lidl, i almost never reach for my tanaka petrol hedgetrimmer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ryobi-RHT36B61R-5133004318-Capacity-Ergonomic/dp/B07NMNP7ZT/ref=sr_1_13?crid=2GCIF89QQV1LS&dchild=1&keywords=ryobi+hedge+trimmer&qid=1591113406&sprefix=ryobi+hedg%2Cwarehouse-deals%2C139&sr=8-13


https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07NMNP7ZT

Hadn't looked at Ryobi until now .. that was great value at the time. What kind of Lidl unit did you buy - was it a parkside? Also would you find the long reach unit awkward to use for low lying hedges? I'm wondering if a long reach unit on its own would be sufficient or would it it really only designed for cutting the upper part / top of high hedges?

To be honest I'm blinded by choice at he moment. I originally set out to buy a std 18v hedge trimmer and a grass line trimmer with an edging function. Then when I looked into the multi-function tool options I realised I would also have a fair bit of use for a brush cutter and a long reach hedge trimmer and while a loping saw would be convenient I wouldn't see it as essential. The problem is that buying all units individually is expensive. One option is the multi-function option although many of the packages require that you take attachments that are not necessary thereby adding to the overall package costs. Alternatively it is possible to buy one unit with battery and charger, a spare battery and then add on as many bare units as you require from same brand. However, many of the more reasonable brands don't seem supply the full range of bare units.

Anyway I will have to take stock again and see what I will opt for. The EGO multi-tool package option is very attractive except for the price (e.g. including a €135 edging tool attachment in the package adds to the overall package price especially since you could pick up a combined grass trimmer / edger from Lidl for €50 which would do all the lawn perimeter and edging work I would need need) and yet it still doesn't have a normal hedge trimmer attachment.

creedp

Seen a Titan petrol multi tool for just over €200. Anyone have any experience of this brand. Seems very good value at that price. For those of you that have used battery powered gear for some time are the running costs much lower than the equivalent petrol powered gear?


Also is the multi tool hedge trimmer attachment suitable for cutting long hedges or should you also have a std hedge trimmer?

creedp

Bit the bullet and bought the EGO multitool with a spare 2ah battery. I have to say I'm slightly disappointed as it's a pain to switch between line trimmer and brush cutter and back. You basically have to dismantle the line trimmer which means you have to reload the line from scratch each time you switch back to the line trimmer attachment. If your buying it I would seriously consider buying an entra attachment for the brush cutter attachment. I would have thought for a high end tool it would be an easy one step process to swop these 2 attachments. Also having bought the spare battery to allow me to use it while charging the 5ah I found the instruction say the 2ah battery cant be used with the brush cutter. Finally the instruction booklets are really poor and I had to look up youtube to reload the line trimmer after it fell apart when I had to change it for the brush cutter. All in all Im slightly disappointed with first impressions of this EGO tool but maybe once I get over the initial teething issues things will improve

zac8

I have the multitool but not the line trimmer attachment - I have a dedicated Ego line trimmer. But before buying the multitool I saw this video review by a professional gardener who uses it. He switches between the tools without having to reload the line.

https://youtu.be/2TOFnK5-NbM

Darwin

Like zac8, I have the multitool too with a dedicated Ego line trimmer (I got this for free when buying the lawnmower). I have the hedge cutter and chainsaw attachments. It's a shame you have had a bad first experience, hope you can find a solution to switching between the attachments, I really like their stuff.

creedp

Darwin wrote: »

Like zac8, I have the multitool too with a dedicated Ego line trimmer (I got this for free when buying the lawnmower). I have the hedge cutter and chainsaw attachments. It's a shame you have had a bad first experience, hope you can find a solution to switching between the attachments, I really like their stuff.

I used the hedge trimmer for over 4 hours and it was great. I have a lot of beech hedging and the 5ah battery lasted for approx 3 hours while the 2ah only lasted 40 minutes. I think there is a problem with the 2ah battery as it should last longer than that. I think it's an old battery and the capacity has reduced.

In the youtube link above the guy has a separate line trimmer and scrub cutter attachment so doesn't have to take off the line trimmer head to put on the scrub blade. As I will be using both regularly I'm going to buy a separate scrub clearer attachment as having to take off the line trimmer head and having the reload the line each time I used the scrub cleaner blade would be a real pain.

I've also tried the edger and it was a great job but a bit of an ordeal on the first run as very overgrown but should be a doddle from now on.

Other than that finding the multi tool great and once I replace the 2ah with a 2.5ah battery I will probably be far happier with the overall package.

zac8

"creedp wrote: »

I've also tried the edger and it was a great job a b9t of an ordeal on the first one as very overgrown but should be a doddle from now on.

Yeah the edger is brilliant. Takes a little getting used to all right.

creedp

I was using the ego multi tool with brush cutter blade and it was all fine until the blade caught a bit of uneven soil and the motor cut out and wouldnt start again. Does anyone know if there anyway of resetting the motor or is there a bigger problem?

I rang the supplier and he said it was probably the thermal cut off switch and let it rest for an hour and it should be fine. 2 hours later and still completely dead. Disappointing really for an expensive piece of equipment. Will bring it back to supplier in the morning to see what can be done with it.