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Thread: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

  1. #16
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Cost would be as follows. Husky's new range not in the country yet, so Sthil Back pack Battery pack $1079, charger $162 (charges the backpack in 130 minutes).

    HLA65 Long reach hedge trimmer $399. Total $1640.

    According to LGGF's review of the hand held hedger I have no reason to think the long reach can't do the job BUT its bloody expensive.

    It gets more viable being able to add other tools and use the one backpack battery BUT are there any other cordless tools worth using?

    Can't see me not using the petrol backpack blower and I already have 2 petrol chainsaws so no need for those.
    The cordless extendable pole pruner for $599 could be viable even though I already have a petrol pole pruner.
    To me it would come down to wether this whipper snipper is up to the task http://www.stihl.com.au/STIHL-Produc...10/FSA-85.aspx

    Going cordless is not going to stack up financially against petrol powered but its lighter (well except for the weight of the backpack), quite, less vibration (I assume) no filling up, no spillage, no mixing oil, no petrol fumes, no exhaust fumes, less maintenance. That's a fair trade off, but the missing piece is wether the whippy is up to the task.

    I'll have a look at the sthil dealer, hopefully I can demo it.

  2. #17
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    The head on that cordless trimmer looks useless, I'd need to be able to fit a 4 way alloy head or some sort of decent head.

  3. #18
    Senior Member conrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Where did you hear that the new electric Husky gear isn't available yet? I was going to drop by a dealer on Friday/Saturday to check it out...

    I've also been thinking about what other electric gear would be useful other than line trimmer and hedge trimmer. And just on the point of electric gear not being ready for "serious work", I've got to disagree. At least, it depends a lot on what your average workday involves. For me, well maintained regularly serviced properties - using electric tools I'm living the dream! Just show up, press a button and work - no fuel, no maintenance. If you're doing lots of feral jobs and overgrowns, in that case I definitely wouldn't recommend electric. Not that you won't get the job done, but it will take a bit longer and if those type of jobs are the rule more than the exception, it will have a negative effect overall.

    The blower is my next most used handheld tool after line trimmer, I really wish I could replace it with electric. Looking into the Husky e-Blower, it basically compares well to the Husky 125BVx petrol blower, which I think is a domestic model. Runtime is 21 minutes for the Husky 536LiB electric blower, but not sure what battery that's rated on. Hopefully just the smallest/standard battery - swapping a blower around with other tools on a backpack battery could be a viable option! But I'll have to keep dreaming about an electric cordless shredder vac...

    Below the specs for the "homeowner" model Husky petrol blower, the "contractor" model, the electric option and the Stihl petrol backpack. Figures are air flow (measured in pipe) & air speed (with round nozzle):

    Husqvarna 125BVx 12.03 m3/min 130mph
    Husqvarna 525BX 13 m3/min 156mph
    Husqvarna 536LiB 12.5 m3/min 120mph
    Stihl BR 600 20 m3/min 201mph

    Not sure if the Stihl BR 600 MAGNUM BIG BOY® can be retired though, depending on how much stuff you need to move. Still no replacement for displacement... But having said that, I seldom use it at maximum/full throttle.

    If you use chainsaws, it looks like the Husky electric saws are a serous option. There's some videos on YouTube of guys doing comparisons - the electric saw absolutely smokes some of the Husky petrol saws! Would be nice to have in the kit for pruning jobs... maybe I am due to upgrade from the hand pruning saw...

    steveo - did you check the magazine review that I posted the link to? They compare the Stihl FSA-85 line trimmer. I think basically it's comparable to the other line trimmer options from Pellenc and Husqvarna, just that it's not "contractor" build quality. But from what they were saying it does get the work done just the same.

    You reckon electric Vs. petrol doesn't work out dollars wise? Are you sure - think of all the ongoing costs with petrol gear, fuel, spark plugs, oil, maintenance, servicing etc. Your daily running costs for electric gear - depends how you charge it, but it's basically nil. Less than the cost of a cup of coffee, I'd bet. And then zero downtime, no maintenance. Just don't break it... but that kind of thing would cause unplanned downtime for either petrol or electric gear. Big upfront cost with electric - but I think that often people kind of dismiss or don't accurately calculate the cost of using petrol gear, because you buy fuel in small quantities at a time. The costs are more easily managed on a daily basis so it slips to the back of your mind a bit. But when you start using electric gear and all those costs are just gone, I think you'd be surprised how much you actually save. If you had to buy all your fuel, spark plugs, oil, prepaid servicing etc. at the time you purchased a petrol blower you'd have a coronary!

