Powerful electric trimmer?

TVZ

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I have a Black & Decker LST201 20V MAX Lithium Ion String Trimmer/Edger. It seems pretty good, but just does not have enough oomph for me. (I live in the country and have a lot of fairly heavy trimming to do.) Is there another one that is more powerful? Is power limited by the 20V battery? I know that gas ones are stronger, but I'd like to have a good strong electric one, if possible...
-Thnx
 

MowerMike

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That LST201 trimmer you have is one of the smallest and least powerful ones, and there are many choices of much larger and more powerful cordless string trimmers. Do you have a local Lowe's or Home Depot where you can peruse the available choices ? Look for something that works with at least .080" trimmer line and manual line feed. As to voltage, it is generally true that the more powerful trimmers work with higher voltage batteries, however it is not necessary to increase the battery voltage in order to get more power. I think Black+Decker now sells a 60 volt string trimmer with .080" line.
 

TVZ

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Thanks Mike. So I understand that the more powerful ones tend to have .80" line; be manual feed; and have higher voltage--but there is not an actual rating, like horsepower, that tells just how powerful a unit is? (I don't see anything like that about mine...)
 

MowerMike

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I don't recall seeing any power ratings, however, many offer multiple power settings and variable speeds so that you can control the power output. You can increase the power when needed in heavy conditions and then reduce it to increase battery runtime in lighter situations. One more thing, choose one with a brushless motor to get better performance and longer motor life.
 

TonyLawnMan

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I still have a Ryobi 18 volt that uses a single .065 diameter line. About the same as the B&D 20 volt. It's great for light grass trimming around fences. My greenworks 40 volt used dual .065 line and I would never again spend money on a unit that isn't dual line. It just runs so much smoother. The 40 volt is plenty of power for almost all light trimming duties.
My EGO 56volt trimmer is probably in the range you would want. Really good power. However, as many reviewers have noted, I have found the bump feed head on the EGO brand is not at all good.
As already mentioned, you want to look for a brushless motor and there are plenty of good choices in the 56 to 80 volt range. (If you have a Lowe's in the area, the Kobalt warranty always looks like a nice benefit to have.)
 

1 Lucky Texan

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just diving in to say, the Arnold maxi-edge line makes my 065" trimmer just adequate, I do think 080" would be a step up.

pay attention to the feel/ergonomics of your next trimmer too as it will likely be heavier.
 

Dogwalker10

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I got a WORX 32 volt with an extra batter that uses the thinner line and use it 98% of the time. I hardly ever use my gas trimmer.
 
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