[arobwk]

Anyone here gone for cordless battery-powered machinery for maintaining their small-holding spaces in some way? 

Any thoughts/experiences & what equipment did you choose ?

[Kiran]

I dont have any recommendations to offer but will keep an eye on this with interest as it's something I've been considering. My neighbours use Stihl battery equipment for hedge work and strimming. Whilst I need to do both of these I'd also look for chainsaws. E-Go battery equipment seems to be well spec'd but it is really expensive

[chrismahon]

We now have two Stihl FSA45 strimmers which we use for very small jobs, like clearing under the electric fence lines and around fruit trees. Also a GTA26 chainsaw pruner.


Both have a short battery life and a long charge time. Both suffer from battery overheating when used continuously and therefore cut-out or won't accept a recharge. But both have their place in our assortment of equipment, the strimmers being light and quiet and the pruner being very fast compared to a hand saw.


We have just bought a cheap electric chainsaw. The reason being it will rarely be used, but the petrol one is heavy and battery units are expensive.

[Penninehillbilly]

We seem to be going for Dewalt 18v, I love the hedge trimmer, I find the strimmer a bit heavy for me, but maybe I hold it wrong and tense, trying to not catch the fence posts, also got a small reciprocating (sp?)  saw and torch on same system, and a couple of drills, 5a batteries are worth the extra.

[PipKelpy]

We have a stihl petrol hedgecutter, but I don't use it as it's too heavy for me and my beloved 170 chainsaw that when purchased 20 years ago, I could whizz around with no problems! I think due to grip, iffy fingers and vibration aftershocks, I could proberly tolerate 10 minutes max with it now.

However, your question was battery related. My nephew in law (makes me feel old as I'm 16 years older than him and made him laugh when I said I was old enough to be his mother!) Bought himself a spear & Jackson hedgecutter from Argos, 2 batteries. We liked it, I bought one!

It's fab! It charges within the hour, it's light enough, it stops reasonably fast and it's well balanced. I also bought the cordless pole saw, same battery. Mum and I have enjoyed using that! Though the head is at a fixed angle, I shoved her in the zetor fork with cushions and lifted her up and she lopped off oak branches. She enjoyed herself and now the zetor can get under the trees, previously we were hitting the roof. (Got damsons with mum in the fork too! Safer than a ladder!)

[arobwk]

What is a nephew-in-law @PipKelpy ?  Plus, I'm not too sure about your H&S regime !  LOL

[arobwk]

When I injured my shoulder earlier this year, a client's son bought a Stanley FatMax 18v strimmer with 2 batteries to fill the gap.  He hates "gardening" more than I do, but he cleared a 1/4ac steep bank with it.  (I didn't ask whether the 2 batteries lasted w/o a recharge - I was too amazed that he had achieved so much !.) 
Before that, he borrowed my 40cc petrol strimmer, but was back off the bank within 5 mins saying it's too heavy and it's too steep to traverse;  obviously the FatMax met "the brief" from his point of view.  (Haven't got my hands on it yet so cannot personally say how easily it dealt with some very dense/long grass and brambles compared to a petrol strimmer.)

I have 18v Makita shears (handy for trimming heathers/lavender, finessing a privet hedge after a cut, shaping a box shrub etc), but am not impressed with it's power/torque;  so I'm a bit averse to 18v kit, but there seems to be plenty of "low voltage" kit about with happy users.

I'm hoping this thread will continue for quite a while, as folk convert to battery-powered kit, and it would be great if posters could say what battery voltage their machinery has (if known). 





 

[Rupert the bear]

Well I succumbed to the electric revolution in the chainsaw department, in addition to my petrol 455 rancher I now have a battery   Husqvarna 120i and although it has a 12" bar it is very good , not just for trimming but I have taken down 30yo fir trees, the battery is good for 40 mins cutting and recharges in 45-50 mins, very pleased with it, its light weight and so quiet that the trees dont hear me coming ! 

[PipKelpy]

What is a nephew-in-law @PipKelpy ?  Plus, I'm not too sure about your H&S regime !  LOL

No idea! Married to neice!

[Rupert the bear]

Well the march of progress continues, following the purchase and a winters use of My Husqvarna  chainsaw and its impressive and faultless service I have been persuaded to go a couple of steps further.
I now have added a hedge trimmer and a brush-cutter / strimmer to the electric fleet, all Husqvarna, so a common battery system.
I have to admit despite my initial doubts performance is impressive and the added advantage that the batteries are recharged  from the solar power unit that powers the swimming pool pump/ solar heater loop.
Moving in the same direction I am now looking to replace the big petrol chainsaw with a battery one, and am waiting for a demonstration unit to arrive at my local dealer, and yes I have started saving up    (just in case )

[juliem]

I've had a cordless bosch 36v hedge cutter for 8 yrs now and it's not let me down.The charger unit had a blip but found a man on ebay who repairs them.It cost circa £300 then and is a similiar price now.The 36v is worth it for the extra power to tackle the abundance of hedges/shrubs in my large garden.Previous to this was always severing the wire when using electric cable extensions.