    I can confirm way less vibration from electric gear. I mean seriously! There is one big job I do weekly, at least 2-3 hours on the blower vac in one hit (vac up leaves from pathways, leaves out of gravel & stone gardens etc.) I used to use a corded electric Bosch unit, it was not not quiet for me (probably quieter for the neighbours, I don't think the noise would travel as far) but aside from my arms having to be conditioned for 3 hours or holding that thing, no issues. Switch over to the Echo 2T petrol blower vac - if I go 3 hours straight I have big time "pins & needles" feeling in my fingers/hands. Not nice. I used it once without gloves and it was the worst. I always wear gloves now and it helps...
    If I didn't blow up my Bosch unit I would still be using it (sucked up some rubber/elastic cord from a toy or something... made the motor smoke and go all wobbly).

    I'm pretty much decided on the Husky gear, hedge trimmer at bare minimum. Need a replacement really quick, trimmed one job this week with an Ozito hedge trimmer (corded electric) I've had sitting around home since before I got into this line of work - it was absolutely horrid!!! I still cut the hedge straight as an arrow, but damn what a piece of crap tool that is..!

    And yes I agree, I don't like the look of the head/motor housing on the FSA-85. I figure that if I'm going to rely on electric gear with no petrol backup, it's worth spending a bit more for something that's commercial grade. Also Husqvarna has an offer of 12 months no deposit, interest free with Lombard Visa. Not that I'd suggest people go into debt to buy stuff they can't afford, but it helps take the sting out of the initial purchase if you can spread it over 12 months instead of one day. Haha.

  4. #19
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    conrad, a local husky dealer said the batteries where held up customs and wouldn't be here for 3 weeks. Not sure if this applies to all dealers. Thanks for your post, haven't read thru it properly yet but appreciate it.

  5. #20
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    had a quick look at the sthil cordless gear today. The good thing it is easier to demo them than the petrol gear. I thought the hand held hedger felt good, the long reach hedger felt ok as well but felt a bit flimsy. They didn't have the straight shaft trimmer but they did have the bent shaft which i was not impressed with either and you can't change the heads on them which is another concern. I couldn't justify spending over a grand on the backpack battery. If I went Sthil i'd go just the one portable battery on the hedger or hedgers and if it turned out ok get a backpack later and use the small battery as spare or for those quick little jobs. I'm really keen to check out the husky stuff.

  6. #21
    Senior Member edbeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    I went to my local Husky dealer to try to find out a bit about the cordless gear. Apparently most of the range had arrived, but they hadn't unpacked it yet. No backpacks were ordered though.
    Biggest surprise was the price of the biggest backpack battery. 940Wh was almost $2k RRP. The equivalent Stihl is only about $1100.
    The smaller Husq backpack was 500 odd Wh and I think that was about $1300.

    They had the resi line trimmer on display and it 'seemed' underpowered, but hard to say really. Certainly quiet, light and minimal vibration and that might have given me a false 'gutless' impression. The "Pro" version still only takes 2mm line so I wouldn't imagine that it would be a beast.

    Will be interesting to see the hedger next week. I'd have a use for the hedger on big regularly maintained jobs, but to justify the cost of the backpack, you'd have to find a use for another 2-3 machines. That's $3.5-4k outlay and still need petrol backups for the tougher jobs.

    I love the idea of cordless electric, but I don't think I have enough of the 'manicured' type of work that they would excel in, to justify the outlay.

  7. #22
    Senior Member conrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Bloody customs...!!
    Ahwell I'll see how I go in my search.
    I wonder why it's taken them so long to bring it to Australia? Since they've been available in other markets since 2013??
    I'd be curious to know whether they have tweaked anything for the Aussie market/work conditions...

    Thanks for the update on the Stihl gear steveo. I guess that pretty much agrees with what the magazine review was saying about "prosumer" build quality? Although I still have no doubt that they'd get the job done.

    edbeek, if you really want a surprise - check on the price of the largest Pellenc backpack battery...
    The residential grade Husky line trimmer, yeah I wouldn't be keen on that either. It uses older tech, brushed motor so it won't last as long and will use more power for the same output.

    Can't remember where I saw it - but pretty darn sure the pro line trimmer (536LiL) can take up to 2.4mm line. The accessories listed on the product webpage shows the Husky XP Force line which is 2.6mm. The product page also lists different trimmer heads and even blades as accessories so I've gotta find out if that's right, or whether they just haven't properly updated the web page yet.

    Have you checked out the YouTube videos showing the 536LiR in action? It looks like it can get through some pretty tough stuff! And I guess I found an answer to the question about different heads - this one uses a blade on thick grass/weeds and some other kind of disc on weeds growing in a gutter?!?



