Can you pack enough battery power into a brush cutter to make it useful?
This review is for the GreenWorks 21362. This is only the second electric weed whacker that we covered. In an earlier review we look at the Dewalt electric string trimmer, and we really like that one and recommend it.
Why electric gas trimmer over a gas trimmer?
Engines are heavy, and is required gasoline, two-stroke engines require gasoline and oil, there are air filters, there are fuel lines that get corroded or broken, there are fumes, there is a lot of noise, and there’s a lot of vibration. This does not even get into any environmental concerns. Most of us have had to buy special carburetor tools to tune our Carb Compliant 2 Strokes, or settle for inferior 4 stroke power tools.
For decades the primary advantage of a gasoline powered device has been twofold,
- first it has the power necessary to do the job and
- second energy density of gasoline or another fossil fuel allows one to do a job for a long time.
With electric string trimmers you no longer have all of those issues.
So now, the main concerns are is there enough power? And what about obsolescence?
Will this Greenworks weed eater review as well as a standard? string trimmer?
Battery versus Corded
Now why a battery over a corded electric model? That is a good question. The main problem with the corded electric string trimmers are that the courts are not long enough for a typical size lawn. And even when it cord is long enough for you use an extension, cord gets tangled up. So for backyard duty, a corded trimmer is an option, but it’s not the best option.
The GreatWorks string trimmer eliminates all of those things. It has no cord. It is not a gas engine, so there is excessive noise, nor are there any fumes. There vibration comes from the cutting action, not the working of the motor.
The user no longer needs to mix the motor oil and fuel. (Although you could get a 4 stroke to eliminate that, we’ve talked about 4 strokes before) With an electric, you just press the trigger go.
You also don’t have to worry about the idle nor do you have to worry about carburetor issues. You do not have a story about fuel line issues either.
Downsides to this Electric String Trimmer
What we found was that string trimmer was surprisingly heavy. It makes that sense that in order to get the power necessary to do the job you need a big battery. But that batterycan be as heavy as a two stroke or four stroke engine.
Operation
Attachments – Some users have reported that they can still use some of their attachments from other devices on this particular unit. Anytime that you can use different wellhead or a grass blade or a brush cutter so that saves money. Saving money is a good thing.
Ergonomics – With a heavy battery, this model ships with a harness. Even with a harness many users found this unit to be awkward and hard to use.
It does have a nice long straight shaft which is useful for brush cutting, but the typical user for this is only tending to a small lawn and may prefer to having curved shaft so that they can do the necessary detail work for that lawn.
Run Time – Many users said the battery could last quite long. Some said they were good up to one hour of usage. That’s more than a typical brush cutter. But if you have more to do, you need additional batteries. Many advised to get four ampere battery and 72 and. This was necessary so that they have more time to use the device.
Also when recharging the battery, it makes sense to do so in a climate controlled environment, as opposed to a garage which might be warmer than the interior. There was discussion over whether there might be a temperature sensor within the charging unit that does not allow the charge when it is too hot. At press time, we do not have an unit in the office for an official tear down.
Usage – When it comes time to actually doing the work, many found that the multi speed is very useful. They also found that it had very good torque. So much torque that some users were able to use the string trimmer as a tiller. Will it brush? We’re not sure yet. Stay tune for a more indepth review.
Overheating – On the downside this matter unit can over heat just like a gas engine. On top of that some of found it was hard to use the string trimmer as an edger.
Feedback from the Unit – The way that trimmer works requires you to hear a signal weighing it is losing power. Apparently its easy to miss
If there were any complaints or a need to get repairs made some found that customer service is good in others found customer service.
Long Term
Customer Service – The customer service reports are hit and miss, but reports that is to be expected
Conclusion
Have we gotten to the promised land of electric brush cutters? Sadly, not yet. This is however very high on our list of string trimmers.