The Greenworks GST80320 80V is a serious weed whacker. With the power equivalent of a 32 Cubic Centimeter gas powered string trimmer, the 80320 packs quite a punch without all the hassle of a gas trimmer
Why Electric?
- no noise or heavy vibration
- no fumes
- no mixing fuel or carburetor issues
- no starting issues
- no spark plug
The 80320 is cordless, so you do not need to worry about tangling the wires as you work your way around the your front and back yard. Enough dilly dallying, let’s get to to it.
Specs
Right of the box you get a handsome straight shaft electric weed eater. It has loop handle, debris guard and 16″ cutting head. The head takes attachments from other manufacturers, though not all. At the time of this writing, apparently Echo Tools did not fit. Poulan Pro, Ryobi, and Trimmer Plus did fit.
It also comes with a harness, and you will need it, because the battery makes this trimmer quite heavy.
What it does not come with are the battery and the charger. By it’s lonesome, the Greenworks tips the scale at 14.7 lbs. When you add the battery, that only increases the weight. Still, after you understand the potential of the 80320, you will see that the weight is a great trade off.
Operation
Assembly – Once you make heads and tails of the manual, you just need a Phillips head screw driver. It is pretty straight forward.
Starting – Charge the battery, either a 2 AH or 4AH and slap it in. No priming the pump, the adjusting the idle, no pulling so hard that you strip the gears in the pulley. Just pull the trigger and it gets going. Some users felt that it should get going a little faster.
Ergonomics and Creature Features – Once it starts, you’re off to the races. In comparison to a gas trimmer, this is like a tiptoeing through Librarian’s Hansen’s hallway. It’s very quiet. You also do not have the to worry about the vibration of a gas engine sputtering next to your elbow.
No noise, and not a lot of vibration in comparison to the gas versions. What you do notice is the weight of the battery. The unit ships with a harness that should take some of the load off. Ideally the weight of the battery will come down in a few years as technology progresses.
Trimming – With the unit, the good folks at GreenWorks included a 0.08 line. Some users moved to the 0.095 that fits nicely. Not a lot of complaints about threading and rethreading the unit. That’s always a good thing to not see.
The line cuts through pretty much what it was designed for. If you want to tackle a bramble or a brush, you should change the bump head to a grass blade or a brush cutter blade.
When it is time for new line, the bump head works reliably.
Users have handled lots as small as 800 square feet to 1 acre (with a second battery)
Run Time – For the smaller battery (2 aH) users have been getting between 30-45 minutes. For the larger battery (4 aH), 60-90 minutes. Anything longer than that would require a second battery.
After Purchase Care and Maintenance – Like all lithium batteries, it’s a good idea to take it out of the charger after it has reached 100%. When parts did not ship right, or were missing, most users found that GreenWorks stood behind their products, and were able to send out replacements quickly.
Conclusion
There is not too much downside to the 80320. The main issue is that it is heavy, but that’s part of the trade off with a gas trimmer. (Something about energy density my professor told me once)
Aside from the weight issues, the 80320 is a good bet.