The Stealth Weed-Bomber
Written: Jul 27 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quality materials, affordable, quiet, odorless, reasonable performance overall
Cons: (as expected) only about 30 minutes runtime, NiCD battery
The Bottom Line: If you don't want to use earplugs while gardening, take a look at this machine. But battery-life is just about enough for the small to medium yard.
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| jierik's Full Review: American Gardener 24-Volt Yard Stick Cordless Edge... |
Although I'm not a home-owner, I like a clean and neat garden. One piece of hardware that was missing was a weed-trimmer. I did not want a gas-powered one, since they stink and make noise, but an electrical cord would be out of the question as well since we have no outlets at a strategic position. So I looked for a battery-powered trimmer and found this one.
The piece is very well "boxed" and the manual is excellent. Assembly of the unit is very easy and takes only 5-10 minutes. Charging the battery in the external charger is very easy, but for the first time it takes a couple of hours. Supposedly it thereafter will recharge within an hour. I found that the battery got quite hot after operation and it therefore needs to cool down before recharging. The battery is of the Nickel-Cadmium type, which is a pity since this is by far the most toxic battery you can get. I would have liked a Nickel MH instead, which are also more powerful I believe.
Operation is very easy. I do not know how the thing compares to gas-operated trimmers in terms of weight, but this thing's weight is well-balanced, and even though the motor is at the bottom end of the stick, as opposed to most gas-engine powered trimmers, it does not feel too heavy whilst swinging it around. The shaft can be extended and the handle can be adjusted. One problem I have, as a left-handed person, is that pushing both buttons simultaneously with my right hand requires quite some force and I have to rest it after 5 minutes or so. I'm not exactly a weakling, so I wonder whether prolonged operation of the device would pose a problem for the average user in terms of comfort.
How does the thing handle weed? Well, for a battery-powered cutter, it is not bad at all. It gets the job done in our small yard, even though one feels the engine struggle in dense bushes with some thicker weeds, where it will lose revs quickly. When working on the lawn, it has no problem with clover, dandelions and the like. But you need to hurry, because after 20 minutes or so the power runs out. Trimming the edge of the lawn is possible as well, thanks to the trimming wheel, but it can't beat a dedicated vertical trimmer. The nylon (?) "rod" or cord extends itself, when damaged, by centrifugal force when you tap the unit on the grass surface a couple of times, with the engine running, and there is a knife at the interior of the edge of the protecting shield that will trim the rod to the proper length. There is a couple of inches of rod inside the coil that will get you through this summer, I guess. Replacing the coil is simple. I expect little maintenance otherwise, contrary to a gas-powered engine.
All in all I am happy with this purchase and I can recommend it to anyone with a small yard.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jierik
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Location: lost in the midwest
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 3 members
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