Hi all,
I have recently retired properly from my self employed gardening business, although I still do a few bits! I’m now faced with upkeeping my own property of 1.5 acres, plenty of everything, grass, hedges, overgrown bits etc etc.
Previous work has really taken its toll on my knees and upper arms (long reach hedge trimming) as well as advancing years.
Initially I’m sticking with my old equipment, nearly all petrol, but the first thing I want is a lightweight, battery powered hedge trimmer. I have a Sthil hs45, which i’ve never liked, really noisy and heavy in my opinion. Plus a little Tanaka 22" which if it worked I’d keep, I’ve rebuilt the carb but no joy, fuel still leaking everywhere and it won’t stay running, shame because its not done loads of work and as i say I like(d) it. I also have a long reach Shindaiwa with polesaw which is a brilliant piece of kit, and I’ll still use when needed, for a while at least!
Anyway like a lot of older types I’m waffling so i’ll get to the point.
I want a light as possible (the Sthil is 4.7kg) battery hedgecutter, fairly heavy duty, lot of hazel, sycamore, elm and blackthorn, not silly money, say £150 without battery maybe, possibly more for the right machine. I usually cut once a year, so some stems up to 20mm+.
I’m looking at Dewalt as I already have charger and batteries 18v, 2ah and 5ah so in theory more money for the actual trimmer. Their range is a little confusing with a few models (and some brand new ones) of different weights, stem cutting widths etc. Anyone shed any light? they all seem to have 55cm blade length, which is fine. Also tempted by Husqvarna Aspire but dont know if this is just an old school brand thing with me and if this model would be up to it?
Also all weights stated on the battery models seem to be without battery, which is frankly ridiculous as you wouldnt be able to use it without one!
Any advice gratefully received
Robert
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Just seen this post and wanted to add that the Stihl HSA100 and AP200s batteries are a great combo. Yes about 4.9kg but with minimal vibrations it is actually a joy to use for long periods of time. If you wanted to reduce the weight they do a belt option for the battery which moves nearly 2kg of weight to your hips. Downside they arent overly cheap!! The Stihl AP battery range is a different beast to the AK range
I have lots of dewalt batteries and considered a dewalt hedge trimmer for how often I do hedges but it is just not worth it as they are not designed for heavy use from what I saw.
What run time do you get with the AP200?
STIHL_2024_Battery_Working_Time.pdf
From what I can see the petrol hedgecutters weigh and cost less than equivalent battery model and no runtime issues, they are not there yet.
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