    The more I see... the more I'm convinced!

    Also a note on the Husky batteries - they all have built in cooling, both the individual batteries and the backpacks. This is important because lithium batteries are greatly affected by heat, and not in a good way. Having said that, all of the batteries I use now are just in sealed cases, no built in fans or anything. I can't say that I've noticed reduced battery life, but this will only be the 2nd summer using them, so not a very long test. Dropping so much coin on a big backpack battery you'd want it to last something like 4+ years. Knowing what I know about lithium batteries I'd bet on the Husky battery to have longer life than the Stihl battery. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been using the Stihl backpack battery for a few years or more...

    3 of the Husky machines and the backpack battery, $3-4k outlay would be about the sum of it. But do you actually need petrol backups for the tougher jobs? I used to think so, but I'm starting to doubt...

  8. #23
    Senior Member LGGF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Quote Originally Posted by steveo View Post
    Cost would be as follows. Husky's new range not in the country yet, so Sthil Back pack Battery pack $1079, charger $162 (charges the backpack in 130 minutes).

    HLA65 Long reach hedge trimmer $399. Total $1640.

    According to LGGF's review of the hand held hedger I have no reason to think the long reach can't do the job BUT its bloody expensive.

    It gets more viable being able to add other tools and use the one backpack battery BUT are there any other cordless tools worth using?

    Can't see me not using the petrol backpack blower and I already have 2 petrol chainsaws so no need for those.
    The cordless extendable pole pruner for $599 could be viable even though I already have a petrol pole pruner.
    To me it would come down to wether this whipper snipper is up to the task http://www.stihl.com.au/STIHL-Produc...10/FSA-85.aspx

    Going cordless is not going to stack up financially against petrol powered but its lighter (well except for the weight of the backpack), quite, less vibration (I assume) no filling up, no spillage, no mixing oil, no petrol fumes, no exhaust fumes, less maintenance. That's a fair trade off, but the missing piece is wether the whippy is up to the task.

    I'll have a look at the sthil dealer, hopefully I can demo it.
    Just a quick update on the Sthil electric hedger, still going strong, I also have a petrol hedger along with my Sthil 130 combi pole hedger, they each get used in various situations, if I need to climb up and down my scaffold, I generally don't use the battery backpack, the benefit of the electric hedger is lost if you have to climb up and down scaffold with and extra 7kgs strapped to your back, and it's not practical to take it off each time you climb up and down. But on a low buxus hedge, I can to do all three sides of a 140 metre hedge in a couple of hours with no ill affects on my arms or body.

    Also, if you happen to cut the power cord, they want $200 for a new cord, I re-joined mine with a bit of solder and insulation tape.

    I cannot comment on the other electric products, I haven't tried any of them.

    Hope this helps, feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

  9. #24
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Quote Originally Posted by LGGF View Post
    Just a quick update on the Sthil electric hedger, still going strong, I also have a petrol hedger along with my Sthil 130 combi pole hedger, they each get used in various situations, if I need to climb up and down my scaffold, I generally don't use the battery backpack, the benefit of the electric hedger is lost if you have to climb up and down scaffold with and extra 7kgs strapped to your back, and it's not practical to take it off each time you climb up and down. But on a low buxus hedge, I can to do all three sides of a 140 metre hedge in a couple of hours with no ill affects on my arms or body.

    Also, if you happen to cut the power cord, they want $200 for a new cord, I re-joined mine with a bit of solder and insulation tape.

    I cannot comment on the other electric products, I haven't tried any of them.

    Hope this helps, feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

    Are you using the portable battery at all or always the backpack? What's your thoughts on having 2 batteries for that hedger so that you can still take it up ladders/scaffolds etc? Or do you think that adds too much weight.

  10. #25
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Quote Originally Posted by conrad View Post
    Bloody customs...!!
    Ahwell I'll see how I go in my search.
    I wonder why it's taken them so long to bring it to Australia? Since they've been available in other markets since 2013??
    I'd be curious to know whether they have tweaked anything for the Aussie market/work conditions...

    Thanks for the update on the Stihl gear steveo. I guess that pretty much agrees with what the magazine review was saying about "prosumer" build quality? Although I still have no doubt that they'd get the job done.

    edbeek, if you really want a surprise - check on the price of the largest Pellenc backpack battery...
    The residential grade Husky line trimmer, yeah I wouldn't be keen on that either. It uses older tech, brushed motor so it won't last as long and will use more power for the same output.

    Can't remember where I saw it - but pretty darn sure the pro line trimmer (536LiL) can take up to 2.4mm line. The accessories listed on the product webpage shows the Husky XP Force line which is 2.6mm. The product page also lists different trimmer heads and even blades as accessories so I've gotta find out if that's right, or whether they just haven't properly updated the web page yet.

