cordless hedge cutters

[marcros]

We have a long lleylandii hedge that needs cutting and I need to buy a hedge cutter.

Are the new lithium ion cordless ones any good? Corded electric might be a bit of a stretch due to the nearest power point being about 30m away at one point, although I could buy a second extension lead. Otherwise, petrol it will have to be.

Budget wise will be the lower end of the petrol- I hate the task, and have no desire to invest in a still petrol machine. A ryobi petrol one is £169, so that will be the budget, +/- a bit.

 

[dynax]

i bought the cheap titan one from screwfix a couple of weeks ago to help deal with the weed problem, nice and powerful 550w and not too heavy and reasonably well balanced, http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb357g ... 230v/65175

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Screwfix have a Titan petrol one for £90 - for a light use it could be OK. Or a Bosch corded one for £45 - plenty of change to buy an extension lead.
posts crossed.

 

[marcros]

screwfix seems to offer a better choice of models at much less than I was expecting. Tempted to go with the electric and an extension- once under control, it shouldn't be too much to go over it a couple of times a year. I could use loppers on the thickest bits to help.

 

[bugbear]

We have a long lleylandii hedge that needs cutting and I need to buy a hedge cutter.

Are the new lithium ion cordless ones any good? Corded electric might be a bit of a stretch due to the nearest power point being about 30m away at one point, although I could buy a second extension lead. Otherwise, petrol it will have to be.

Budget wise will be the lower end of the petrol- I hate the task, and have no desire to invest in a still petrol machine. A ryobi petrol one is £169, so that will be the budget, +/- a bit.

Since you hate the task, I recommend a decent machine to minimise the pain.

post1120725.html?hilit=makita#p1120725

I also have a high-current 40m extension cable on a reel, since my garden is 30m long, and 30m wide.

BugBear

 

[Distinterior]

I have a Bosch cordless hedge trimmer that runs on 14v batteries. It came with 2 x 1.5ah batteries.The only reason I bought it was that I already had 6 other 14v 2.6an Bosch batteries with 3 other Bosch cordless drills.

I've had the trimmer for about 5 years now and it's still going strong. The reason for the purchase was because I also need to regularly trim a few lleylandi trees in my garden...!!

 

[Harbo]

I've got a Stihl corded one which cuts like a dream.
For hard to reach areas I use a cordless Gtech long handled cutter.
Very light and cuts well but not as easily as the Stihl. The battery charge lasts very well too.

Rod

 

[NazNomad]

A ryobi petrol one is £169, so that will be the budget, +/- a bit.

To maintain what little sanity you have left, DO NOT buy a Ryobi petrol anything. You'll have one arm like Popeye from trying to start the bloody thing.

 

[beech1948]

I admit to extreme views over Leylandii hedges as a distinct bias.

If its more than 7ft tall buy a chainsaw and cut it down and take to the tip. Long hedges are a PITA x10 and more so if Leylandii.

I once had a 95ft hedge of Leylandii that the previous owner had let run wild. 4 yrs of cutting and trimming at heights of 20ft turned me off so I cut it all down, hired a stump grinder for 3 days and got rid of it. The garden bloomed as more sunlight could get in. The replacement Robinia hedge mixed with a few hedgerow trees works well and is kept at a strict 7ft max.

Most of the complaints were from neighbours who would not trim it but moaned about their loss of privacy. You couldn't make it up.

 

[bugbear]

I've got a Stihl corded one which cuts like a dream.
For hard to reach areas I use a cordless Gtech long handled cutter.
Very light and cuts well but not as easily as the Stihl. The battery charge lasts very well too.

Rod

I think Stihl products are well outside the OP's stated budget!

BugBear

 

[AJB Temple]

Well, having a very large garden and hundreds of metres of hedges, including a long run of 6m high leylandii, I have tried a range of petrol and electric and cordless tools at various prices.

I have ended up with Stihl everything. Their battery kit is superb. For Leylanidii I use a petrol Stihl hedge trimmer with quite a long bar and wide set teeth (so snips through quite thick branches easily) and a battery hedge trimmer and battery pole trimmer. There is a reason why so many professional use this stuff. It is very hard wearing. Pay more and use it forever. Invest in good tools. Cheaper in the long run.

Nothing wrong with Leylandii hedges if you maintain them properly. We have one about 3m high around a half of an acre kitchen garden. It takes me a day once a year to trim both sides and top it (I have a rolling scaffold tower). All gardening is work if you want it to look good. Hedges are fantastic havens for nesting birds.

 

[Ring]

http://www.justlawnmowers.co.uk/stihl-h ... arger.html

Any good saw it advertised on Facebook the other night


https://gallowaypowertools.stihl-dealer ... ae/hsa-45/

 

[nabs]

hedge trimming, one of those activities that should be fun, but is marred by the non-fun necessities of going up and down ladders, tidying up, disposing of cuttings etc. And TO CAP IT ALL those of us with wired trimmers are expected to spend HOURS fannying around with extension leads. It is enough to push a chap over the edge.

as a result I recently replaced my trusty Wolf-Garten HSE65V with a battery powered one from EGO. The basic model inc battery and charger is about £200.

http://www.cheapmowers.com/acatalog/EGO ... oCJ0jw_wcB

In my case I already had the (very good) EGO chainsaw which came with a battery and charger, so got the body-only hedge trimmer for £120.

On the basis of one outing I was most impressed - my house is surrounded by about 200 meters of mature mixed hedging, and to my astonishment I was able to cut them all in one go with a single charge - the job took about 1 1/2 hours (excluding tidying up). I have the smallest battery pack (2AH) so I was pretty impressed.

It has the same tooth gap as the wolf-garden (1'') although I suspect it would not be powerfull enough to cut a branch that thick (i haven't tried), and also has a very useful 24'' cutting length - handy in my case as I have a holly hedge that is about 6' wide and the extra reach means I can just about cut right accross the top.

With the battery it is a bit heavier than the wolf-garten, but fine to lug around for a couple of hours.

My first impression is that the manufacturing quality is good. Obviously it is too soon to say whether it is built to last, but the manufacturers offer a 3 year warranty on the battery/battery pack and 5 years on the tool.

Based on my limited experience with EGO tools so far, I am impressed. Has anyone else tried them?

 

[bugbear]

hedge trimming, one of those activities that should be fun, but is marred by the non-fun necessities of going up and down ladders, tidying up, disposing of cuttings etc.

I was amazed how important it is (discovered by trial and error) to haver the right size step.

I now used painter's step to cut my 6' - 7' hedge, and it's so much easier than it used
to be with "proper" steps.

post713420.html?hilit=steps#p713420

BugBear

 

[nabs]

yes, that is good advice BB - my step ladder is not only too small but lacks the high handrail that yours has, and this means that when I am at my most pecarious I am also trying to brace my full body weight against my shins. Not really ideal!

 

[Beau]

Cant comment on full on hedge trimmers but my parents recently got these these https://www.tornevalley.co.uk/hedgetrim ... oC1-7w_wcB
I was very sceptical that such a small machine with tiny battery would be capable of much but it's remarkably able and long lasting. If this anything to go by the proper trimmer with decent sized battery pack should more than capable. Run a Tanaka petrol hedge trimmer myself but will seriously consider cordless when it dies.

 

[NikNak]

18v 5.0amp Li-ion Makita inc charger from Lawson tools.... and claim a FREE extra battery or a blower (via redemption)

https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/makita-duh ... nd-charger

AND still have £17 to spend on beer after you've cut the hedge..!!


Mod edit: This thread was resurrected by a spammer on March 31st and is now locked. Anybody wishing to continue the discussion please start afresh.