About the Landscape Juice Network

Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.

LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry

LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.

For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.

PRO

Stihl battery kit run times?

Hi everyone, can anyone give me a rough run time on the following Stihl battery machines, I would like to know how many AP300 batteries Per machine I would need for a total daily run time of 4 hours per tool........... Work being done is only light hedge trimming work and weekly cut lawn edges for the strimmer, 1/ Stihl HSA86 hedge trimmer, 2 /Stihl HLA85 long reach hedge trimmer, 3/ Stihl FSA90R strimmer, thanks for your help, Harry

You need to be a member of Landscape Juice Network to add comments!

Join Landscape Juice Network

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • PRO
    Battery life for the strimmer is very disappointing at about 25 mins.

    The batteries in the hedge trimmers will last a full day of cutting.

    We also have a 1000w inverter in the van which will fully charge one of the ap300 batteries in 35mins - something which can be done during a job with a spare or at lunchtime if no spare.

    We really rate the hedge trimmers but not the strimmer.
  • PRO

    i looked at the long reach hedge cutter the other day and - gee its light -- but dont you find it top heavy / blade heavy ?

  • I tried the HlLA85 last week for a few days. not sure about total trigger time but it lasted a day on one 300 battery. I'd get a second, maybe smaller one for backup if I was to buy it though - I don't have an onboard inverter.

    I really rated the cutter once I got used to the funny noise it makes and the different weight distribution. It managed some decent cutting and gave a good finish. As for the weight distribution I just found I had to get used to it being different. I still managed to cut horizontally across a 2m wide leylandii top, with the harness pulled really short to tuck it close under my arm. and I felt perfectly safe up the ladder as wel - it's a hedgemaster with a nice big square platform.

    The HLA85 is definitely on the shortlist. I'd like to try an EGO long reach but they have nothing out until next year and that will be part of a combi.
  • I have the telescopic HLA85 and the shorter HLA65 long reachers, they work well with the AP300 battery as the increased weight of this high capacity battery helps counter balance the weight of the motor and blade at the business end. I don't think i've ever managed to run this battery down to empty in either of these tools, they are extremely efficient. Managed to break the HLA65 after about 3 seasons of moderate use, it needed a new module, although to the dealer's credit it got repaired for free. A friend with one had his fail recently, red lights on the battery (which sometimes can just indicate a blade jam) so is in the cordless hospital being looked at. I have a feeling that the batteries might eventually out last some of the tools especially with hard daily use. The cordless gear seems to either work perfectly or not at all, if it senses a fault it will shut down, unlike a petrol unit which will struggle on for years not running properly. As for the fsa90 strimmers, yes they do cane the batteries but they are delivering a lot of power, you don't get something for nothing. I have also been using the smaller fsa85 strimmer for years and it has never missed a beat, less powerful but battery run time is correspondingly longer and less unwieldy for fast precise trimming round the edges of lawns etc and smaller areas of less serious weeds.

  • The 2016 catalogue reckons 180 minutes hedgecutting with the ap300 battery.

    • yes three hours run time, it's insane, my line of thinking is however to use a greater number of smaller capacity batteries which weigh less and are cheaper, eg ap80/ap100/ap115, and that way you are lifting even less weight which makes doing a top notch job even easier, i save my ap300 for the more power hungry tools e.g. the blower, which will beat even the fsa90r strimmer down to empty lol

      • using the smaller batteries in the HSA86 "normal" hedge trimmer that is

      • PRO
        Hi Billy, what advice can you give on the cordless Sthil equipment

        I've been in touch with a few local dealers and they are recommending the

        HSA86 hedge trimmer 25"
        BGA100 Blower
        FSA90 Strimmer
        AP300 Battery
        AL500 Charger
        Plus they recommend a spare battery

        Can anyone say if this is the correct equipment or if it's just what Sthil want to sell to me

        Thanks
  • PRO
    Hi everyone, Thank you for your replies, that's the hedge trimmers sold to me, but would really like to change my strimmer over too, any other battery strimmers that anyone knows of with a longer run time? Cheers
    • Problem being that once you commit to any one system, to have to buy a separate lot of different batteries and chargers is another big initial investment. For example the Bosch GFR42 cordless professional 36v strimmer. 40 to 60 minute claimed run time. About £550-£600 for the tool alone. 6.0Ah Batteries at £300 each. And about £200 for the charger (although Bosch make another compatible one much cheaper which nearly as quick). Makes the Stihl cordless look very inexpensive in comparison, but is it any better...

This reply was deleted.

LJN Sponsor

Advertising

PRO

How Do You Qualify A Sales Lead?


I don't know about you, but our phones and emails are starting to get busy with enquiries. I've learned over the years that it's all too easy to answer the phone, arrange a consultation and then spend a couple of hours with a prospective client…

Read more…
Comments: 0