Cordless/battery Garden Strimmer

[Wyleecoyote]

Petrol strimmer?

Already got one... was great and necessary when clearing the overgrown grass etc but it creates far too much noise and a lot of faffing about with petrol & oil just to Strim around the edges.

 

[Wyleecoyote]

http://www.benzoenergy.com/blog/pos...e-damaged-if-left-unused-for-a-long-time.html

 

[Diver Fred]

Where do you store your rechargeable battery packs? I/we presume you are making enquiries about Li-Ion cells. Earlier types will loose the ability to take, store and hold charge if not used regularly.
All types, including Li-Ion do not like being stored in cold conditions (below 5 degrees C) - the colder it is the quicker they will loose charge and if stored at such temperatures for periods may not recover.

May I give an example - Went Aurora chasing in Norway a couple of years ago; using an 'Action Cam' on a tripod. unit kept warm with fully charged battery. Set up out side and waited, after about minutes aurora appeared, tried to record the 'action' but the action cam's battery was no longer charged. Outside temp's in the -20's. even the following day after a night in the hotel room camera and battery now warm still discharged, after a normal charge period was back to normal operation.

If you have been keeping the battery packs in the same storage, presumably an outbuilding, in cold weather will cause the cells to discharge and if left discharged for an extended period (especially Li-Ion) the cells will loose the ability to hold any charge.

 

[Wyleecoyote]

Thanks for your response.
I only updated thread as I found new info.

I’ve only experienced such issues with a cordless drill and hair clippers, both old technology rechargeable type batteries, NiCads, I assume.

Both devices, with their batteries were kept indoors & within a warm central heated home.

I didn’t fancy buying a cordless Strimmer, only to discover that without regular charging, its batteries fail to recharge by time I’m ready to use it again, especially if it’s been laid up through-out winter.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I bought a Makita two battery strimmer/brush cutter last year, mainly to tackle brambles. I chose Makita partly because I'm a tradesman and I use Makita 18 volt Li-Ion battery packs on an almost daily basis, so I could take some of my work batteries home to use. I average around 5 years lifespan out of a battery pack, more or less, but certainly never less than 4 years (I currently have 10 no 18 volt 5Ah batteries having killed off a further 8 over the last 14 or so years). This is a far better life span than the old NiCd and NIMH battery packs we used to have 15 years ago or more, but as all batteries do deteriorate over time I sincerely doubt that you'd get 10 years out of any battery on the market, and if you buy cordless you need to factor this in.

Another big improvement is that not only are modern battery packs smaller and lighter (a modern 18 volt 5 or 6Ah Li-Ion battery pack is some 1/3 smaller and 1/3 lighter than an earlier 18 volt 3.0Ah NiCd pack, so has maybe 2-1/2 times the energy density) but also modern Li-Ion-powered tools are going over to brushless motor technology, which means more power and greater run time. As @wgt52 says, Li-Ion battery packs don't like the cold (I have prematurely killed battery packs by leaving them in the van over a weekend in freezing weather) so they can't ever be left to overwinter in a freezing cold shed or garage, so they must be brought indoors and the charge level checked periodically.

From my point of view the current generation of power garden tools (Li-Ion and brushless motors) are streets ahead of what you could buy 10 years ago. For example 10 years ago the best lightweight Li-Ion-powered cordless circular saw was only just a viable tool - the same size today in a brushless motor version is an automatic "go-to" tool, as are the equivalents in chain saws, reciprocating saws... and strimmers. But if you want a degree of battery future proofing it may be best to stick to garden tools from an established power tool manufacturer such as deWalt, Makita or Ryobi, etc - their battery connection technology is mature, long established and looks likely to continue into the future

 

[blup]

I had a black and decker corded strimmer about 30 years ago, pretty useless and put me off replacing it. The makita 18 volt brushless is as powerful and the charge lasts long enough to do a large garden on the highest speed; there are 3 speeds, controlled electronically. I probably couldn't justify the overall cost if I didn't have the batteries and charger already. So recommended on that basis.

Blup

 

[StephenOak]

I’ve only experienced such issues with a cordless drill and hair clipper, both old technology rechargeable type batteries, NiCads, I assume.

Both devices, with their batteries were kept indoors & within a warm central heated home.

And has been explained to you, that was to be expected as they were old. The drill battery was eight years old. Nothing to do with the device, just the simple fact that batteries have a finite life.

The first response to you included

Bare in mind batteries are consumables, and don't last for ever.

 

[Wyleecoyote]

And has been explained to you, that was to be expected as they were old. The drill battery was eight years old. Nothing to do with the device, just the simple fact that batteries have a finite life.

The first response to you included

I don’t expect Rechargeable batteries to last for ever.

Yeah, my cordless drill was old and batteries failing to charge was probably partly due to age but the cordless hair clippers was new.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Any money it was a device with a built-in and non-replaceable battery. I've always had issues with them

 

[StephenOak]

I don’t expect Rechargeable batteries to last for ever.

Well eight years is a long time for a rechargeable battery to last. You seem to be complaining about that, IMO that is pretty close to expecting them to last for ever.

Yeah, my cordless drill was old and batteries failing to charge was probably partly due to age

Only partly?

but the cordless hair clipper was new

So was probably defective.

 

[lostinthelight]

I have the DUR190LZX3 strimmer and sourced the parts to fit a blade to it as well.
I reckon the battery life on this is outstanding compared to other Makita tools I have.

 

[Wyleecoyote]

Well eight years is a long time for a rechargeable battery to last. You seem to be complaining about that, IMO that is pretty close to expecting them to last for ever.


Only partly?


So was probably defective.

I’m not complaining about anything.... both drill batteries served me well.

I’ve only ever owned two rechargeable/cordless tools... the drill & hair clippers.

My initial question regarding rechargeable garden Strimmer was..... would long periods of no use and not recharging, especially throughout winter, cause the batteries to fail much sooner; like by the following summer or within two years since purchase; and yeah, I expect a modern rechargeable tool to last longer than two years.

I only reactivated this thread because I found a write up which I thought may help others.
http://www.benzoenergy.com/blog/pos...e-damaged-if-left-unused-for-a-long-time.html

 

[Wyleecoyote]

Any money it was a device with a built-in and non-replaceable battery. I've always had issues with them

Yeah, clippers had built in battery

 

[Mike13]

Lithium batteries have improved over the years with regards to their leakage. If any cell in the battery drops below about 2.7? Volts it is dangerous to try and charge it. The charger circuits are designed to allow for that. If they are kept at 100% charge (~4.1Volts) for months on end they will also fail prematurely. I have several 4AH and 2AH 18/20Volt batteries that seem to be lasting well, but I do keep them in the house, and not in a damp shed where moisture could cause them to run down below the safe minimum voltage. It is your choice to suit your circumstances, but getting them from a reputable make and keeping them warm and dry will make a big difference to the lifetime.
With old nicad batteries sometimes a nickel whisker grows and punches through the cell separator causing a hard short inside the battery. No amount of charging will fix that. Only if you know it is a NICAD battery for sure, they can be revived by shorting a charged capacitor across the cell to "blow the fuse" that has been created inside the cell. Lithium cells do not respond well to that sort of treatment, so only try it if you are really sure of the cell type. 1.2V per cell, NiMH, 1.5V per cell NiCd, 3.3-4V per cell Lithium cells of various types.