    Have you checked out the YouTube videos showing the 536LiR in action? It looks like it can get through some pretty tough stuff! And I guess I found an answer to the question about different heads - this one uses a blade on thick grass/weeds and some other kind of disc on weeds growing in a gutter?!?



    The more I see... the more I'm convinced!

    Also a note on the Husky batteries - they all have built in cooling, both the individual batteries and the backpacks. This is important because lithium batteries are greatly affected by heat, and not in a good way. Having said that, all of the batteries I use now are just in sealed cases, no built in fans or anything. I can't say that I've noticed reduced battery life, but this will only be the 2nd summer using them, so not a very long test. Dropping so much coin on a big backpack battery you'd want it to last something like 4+ years. Knowing what I know about lithium batteries I'd bet on the Husky battery to have longer life than the Stihl battery. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been using the Stihl backpack battery for a few years or more...

    3 of the Husky machines and the backpack battery, $3-4k outlay would be about the sum of it. But do you actually need petrol backups for the tougher jobs? I used to think so, but I'm starting to doubt...
    What the heck is that blade thing, no string on it, never seen anything like it. That snipper looks more like a commercial quality, the sthil one just doesn't look strong enough, and i had the same impression as edbeek that it seemed underpowered but it was confusing because there is less noise and vibration so it can be deceiving but it felt too flimsy for my liking. As far as batteries go wouldn't it be nice if they just provided a pos and neg bolts and you could whip down the local battery place and get em to make up a back pack battery? Although I have my misgivings about the battery back pack as it just might be too inconvenient.

  11. #26
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Conrad, seems the last page of that magazine review was missing, the bit that has the pros and cons of the sthil version of trimmer.

    Did I read correctly that the husky 536LIR has a reversible trimmer head rotation at the push of a button. That could be handy, not something you'd pay extra for but handy none the less. It can take up to 2.4mm string size.

  12. #27
    Senior Member edbeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    That head looks something like an Edgit Pro Steveo. http://edgit.com/products/edgit-pro
    I did read somewhere too that the line trimmers are reversible. The head must be locked onto the shaft somehow so there's no chance of it winding off?


    I only got a bit of a glance at the sell sheet and 2mm line was mentioned on all models, but now I think it may have been to do with the battery endurance using 2mm line.

  13. #28
    Senior Member LGGF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Quote Originally Posted by steveo View Post
    Are you using the portable battery at all or always the backpack? What's your thoughts on having 2 batteries for that hedger so that you can still take it up ladders/scaffolds etc? Or do you think that adds too much weight.
    I thought about having two batteries, but the cost of the two batteries was a fair way towards the price of the backpack ($990 when I purchased the backpack), plus the lighter I could keep the hedger the better off my arms would be.

    When I'm on the scaffold, I try and have the height adjusted so that the height I'm working at is around waist height, reducing the need for lifting the machine up and down (which causes the most pain). I did try having the backpack set-up on top of the scaffold attached to a cross bar, but found it to be non productive. If your Sthil dealer won't give you a demo to try, call past next time your up this way, I've got plenty of hedges here you can practice on.

  14. #29
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    Sthil offer a battery belt. Hypothetically speaking if you had two or three batteries would you pulling out the Kombi as much?

    http://www.stihl.com.au/STIHL-Produc...tery-Belt.aspx

  15. #30
    Senior Member steveo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmers

    This is the setup I would go if using Sthil assuming the stuff was fairly relaible

    battery belt $174
    AP180 battery $269 178Wh. Capacity 4.2Ah. Weight 1.7kg.
    AL500 charger $162 (charges the AP180 in 30mins)

    skin $399 for the HLA65 long reach hedge trimmer or $349 for the HSA86 hand held hedger

    with this setup Sthil claim you can get 140mins runtime. I want take that with a large dose of salt so lets half the runtime to 70mins but unless someone is using this exact setup we'll never know.

    So you'd need to outlay a grand to get started and that is just the one battery. Add another $269 for another battery.

    The belt adds some interest because once you have the adaptor (and you say accidently cut the cord) you could theoritically shop around for your own batteries and charger if you were fairly handy with soldering etc. But any savings would come down to how much SThil are charging (pardon the pun) for their batteries and chargers as opposed to other sellers. Probably wouldn't be much in it.

    So the equation is $1000 for an electric hedger that can be used for anywhere between (70mins and 140mins) as opposed to say around $599 for the dirty smelly noisy Tanaka THT-210S which will go all day as long you don't flood it.

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